Communitas revisited

Victor Turner and the transformation of a concept

Bibliographic Data

ID2402114
AuthorsSarah Haggar (0000-0003-2712-8090, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume25
Issue3
Pages313-337
Publication date2024-11-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnthropological Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1463-4996 • E-ISSN: 1741-2641
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/14634996241282143
OpenAlexW4404049868
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited70

Victor Turner's concept of communitas has been used in and beyond anthropology for years in a variety of ways. It is an effective concept for understanding one form of collective human experience, particularly the transcendent emotional experiences in liminal contexts that may stimulate the emergence of a sense of connection and co-humanity. There is immense contemporary value in the concept, however, many key elements are often overlooked and the complexities of 'communitas' ignored. This can lead to surface-level or misleading applications which threaten to undermine the utility of the concept. As such, I explore Turner's theoretical understandings and reflections, before considering the diverse ways other scholars have used communitas. I advocate a more nuanced understanding of communitas and investigate how this would benefit our understandings of communitas in contemporary social contexts. I engage with the work of Turner and others to contribute to theoretical discussions of communitas, while also reflecting on the value of concepts and the benefits of both ambiguity and clarity in communicating anthropological knowledge through such concepts

Communitas · Epistemology · Liminality · Sociology · Transformation (genetics · Anthropology · Philosophy · Religious Tourism and Spaces · Tourism, Volunteerism, and Development · Travel Writing and Literature

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access