The resources below provide definitions, explanations, and discussions of ideas.
Many of the titles work within a specific academic field. They have been sorted and labelled by disciplinary field to help you select the approaches that will be most useful for your project on the meanings of ritual.
When you read an article, be aware of the following issues:
* Expertise - Is the author a published scholar working on the topic?
* Audience - Who are the intended readers? Is it for the general public or for college students and researchers?
* Discipline Focus - Does the author define ritual broadly or is s/he focusing on one aspect from the social sciences or humanities?
* Documentation - Is there a bibliography for further reading? Are authors mentioned in the article cited in the bibliography?
* Date - If this was published more than 10 years ago, do I need to find updated information? On the other hand, what kind of historical information can I excavate from authors' attitudes in a 1755 dictionary or a 1910 encyclopedia?
Most of the titles are printed copies and can be found the Reference Room. The call numbers will help you locate them on the shelves.
The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) are also available online and the links are on this page.
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WR PROG/ANTH 130 : Themes in the Anthropology of Religion (HC)
Anthropology Encyclopedias:
Companion encyclopedia of anthropology
Publisher: London ; Routledge, 2002.
H Magill Reference Room GN25 C65 2002
Encyclopedia of cultural anthropology
Publisher: New York : Henry Holt and Co., 1996.
H Magill reference Room GN307 E52 1996
Encyclopedia of social and cultural anthropology
Publisher: London ; Routledge, 1996.
H Magill Reference Room GN307 E527 1996
Encyclopedias for History:
The Cambridge dictionary of classical civilization
Publisher: Cambridge, UK ; Cambridge University Press, 2006.
A handbook for Greek and Roman cultural history.
H Magill Reference Room DE5 C28 2006
H Magill Reference Room DE5 C28 2006
Encyclopedia of European social history from 1350 to 2000
Publisher: Detroit : Charles Scribner's Sons, c2001.
See the essay "Holidays and Public Rituals," Volume 5, pp. 185-200.
H Magill Reference Room HN373 E63 2001
H Magill Reference Room HN373 E63 2001
Encyclopedia of the Renaissance
Publisher: New York : Scribner's, published in association with the Renaissance Society of America, c1999.
H Magill Reference Room CB361 E52 1999
New dictionary of the History of ideas
Publisher: [New York?] : Charles Scribner's Sons, c2005.
A worldwide exploration of major ideas through history.
H Magill Reference Room CB9 N49 2005
H Magill Reference Room CB9 N49 2005
Philosophy and Psychology Encyclopedias:
The Corsini encyclopedia of psychology and behavioral science
Publisher: New York : Wiley, c2001.
H Magill Reference Room BF31 E49 2001
Encyclopedia of psychology
Publisher: Washington, D.C. : American Psychological Association ; 2000.
H Magill Reference Room BF31 E52
Routledge encyclopedia of philosophy
Online version of the 10-volume Routledge encyclopedia of philosophy. Also available in print at H Magill Reference Room B51 R68 1998
Religion Encyclopedias:
Contemporary American religion
Publisher: New York : Macmillan Reference USA, c2000.
H Magill Reference Room BL2525 C65 2000
Encyclopedia of Buddhism
Publisher: New York : Macmillan Reference USA/Thomson/Gale, c2004.
H Magill Reference Room BQ128 E62 2004
Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world
Publisher: New York : Macmillan Reference USA : c2004.
H Magill Reference Room BP40 E525 2004
Encyclopedia of religion
Publisher: Detroit : Macmillan Reference USA, 2005.
H magill Reference Room BL31 E46 2005
General Dictionaries and Encyclopedias, 18th Century to the Present:
Dictionary of the English language
Publisher: New York : Arno Press, 1979.
A dictionary done by Samuel Johnson and published in 1755. It has more than 40,000 entries and was a primary reference source for scholars and writers of the 18th and 19th century.
H Magill Folio PE1620 J6 1979
H Magill Folio PE1620 J6 1979
The Encyclopædia britannica;
Publisher: New York, The Encyclopædia britannica company, 1910-11.
This edition from 1910-1911 is regarded as the best known and encapsulates Anglo-American scholarly thinking from the late nineteenth century to the eve of World War I.
H Magill Reference Room AE5 E36 1910
H Magill Reference Room AE5 E36 1910
Oxford English Dictionary
Presents the words that have formed the English vocabulary from the time of the earliest records down to the present day, with all the relevant facts concerning their form, sense, history, pronunciation, and etymology.
Also available in print - H Magill Reference Room PE1625 O87 1989
Also available in print - H Magill Reference Room PE1625 O87 1989