Dialogue with Ronald L. Grimes on the Nature of Ritual Studies

This opening session will cover a broad range of issues related to the nature of ritual studies. It will primarily focus on Grimes’s contributions to ritual studies but will also move beyond them to include topics such as the development of ritual studies over the past fifty years and the ways in which the field has changed, as well as discussions of ritual criticism, the craft and creativity of ritual, and the interdisciplinary nature of ritual studies. The dialogue will conclude with a discussion of the future of ritual studies, including emerging questions, neglected areas, and new possibilities for interdisciplinary work.