The Anthropology of Victor Turner: Ritual, Liminality, and Cultural Performance

The Anthropology of Victor Turner: Ritual, Liminality, and Cultural Performance

Who is Victor Turner? Victor Turner (1920-1983) was a pioneering British cultural anthropologist whose innovative theories of symbols, ritual, and performance transformed the study of human society and culture. Over a prolific career spanning four decades, Turner...
Arnold van Gennep and the Rites of Passage: Illuminating the Structure of Human Transitions

Arnold van Gennep and the Rites of Passage: Illuminating the Structure of Human Transitions

The Architect of Transitions Life is a series of crossings. We cross from childhood to adulthood, from single to married, from work to retirement, from life to death. But how do we cross safely? Arnold van Gennep (1873–1957) was the first anthropologist to recognize...