A Parasociology

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منو

" A Parasociology "
Kevin Lucas

Document Type	:	AL
Record Number	:	1081963
Doc. No	:	LA125592
Call No	:	‭10.1163/15685292-02403003‬
Language of Document	:	English
Main Entry	:	Kevin Lucas
Title & Author	:	A Parasociology [Article]\ Kevin Lucas
Publication Statement	:	Leiden: Brill
Title of Periodical	:	Religion and the Arts
Date	:	2020
Volume/ Issue Number	:	24/3
Page No	:	290–317
Abstract	:	In 1956, American researchers Horton and Wohl coined the term “para-social interaction,” defined as the bond of intimacy that a consumer of media feels towards the “image” of the performer. Later developed into the notion of “celebrity worship” by researchers, “parasociality” has a relationship to the worshipful dynamics of totemism—in which the image of the animal exceeds the actual being in sacredness—as described by French sociologist Émile Durkheim. Discussing French author Jean Genet’s exploration of the unlikely forms of totemic worship common in the age of mass media, this article posits that Genet’s “parasociology of religion” demonstrates the way in which Durkheimian sociology of religion can offer insight into ostensibly secular contemporary practices, including those of fan communities. In 1956, American researchers Horton and Wohl coined the term “para-social interaction,” defined as the bond of intimacy that a consumer of media feels towards the “image” of the performer. Later developed into the notion of “celebrity worship” by researchers, “parasociality” has a relationship to the worshipful dynamics of totemism—in which the image of the animal exceeds the actual being in sacredness—as described by French sociologist Émile Durkheim. Discussing French author Jean Genet’s exploration of the unlikely forms of totemic worship common in the age of mass media, this article posits that Genet’s “parasociology of religion” demonstrates the way in which Durkheimian sociology of religion can offer insight into ostensibly secular contemporary practices, including those of fan communities.
Descriptor	:	the sacred
Descriptor	:	celebrity culture
Descriptor	:	Jean Genet
Descriptor	:	para-social interaction
Descriptor	:	sociology of religion
Location & Call number	:	‭10.1163/15685292-02403003‬