Stag and Stone - Religion, Archaeology and Esoteric Aesthetics - Jay Johnston
Chapter 2. Spheres of Debate: Discussing Ambiguous Objects
Stag and Stone - Religion, Archaeology and Esoteric Aesthetics - Jay Johnston
Jay Johnston [+]
University of Sydney
View Website
Jay Johnston is an interdisciplinary researcher working at the interface of religious studies, art history, continental philosophy and cultural studies. Her research is centrally concerned with the interrelationship of aesthetics and ethics, theories of embodiment and agency, ritual material culture, epistemology and multispecies studies.
Description
Taking objects of ambiguous purpose and meaning as its focus (especially carved balls from the Neolithic period and 'magical' stones from Gaelic traditions) this chapter investigates the conceptual and discursive interrelations between religious studies and archaeology, with a focus on contemporary scholarship. The analysis evidences a lack of critical engagement with shared terminology and unacknowledged interdisciplinary influence while also highlighting the productive value for both disciplines in considering 'troublesome' objects (which elide concrete identity of purpose and use).