Matter Out of Place
ByPublisher Description
Anthropologists often use ‘pollution’ to refer to social and individual challenges to a cultural idea of purity, which may be seen in terms of religious practice, foodstuffs and social differentiation. It has been used as a trope to explore ideas of dirt and place, moral inversion and reinforcement, disgust and taboo.
The book is an invitation to consider the continued relevance of Mary Douglas’ conceptualization of pollution and dirt as ‘matter out of place’ in relation to contemporary circumstances. Its ethnographic and theoretical contributions cover diverse contexts, ranging from Europe to Africa, the Caribbean, India and Outer Space.
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About Rebecca Lynch
Rebecca Lynch is Lecturer in Medical Anthropology at the University of Exeter. Her work explores the body and biomedicine, particularly bodily fluids and boundaries, bodily relations with non-humans (e.g., technologies), morality and biomedical categorization.
Other books by Rebecca Lynch
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