Since the 1980s, there has existed a field of scholarly inquiry into a range of phenomena termed New Age. The relative lack of ethnographic studies in this field was identified several years ago, in response to research that focused merely on the discourses within alleged key writings. However, the employment of ethnographic methods does not by itself resolve the problems inherent in other modes of research; attention also has to be paid to how ethnography is used in practice. This article examines ethnographies of the New Age in terms of the extent to which they contextualize data within their immediate social frames, by paying attention to actors' practices and interactions, and to the ways in which beliefs and discourses are constructed and contested. The article demonstrates the strong tendency among New Age ethnographic studies to veer from 'the social' and to rest instead on analytically problematic conceptualizations of agency. It argues that epistemological revision is required to form the basis of a more sociologically adequate understanding of the phenomena addressed.
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In Religion and Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Mar 2010
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 76–88 (13 total)
Kosher Biotech
Between Religion, Regulation, and Globalization
Johan Fischer
of transnational governmentality. The training itself can be seen as a standardizing process in which learning and discipline come together. Kosher training is a way to enhance workers’ employment value, depending on their skills. Skills terminology
In Religion and Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Sep 2018
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 52–67 (16 total)
Jack Hunter, Annelin Eriksen, Jon Mitchell, Mattijs van de Port, Magnus Course, Nicolás Panotto, Ruth Barcan, David M. R. Orr, Girish Daswani, Piergiorgio Di Giminiani, Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen, Sofía Ugarte, Ryan J. Cook, Bettina E. Schmidt, and Mylene Mizrahi
employment opportunities for Bahamians increase the vulnerability of Haitian workers. Louis highlights the fact that children born to Haitian migrants in the Bahamas are not Bahamian citizens regardless of their parents’ migratory status, spending “a lifetime
In Religion and Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Sep 2018
- Article Type:
- Book Review
- Pages:
- 192–217 (26 total)
Portrait
Ann Grodzins Gold
Ann Grodzins Gold, Bhrigupati Singh, Farhana Ibrahim, Edward Simpson, and Kirin Narayan
At Home on the Margins The longer you live, the more complicated it gets to tell your story with any kind of coherent theme. Now in my seventieth year—which, as it happens, I have chosen to make my last of full-time academic employment—I reflect
In Religion and Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Sep 2016
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 1–36 (36 total)