Memorial University DAI: The body/ies of the faithful : a corporeal ethnography of Canadians on a Roman Catholic Marian pilgrimage to Medjugorje, Bosnia

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Title	The body/ies of the faithful : a corporeal ethnography of Canadians on a Roman Catholic Marian pilgrimage to Medjugorje, Bosnia
Author	Després, Sébastien Adrien, 1980-
Description	Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland. 2009. Religious Studies
Date	2009
Pagination	vii, 210 leaves.
Subject	Catholics--Canada--Psychological aspects; Christian pilgrims and pilgrimages--Bosnia and Hercegovina--Međugorje; Faith;
Degree	M.A.
Language	Eng
Spatial Coverage	Bosnia and Hercegovina--Međugorje
Notes	Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-210)
Abstract	As human beings who know the world through our bodies, understand the world through our bodies, and think through our bodies, we engage our "most natural tool" (Lock 1993, 148) in the process of belief in a number of ways. The body is "our general medium for having a world" (Merleau-Ponty 1945); a self that acts on the world "necessarily does so through the medium of the body" (Csordas 1990). For this reason, I endeavour in this thesis to properly engage the body in the work of Religious Studies, highlighting the body's tangible impact on belief and worldview by exploring how it is perceived as being engaged in the process of belief. This ethnography of a group of thirty-two Francophone pilgrims from Canada explores the ideas, stories, beliefs and philosophies of members of this group in the context of their involvement in a Roman Catholic pilgrimage to a Marian apparition shrine, at Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina. This thesis' focus is on the highly developed and intricate framework with which pilgrims understand their venturing out to meet God and the confirmations of faith they hope to receive. Concentrating on the manner in which they perceive their minds, bodies, and souls as being involved in corporate and private devotional practices in the context of an organized group pilgrimage, I assess these pilgrims' understandings of their own (as well as that of their fellow pilgrims') inclinations, motivations (religious, spiritual, physical, social, etc.), thoughts, views, and beliefs regarding these practices.
Type	Text
Resource Type	Electronic thesis or dissertation
Format	Image/jpeg; Application/pdf
Source	Paper copy kept in the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University Libraries
Local Identifier	a2981140
Rights	The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission.
Collection	Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Scanning Status	Completed
PDF File	(24.72 MB) -- http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/theses/Despres_SebastienAdrien.pdf
CONTENTdm file name	164842.cpd