In the terms of Durkheimian sociology; conversion is a «fait social». Although they are rarely treated as a cultural phenomenon; conversions can obviously be examined for the norms; values and presuppositions of the cultures in which they take place. Thus conversion can help us to shed light on a particular culture. At the same time; the term evokes a dramatic appeal that suggests a kind of suddenness; although in most cases conversion implies a more gradual process of establishing and defining a new - religious - identity. From 21-24 May; 2003; the University of Groningen hosted an international conference on 'Cultures of Conversion'. The contributions have been edited in two volumes; which pay special attention to the modes of language and idiom in conversion literature; the meaning and sense of religious-ideological discourse; the variety of rhetorical tropes; and the effects of the conversion narrative with allusions to religious or political conventions and idealizations. The present volume offers in-depth studies of conversion that are mainly taken from the history of India; Islam and Judaism; ranging from the Byzantine period to the new Muslimas of the West. The other volume; «Paradigms; Poetics and Politics of Conversion»; in addition to stimulating case studies; contains theoretical contributions on the theory of conversion; with special attention to the rational choice theory and to the history of research into conversion.
#14827623 in Books 2001-05-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.62 x 1.19 x 6.54l; 1.85 #File Name: 9004121145368 pages
Review
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Palsetia's : The Parsis of India / A reviewBy Noshir M. KhambattaDr. Palsetia is to be congratulated on writing a very well researched book on the Parsi community of Bombay; India. He has researched the most valuable original sources of the Parsi community like the "Parsee Prakash"; "Rast Goftar"; the "Panchayat Publications" etc. to put in about 400 pages one of the very best readable book on the history of the Parsi community of Bombay in the 18th; 19th and 20th centuries. With elaborate footnotes and an excellent bibliography; Dr. Palsetia has lighted the very salient features of the Parsi community in one volume; what would otherwise occupy over a dozen volumes to treat a complex and difficult subject. I urge every Parsi and friends and admirers of Parsis to study this book to obtain a correct glimpse of the Parsi community of Bombay. The publishing house of Brill is to be once again congratulated and thanked in providing scholars with an excellent monograph on a difficult and rare subject; as they have often done in the past. I have no doubts this book will be a standard reference for several decades on the history of the Parsis in Bombay.
