The Base Articulations of the Liminality Concept

Abstract

This study aims to clarify the meanings and the semantic articulations of the concept of liminality. The method used in the study is meta-analytic. a) There is first achieved a historical reconstruction of the concept. The semantic nucleus of the concept is represented by the action of spiritual configuration of events by which individuals are introduced in a transition state from separation to incorporation. This existential event is theoretically approached by Arnold Van Gennep through the syntagm "rites of passage". Subsequently, Victor Turner subsumes the meanings of the spiritual event of passage to a single-word concept "liminality" and talks about "liminoid" events. b) Afterwards, there is carried out a logical-semantic reconstruction of the concept and there is concluded that the practical articulations of liminality consist in going over three stages of the process of liminality: the ambiguous state, the adaptation to new norms, rules and values and the pre-integration.As illustration of liminal transition, there is presented the current mass media case in which there is mobilized the idea of persuading the consumers of media messages to adopt a behavior which represents a passage from lack of involvement to social, economic and political involvement/engagement. The conclusion is that a) the world and people in general, are in a constant process of passage, of change, b) that liminality constitutes an important factor of individual and social development, c) and that society is marked by liminality.

Novelty Knows No Boundaries: Why a Proper Investigation of Novelty Effects Within SHRI Should Begin by Addressing the Scientific Plurality of the Field

“…Lastly, at a much more experience-oriented level, research on the anthropology-derived concept of liminality deserves mentioning. Originally inspired by the progression of relatively universal transitions—or “rituals of passage”—throughout common life ( Van Gennep 1960 ), the concept has in modern times been employed to denote more broadly the transactional state that arises from moving or being in-between the borders of different positions or situations of meaning ( Ybema et al, 2011 ; Teodorescu and Cálin 2015 ; Picione and Valsiner 2017 ). Research on this concept employs a view of novelty and change as something “undetermined” or “yet-to-be-determined”; as an individual transitions from one set of established circumstances of meaning into another, she finds herself in a liminal space of ambiguity and uncertainty, where the “bonds of what was”’ are untied and new bonds form.…”

Leaning Into the Liminal: A Guide for Counselors and Companions (2024). Edited by Timothy L. Carson. ⁠The Liminality Press. ISBN: ‏9798989164004

“…With this slim book, Dr. Timothy L. Carson, head of the Liminality Project at the University of Missouri, contributes another text to the discourse on liminal experiences. Leaning Into the Liminal: A Guide for Counselors and Companions (2024a) builds on the discourse that stemmed from Arnold van Gennep's writings of the previous century, which framed the concept of liminality and presented rites of passage as a composite of separation, liminality or threshold, and integration (as cited in Teodorescu & Călin, 2015). It outlines the development of liminality within this particular tradition of discourse and gathers different voices speaking to this understanding.…”