ANT201
Intro to Cultural Anthropology
Scott Swan
Variable Assignment #9: Exploring the Concept of Ritual
This assignment has two sections and involves watching three videos in the assignment and
responding to questions and writing two response essays. I appreciate sincerely your patience
as this has been a very difficult time for me. I will be back soon and promise to make the
connections to all of these assignments in person.
Remember that I create these assignments, and since I am far from perfect, you may find
errors. Let me know if there is some part of the assignment that does not make sense or is not
clear. Thank you again for your patience.
Section I:
I start you with a video that establishes a description/definition of ritual. Before you start
answering the questions though, I want you to just view the video in its entirety. It presents
some complex ideas, but don’t worry too much about whether you understand the ideas
completely. I just want to introduce these more complex ideas in the first viewing to prepare you
for the second viewing where you will answer the question. So, cue up the following video and
watch it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_URgZf01hU
Now, answer the following questions from the video. Material in “quotations” comes directly
from the video, which should help you locate the exact section in the video. The questions are
in chronological order, so just move through the video and then respond to the question/prompt.
1. [short answer – short sentence or phrase] What does Andrew (the video host) say is the
“problem with objective definitions of complex terms like ritual”?
2. [long answer – use the other questions below to help you with your answer] What does
Andrew suggest is a way to “get to the best definition of ritual”?
a. What does Andrew say we should we “stop focusing on” as part of that best
definition?
3. [long answer – copying down a quote and then just paraphrase how Andrew unpacks it]
Type out the quote by Jonathon Z. Smith about what ritual does. Then type out Andrew’s
explanation of what it means.
4. [long answer – copy phrase and then paraphrase how Andrew unpacks it] Just type out
the phrase “privileged contrast” from Catherine Bell’s description of what ritual does.
Make sure to listen to her description but focus in on the phrase “privileged contrast”
(that is why I am having you type it). After typing out the phrase, summarize how Andrew
describes the difference between an action and a ritual action.
5. Re-view Andrew’s description of the Eucharist as an example of the difference between
an action and a ritual action. The Eucharist is the Christian ceremony commemorating
Christ’s Last Supper, in which bread and wine are consecrated and consumed. Respond
to the following questions/prompts:
a. [short answer – four phrases] What are the specific “strategies” that differentiate
the ritual meal of the Eucharist from a regular meal? (Andrew mentions four
strategies)
Intro to Cultural Anthropology
Scott Swan
Variable Assignment #9: Exploring the Concept of Ritual
This assignment has two sections and involves watching three videos in the assignment and
responding to questions and writing two response essays. I appreciate sincerely your patience
as this has been a very difficult time for me. I will be back soon and promise to make the
connections to all of these assignments in person.
Remember that I create these assignments, and since I am far from perfect, you may find
errors. Let me know if there is some part of the assignment that does not make sense or is not
clear. Thank you again for your patience.
Section I:
I start you with a video that establishes a description/definition of ritual. Before you start
answering the questions though, I want you to just view the video in its entirety. It presents
some complex ideas, but don’t worry too much about whether you understand the ideas
completely. I just want to introduce these more complex ideas in the first viewing to prepare you
for the second viewing where you will answer the question. So, cue up the following video and
watch it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_URgZf01hU
Now, answer the following questions from the video. Material in “quotations” comes directly
from the video, which should help you locate the exact section in the video. The questions are
in chronological order, so just move through the video and then respond to the question/prompt.
1. [short answer – short sentence or phrase] What does Andrew (the video host) say is the
“problem with objective definitions of complex terms like ritual”?
2. [long answer – use the other questions below to help you with your answer] What does
Andrew suggest is a way to “get to the best definition of ritual”?
a. What does Andrew say we should we “stop focusing on” as part of that best
definition?
3. [long answer – copying down a quote and then just paraphrase how Andrew unpacks it]
Type out the quote by Jonathon Z. Smith about what ritual does. Then type out Andrew’s
explanation of what it means.
4. [long answer – copy phrase and then paraphrase how Andrew unpacks it] Just type out
the phrase “privileged contrast” from Catherine Bell’s description of what ritual does.
Make sure to listen to her description but focus in on the phrase “privileged contrast”
(that is why I am having you type it). After typing out the phrase, summarize how Andrew
describes the difference between an action and a ritual action.
5. Re-view Andrew’s description of the Eucharist as an example of the difference between
an action and a ritual action. The Eucharist is the Christian ceremony commemorating
Christ’s Last Supper, in which bread and wine are consecrated and consumed. Respond
to the following questions/prompts:
a. [short answer – four phrases] What are the specific “strategies” that differentiate
the ritual meal of the Eucharist from a regular meal? (Andrew mentions four
strategies)
ANT201
Intro to Cultural Anthropology
Scott Swan
b. [short answer – sentence or phrase] Directly following these strategies, what is
“Catherine Bell’s point” about ritual that Andrew explains? Just type out this
point.
Instructor note:
An important point in this exercise is that the different strategies used – i.e., formality,
repetition, symbolism – are less important than what a ritual does for the people who pass
through it. In other words, the specific actions in ritual are less important than what the ritual
does in a psychological or spiritual way for those who are experiencing the ritual.
6. [long answer – example that explains the statement] At 04:48, Andrew states that
“rituals are defined by their assertion of difference.” This mirrors what you probably had
for #3. Now that you have moved through some questions/prompts, illustrate in your
own words what that phrase means using an example from the video or your own
example.
7. [long answer – explanation of difference between definitions] Why does Andrew say that
this description of ritual is better “than the encyclopedia” definition that he mentioned
earlier? Please weave into your definition the quote from Adam Seligman. Also make
sure to mention how important the “framing” of action is in the definition.
Now, be sure to take a break from the assignment to let all this information percolate in your
brain/mind thing. I now want you to extrapolate this information and apply it to your own
description of the difference between two concepts – routine vs. ritual.
8. [long answer – explanation of difference + personal example] How would you define
“routine” as different from “ritual”? Provide an example and use some of the phrases
from the assignment. Specifically, use the phrases “assertion of difference,” “privileged
contrast,” and also use the concept of “framing.” Be as specific and detailed as you can
to arrive at a workable definition/description that you can use for later assignments. You
can always change/refine that definition later, but create the foundation for your
definitions.
Section II:
Watch the following two videos and then write two response essays of two paragraphs (8-10
sentences) for each video. I am not giving you specific things to look at or write about it in these
videos. I want you to write about what interests you from each video. In other words, I don’t
want you to summarize the videos. I want you to write about some aspect of each video that you
found interesting or informative – that should be the first paragraph. Be sure to include a
personal example to support what interests you – that will be your second paragraph. The
personal example is important because I want you to connect the abstract idea from the videos
to a personal experience or observation.
Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_xJpVlry14
Video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE42C8z9brE
Intro to Cultural Anthropology
Scott Swan
b. [short answer – sentence or phrase] Directly following these strategies, what is
“Catherine Bell’s point” about ritual that Andrew explains? Just type out this
point.
Instructor note:
An important point in this exercise is that the different strategies used – i.e., formality,
repetition, symbolism – are less important than what a ritual does for the people who pass
through it. In other words, the specific actions in ritual are less important than what the ritual
does in a psychological or spiritual way for those who are experiencing the ritual.
6. [long answer – example that explains the statement] At 04:48, Andrew states that
“rituals are defined by their assertion of difference.” This mirrors what you probably had
for #3. Now that you have moved through some questions/prompts, illustrate in your
own words what that phrase means using an example from the video or your own
example.
7. [long answer – explanation of difference between definitions] Why does Andrew say that
this description of ritual is better “than the encyclopedia” definition that he mentioned
earlier? Please weave into your definition the quote from Adam Seligman. Also make
sure to mention how important the “framing” of action is in the definition.
Now, be sure to take a break from the assignment to let all this information percolate in your
brain/mind thing. I now want you to extrapolate this information and apply it to your own
description of the difference between two concepts – routine vs. ritual.
8. [long answer – explanation of difference + personal example] How would you define
“routine” as different from “ritual”? Provide an example and use some of the phrases
from the assignment. Specifically, use the phrases “assertion of difference,” “privileged
contrast,” and also use the concept of “framing.” Be as specific and detailed as you can
to arrive at a workable definition/description that you can use for later assignments. You
can always change/refine that definition later, but create the foundation for your
definitions.
Section II:
Watch the following two videos and then write two response essays of two paragraphs (8-10
sentences) for each video. I am not giving you specific things to look at or write about it in these
videos. I want you to write about what interests you from each video. In other words, I don’t
want you to summarize the videos. I want you to write about some aspect of each video that you
found interesting or informative – that should be the first paragraph. Be sure to include a
personal example to support what interests you – that will be your second paragraph. The
personal example is important because I want you to connect the abstract idea from the videos
to a personal experience or observation.
Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_xJpVlry14
Video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE42C8z9brE
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