Pilgrimage, material objects and spontaneous communitas

Higgins, Leighanne and Hamilton, Kathy (2020) Pilgrimage, material objects and spontaneous communitas. Annals of Tourism Research, 81: 102855. ISSN 0160-7383

[thumbnail of Full Paper (ATR –D-19-00471R1).docx]
Text (Full Paper (ATR –D-19-00471R1).docx)
Full_Paper_ATR_D_19_00471R1_.docx.pdf - Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs.

Download (635kB)

Abstract

Based on an ethnographic study of Lourdes, we contribute to tourism discussion on religious pilgrimage and communitas. Taking a material perspective, we prioritise spontaneous over normative communitas, and materiality over intangibility. We adopt the lens of tangible communitas to unpack the role of material objects in extending communitas beyond the spatial confines of the pilgrimage site. We explore how spontaneous communitas manifests in the material objects brought home from and left behind at the pilgrimage site. This reveals the portability of communitas and how it can be de-coupled from liminality and experienced in normative structure. The paper's focus on religious materiality also offers a renewed understanding of the extra-discursive importance of religious kitsch materiality.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Annals of Tourism Research
Additional Information:
This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Annals of Tourism Research. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Annals of Tourism Research, 81, 2020 DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2019.102855
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3300/3303
Subjects:
?? pilgrimagecommunitasmaterialitykitschethnographydevelopmenttourism, leisure and hospitality management ??
ID Code:
140219
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
09 Jan 2020 12:05
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
02 Nov 2024 01:18