“What the One Thing Shows Me in the Case of Two Things”: Comparison as Essential to a Proper Academic Study of Religion
In: Method & Theory in the Study of ReligionSearch for other papers by Sam Gill in
Current site
Google Scholar
Abstract
Comparison is a fundamental operation in the milieu of the remarkable abilities of human beings to transcend themselves in acts of perception and the accumulation of knowledge. Comparison is holding together things that are at once the same and different. The very possibility of the copresence of same and different, of is and is not, is a gift of human biology and evolution. Humans compare because it is our distinctive nature to do so. Academics have the added responsibility of being self-aware, self-reflective, and articulate when comparing. This article develops a rich theory of comparison in conjunction with detailed reflections on late nineteenth century encounters of European-Australians and Aborigines in Central Australia. The intent is to advance our understanding of comparison and also to articulate in the practical terms of method what is involved in comparison, arguing most generally that comparison is of the fabric of any proper study of religion.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
-
Braun, Willi and McCutcheon, Russell (eds). 2018. Reading J. Z. Smith. New York: Oxford University Press.
-
Crews, Emily D. and Russell McCutcheon (eds). 2020. Remembering J. Z. Smith: A Career and its Consequences. Sheffield: Equinox Publishers.
-
Eliade, Mircea. 1967. Australian Religions: An Introduction. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
-
Freiberger, Oliver. 2016. “Modes of Comparison: Towards Creating a Methodological Framework for Comparative Studies. In Interreligious Comparisons in Religion and Theology: Comparison Revisited. Edited by Perry Schmidt-Leukel and Andreas Nehring. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
-
Freiberger, Oliver. 2019. Considering Comparison: A Method for Religious Studies. New York: Oxford University Press.
-
Freiberger, Oliver. 2020. “J. Z. Smith on Comparison: Insights and Appropriations.” In Remembering J. Z. Smith: A Career and Its Consequences. Edited by Emily D. Crews and Russell T. McCutcheon. Sheffield: Equinox Publishing Ltd.
-
Gill, Sam. 1982. Beyond the Primitive: The Religions of Nonliterate Peoples. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
-
Gill, Sam. 1998. Storytracking: Texts Stories and Histories in Central Australia. New York: Oxford University Press.
-
Gill, Sam. 2019. Creative Encounters, Appreciating Difference: Perspectives and Strategies. Lanham: Lexington Books.
-
Gill, Sam. 2018. Religion and Technology into the Future: From Adam to Tomorrow’s Eve. Lanham: Lexington Books.
-
Gill, Sam. 2020. The Proper Study of Religion: Building on Jonathan Z. Smith. New York: Oxford University Press.
-
Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson. 1980. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
-
Lincoln, Bruce. 2018. Apples and Oranges: Explorations In, On, and With Comparison. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
-
Patton, Kimberley and Ray, Benjamin (eds.). 2000. A Magic Still Dwells: Comparative Religion in the Postmodern Age. Berkeley: University of California Press.
-
Smith, Jonathan Z. 1969. The Glory, Jest, and Riddle: James George Frazer and The Golden Bough. New Haven: Yale PhD Dissertation.
-
Smith, Jonathan Z. 1978. “I am a Parrot (Red).” In Map is Not Territory: Studies in the History of Religions, by Jonathan Z. Smith, 265–288. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
-
Smith, Jonathan Z. 1987. To Take Place: Toward Theory in Ritual. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
-
Smith, Jonathan Z. 2000a. “In Comparison a Magic Dwells” in Patton and Ray.
-
Smith, Jonathan Z. 2000b. “The ‘End’ of Comparison” in Patton and Ray.
-
Spencer, W. Baldwin and Gillen, Francis. 1899. The Native Tribes of Central Australia. London: Macmillan.
-
Spencer, W. Baldwin and Gillen, Francis. 1927. The Aranda: A Study of a Stone Age People. London: Macmillan.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 449 | 110 | 2 |
| Full Text Views | 125 | 9 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 318 | 25 | 0 |
“What the One Thing Shows Me in the Case of Two Things”: Comparison as Essential to a Proper Academic Study of Religion
In: Method & Theory in the Study of ReligionSearch for other papers by Sam Gill in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Comparison is a fundamental operation in the milieu of the remarkable abilities of human beings to transcend themselves in acts of perception and the accumulation of knowledge. Comparison is holding together things that are at once the same and different. The very possibility of the copresence of same and different, of is and is not, is a gift of human biology and evolution. Humans compare because it is our distinctive nature to do so. Academics have the added responsibility of being self-aware, self-reflective, and articulate when comparing. This article develops a rich theory of comparison in conjunction with detailed reflections on late nineteenth century encounters of European-Australians and Aborigines in Central Australia. The intent is to advance our understanding of comparison and also to articulate in the practical terms of method what is involved in comparison, arguing most generally that comparison is of the fabric of any proper study of religion.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 449 | 110 | 2 |
| Full Text Views | 125 | 9 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 318 | 25 | 0 |
