Although research on contemporary pilgrimage has expanded considerably
since the early 1990s, the conversation has largely been dominated by
Anglophone researchers in anthropology, ethnology, sociology, and
religious studies from the United Kingdom, the United States, France and
Northern Europe. This volume challenges the hegemony of Anglophone
scholarship by considering what can be learned from different national,
linguistic, religious and disciplinary traditions, with the aim of
fostering a global exchange of ideas. The chapters outline contributions
made to the study of pilgrimage from a variety of international and
methodological contexts and discuss what the 'metropolis' can learn from
these diverse perspectives. While the Anglophone study of pilgrimage has
largely been centred on and located within anthropological contexts, in
many other linguistic and academic traditions, areas such as folk
studies, ethnology and economics have been highly influential.
Contributors show that in many traditions the study of 'folk' beliefs
and practices (often marginalized within the Anglophone world) has been
regarded as an important and central area which contributes widely to
the understanding of religion in general, and pilgrimage, specifically.
As several chapters in this book indicate, 'folk' based studies have
played an important role in developing different methodological
orientations in Poland, Germany, Japan, Hungary, Italy, Ireland and
England. With a highly international focus, this interdisciplinary
volume aims to introduce new approaches to the study of pilgrimage and
to transcend the boundary between center and periphery in this emerging
discipline.
