Mary Douglas

Perri 6 is Professor in Public Management in the School of Business and Management at Queen Mary University of London. Since the 1990s, he has developed the neo-Durkheimian institutional approach from Mary Douglas’s work, showing how it explains styles of political judgement and decision-making in government and in organisations generally.

• List of FiguresPrefaceAcknowledgementsIntroductionChapter 1. Social organization in Microcosm: Anomalies and Ritual Concentrate Conflict    Chapter 2. Comparing on a Grand Scale: Elementary Forms do the OrganizingChapter 3. Building Fundamental Explanations: Rituals do the Institutionalizing, and Institutions Make ChangeChapter 4. Analytic Method is also Ritual Peacemaking: Thinking in Circles Helps to Defuse ConflictChapter 5. Douglas’s Contribution to Understanding Human Thought and ConflictCodaReferencesIndex

“The authors are able to skillfully synthesise Douglas’ wide range of material, making clear her most important theories. In sum, this volume provides a roadmap to Douglas’ work, and is highly relevant for anyone interested in social organisation, institutional theory, multidisciplinary approaches to conflict, and Durkheimian theory.” • Anthropology Matters“Divided into four beautifully written thematic chapters and a concluding section dedicated to a final assessment of her contribution to understanding social thought and conflict, the book is a sort of critical (but affectionate) hermeneutic of Douglas’ work.” • Anthropological Journal of European Cultures“…a very substantial undertaking and a highly comprehensive appreciation of Douglas’s corpus. Clearly written and very much a labour of love, it will be indispensable to anyone wishing to get to grips with that corpus.” • Anthropological Forum“Both authors enjoyed a long acquaintance with Douglas and bring a fresh perspective to her collected work. They demonstrate that, more than most, she had a definite project that defined and shaped her output, even if not every step in that path was necessarily successful or even in a straight line… it is remarkable to trace the unfolding of an intellect and the implications of a theory, and we can hope that more anthropologists will attempt similar exegeses of other greats in the field.” • Anthropology Review