130 Journal of Occupational Science, November 2003, Vol 10, No 3, pp130-139.

Ritualising in Book Clubs: Implications for Evolving Occupational Identities Linsey Howie
Ritualising in Book Clubs: Implications
for Evolving Occupational Identities
Linsey Howie
Abstract
This article reports on one aspect of a multi-strategy
sociological study that examined the phenomenon of book
discussion groups in Australia and the meaning women
attribute to participating in them. The study found that
ritualising, a component of book group activities, facilitates
specific customs and experiences of social order and
community that are relevant to heightened self-concept.
While debates about the development and maintenance of a
sense of self through occupational engagement (occupational
identity) are of increasing interest, this article argues for
an evaluation of how ritualising in book clubs is implicated
in this process. It suggests that further research is needed
into the practices of occupation-based community groups and
the rol e of ri tual s i n faci l i tati ng the devel opment of
occupational identities.
Key Words
Ritual theory
Group work
Reading groups
Self-concept
Linsey M. Howie, PhD, MA, BA, DipOT, is presently Head
of the School of Occupational Therapy La Trobe University,
Victoria, Australia. Her teaching and research interests are
in ageing, mental health, and group work. Linsey is trained
in Gestalt psychotherapy and is a member of Teaching
Faculty at Gestalt Therapy Australia.
Address for correspondence:
Linsey Howie
School Occupational Therapy
Faculty of Health Sciences
La Trobe University, Melbourne, 3086, Australia
Phone: 61 3 94795600
Email: l.howie@latrobe.edu.au
This article reports on one aspect of a multi-strategy,
sociological study of reading groups, conducted with the
support of the Council of Adult Education (CAE) in
Australia. It focuses on analysis of data derived from in-
depth interviews with 21 women, in the third stage of the
study. In the absence of any sustained research on book
groups the study aimed to examine the phenomenon of
group reading in Australia and to contribute to occupational
science which aims, amongst other things, to document the
qualities of everyday occupations, including their historical
and social contexts, and to discover the meanings people
at t ri but e t o i nvol vement i n speci fi c occupat i ons
(Christiansen, Clark, Kielhofner, Rogers & Nelson, 1995;
Clark et al., 1991; Wilcock, 1999). The words book club,
group reading, and book group are used interchangeably
in this article to embrace the occupation of solitary reading
combined with monthly meetings of group members to
discuss a book read in the previous month.
Limited research and considerable anecdotal evidence
suggest reading groups are a common form of intellectual
and social expression, particularly for women (Dow, 1987;
Laskin & Hughes, 1995; Long, 1993; Radway, 1988; Slezak,
1993; Sorensen, 1991; Spender, 1987). In Australia, many
book groups are organised by individuals or small groups
but due to their location in private domains, it is difficult to
estimate their prevalence. Other book groups are subsidised
by the Centre for Adult Education (CAE) in Victoria. The
CAE has a 50 year history of lending books to reading
groups. In 2002 it had a membership of 12,000 ( CAE, 2002).
CAE book groups involve small communities with a
minimum of 10 interested people. Being a member of a CAE
book club involves attending monthly meetings, held
generally in members homes, where the roles of secretary,
host, and discussion leader are rotated. The CAE requires
book group members to select and prioritise 36 books for
the following calendar year from a catalogue of titles. A
typical group receives 11 books a year, a copy for each
member being delivered by courier to the secretarys home,
along with educational notes, discussion questions, and
suggest i ons for furt her readi ng. Addi t i onal CAE
publications provide information on strategies for running
successful discussions or dealing with problems that
commonly interfere with group processes.
At the time of writing, no research on contemporary book
groups in the United Kingdom was found. Reading groups
in America on the other hand, have been documented, but
they appear to have greater links to commercial interests
(Allen, 1983) than those in Australia. Some examples of
commercially oriented clubs currently in existence include
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Journal of Occupational Science, November 2003, Vol 10, No 3, pp130-139.
The Book-of-the-Month Club (BOMC) established by Harry
Scherman in 1926 and the Literary Guild formed in the
following year. However, these clubs exist for the sale and
distribution of books by mail order and are not accompanied
by regular group meetings or book discussion (Rubin, 1975).
While structurally different to the book groups discussed
in this article, these clubs are worth noting for a number of
reasons. They confirm the expanding, but often hidden
participation of the middle-class in reading fiction and
biography, and allude to the very social nature of reading
where the book can be viewed as a mediator and measure of
social attitudes (Howe, 1993; Long, 1993).
Studies by Elizabeth Long (1986, 1993) of privately
organised book groups in Houston, Texas are the only
substantial studies of contemporary reading groups to
emerge from an extensive search of different databases.
Longs ethnographic-like investigation of 5 all-women
groups (1986) focused on how members bring experiences
of being middle or upper-middle class to their choice and
interpretation of books. Long found that the members sense
of identification with characters was an opportunity to
question dominant values. The supportive nature of groups
allowed non-competitive interaction with others that was
largely absent from intellectual and corporate life in America.
She concluded that discussions about characters enabled
members to reappraise aspects of the female self (p. 610).
In a more recent paper, Long discussed her study of reading
groups in the Houston area and argued against the notion
of reading as a solitary activity, an idea handed down by
debates on the phenomenological, subjective, and ideal
reader in reader-response theory (1993, p. 196). Long
maintained that dominant understandings of reading as a
solitary activity obscure how reading practices support the
development of peoples socio-cultural identity and how
group reading shapes people as products and producers
of culture (Long, 1993). Long stressed that book groups,
when they are functioning well, provide people with the
opportunity to reflect upon society and their position in it.
She noted that those groups that design a program of
reading or encourage individual choice, rather than allowing
a more haphazard and informal book selection, appear to
extend and deepen members reading repertoire and create
opportunities for group reading that are more self-
oriented.
This study builds on Longs research focussing on
ritualising as a component of book group membership. The
participants references to the rhythm of moving between
silent reading, usually in the comfort of home, the monthly
group meetings in familiar territory, notions of predictable
and repetitious behaviour, and comments about the customs
associated with the procedural aspects of book group
invoked an interpretation of reading groups as habitual
ritualised activity. Aspects of the literature about rituals
relevant to this article include orientations to ritual as
helping to regulate social order through formal customs
and routines, a focus on the communal or relational qualities
of rituals, and the implications of ritual activity in creating
social change and self-knowledge.
The Ritual Debates
The work of Durkheim (1976), originally published in 1915
is a useful springboard for a discussion of the debate about
the centrality of social order to ritual. His thesis, that beliefs
and rituals in all societies combine to maintain traditional
social ties that regulate and sustain social structures and
relationships, has been influential in generating several
accounts of ritual as social order (Geertz, 1973; Rappaport,
1979; Turner, 1969), and cont i nues t o st i mul at e
contemporary ritual scholarship (Bell, 1992, 1997).
Durkheims influence on the perceived relationship between
ritual practices and issues of social control can be observed
in the frequent references in the ritual literature to four
significant themes emanating from his fieldwork. Briefly,
these are concerned with the role of ritualising in creating
social solidarity, channelling conflict, repressing violence,
and defining reality (Bell, 1992). The first argues that rituals
exert control through the advancement of consensus and
the development of unity that are central to social life. The
second asserts the ability of rituals to resolve conflict
through cathartic expression or the release of opposing
views in managed environments. The third is directed to
ritualising as a means of repressing human tendencies to
express uncontrolled or violent impulses and ideas, while
the fourth directs attention to specific forms, activities, and
relationships that ensure the orderly conduct of society.
The ri t ual l i t erat ure i s al so concerned wi t h t he
communicative and communal nature of most ritualising.
Ritualising as a vehicle for communication embraces the
possibility that ritualising may be solitary or communal, as
in the example of rites of private or public prayer. In this
context, Rappaport (1979) argued communicating with the
self emerges as a significant feature of all ritualising, an
idea supported by Driver (1991).
The communal function of ritual can be discussed from
several angles. Ritual theorists emphasise the deeply
interactive and cooperative nature of ritualising (Alexander,
1991; Driver, 1991). The gathering of ritual participants
presupposes t hat part i cul ar st ruct ures, forms, and
expressions occur and that these formalities are recognised
by communities for their invariant, repetitious, and stylised
actions (Rappaport, 1979). These characteristics, along with
specific performative qualities, are viewed as indispensable
conditions for ritualising. The combination of routine
procedures, and the demand for participant performance,
l eads t o a vi ew t hat ri t ual i si ng demands dynami c
cooperation from its communities (Rappaport). Engaging
with others in ritualising sets up opportunities for groups
t o experi ence mut ual part i ci pat i on, and i n some
circumstances at least, a mystical or spiritual union that
Driver (1991) argued is difficult to achieve in contemporary
society.
An alternative viewpoint proposed by Turner is that rituals
respond to the limitations and repressive dictates of
everyday social existence by creating shared community
values and actions that transcend ordinary existence
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Ritualising in Book Clubs: Implications for Evolving Occupational Identities Linsey Howie
(Alexander, 1991; Turner, 1969). Turners concept of
communitas offers an understanding of the deeply human
contribution ritualising makes to social exchange and
interrelatedness. His use of the Latin communitas rather
than community emphasised the liberating quality of
rituals in transforming existing social-structural relations
(Alexander, 1991, p. 39). Alexander maintained that Turners
communitas emphasises how equality and directness
disturb the existing social order to produce new experiences
through which communities are supported to change and
grow.
The ability of ritualising to communicate information and
to make things happen, are further aspects of its communal
functions. Rappaport (1979) noted that in ritual acts,
participants express to themselves and to others aspects
of their material, psychological, and social experience
through a host of interconnected attitudes, actions,
gestures, utterances, and narratives. In communicating
information and engaging participants in action, rituals are
perceived to have a serious or earnest intent. Rappaport
noted, there is no point in mobilising the formality,
decorum, and solemnity of ritual to communicate messages
that are of no importance or gravity (p. 190). On the other
hand, Driver (1991) observed most ritualising has a playful
or spontaneous component as well. The gathering of people
together on a ritual occasion, no matter how sombre, entails
an element of party or carnival where the expression of
strong or difficult emotions can be mediated and discharged.
This leads to the concept that ritual processes suspend
some of the more conventional and hierarchical societal
standards, and allow the animation of ideas, emotions, and
energies in an encounter that is at once playful and
imaginative, performative and serious. In this environment,
the opportunities for pretence and display provide ritual
participants with the space to initiate novel responses in
communal circumstances.
These latter elements of ritualising are contained in van
Genneps (1960) thesis on rituals associated with rites of
passage undertaken by people at significant transitional
stages in the life cycle. Turners subsequent expansion of
this concept is relevant to this discussion and warrants
elaboration (Turner, 1969, 1977). Building on van Genneps
observation of a pattern to rites of passage that include
three phases: separation, transition, and incorporation,
Turner focussed attention on the transitional or liminal
phase. In the context of fieldwork in Africa, Turner observed
the ability of ritual communities to transcend everyday
social constraints by shaping liminal environments
(Alexander, 1991). He established that in separating people
from routine social environments and roles, ritual offered
an indeterminate social climate, a liminal, betwixt and
between space, where participants could meet together in
more equitable and satisfying surroundings (Turner, 1977).
Turners description of liminality evokes a ritual culture
combining lowliness and sacredness, homogeneity and
comradeship (Turner, 1969, p. 96). Peoples lives, he noted,
revealed an oscillation between states of social structure
and antistructure (Turner, 1969), each being necessary for
the experience of the other. Understanding human
interrelationships in social life, he proposed, required a
dialogue between two states: the established state of social
st ruct ure and t he l i mi nal st at e of communi t as or
antistructure. In the unconstrained social circumstances of
communitas, and with space and time for reflection and the
exchange of ideas, ritual participants, he argued, create
opportunities to question existing social structures, and
assert or experiment with novel ideas or behaviours.
Turner viewed liminal phenomena as concerned with
collective experiences that fall within the realm of natural,
social cycles, and with creating adjustments to internal or
external disruptions or influences. In this he saw liminal
phenomena as integrated into social life and produced
continuously within the domain of leisure activities. He
observed the tendency of small groups in society to
withdraw from conventional, economic, or familial life to
nourish experiences of communitas where spontaneous
unmediated communication, even communion between
members could be facilitated (Turner, 1977, p. 46). In this he
noticed the practice of groups such as street gangs, rock
climbing clubs, poetry reading and writing groups and
elements of the womens movement to establish on
occasions a sense of being as one. Individuals, he
postulated, who felt excluded in some way from the dominant
system appeared to seek the glow of communitas among
those with whom they share some cultural or biological
feature they take to be their most signal mark of identity
(Turner, 1977, p. 47). Escape from alienating elements in the
social system could be achieved by a culture of friendly
social relations and support provided by communitas. The
opportunity to effect social change could be accomplished
through practices designed to question the existing social
order.
A reading of ritualising as implicated in the transformation
of limiting social structures can also be found in the works
of Foucault (1980), Alexander (1991), and Bell (1992, 1997).
Bell acknowledged the influence of Foucault in framing her
assessment that ritualised practices involving qualities of
formality, routine, and surveillance shape social relations
that are instrumental in the generation of a particular
dynamic of social empowerment (Bell, 1992, p. 181). Of
particular interest to this article is Foucault and Bells
recognition of the dynamic interplay of knowledge and
power in ritualised action. They proposed that within
particular ritualised arenas given over to repeated thoughts
and behaviours, opportunities exist for the articulation of
subjugated knowledges (Foucault), or self knowledges
(Bell, 1992). Ritualising, Foucault argued, facilitates the
expression of low-ranking, naive, local, or popular
knowledges held at the margins of society (p. 82).
My reading of Foucault suggests that social change is
generated in ritual communities as people give expression
t o knowl edge or i deas t hat have previ ousl y been
disqualified or rejected as beneath the required level of
cognition or scientificity (Foucault, 1980, p. 82). Directing
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Journal of Occupational Science, November 2003, Vol 10, No 3, pp130-139.
attention to Foucaults analysis of the dynamics of strategic
power relations in ritual as a site for the generation of
subjectivity, Bell (1992) reserved a place for ritualising as
one of a variety of social practices in which people are
empowered to make sense of their own process, to define
the self in relation to others. She stated, the strategies of
ritualisation clearly generate forms of practice and
empowerment capable of articulating an understanding of
the personal self vis-a-vis community, however these might
be understood (Bell, 1992, p. 217).
In summary, the literature reviewed in this article asserts
the role of ritualising in creating social order and the
development of self knowledge and social change. I now
examine the processes by which rituals nurture an evolving
self-understanding through a focus on a study of ritualising
in book discussion groups.
The Book Group Study
With ethical approval from the Faculty of Health Sciences,
La Trobe University and permission to access the CAEs
data bank of book club members, I initiated a multi-strategy
sequential design study. The project included firstly a
qualitative component of informal interviews with key CAE
informants (the director and librarian) and with members of
private and CAE book clubs, as well as reading to support
the survey design. This stage was followed by a survey of
a 10% random sample of the CAE book groups. Individual
surveys were sent to group secretaries and members of 91
book groups. Eighty-seven group secretaries and 727 book
group members responded, 705 or 97.8 % of the book group
member respondents were women, 16 or 2.2% were men.
Members ages ranged from 27-88 years, the mean age being
52 years. A factor analysis of the 23-item attitude scale in
the member survey was used as an exploratory tool to
support conceptual development and promote the design
and implementation of the in-depth interview schedule. The
first factor, book group supports a sense of self was
pivotal in directing my thinking towards the importance of
book clubs as an avenue to self-knowledge.
In establishing a framework for the third aspect of the study
I sought an approach that would support the investigation
of an under-researched area. It was important to use a
methodology that facilitated discovery and relied on the
data, rather than previous studies or the literature, to drive
the development of rich conceptualisation (Stern, 1994b;
Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Grounded theory, an interpretive
methodology with its roots in social interactionism and
phenomenology was selected (Baker, Wuest, & Stern, 1992;
Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Stern, 1994a; Tesch, 1990). The intent
of grounded theory is to advance theory development and
to explain actions in the social world, through a systematic
process of data collection and analysis.
In-depth interviews were conducted with 21 women, most
of whom had indicated in the survey their interest in further
involvement in the project. The first two interviewees
belonged to a CAE group, but their group had not been
included in the survey. They initiated contact with me
having heard about the study through the CAE book group.
I interviewed them on the basis that they were information
rich data sources. The decision to interview only women in
this study, despite the presence of a small number of men in
CAE book groups, was based on a number of factors. The
16 male respondents to the survey were distributed between
8 groups. Two men indicated in the questionnaire that they
were interested in further participation in the study. One
lived at a long distance in rural Victoria and it was not feasible
for me to travel there. The second man did not respond to
my letter inviting further involvement in the study. This
paper focuses on analysis of the qualitative data derived
from single interviews lasting one and a half hours to two
hours.
As in the grounded theory approach I established a process
whereby I carried out data collection and data analysis
concurrently. Following the lead of Rennie et al (1988), I
began by choosing women who were relatively similar to
ensure that the various aspects of the phenomenon would
emerge and that categories would be established along with
a clear sense of their characteristics. In this project I needed
to acknowledge that members of book groups are relatively
homogeneous. Most were middle class, Australian-born
women (84% of the survey sample). The majority were from
Engl i sh speaki ng backgrounds and had compl et ed
secondary school. I began by selecting participants with
university or higher degrees who comprised 40.3% of the
survey sample.
Research participants were chosen for their capacity to
clarify, confirm or reject particular suppositions, thus
selecting participants was governed by emerging concepts.
The number of interviews was not predetermined but guided
by the practice of carrying out data collection and data
analysis simultaneously (Charmaz, 1994). Having completed
11 interviews, I moved to establish variability within the
phenomenon, women whose characteristics might modify
the argument I was developing about book group as a
vehicle for self-discovery. For instance, all but one of the
i ni t i al i nt ervi ews were conduct ed wi t h women i n
partnerships and with pre-school and school-age children
at home. I began to question if women without partners
experienced book groups in terms of the social construction
of the self, or if regular companionship and intellectual
discussion were more prominent in their conversations
about book groups. I moved then to interview women
without partners and in different circumstances. Selecting
new participants on the basis of developing concepts is
referred to as theoretical sampling or theory-based data
selection (Rennie, Phillips & Quartaro, 1988) and is a
defining feature of grounded theory (Morse, 1995).
I utilised the computer program NUD*IST (1995) to support
t he management of dat a anal ysi s procedures. In
establishing analysis guidelines, I brought together a
number of steps outlined by Rennie et al., (1988) and Willms
and Johnson (1993). The steps included the establishment
of a sentence as the analytic or meaning unit that pertained
134 Journal of Occupational Science, November 2003, Vol 10, No 3, pp130-139.
Ritualising in Book Clubs: Implications for Evolving Occupational Identities Linsey Howie
to discrete ideas conveyed by the participants. Using my
own words or phrases against each analytic unit, I organised
a preliminary descriptive list and then re-ordered this list
into clusters of related topics to establish a preliminary list
of topics. Carrying out this labour intensive process of
establishing a preliminary list of topics had its rewards. It
enabled me to reduce the volume of material in the transcripts
to a manageable structure so that I could think broadly and
inclusively about the varied ways participants related their
experiences of book group. Staying in touch with the data
for an extended period of time helped me to focus on the
participants language and to reflect in depth upon their
turn of phrase, their choice and strength of words. Third,
attending to the data in this way supported the generation
of categories that were grounded in the participants
comments rather than derived from prior knowledge,
anecdotal evidence, or the literature. This led me to think
about book groups in a qualitatively different way than I
had imagined at the outset of the study. The final step
involved the development and definition of categories
against each unit of analysis, assigning each unit of analysis
to as many categories as were relevant, and forming a
hierarchical categorising system.
In accordance with qualitative research practices I
discussed categorising of the initial transcripts with a
senior colleague experienced in qualitative research to
verify that my observations in the data were indeed present
in the participants expressions. This procedure, peer
examination, is a method of triangulation that aimed to
contribute to the credibility of the research (Krefting, 1991).
Krefting argues for the use of triangulation, the idea of
convergence of mul t i pl e perspect i ves for mut ual
confirmation of data to ensure that all aspects of a
phenomenon have been investigated (p. 219). In this study
I used triangulation of data collection methods and sources,
and theoretical triangulation, the use of theories from
diverse disciplines to support conceptual interpretation of
the phenomenon of group reading.
Data analysis produced three principal categories. This
article presents the results of the first of these categories
expressed as the theme - ritualised group reading and
includes data associated with three sub-themes, namely
customary action, communal practice, and self observances.
While these themes are described as discrete components
of ritual practice, this is an artifice adopted to support a
more coherent exploration of the topic. As the following
discussion reveals, in the real world, ritualising defies
such neat packaging.
Ritualised Group Reading
Customary action
Book clubs deliver ritualised experiences in several ways.
The term customary action denotes the participants
references to features of book groups characterised by the
observance of certain conventions, routines, and rules.
Some participants spoke of the formality and politeness of
their book group, of restraint coupled with a sense of
occasion that warranted bringing out treasured silvery
accoutrements, or baking treats such as a paradise
slice. Participants talked of the ladies at book club and of
hostesses and mistresses of ceremonies, words imbued with
not i ons of propri et y, order, and convent i on. The
conventions they referred to included those relating to CAE
guidelines for membership; the need for members to take
on roles of secretary, hostess, or discussion leader, or rules
for expediting book discussion. They also included
references to the way members attend to their physical and
emotional environments to construct favourable climates
for intellectual and social interaction. Their descriptions of
book group customs resonated with concerns to maximise
the pleasure of belonging and support involvement at
meetings.
Hilda, in her eighties, was the only participant to refer to
her group as a reading circle, an expression reminiscent
of predominantly female, European and North American
study and craft groups of a bygone era. Pointing to the
routine of sitting in a circle, and having set procedures or
ceremonies around returning and receiving the book, talking,
drinking, and eating, Rosalie mused on the relevance of a
circle to this gathering of the women ritual and to the
tribal aspects of book club. Kate too remarked on sitting
down in a structured setting where there are some rules
around and where safety was generated by regularity.
Fiona noted how her book group met in peoples front
rooms where they sit in antique chairs. While there
were pragmatic reasons for meeting in members front
rooms, such as fi ndi ng a room l arge enough t o
accommodate the whole group, using a space withdrawn
from family and domestic matters provided the meeting with
a sense of occasion. Whether the group routinely had tea
in antique china cups, a full blown meal with mountains
of lovely food, or l unch brought from home, t he
combination of customary actions in designated spaces lent
the gathering a sense of ritual.
These accounts can be compared with those of members
who met in public spaces. Fays rendition of somewhat
haphazard meetings at the neighbourhood community
house and Ann and Vickys description of meeting in the
local library, point to the implications of place in framing
customary ways of behaving at book group. Fay talked of
sitting and waiting for the person with the keys and
raiding the cottage for a few dry biscuits. She commented
on sharing the leadership round and usually going
through the notes and the questions and things. Her
comments can be contrasted with Anns description of being
secretary to her group. Ann indicated a greater formality,
an observance of ceremony that was tied to members
entitlement to use the local library as ratepayers in the
municipality. Meeting at one central point, surrounded
by books and free from domestic pressures to answer
phones or tidy homes, Ann observed how she (and the
group) followed certain rituals. Keeping account of books
read, recording comments for the CAE, and following the
prescribed notes supplied by the CAE all maintained a focus
on book discussion. At the same time, regular procedures
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Journal of Occupational Science, November 2003, Vol 10, No 3, pp130-139.
around keeping a kitty or ensuring a basket of goodies
for supper addressed the more social objectives of
belonging to book club. Vicky, in the same group as Ann,
confirmed this idea, saying that laying down some ground
rules supplied order and cohesiveness to their large group.
While the CAE suggests book groups are highly regulated
meetings in line with educational imperatives, the
participants accounts prompt a variety of readings. Kates
comments are perhaps typical of the participants responses
to rules at book group. Rules are a feature of membership,
but they are not a dominant or a constraining influence,
rather a promise of ones continuing presence in the group.
Kate said:
The commitment is to read the book and come and
pul l your wei ght a bi t i n t erms of provi di ng
supper...So there is a sense that there are certain
things that we do but theyre not difficult things to
commit to. There are rules, but theyre strong enough
to contain it, but loose enough to allow flexibility.
Regular monthly meetings were effective in ordering the
time between meetings and creating meaningful, but
contained connections between members over time.
Reading the book between meetings anticipated the next
gathering, reminding the reader of other group members,
and their idiosyncrasies. Naomi illustrated this point. She
said:
It means a lot to me, this going once a month and
reading the book. And also when you read the book
youre thinking about the people that are also
reading it. And youre thinking now I wonder how
so and so will react to this?
In the repetition of simple, yet formal customs, the
participants promoted an orderly, polite, and stable world
that maximised the pleasures of belonging to the group.
This sustained the likelihood that members would be
actively involved in the meetings, whether or not they had
read the book. At the same time, participants disturbed
conventions, if necessary, to suit the group or their
individual needs. For example, meetings were organised to
start at a certain time, but few groups insisted on a strict
adherence to beginning on time. Thus rules and routines
were a feature of book group membership, but they were
not a constraining influence.
A feature of ritualising brought forward by Driver (1991)
and Smith (1987), stressed the comfort and safety inherent
in the ordering of ritual forms. While Western societies have
tended to downplay the value of routine occupations,
participants in this study exposed an aspect of habitual
group activity that was effective in creating inclusive and
enlivening connections with group members. Rituals around
arriving at book group and supper rituals are good
examples of this. Participants demonstrated their proficiency
in creating flexible and supportive meetings in congenial
environments that in turn met their desire for intellectual
discussion and supported experiences where they felt
appreciated and respected. Ritualising constructed an
ordered and often regulated social world, one in which a
sense of community had an essential place.
Communal practice
Book club membership necessitates the regular movement
between solitary engagement with the text and communal
involvement. Participants accounts of relationships
between members at book group resonate with the
collective and communicative aspects of ritualising and
underscore processes t hat fost er communi t y. The
supportive, dynamic, and often free-spirited associations
at book club invite comparisons with notions of liminal
experiences in ritual communities, the threshold where
expectations normally imposed by social norms are held in
abeyance. The participants appeared to embrace the
opportunities inherent in book club rituals to socialise. They
let their hair down, went hammer and tongs, stood
on their soap box or freely expressed ideas and feelings
in a climate orchestrated to maximise safety and comfort. In
this way, most participants expressed personal thoughts
and emotions that may not have been tolerated elsewhere
or were accepting of others in the group who chose to do
so.
The communal aspects of book group rituals were deeply
influenced by the predominance of women members. Most
participants in this study were attracted to the all-women
composition of book group, and felt protective of
maintaining this status. Marions reference to book group
as a fellowship and Rosalies reference to tribal
associations recall earlier devotional sisterhoods,
communities of women in which the text was paramount.
The women in this study constructed communal experiences
that supported the free expression of ideas in an atmosphere
that was variously described as comfortable, challenging,
safe and companionable. The ease with which they forged
relationships contributed to the way ritual practices at book
group were initiated and sustained. In the safety of an
all-womens group, the participants indicated they could
feel a bit more open to discuss things and fashion a
climate of free and open conversation where the
interaction of ideas was possible. Rachels comments
revealed something of the way women connect at book
group. She said:
For me its a preparedness to be slightly vulnerable,
to ask silly questions, to put forward an idea that I
think might be a bit way out.
Susan, who had reluctantly ended a long association with
her book group commented:
I feel that people felt accepted, that they felt
comfortable with their opinion in that place. They
knew the people werent going to ostracise them
because of it, and there was no power involved or no
loss of face. You know. You were all just women who
were friends.
136 Journal of Occupational Science, November 2003, Vol 10, No 3, pp130-139.
Ritualising in Book Clubs: Implications for Evolving Occupational Identities Linsey Howie
Their language suggests a world where participants had at
other times felt excluded, fearful or even humiliated, where
their opinions had been ridiculed or dismissed. In the
company of just women at book group, however, their
comments tell of being listened to, recognised, and
respected.
The educational project of book groups is another aspect
that supports communal ritualising. For as long as the book
is widely perceived as meritorious, the opportunity for
group members to return to the company of others was not
questioned. The book is an artifice through which
participants could confidently assert their desire to
congregate with other women for intellectual stimulation
and companionship. This notion embraces the serious
intent of rituals described by Rappaport (1979). Further,
the rhythm of monthly meetings was instrumental in
sustaining the members needs for time and space to read
alone or to socialise without family around them. It allowed
members to establish intimate and friendly connections with
book club friends. Most members had one, or some close
friendships at book group, but like Marion did not
particularly want to see them at any other time. In the
confines of regular meetings, the burden and involvement
that intimate relationships characteristically impose on
womens lives were managed though ritual processes and
structural arrangements prescribed by CAE membership or
initiated by individual groups. Paradoxically, the boundaries
imposed by the rituals of monthly meetings were important
in sustaining the ongoing viability of the group and
maintaining members needs for serious discussion and
spontaneity in agreeable company.
Based on analysis of the participants comments, and in
light of the ritual debates (Rappaport, 1979; Turner, 1969), I
argue that regulating relationships at book club, rather than
stifling experiences of community, was significant in
enlivening the participants experience of community. Book
group rituals support opportunities to play with ideas and
relationships in line with Turners (1977) notion of liminal
phenomena. They also facilitate members to share ordinary
or profound truths and to be intimately known by other
group members. Once again, Turners view of liminality,
where ritual participants can question existing structures
and experiment with novel ideas and behaviours, is evident
in these participants accounts of book group. In this
context, a sense of oneself is enabled to evolve.
Self observances
The third theme self observances acknowledges ritualising
as relevant to self-enabling practices. This theme embraces
the participants portrayal of group reading as ritualised
occupation that supports opportunities for members to
attend to the self. Through routine reading and regular
group meetings, participants secured for themselves
specific opportunities to pursue their interest in literature
and their desire for company with others.
Through taking time to read the book in preparation for the
next meeting and going to monthly meetings, participants
emphasised the opportunities to attend to their own needs.
Lisa said, its just the peace and quiet that I get when Im
reading. Its just me by myself, and nobody wants me. Their
stories asserted the importance of finding time and space
for themselves, whether at home or at book group meetings.
Reading for book group was mostly associated with
pleasure and relaxation, curled up in bed or sitting in
the sun though some did find it a chore to persevere
with books they had not selected. The requirement to read
the book over the month was for most participants
associated with being self-indulgent. However their
comments emphasised how having to read for the next
meeting, or making, or finding time and space in an
otherwise busy world meant that their own needs could be
attended to and satisfied. In this respect the rituals
associated with reading and book group meetings were
indeed self-enabling. For instance Val said:
I think it was more the very fact that it was just a
complete act, an action of my own, that it was
something that I read, something that I discussed,
and that I didnt have to worry about any part of the
family at all.
The imperative to routinely engage with the text, or with
book group friends, supported members to achieve their
goals to read more and to enlarge their social network.
Further, book club reading and discussion secured for most
members the regular opportunity to raise questions and
express ideas that left them feeling valued and recognised.
The participants spoke of a variety of ways ritualised
reading contributed to enabling practice. For instance, Kate
said its one of the things that makes me make space in my
life generally. And Lisa remarked, it makes me read,
otherwise I wouldnt find the time. Otherwise I would think,
I cant sit down and read now because this needs doing or
the children want me or whatever.
The participants words expressed rituals of group reading
that supported members to reflect on their own processes.
In the regular return to the book, or the group, members
found the room to attend to and gratify their needs for time
and space by themself. In this deliberate move, they found
the opportunity to detach themselves from family demands
and indulge their interests. Their comments indicated
how necessary it was for participants to finally have
my time to just have one thing that I do for myself.
Lisa remarked:
Yeah, I think we all look on it as time out. Its just its
our time, weve left all our children at home, theres
sort of no time clock on us, its a let your hair down
and enjoy the night.
Their comments are testament to the weight of commitments
surrounding womens lives and to the significance of ritual
practices at book group in securing respite from these
demands. Book group rituals regularly provided space for
the development of a sense of self through a retreat to
reading combined with group discussion. As Foucault
137
Ritualising in Book Clubs: Implications for Evolving Occupational Identities Linsey Howie
Journal of Occupational Science, November 2003, Vol 10, No 3, pp130-139.
(1980) and Bell (1992) observed in relation to concepts of
power and knowledge in ritualising, relationships and
i nt eract i ons can be vi ewed as i nst rument al i n t he
development of empowering actions and are a significant
site for the social construction of a sense of self.
Discussion
This article has presented the findings from one aspect of a
sociological study of book groups that aimed to examine
the phenomenon of book clubs in Australia. The findings
of this study resonate with three dominant ritual concepts,
specifically ritual as social order, or social control
(Durkheim, 1976; Grimes, 1990), ritualising as intrinsic to
communal practices (Rappaport, 1979), and the implication
of ritual for self-reflection and change (Bell, 1992; Foucault,
1980; Turner, 1977). Analysis of interview data derived a
deeper understanding of the part rituals play in supporting
the evolvement of a sense of self, ones occupational
identity through attention to customary actions - particular
conventions, rules and routines, and communal practices
in which articulation of views and ideas, however serious
or playful, was encouraged and respected by group
members.
Though not always obvious and often questioned by
participants, rules were seen as a central feature of ritualising
in this study. The findings indicate how book group
members, through the repetition of formal procedures,
posi t i oned t hemsel ves, t hei r rel at i onshi ps, and
environments to promote notions of an orderly and certain
world. While an observer might consider book group rituals
to be irrelevant to the viability of the group, or indeed
constraining of group interactions, the participants spoke
of rituals, typical of book group meetings, as a source of
safety, comfort, and pleasure and central to the groups
sustainability. Driver (1991) illuminates this aspect of
ritualising, noting how it signals an ordered and systematic
world by promising direction, security, and comfort.
Also in line with the ritual literature, ritualising in book
groups was found at times to suspend usual codes of
practice, intensifying experiences, and facilitating
imaginative solutions to individual or collective issues. The
participants did indeed seek the glow of communitas,
identified in Turners (1977) concept of liminal space. The
idea that people, excluded in some way from the dominant
system, seek ritual communities to transcend ordinary, social
constraints to ensure the fulfilment of personal projects
was evident in the participants accounts of belonging to
book group. Playful or serious exchanges with book group
friends combined to support members to reach their
desired goals.
The predominantly female composition of book group
membership invites consideration of the particular qualities
women bring to communal ritualising. The apparent ease
with which women in this study created cooperative
communities, and initiated and maintained caring and
supportive relationships has been described. The freedom
associated with belonging to a group of women in which
participants could be themselves and say things that
might be judged as inappropriate elsewhere, facilitated
communication. I have argued that through ritualised,
dialogic, and imaginative exchanges at book group, and
through opportunities for self-reflection, members
participated in actions that may be explained as self enabling
practices. The work of Foucault (1980) and Bell (1992) is
instructive in this regard. Their claim that groups at the
periphery of society are sites for ritualising, in which power
and knowledge bases are re-negotiated and re-constituted
resonates with this analysis of book groups.
Smith (1987) observed that in the face of life forces that
disrupt, limit, or impede possibilities or progression, rituals
display the way things ought to be in conscious tension
with the way things are (p. 109). Thus, the efficacy of
rituals in drawing attention to ordinary existence lies in
their ability to enact and promote reflection on life in its
i nevi t abl e compl exi t i es and cont radi ct i ons. The
participants accounts of rituals at book group resonate
with this statement. In the regular gathering of members to
discuss a book they have read together, and in the spaces
between group meetings, the moderating effects of
ritualising enhance experiences of social order and
community delivering opportunities for self-understanding
to evolve over time.
While the concept of ritualising is acknowledged by
occupational therapists, especially Crepeau (1995) and
Charmaz (1991), who has made an important contribution to
our knowledge of rituals in the context of illness and
disability, ritualising as a central feature of human
occupation is less well researched in the discipline (Crepeau,
1995; Moore, 1996). This study adds to accounts of
ritualising in everyday occupation and contributes to
current interest in how a sense of self is constructed
through occupational engagement (Kielhofner, 2002). In a
study of three men living with AIDS Braveman and Helfrich,
(2001) noted building an occupational identity begins with
self knowledge of capacities and interests from past
experiences and extends to constructing a valuebased
vision of who one wants to become (p. 26). In this article I
have discussed how rituals in book groups, in association
with reading and book discussion, facilitated a climate
whereby members were enabled to regularly reflect on their
attitudes, values, and actions leading to self-appraisal
that is at the heart of occupational identity. A focus on
ritualised practices at book groups reveals their ability to
facilitate experiences of social order and community and
focus on processes that affirm the self.
Secular rituals are too often taken for granted, dismissed,
or undervalued as indications of routine, pedestrian
endeavours. This article has argued for a re-evaluation of
the ability of rituals in everyday occupations to order social
processes and support communal practices in the service
of facilitating peoples occupational identity. This study
invites a re-consideration of the rituals people create in
their communities, clubs, and organisations and suggests
138 Journal of Occupational Science, November 2003, Vol 10, No 3, pp130-139.
Ritualising in Book Clubs: Implications for Evolving Occupational Identities Linsey Howie
the need for further research into the range of idiosyncratic
rituals or practices that give meaning and purpose to
peoples lives. As we contemplate dwindling government
resources and the shrinking health dollar, it is important
not to underestimate the potential of cost-effective,
voluntary, community occupations such as group reading,
to support human well-being and social networks through
ritual processes that enliven the self.
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Creativity for Health
A two day conference exploring the relationship between creativity and health
Thursday and Friday, April 1 and 2, 2004
University of Brighton, Eastbourne, UK
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Virginia Dickie, Occupational Scientist, University of North Carolina
and
Jennifer Creek, Occupational Therapy Consultant, UK
Other speakers include: Mark Bhatti (Horticulture), Nigel Hartley (Music),
Frances Reynolds (Needlework), Nick Rowe (Drama), and Diane Waller (Art)
For more information and registration:
Visit the occupationUK website : http://www.occupationuk.org
Or contact Claire Jenner
Email: cj6@brighton.ac.uk
Telephone: 01273 643772
Fax: 01273 643652
Cost:
190 (includes dinner and refreshments)
160 reduced rate for OccupationUK Members
3
rd
UK Occupational Science Symposium