ANTH 222 Reading Study Guide #9
Chapter 3, p. 54-65
1. What is NOT true about mediation? HINT: P. 55
a. It is a concept that helps us understand the exterior elements of religious life.
b. It is about performance, such as art, dance, song, and writing.
c. It is fundamentally individual, not usually shared or visible to others.
d. It structures our experience and understanding.
2. While it isn’t common, more than a few cultures have had a practice of eating their
dead. To mainstream United States culture, this is considered disgusting and disturbing.
Like other food taboos and proscriptions, this is a case of “you are what you eat” –
ingesting the proper things, and disposing of flesh properly. What theorist discussed
these issues of purity and danger extensively? HINT: P. 60
a. Douglas
b. Tylor
c. Malinowski
d. Geertz
3. The physical body is a key material resource that humans use in being religious. Bodies
learn different responses based on their cultures (including different religious cultures).
What is the term that describes these instinctual, trained bodily responses? HINT: P. 57
a. Discipline
b. Senses
c. Habitus
d. Mediation