Sacrifice and Modern Thought by Julia Meszaros

Sacrifice and Modern Thought by Julia Meszaros

Sacrifice has always been central to the study of religion yet attempts to understand and assess the concept have usually been controversial. The present book, which is the result of several years of interdisciplinary collaboration, suggests that in many ways the fascination with sacrifice has its roots in modernity itself. Theological developments following the Reformation, the rediscovery of Greek tragedies, and the encounter with the practice of human sacrifice in the Americas triggered a complex and passionate debate in the sixteenth century which has never since abated. Contributors to this volume, leading experts from theology, anthropology, and literary and cultural studies, describe and discuss how this modern fascination for the topic of sacrifice has evolved, how it has shaped theological debate, the literary imagination, and anthropological theory. Individual chapters discuss in depth major theological trajectories, theories of sacrifice including those of Marcel Mauss and René Girard, and current feminist criticism. They engage with sacrifice in the context of religious and philosophical thought, works of literature and film. They explore different yet overlapping aspects of modernity's obsession with sacrifice. The book does not intend to impose a single narrative over all these diverse contributions but brings them into a conversation around a common centre.

This volume presents sacrifice as an enduring obsession of modern theory, whether in contradistinction to primitive rites or allusion to the tragically noble in warThis is a significant study for readers interested in the contemporary resonance of the cross and Eucharist given a 'riotously polyvalent' term (p. 133). * David Robinson, The Expository Times *
A smart volume on sacrifice * Michon M. Matthiesen, Journal of Theological Studies *
The book, I believe, succeeds in its aim to bring together and explore the interlocking endeavours of a diversity of scholarly views on sacrifice without imposing or even suggesting one underlying narrative, or more explicitly, an interpretative unity. * Andrew O'Shea, Louvain Studies *

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780199659289
ISBN 10	0199659281
Title	Sacrifice and Modern Thought
Author	Julia Meszaros
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Year published	2013-11-26
Number of pages	304
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.