Saffron-robed monks and long-haired gurus have become familiar characters on the American pop culture scene. Jane Iwamura examines the contemporary fascination with Eastern spirituality and provides a cultural history of the representation of Asian religions in American mass media. Initial engagements with Asian spiritual heritages were mediated by monks, gurus, bhikkhus, sages, sifus, healers, and masters from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds and religious traditions. Virtual Orientalism shows the evolution of these interactions, from direct engagements with specific individuals, to mediated relations with a conventionalized icon. Visually and psychically compelling, the Oriental Monk becomes for Americans a ''figure of translation'' - a convenient symbol for alternative spiritualities and modes of being. Through the figure of the non-sexual, solitary Monk, who generously and purposefully shares his wisdom with the West, Asian religiosity is made manageable - psychologically, socially, and politically - for American popular culture.
Produkteigenschaften
- Artikelnummer: 9780199738618
- Medium: Buch
- ISBN: 978-0-19-973861-8
- Verlag: Oxford University Press
- Erscheinungstermin: 01.01.2011
- Sprache(n): Englisch
- Auflage: Erscheinungsjahr 2011
- Produktform: Kartoniert, Paperback
- Gewicht: 360 g
- Seiten: 232
- Format (B x H x T): 156 x 234 x 13 mm
- Ausgabetyp: Kein, Unbekannt
Themen
- Geisteswissenschaften
- Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste
- Filmwissenschaft, Fernsehen, Radio
- Sozialwissenschaften
- Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit
- Spezielle Soziologie
- Freizeitsoziologie, Konsumsoziologie, Alltagssoziologie, Populärkultur
- Sozialwissenschaften
- Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit
- Spezielle Soziologie
- Freizeitsoziologie, Konsumsoziologie, Alltagssoziologie, Populärkultur
