Laidlaw, James 1963–

PERSONAL: Born September 12, 1963, in Scotland. Education: Cambridge University, B.A., 1984, M.A., 1989, Ph.D., 1990.

ADDRESSES: Home—Cambridge, England. Office—Department of Social Anthropology, King's College, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 1ST, England. E-mail—jal6@cus.cam.ac.uk.

CAREER: King's College, Cambridge, Cambridge, England, junior research fellow, 1989–93, senior research fellow, 1993–, currently assistant lecturer in social anthropology.

WRITINGS:

(With Caroline Humphrey) The Archetypal Actions of Ritual: A Theory of Ritual Illustrated by the Jain Rite of Worship, Clarendon Press (Oxford, England), 1994.

Riches and Renunciation: Religion, Economy, and Society among the Jains, Clarendon Press (New York, NY), 1995.

(Editor with Stephen Hugh-Jones) The Essential Edmund Leach, Volume 1: Anthropology and Society, Volume 2: Culture and Human Nature, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 2000.

Ritual and Memory: Toward a Comparative Anthropology of Religion, AltaMira Press (Walnut Creek, CA), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: James Laidlaw and his collaborator Caroline Humphrey, both anthropologists at Cambridge University, used their knowledge of the Jain religion as the basis of a book on ritual theory that is "carefully argued, challenging, and highly recommended," according to Frederick M. Smith in the Journal of the American Oriental Society. The Archetypal Actions of Ritual: A Theory of Ritual Illustrated by the Jain Rite of Worship describes the daily puja rituals of the Jains, who worship at the Dadbari temple in Jaipur. Although this description is meant only to serve as a basis for the broader discussion of ritual, "it quickly becomes apparent that the authors, both known for their work on Jainism, have shed a great deal of light on the Jain daily puja that stands independent of its application to ritual theory," stated Smith. Nevertheless, the authors also discuss ritual throughout many other cultures. Smith concluded that The Archetypal Actions of Ritual "is brilliant in its formulations, approach, and insights, and is required reading for anyone interested in ritual, whether anthropologist, textualist, or historian of religion."

In Riches and Renunciation: Religion, Economy, and Society among the Jains Laidlaw focuses on the socio-religious aspects of life for the Svetambara Jains of northwest India. The author did anthropological fieldwork there, in the city of Jaipur, during the 1980s. One of the oldest living religions, Jainism has produced a great deal of important Indian literature and has significantly influenced both Hinduism and Buddhism. Journal of Religion contributor Jeff Shirkey recommended the chapters on fasting and the reverence of statues and images. Shirkey wrote: "Taken together, these chapters provide an excellent discussion of a wide range of practices in which the body is a vehicle for accomplishing differing kinds of religious work. In addition, these chapters nicely document the broadest goal of the book taken as a whole, which is to chart the way in which Jains undertake practices to distinguish themselves as Jains, both among themselves, and from others."

Laidlaw and Stephen Hugh-Jones worked together to edit The Essential Edmund Leach, a collection of texts from Leach, who was a key figure in the field of social anthropology. Many of the pieces included are obscure, including one Leach wrote comparing his 1981 investiture into knighthood with a head-hunting ritual he once observed in Borneo. "Altogether, an impressive set of articles, many almost unknown, which alone justifies the collection," stated Lygia Sigaud in the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Anthropologist, June, 2003, Susan H. Lees, review of The Essential Edmund Leach, p. 426.

Journal of Asian Studies, November, 2001, Robert J. Zydenbox, review of Riches and Renunciation: Religion, Economy, and Society among the Jains, p. 1226.

Journal of Religion, April, 1998, Jeff Shirkey, review of Riches and Renunciation, p. 328.

Journal of the American Oriental Society, January-March, 1997, Frederick M. Smith, review of The Archetypal Actions of Ritual: A Theory of Ritual Illustrated by the Jain Rite of Worship, p. 199.

Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, June, 1997, Peter Flugel, review of Riches and Renunciation, p. 410; September, 1997, John R. Bowen, review of The Archetypal Actions of Ritual, p. 631; December, 2004, Lygia Sigaud, review of The Essential Edmund Leach, p. 949.