Ethnographies Essay Plans

Despite significant are the differences between an “international system” and an “international society”?  the fact that they come from different theoretical traditions, Robbins and Richards make similar arguments about ritual. Discuss.

similarities: both look at ritual relating to social structure and deeply informed by it

difference: argue ritual does different things, largely informed by their different theoretical perspectives

similarities: ritual is trying to resolve a conflict in social structure, extent to which social structure is maintained

difference: extent to which they believe ritual successfully resolves that conflict, and whether religion more generally helps maintain or exacerbates social tensions