Place and Defilement: Signposts Toward a New Theory of Purity in Sibley's Geographies of Exclusion

Duschinsky, Robbie and Brown, Donna (2015) Place and Defilement: Signposts Toward a New Theory of Purity in Sibley's Geographies of Exclusion. Space and Culture, 18 (3). pp. 243-256. ISSN 1206-3312

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Abstract

Following Douglas and Kristeva, Sibley theorizes in Geographies of Exclusion that socio-spatial boundaries necessarily activate discourses of purity and impurity. Yet there is also a second, more sophisticated theory present in the text. Sibley offers three qualifications to Douglas and Kristeva, emphasizing the culturally specific nature of purity and impurity classifications, their status as contested and metaphorical discourses, and their irreducibly spatial organization and operation. Furthermore, beyond these qualifications, a close reading of the grain of Sibley’s argument suggests an account in which (a) temporal closeness to the origin and (b) spatial homogeneity are the standard against which “purity” is measured. Purity and impurity, then, would not attend any “matter out of place” but operate within particular cultural contexts as assessments of whether a phenomenon or space corresponds, in its relative homogeneity, to its impure origin and essence. This perspective offers support for addressing the materiality of purity and impurity discourses.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Sibley, purity, impurity, space, heterogeneity
Subjects:	L300 Sociology
Department:	Faculties > Health and Life Sciences > Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing
Depositing User:	Becky Skoyles
Date Deposited:	11 Aug 2015 09:09
Last Modified:	12 Oct 2019 14:37
URI:	http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/23531

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