The Mana of Mass Society

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy
Cover of the book The Mana of Mass Society by William Mazzarella, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: William Mazzarella ISBN: 9780226436395
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: October 24, 2017
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: William Mazzarella
ISBN: 9780226436395
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: October 24, 2017
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

 
We often invoke the “magic” of mass media to describe seductive advertising or charismatic politicians. In The Mana of Mass Society, William Mazzarella asks what happens to social theory if we take that idea seriously. How would it change our understanding of publicity, propaganda, love, and power?
 
Mazzarella reconsiders the concept of “mana,” which served in early anthropology as a troubled bridge between “primitive” ritual and the fascination of mass media. Thinking about mana, Mazzarella shows, means rethinking some of our most fundamental questions: What powers authority? What in us responds to it? Is the mana that animates an Aboriginal ritual the same as the mana that energizes a revolutionary crowd, a consumer public, or an art encounter? At the intersection of anthropology and critical theory, The Mana of Mass Society brings recent conversations around affect, sovereignty, and emergence into creative contact with classic debates on religion, charisma, ideology, and aesthetics.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

 
We often invoke the “magic” of mass media to describe seductive advertising or charismatic politicians. In The Mana of Mass Society, William Mazzarella asks what happens to social theory if we take that idea seriously. How would it change our understanding of publicity, propaganda, love, and power?
 
Mazzarella reconsiders the concept of “mana,” which served in early anthropology as a troubled bridge between “primitive” ritual and the fascination of mass media. Thinking about mana, Mazzarella shows, means rethinking some of our most fundamental questions: What powers authority? What in us responds to it? Is the mana that animates an Aboriginal ritual the same as the mana that energizes a revolutionary crowd, a consumer public, or an art encounter? At the intersection of anthropology and critical theory, The Mana of Mass Society brings recent conversations around affect, sovereignty, and emergence into creative contact with classic debates on religion, charisma, ideology, and aesthetics.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book State Constitutional Politics by William Mazzarella
Cover of the book Becoming Historians by William Mazzarella
Cover of the book The Decision Between Us by William Mazzarella
Cover of the book Natural Right and History by William Mazzarella
Cover of the book Regimens of the Mind by William Mazzarella
Cover of the book Curriculum as Conversation by William Mazzarella
Cover of the book Building a Revolutionary State by William Mazzarella
Cover of the book Concrete Revolution by William Mazzarella
Cover of the book Fada by William Mazzarella
Cover of the book Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits by William Mazzarella
Cover of the book AIDS Doesn't Show Its Face by William Mazzarella
Cover of the book Madness Is Civilization by William Mazzarella
Cover of the book Afterimages by William Mazzarella
Cover of the book Measuring Wealth and Financial Intermediation and Their Links to the Real Economy by William Mazzarella
Cover of the book Extraterritorial Dreams by William Mazzarella
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy