Purity and Danger Now: New Perspectives

Mary Douglas’s seminal work Purity and Danger (Routledge, 1966) continues to be indispensable reading for both students and scholars today. Marking the 50th anniversary of Douglas’s classic, the present volume sheds fresh light upon themes raised by Douglas by drawing on recent developments in the social sciences and humanities, as well as current empirical research. In presenting new perspectives on the topic of purity and impurity, the volume integrates work in anthropology and sociology with contemporary ideas from religious studies, cognitive science and the arts.

Containing contributions from both established and emerging scholars, including protégées of Douglas herself, Purity and Danger Now is an essential volume for those working on purity and impurity across the full spectrum of the social sciences and humanities.

Robbie Duschinsky is University Lecturer in Social Sciences in the School of Clinical Medicine at the University of Cambridge, UK.

Simone Schnall is Reader in Experimental Social Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge, UK.

Daniel H. Weiss is Polonsky-Coexist Lecturer in Jewish Studies in the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, UK.