Leaving Home
The Greek term theorin: a practice of travel and observation, a man sent by the polis to another city to witness a religious ceremony. 'Theory' is a product of displacement, comprising a certain distance. To theorize, one leaves home.
James Clifford, "Notes on Travel and Theory"
I just started reading Thomas Tweed's 'Crossing and Dwelling' for my Eastern Religions course. Our professor (I've taken multiple classes from him) usually starts off his upper-division classes with a book on theory of religions. (For example, in the basic survey world religions course he assigned Mircea Eliade's 'The Sacred and the Profane'.)
I'll post more on how Tweed's book unfolds in the first chapter. (I'm in charge of leading our class discussion on Thursday, so I'll post something tomorrow evening.)
Wes
