PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Elayne Oliphant is assistant professor of anthropology and religious studies at New York University.
Subtle. Sophisticated. Engaging. In this book on French Catholicism, Oliphant offers a penetrating look at the intersections of art, religion, and secular modernity. In the best tradition of anthropology, she provides a kind of figure-ground reversal, revealing Paris--and the powers that be--in a new light. -- Matthew Engelke, author of How to Think Like an Anthropologist In The Privilege of Being Banal, Oliphant has found a rich site to explore pressing questions of the privilege of Christianity in a secular age. Writing in the wake of the burning of Notre Dame, her vivid prose transports the reader into the nave, sacristy, crypt, and vaults of a monastery turned Catholic art space. Oliphant shows that the privileges of banality enjoyed by Catholicism require work, money, and the curation of history. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to better understand the affordances of Christianity in debates about the politics of art and heritage in multireligious, self-declared secular societies. -- Pamela E. Klassen, author of 'The Story of Radio Mind'
