TY - JOUR
AU - Pike, Sarah M.
AB - Book Reviews 1231 up her interpretation of the agency of the possessed women’s bodies in both plays by concluding that “(T)he play of possession constitutes the instrumental agency of the possessed person whose role in society changes as he or she is recog- nized to be wielded by an external force” (222). Keller’s book is insightful, lucid, and stimulating with only a few minor shortcomings. Keller minimizes the vulnerability of some men to the same or similar types of possession. Furthermore, she leaves out communal posses- sion rituals, which involve exclusively men or mixed groups in some cultural contexts. Providing some comparative insights into men’s possession and including women’s spirit possession rituals among her examples would bal- ance her representation of possession events. Moreover, possession rituals, by allowing for participants’ negotiation with spirits, could be viewed as creating a “discursive space of theology” (86) and enhance her application of the sec- ond component of her approach. Nonetheless, Keller’s book constitutes an extremely significant contribution to scholars’ re-assessment of religiousness, subjectivity, and agency particularly regarding women’s possessed bodies and those studying them. It will be of great benefit to students and scholars alike in the areas of religious studies, anthropology, 
TI - Rest in Peace: A Cultural History of Death and the Funeral Home in Twentieth-Century America. By Gary Laderman. Oxford University Press, 2003. 245 pages. $35.00
JF - Journal of the American Academy of Religion
DO - 10.1093/jaarel/lfi136
DA - 2005-12-01
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/rest-in-peace-a-cultural-history-of-death-and-the-funeral-home-in-ai7ild0s07
SP - 1231
EP - 1234
VL - 73
IS - 4
DP - DeepDyve
ER -