Political and Social History of the United States I (History 011)

Robbie E. Davis-Floyd - Birth as an American Rite of Passage,

1. What is the primary purpose of ritual?
2. Robbie E. Davis-Floyd takes two theoretical approaches toward her examination of childbirth as ritual in the United States. Her first approach is a Feminist approach and her second is a __________________ approach.
3. What is a symbol? What is the purpose of a cultural symbol?
4. How do symbols realign our subjective experiences with the overall, culturally “objective” realities of our individual societies and cultural groups?
5. What is the power of repetitive, rhythmic ritual processes?
6. How do rituals overcome the cognitive diversity that is often considered to threaten the collective “good” of the group?
7. Davis-Floyd writes, “Ritual mediates between cognition and chaos by making reality appear to conform to accepted cognitive categories.” What does she mean by this? What role does stress play in the efficacy of ritual?