Purity and Danger is acknowledged as a modern masterpiece of anthropology. It is widely cited in non-anthropological works and gave rise to a body of applicatio

In this classic work Mary Douglas identifies the concern for pirity as a key theme at the heart of every society. She reveals its wide-ranging impact on our att

Professor Douglas writes gracefully, lucidly and polemically. She continually makes points which illuminate matters in the philosophy of religion and the philos

Mary Douglas’s seminal work Purity and Danger (Routledge, 1966) continues to be indispensable reading for both students and scholars today. Marking the 50th a

This is the first full length account of the life and ideas of Mary Douglas, the British social anthropologist whose publications span the second half of the tw