Oliver Freiberger's Books

Considering Comparison

A Method for Religious Studies

By: Oliver Freiberger

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Considering Comparison

A Method for Religious Studies

By: Oliver Freiberger

The comparative method is an integral part of religious studies. All the technical terms that scholars of religion use on a daily basis, such as ritual, hagiography, shrine, authority, fundamentalism, hybridity, and, of course, religion, are comparative terms. Yet comparison has been subject to criticism, including postcolonialist and postmodernist critiques. Older approaches are said to have used comparison primarily to confirm preconceptions about religion. More recently, comparison has been criticized as an act of abstraction that does injustice to the particular, neglects differences, and establishes a mostly Western power of definition over the rest of the world. In this book, Oliver Freiberger takes a closer look at how comparison works. Revisiting critical debates and examining reflections in other disciplines, including comparative history, sociology, comparative theology, and anthropology, Freiberger proposes a model of comparison that is based on a thorough epistemological analysis and that takes both the scholar's situatedness and his or her agency seriously. Examining numerous examples of comparative studies, Considering Comparison develops a methodological framework for conducting and evaluating such studies. Freiberger suggests a comparative approach - which he calls discourse comparison - that confronts the omnipresent risks of decontextualization, essentialization, and universalization. This book makes a case for comparison, arguing that it is indispensable for a deeper analytical understanding of what we call religion. The book is intended to enrich the practice of both aspiring and seasoned comparativists, stimulate much-needed further discussions about comparative methodology, and encourage more scholars to produce responsible comparative studies.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

315

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

019092912X

ISBN 13

9780190929121

Considering Comparison

A Method for Religious Studies

By: Oliver Freiberger

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Considering Comparison

A Method for Religious Studies

By: Oliver Freiberger

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

257

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199965013

ISBN 13

9780199965014

Buddhism: Bullet Guides

By: Paul Oliver

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Buddhism: Bullet Guides

By: Paul Oliver

Open this book and you will Discover Buddha's teachings Gain awareness Apply Buddhist beliefs Become enlightened

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

101

Publisher

John Murray

Published Date

ISBN 10

1444142089

ISBN 13

9781444142082

Sound and Communication

An Aesthetic Cultural History of Sanskrit Hinduism

By: Annette Wilke,Oliver Moebus

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Sound and Communication

An Aesthetic Cultural History of Sanskrit Hinduism

By: Annette Wilke,Oliver Moebus

In Hindu India both orality and sonality have enjoyed great cultural significance since earliest times. They have a distinct influence on how people approach texts. The importance of sound and its perception has led to rites, models of cosmic order, and abstract formulas. Sound serves both to stimulate religious feelings and to give them a sensory form. Starting from the perception and interpretation of sound, the authors chart an unorthodox cultural history of India, turning their attention to an important, but often neglected aspect of daily religious life. They provide a stimulating contribution to the study of cultural systems of perception that also adds new aspects to the debate on orality and literality.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

1137

Publisher

Walter de Gruyter

Published Date

ISBN 10

3110240033

ISBN 13

9783110240030

Asceticism and Its Critics

Historical Accounts and Comparative Perspectives

By: Oliver Freiberger

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Asceticism and Its Critics

Historical Accounts and Comparative Perspectives

By: Oliver Freiberger

Scholars of religion have always been fascinated by asceticism. Some have even regarded this radical way of life-- the withdrawal from the world, combined with practices that seriously affect basic bodily needs, up to extreme forms of self-mortification --as the ultimate form of a true religious quest. This view is rooted in hagiographic descriptions of prominent ascetics and in other literary accounts that praise the ascetic life-style. Scholars have often overlooked, however, that in the history of religions ascetic beliefs and practices have also been strongly criticized, by followers of the same religious tradition as well as by outsiders. The respective sources provide sufficient evidence of such critical strands but surprisingly as yet no attempt has been made to analyze this criticism of asceticism systematically. This book is a first attempt of filling this gap. Ten studies present cases from both Asian and European traditions: classical and medieval Hinduism, early and contemporary Buddhism in South and East Asia, European antiquity, early and medieval Christianity, and 19th/20th century Aryan religion. Focusing on the critics of asceticism, their motives, their arguments, and the targets of their critique, these studies provide a broad range of issues for comparison. They suggest that the critique of asceticism is based on a worldview differing from and competing with the ascetic worldview, often in one and the same historical context. The book demonstrates that examining the critics of asceticism helps understand better the complexity of religious traditions and their cultural contexts. The comparative analysis, moreover, shows that the criticism of asceticism reflects a religious worldview as significant and widespread in the history of religions as asceticism itself is.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

286

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199719012

ISBN 13

9780199719013

Book's by Oliver Freiberger

Considering Comparison

Considering Comparison

Considering Comparison

Considering Comparison

Buddhism: Bullet Guides

Buddhism: Bullet Guides

Sound and Communication

Sound and Communication

Asceticism and Its Critics

Asceticism and Its Critics

Username

Password

Username

Password

Password again

Birthday

Email