Research Guides: Rites of Passage: Home

Start with Background Reading

Use the Gale eBooks database (link is below) to find short overview articles on topics related to your research.

Some recommended search terms:

rites and ceremonies
rite of passage
religious rites and customs
rituals

Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Use this database for preliminary reading as you start your research. You'll learn about your topic by reading authoritative topic overviews on a wide variety of subjects.
What's included: Gale eBooks is comprised of subject, specialized encyclopedias with articles written by scholars and experts.

Recommended Films

View any of these films from our library databases, Docuseek and Films on Demand, to experience a rite of passage. You can also search these databases to find additional films.

Rite of Passage
Maggie Steber was an only child. Madje Steber was a single parent. When Madje grew old and her dementia didn't allow her to live alone anymore, successful photojournalist Maggie took her from Texas to Miami to take care of her. Over the next few years, Maggie turned her professional eye on her own life, documenting Madje's life in an assisted living facility. The images speak to the pain of loss, the complexities of a mother-daughter relationship, and the fragility of life.
In Search of History: Last Rites - Death Ceremonies
Using rare footage and interviews with leading historians, this program offers a revealing look at the ways different societies around the world and throughout history have dealt with death. Distributed by A&E Television Networks. (45 minutes) Distributed by A&E Television Networks
The Mursi Tribe: The Day of the Donga
Much has changed in modern Ethiopia, but at least one thing remains the same: the Mursi are still among the fiercest warriors in Africa. This program, a study of life among the Mursi, features footage of a donga, a punishing yet graceful stick fighting competition through which young men display their bravery, establish their status, and perhaps even attract a young woman to marry. Mursi mysticism and faith healing are also considered, as well as customs such as the use of large ceramic lip disks by women as symbols of beauty and wealth.
Female Circumcision: Human Rites
This program documents the ritual of female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, practiced among some African groups; explores its roots in myth; and discusses movements under way to ban the practice. Interviews with anti-circumcision activists, including medical personnel, describe the health ramifications, including hemorrhage, infection, and painful sex. Victims discuss both the physical and emotional pain of circumcision, and both males and females discuss why they support or reject circumcision as a valid cultural practice. Graphic scenes of an actual female circumcision are shown.

Recommended Databases for Further Research

World Folklore and Folklife This link opens in a new window
Be sure to search the subject of rites of passage.
Gale Databases This link opens in a new window
Why search here? When you want to find broad coverage on almost any topic you need to research at MJC, use Gale databases to search over 35 databases simultaneously.
What's included: Gale databases include articles previously published in journals, magazines, newspapers, books, and other media outlets.
EBSCOhost Databases This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Search 22 databases at the same time that cover almost any topic you need to research at MJC. This is a good resource to use when you want to delve deeper into your subject.
What's included: EBSCO databases include articles previously published in academic journals, magazines, newspapers, books, and other media outlets.

Recommended Library eBooks

Religious Rites, Rituals, and Festivals
The Routledge Encyclopedia of Religious Rites, Rituals and Festivals explores this complex topic through articles covering a wide variety of cultures and rituals.
The SAGE Encyclopedia of Lifespan Human Development
Search this encyclopedia using the term "rites of passage" to find several articles covering different aspects of rites of passage throughout the lifespan.
Encyclopedia of Religion
One of the most important reference works of the millennium, the Encyclopedia of Religion has many articles covering religious rituals and ceremonies.

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Iris Carroll

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