Synopses & Reviews
Available in English for the first time, anthropologist Carlo Severiandrsquo;s The Chimera Principle breaks new theoretical ground for the study of ritual, iconographic technologies, and oral traditions among non-literate peoples. Setting himself against a tradition that has long seen the memory of people andldquo;without writingandrdquo;andmdash;which relies on such ephemeral records as ornaments, body painting, and masksandmdash;as fundamentally disordered or doomed to failure, he argues strenuously that ritual actions in these societies pragmatically produce religious meaning and that they demonstrate what he calls a andldquo;chimericandrdquo; imagination.
Deploying philosophical and ethnographic theory, Severi unfolds new approaches to research in the anthropology of ritual and memory, ultimately building a new theory of imagination and an original anthropology of thought. This English-language edition, beautifully translated by Janet Lloyd and complete with a foreword by David Graeber, will spark widespread debate and be heralded as an instant classic for anthropologists, historians, and philosophers.
Review
andldquo;The translation of
The Chimera Principle: An Anthropology of Memory and Imagination is a major event in Anglo-American anthropology. Remarkable for its scholarly depth, its ability to recast the whole field of memory and imagination through its relation to visual and sound images, and above all its complete mastery over comparative ethnography, this book is a stunning landmark in anthropological theory.andrdquo;and#160;
Synopsis
First published in the French language as Le principe de la chimand#232;re: Une anthropologie de la mand#233;moire, Carlo Severiand#8217;s The chimera principle breaks new theoretical ground for the study of ritual, iconographic technologies, and oral traditions among non-literate peoples. In relying on ornaments, body painting, masks, or pictograms, the memory of peoples and#8220;without writingand#8221; has always seemed labile, disordered, or doomed to failure. Such mnemonic techniques are regularly described by historians as abortive attempts to express basic concepts through graphic means. This book presents an alternative theoretical position based on the results of an extensive anthropological and ethnographic survey throughout the Americas and Oceania. Herein, Severi analyzes visual and mnemonic devices used in ritual contexts across many societies, arguing that and#8220;religious ontologiesand#8221; are pragmatically produced by ritual actions that demonstrate a kind of and#8220;chimericand#8221; imagination at the core of many non-Western arts of memory. With theoretical turns both philosophical and ethnographic, The chimera principle unfolds new approaches to research in the anthropology of memory and ritual, revealing a new ethnographic theory of imagination. Translated by Janet Lloyd, with a critical foreword by anthropologist David Graeber, this first English edition is both an invaluable resource and an instant classic for anthropologists, art historians, and philosophers.
1st Edition Publication Data (French Original): 2007. Le pincipe de la chimand#232;re. Une anthropologie de la mand#233;moire. Paris: Presses de land#8217;and#201;cole Normale Supand#233;rieure (Rue dand#8217;Ulm) et Musand#233;e du Quai Branly.
About the Author
Carlo Severi is professor at the and#201;cole des hautes and#233;tudes en sciences sociales and director of research at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Janet Lloyd has translated more than seventy books from French, including Philippe Descolaand#8217;s Beyond Nature and Culture, published by the University of Chicago Press.and#160;