Abstract
This paper focuses on the possible transformation of the self in citizenship ceremonies in Western countries. It is argued that the transformation in these life defining moments is not only a question of ritual objectification or intentionality. The rituals are often experienced as emotional by the participants, but the emotional experience is often a matter of their own doing. From a performative approach the ritual agency is distributed, and as technologies of the civic self the subjectification is a heterogeneous and complex process, with multiple versions of transformations of the self. These transformations engage a so called ‘ontological choreography' in which processes of ritual objectification and subjectification are intertwined, involving materiality, performativity, structural constraint, and the co-dependence of the performers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Ritual Studies |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Pages (from-to) | 17-29 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| ISSN | 0890-1112 |
| Publication status | Published - 2009 |
Keywords
- Faculty of Humanities
- Ritual, citizenship, distributed agency