Books as Bodies and as Sacred Beings

edited by James W. Watts and Yohan Yoo

Book cover: Books as Bodies and as Sacred Beings

Paperback (Published)

(October 2020)

ISBN: 9781781798850

6.14 x 9.21 inches

Price: $39.95

In stock

Hardback (Published)

(October 2020)

ISBN: 9781781798843

Price: $39.95

In stock

This book will be of interest to scholars working with the history and theory and problematics of reading, of books, of embodiment and dynamics of sacralization.


In this volume an international team of scholars address the theme of books as sacred beings from an impressively diverse range of primary material and perspectives. Yet, as a group, they meld to engage and advance previous research to solidify the conclusion that human cultures, especially religious groups, often ritualize bodies as sacred books and books as divine beings. The studies collected here not only increase the range of examples of this phenomenon. They also show the wide variety of ways in which the identity of books, bodies and beings gets both ritualized and theorized. The articles are bracketed by an introduction to the collection, and then by a concluding essay that extrapolates the theme of books as sacred beings on a more general level.

Table of Contents List of Figures James W Watts,Yohan Yoo Chapter 1 Introduction James W Watts Chapter 2 Performing Scriptures: Ritualizing Written Texts in Seolwi-seolgyeong, the Korean Shamanistic Recitation of Scriptures Yohan Yoo Chapter 3 Embodying the Qu’ran Katharina Wilkens Chapter 4 Scriptures, Materiality, and the Digital Turn: The Iconicity of Sacred Texts in a Liminal Age Bradford A. Anderson Chapter 5 Being the Bible: Sacred Bodies and Iconic Books in Bring Your Bible to School Day Dorina Miller Parmenter Chapter 6 Body  Building in the Hindu Tantric Tradition: The Advantages and Confusions of Scriptural Entextualization in the Worship of the Goddess Kali Rachel Fell McDermott Chapter 7 Saints’ Lives as Performance Art Virginia  Burrus Chapter 8 Aspiring Narratives of Previous Births: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Written and Visual  Media in Ancient Gandhara  Jason Neelis Chapter 9 Daoist Writs and Scriptures as Sacred Beings Jihyun  Kim Chapter 10 Books as Sacred Beings James W Watts Author Index James W Watts,Yohan Yoo Subject Index James W Watts,Yohan Yoo

  • Edited by James W. Watts
  • Edited by Yohan Yoo