Discourse and the Construction of Society

In this bold theoretical work, Bruce Lincoln explores the ways in which myth, ritual, and classification hold human societies together—and how, in times of crisis, they can be used to take a society apart and reconstruct it. Without overlooking the role of coercive force in the maintenance (or overthrow) of social structures, Lincoln argues his thesis with compelling illustrations drawn from such diverse areas as Platonic philosophy, the Upanishads of India, ancient Celtic banquets, professional wrestling, and the Spanish Civil War. This wide-ranging interdisciplinary study—which draws on works in history, semiotics, anthropology, sociology, classics, and indology—offers challenging new insights into the complex dynamics of social cohesion and change.

Bruce Lincoln is Professor of Humanities and Religious Studies and a co-founder of the Program in Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society at the University of Minnesota. He has published four other books, including Priests, Warriors, and Cattle: A Study in the Ecology of Religions, which won the American Council of Learned Societies Prize as Best New Book in History of Religions in 1981.