"Ritual Gone Wrong: What We Learn from Ritual Disruption", by Kathryn T. McClymond.
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| Year of publication | 2017 |
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| Description | During his first presidential inauguration, Barack Obama got the oath of office wrong, so after some intense debates, he eventually had to retake it. At the 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Sochi, one of the five Olympic rings did not light up as planned, which created a fertile ground for mockery and ridicule of the organizers. Similarly, the nature and timing of Saddam Hussein’s execution were at the core of ultimate disagreements among those several interest groups involved in it. These are all examples of public, collective rituals gone wrong on a grand scale, yet there are numerous examples of different errors of varying magnitudes. According to Kathryn T. McClymond, such ritual disruptions are not exceptions, but in fact a norm in all human societies. Since every known society engages in ritual behavior, this global prevalence of rituals has stimulated a broad academic interest, with researchers exploring its various aspects. However, despite their frequent occurrence, barely any research specifically targeted ritual mistakes, which is the motif of Ritual Gone Wrong: What We Learn from Ritual Disruption. |
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