Ritual Communication

From Everyday Conversation to Mediated Ceremony

By: Eric W. Rothenbuhler

Write A Review

Paperback | 1 June 1998

At a Glance

Paperback
176 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22.86 x 15.24 x 1.04

Paperback

$298.10

or 4 interest-free payments of $74.53 with

Ships in 5 to 7 business days

From family traditions, through weddings and funerals, to state ceremonies and media events, rites and ceremonies mark socially important occasions, define beginnings and endings, and aid social transitions. Ritual and ceremonial as formal modes of conduct are equally ubiquitous, appearing in everything from modes of talk and rules of politeness to elaborate protocols for events of state. Ritual and rite, ceremonial and ceremony are symbolic social actions, and thus modes of communication, that implicate individuals in the social order, creating realities while expressing ideas and attitudes about them. This text combines bibliographic essay and theory construction to provide a perspective on ritual as a special and powerful form of communication. Part One is a critical review of definitions of ritual from anthropology, sociology, communication studies and other literatures, ending with a theoretical essay on the contributions of communication theory to understanding ritual. Part Two is a critical review of the uses of the term ritual in communication studies literature, covering mediated rituals and ceremonies, ritualistic media uses and audience activities, political, rhetorical and civic rituals, rituals of everyday interaction, rituals of organizational life and finally, a conception of communication itself as ritual.

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.

Defective items

If there is a problem with any of the items received for your order then the Booktopia Customer Care team is ready to assist you.

For more info please visit our Help Centre.

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xv
What Is Ritual?
Descriptions and Definitional Strategy	p. 3
Social Life as Punctuated by Rites, Ceremonies, and Other Ritual Forms	p. 3
Ritual as a Symbolically Ordered Component of Nearly All Social Action	p. 4
Ritual as Noun and Adjective	p. 4
Definitional Strategy	p. 5
Definitions	p. 7
Common Terms of Definition	p. 7
A Communicative Principle and a Final Definition	p. 25
Five Inadequate Conceptions	p. 28
Habit and Routine	p. 28
Insincere Public Performance	p. 30
Empty Convention	p. 31
Stylistic, Symbolic, or Aesthetic Excess	p. 32
Ritual = Myth = Ideology = Lying or Confusion	p. 33
Four Only Partly Adequate Conceptions	p. 36
Ethological	p. 36
Freudian	p. 40
Sentiment and Solidarity	p. 41
Maintenance of the Status Quo	p. 43
Some Special Problems in the Study of Ritual	p. 46
Social Change	p. 46
Inventing Rituals	p. 50
Communication Theory and Ritual Problems	p. 53
Ritual Is a Communicative Form	p. 53
The Effective Mechanisms of Ritual Are Communicative Devices	p. 54
The Ordering (and Other) Effects of Ritual Are Subject to the Vicissitudes of Communication	p. 55
Symbolic Effectivity Is Real Effectivity	p. 56
Socially Constructed Reality Is Real Reality	p. 57
Within the Limits of Communicative Effectiveness, Ritual Is a Strong Form	p. 58
Symbolicity and Generality	p. 59
Materiality and Indexicality	p. 61
Backward and Forward References	p. 63
The Problem of the Relation of Witness and Spectator, Ritual and Spectacle	p. 64
The Phenomenal Status of the Ritual Text in the Actor's Environment	p. 65
Some Implications of the Peculiar Phenomenal Status of Ritual	p. 67
Ritual in Communication Research
Five Contributions of the Ritual Concept to Communication Studies	p. 73
Renaming as a Spur to Rethinking	p. 73
Help to Identify Unanalyzed Aspects of Things	p. 74
Help to Explain Anomalous Aspects of Things	p. 74
Help to Form More Appropriate Expectations of Things	p. 75
As Disciplinary Leverage	p. 76
Mediated Communication in Ritual Form	p. 78
Media Events and Mediated Rituals	p. 79
Ritualized Media Use	p. 82
Rituals of Media Work	p. 84
Television as Religion	p. 86
Ritual Functions of Mediated Culture	p. 89
News, Television, and Popular Culture as Myth and Ritual	p. 90
Moral Dramas	p. 92
Modeling of Social Roles	p. 93
Political, Rhetorical, and Civic Rituals	p. 96
The Symbolics of State and Power; Rituals of Political Oratory and Ceremony; Elections and Politics as Ritual	p. 96
Rhetorical Rituals and Ritual Rhetoric	p. 101
Public Festivals and Ceremonies	p. 103
Ritual Communication Forms in Everyday Secular Life	p. 105
Interpersonal and Microsocial Rituals	p. 105
Rituals of Style and Status	p. 110
Rituals of Contemporary Organizational Life	p. 113
Ritual Conceptions of Culture and Communication	p. 117
The Reformation and the Culture of Anti-Ritualism as a Matter of Communication Style	p. 117
A Ritual Conception of Communication	p. 123
The Necessity of Ritual to Humane Living	p. 129
References	p. 132
Author Index	p. 149
Subject Index	p. 155
About the Author	p. 159
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

Ritual Communication

From Everyday Conversation to Mediated Ceremony

At a Glance

Paperback

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

More in Communication Studies

The Next Conversation

Argue Less, Talk More

The Culture Code

The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups

How To Talk So Little Kids Will Listen

A Survival Guide to Life with Children Ages 2-7

Unmasking Autism

The Power of Embracing Our Hidden Neurodiversity

Chinese Platforms

A Critical Introduction

How to Talk to Anyone

92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships

The Culture Map (INTL ED)

Decoding How People Think, Lead, and Get Things Done Across Cultures

Global Media

Key Ideas in Media and Cultural Studies

Global Media

Key Ideas in Media and Cultural Studies

Good Arguments

What the art of debating can teach us about listening better and disagreeing well

Centering Indigenous Standpoints through Mediated Communication

Seeding Good Medicine

Fierce Conversations

Achieving Success at Work & in Life, One Conversation at a Time

How To Talk

Siblings Without Rivalry

John and Paul

A Love Story in Songs - 'The first new Beatles story in decades'

Difficult Conversations

How to Discuss What Matters Most

Better Conversations

Coaching Ourselves and Each Other to Be More Credible, Caring, and Connected

The Dictionary Of Body Language

The Communication Book

44 Ideas for Better Conversations Every Day

Youâre Not Listening

What Youâre Missing and Why It Matters

How Writing Works 2ed

A field guide to effective writing

Burn the Haystack

Decode Dating, Torch the Duds, and Make Room for Men Who Matter

The Next Conversation Workbook

Practical Exercises for Arguing Less and Talking More

Surrounded by Liars

How to Stop Lies and Half-truths Ruining Your Life

All About Love: The Deluxe Collector's Edition

New Visions

This product is categorised by