Synopses & Reviews
The result of a collaborative, multiyear project, this groundbreaking book investigates the dynamic constellation of religion, sensation, and materiality, exploring the interpretive worlds of sensory phenomena in material practices of religions.
and#160;
Under the rubric of andldquo;making sense,andrdquo; the studies assembled here consider how people have used and valued sensory data. How have they shaped their material and immaterial worlds to encourage or discourage certain kinds or patterns of sensory experience? How have they framed the sensual capacities of images and objects to license a range of behaviors, including iconoclasm, censorship, and accusations of blasphemy or sacrilege? Exposing the dematerialization of religion embedded in secularization theory, editor Sally Promey proposes a fundamental reorientation in understanding the personal, social, political, and cultural work accomplished in religionandrsquo;s sensory and material practice.and#160;Sensational Religionand#160;refocuses scholarly attention on the robust material entanglements often discounted by modernityandrsquo;s metaphysic and on their inextricable connections to human bodies, behaviors, affects, and beliefs.
Review
and#8220;Sensational Religion blazes a trail in sensory culture studies. Sally Promey has brought together prominent scholars from varied disciplines to examine multisensory religious experiences, focusing on corporeal perception and bodily practices across continents, from historical periods to the present.and#8221;and#8212;Carolyn Dean, University of California, Santa Cruz
Review
and#8220;Sensational Religion is more landmark than compendium. and#160;It suggests just how far the study of religion in all its sensuous, material density has come over the last two decadesand#8212;not only in Religious Studies, but also in History, Anthropology, American Studies, and beyond.and#8221;and#8212;Leigh Eric Schmidt, Washington University in St. Louis
Review
and#8220;Promeyand#8217;s volume makes a significant contribution that will be transformative and lasting. The clarity of expression of the essays, the compelling quality of the material addressed, and the rigor of each authorand#8217;s analysis make this an exciting and invigorating read. It is hard to imagine a humanistic discipline that would not have interest in this volume.and#8221;and#8212;Rachael Z. DeLue, Princeton University
Review
and#8220;A monumental achievement. The wide-ranging essays in this brilliant and authoritative anthology will transform thinking across several fields -- not only religious studies and sensory studies, but also studies of aesthetics, imperialism, ethnicity, modernity, and materiality.and#8221;and#8212;Jennifer L. Roberts, Harvard University
Review
"At the busy crossroads of debates on secularism, post-structuralist work on embodiment and subjectivity, sensory cultural studies and the philosophical turn to the materiality and agency of things, we find this brilliant collection of 37 essays on Sensational Religion. Their empirical robustness and theoretical sophistication assures that the analysis of religion remains on the crucial, cutting edge for understanding social life.and#8221;and#8212;Angela Zito, Center for Religion and Media
About the Author
Sally M. Promeyand#160;is professor of American studies and professor of religion and visual culture at Yale University, where she is also founding director of the Initiative for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion (mavcor.yale.edu) and deputy director of the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.