The allure of decadent thinking : religious studies and the challenge of postmodernism

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Olson, Carl, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Religion--Methodology.

Religion.

Religion--Study and teaching.

Postmodernism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The use of postmodern thought to approach the study of religion threatens to call into question the values and representational mode of thinking typical of the field. Religious studies with a radical scepticism grounded in an embrace of decadence by postmodern thinkers has the potential to undermine, subvert, and distort the study of religion, making it difficult to understand the subject if such an approach is uncritically adopted by scholars seeking new ways to study it.

Contents:

Introduction

Eroticism, violence, and sacrifice

Excess, time, and the pure gift

Genealogy, power, and discourse

Hermeneutics, comparison, and difference

The problematic nature of representational thinking

Responding to the postmodern challenge.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on Jan. 7, 2013).

Includes bibliographical references and index.