{"product_id":"the-avatar-faculty-9780520384354","title":"The Avatar Faculty","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Avatar Faculty creatively examines the parallels between spiritual and digital activities to explore the roles that symbolic second selvesavatarscan play in our lives. The use of avatars can allow for what anthropologists call ecstasy, from the Greek ekstasis, meaning standing outside oneself. The archaic techniques of promoting spiritual ecstasy, which remain central to religious healing traditions around the world, now also have contemporary analogues in virtual worlds found on the internet. In this innovative book, Jeffrey G. Snodgrass argues that avatars allow for the ecstatic projection of consciousness into alternate realities, potentially providing both the spiritually possessed and gamers access to superior secondary identities with elevated social standing. Even if only temporary, self-transformations of these kinds can help reduce psychosocial stress and positively improve health and well-being.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Scholars and social scientists of religion will find much of interest in this book, because it explores the increasingly uncertain borders of 'religion,' when secularization may be obscuring the meaning of the concept without actually satisfying the human need for sacred norms and profound meanings.\" * Nova Religio *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eContents\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e List of Illustrations\u003cbr\u003e Key Terms and Abbreviations\u003cbr\u003e Preface \u003cbr\u003e Central Characters and Settings\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Introduction \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 1 • Sacred and Secular Settings \u003cbr\u003e 2 • The Psychology of Avatar Therapeutics: Absorptive Experiences and Stress Relief\u003cbr\u003e 3 • The Psychosocial Dynamics of Avatar  Therapeutics: Enhanced Self-Image and Elevated Social Standing \u003cbr\u003e 4 • Distinguishing Therapeutic from Toxic Avatar Experiences: Norm Conflicts and Felt Dissonance \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Conclusion \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e Appendix A. Chapter 2 Supplemental Material: \u003cbr\u003e Survey Methods and Results \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Appendix B. Chapter 3 Supplemental Materials:\u003cbr\u003e Survey Methods and Results\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Appendix C. Chapter 4 Supplemental Material:\u003cbr\u003e Survey Methods and Results \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Notes \u003cbr\u003e Glossary \u003cbr\u003e References \u003cbr\u003e Index ","brand":"University of California Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49402955432279,"sku":"9780520384354","price":64.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780520384354.jpg?v=1730481958","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-avatar-faculty-9780520384354","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}