Spirit of the Totem
The book presents an original, interdisciplinary analysis of religious and mythological perspectives in fiction published in the Soviet Union between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s. In doing so, it points to ways in which anthropological theory can be used as a framework for literary criticism. It...
Sábháilte in:
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| Formáid: | Online |
| Teanga: | Béarla |
| Foilsithe / Cruthaithe: |
Modern Humanities Research Association
2024
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| Ábhair: | |
| Rochtain ar líne: | ONIX_20241115_9781839546778_40 |
| Clibeanna: |
Níl clibeanna ann, Bí ar an gcéad duine le clib a chur leis an taifead seo!
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| _version_ | 1869521855382028288 |
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| author | Maryniak, Irena |
| author_browse | Maryniak, Irena |
| author_facet | Maryniak, Irena |
| author_sort | Maryniak, Irena |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | The book presents an original, interdisciplinary analysis of religious and mythological perspectives in fiction published in the Soviet Union between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s. In doing so, it points to ways in which anthropological theory can be used as a framework for literary criticism. It also shows how, in the two decades before perestroika, religion and mythology served as alternative models for the intellectual and political reorientation of Soviet society. Selected works are explored with reference to a formative debate in anthropological studies on the nature and development of religion, based on Edward B. Tylor’s theory of ‘animism’ and Emile Durkheim’s theory of ‘totemism’. It is shown how the animist/totemist dichotomy highlighted by the controversy is reflected in Russian religious thought before 1917 and, particularly, in the literature of the Soviet era. Novels by Valentin Rasputin, Chabua Amiredzhibi, Daniil Granin, Chingiz Aitmatov, and Vladimir Tendriakov are discussed in the light of a range of mythological and religious systems. The study also shows how Durkheim’s theory of religion and group identity can be related to ideas put forward by the Russian nationalist writers Iurii Bondarev, Sergei Alekseev and Vasilii Belov, and suggests that examples of fiction by Petr Proskurin, Aitmatov, and Tendriakov indicate revived interest in the God-building theory of Gor’kii and Lunacharskii. In conclusion, the book argues that subtextual religious and mythological narratives in Soviet fiction between 1964 and 1988 provided a model for new literary discourse under perestroika and for subsequent political transformations. This book, originally published in paperback in 1995 under the ISBN 978-0-901286-61-1, was made Open Access in 2024 as part of the MHRA Revivals programme. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-147945 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publishDateRange | 2024 |
| publishDateSort | 2024 |
| publisher | Modern Humanities Research Association |
| publisherStr | Modern Humanities Research Association |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1479452025-02-04T06:05:14Z Spirit of the Totem Maryniak, Irena Drama Women Authors thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSK Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1D Europe::1DS Southern Europe::1DSV Vatican thema EDItEUR::3 Time period qualifiers::3M c 1500 onwards to present day::3MR 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100::3MRB Early 21st century c 2000 to c 2050::3MRBF c 2010 to c 2019 The book presents an original, interdisciplinary analysis of religious and mythological perspectives in fiction published in the Soviet Union between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s. In doing so, it points to ways in which anthropological theory can be used as a framework for literary criticism. It also shows how, in the two decades before perestroika, religion and mythology served as alternative models for the intellectual and political reorientation of Soviet society. Selected works are explored with reference to a formative debate in anthropological studies on the nature and development of religion, based on Edward B. Tylor’s theory of ‘animism’ and Emile Durkheim’s theory of ‘totemism’. It is shown how the animist/totemist dichotomy highlighted by the controversy is reflected in Russian religious thought before 1917 and, particularly, in the literature of the Soviet era. Novels by Valentin Rasputin, Chabua Amiredzhibi, Daniil Granin, Chingiz Aitmatov, and Vladimir Tendriakov are discussed in the light of a range of mythological and religious systems. The study also shows how Durkheim’s theory of religion and group identity can be related to ideas put forward by the Russian nationalist writers Iurii Bondarev, Sergei Alekseev and Vasilii Belov, and suggests that examples of fiction by Petr Proskurin, Aitmatov, and Tendriakov indicate revived interest in the God-building theory of Gor’kii and Lunacharskii. In conclusion, the book argues that subtextual religious and mythological narratives in Soviet fiction between 1964 and 1988 provided a model for new literary discourse under perestroika and for subsequent political transformations. This book, originally published in paperback in 1995 under the ISBN 978-0-901286-61-1, was made Open Access in 2024 as part of the MHRA Revivals programme. 2024-11-16T05:34:05Z 2024-11-16T05:34:05Z 2024-11-15T10:32:08Z 1995 book ONIX_20241115_9781839546778_40 09570322 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/94722 9781839546778 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/147945 eng MHRA Texts and Dissertations open access image/jpeg image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/94722/1/9781839546778.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/94722/1/9781839546778.pdf Modern Humanities Research Association Texts and Translations 10.59860/td.b270d1a 10.59860/td.b270d1a 263272ae-2045-451b-ac91-b0037a2fd63a 9781839546778 Texts and Translations 196 Cambridge open access |
| spellingShingle | Drama Women Authors thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSK Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1D Europe::1DS Southern Europe::1DSV Vatican thema EDItEUR::3 Time period qualifiers::3M c 1500 onwards to present day::3MR 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100::3MRB Early 21st century c 2000 to c 2050::3MRBF c 2010 to c 2019 Maryniak, Irena Spirit of the Totem |
| title | Spirit of the Totem |
| title_full | Spirit of the Totem |
| title_fullStr | Spirit of the Totem |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spirit of the Totem |
| title_short | Spirit of the Totem |
| title_sort | spirit of the totem |
| topic | Drama Women Authors thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSK Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1D Europe::1DS Southern Europe::1DSV Vatican thema EDItEUR::3 Time period qualifiers::3M c 1500 onwards to present day::3MR 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100::3MRB Early 21st century c 2000 to c 2050::3MRBF c 2010 to c 2019 |
| topic_facet | Drama Women Authors thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSK Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1D Europe::1DS Southern Europe::1DSV Vatican thema EDItEUR::3 Time period qualifiers::3M c 1500 onwards to present day::3MR 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100::3MRB Early 21st century c 2000 to c 2050::3MRBF c 2010 to c 2019 |
| url | ONIX_20241115_9781839546778_40 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT maryniakirena spiritofthetotem |