A University of Connecticut professor has been recognized for BBC’s Book of the Week.
Last week, associate professor of anthropology Dimitris Xygalatas’s book, “Ritual,” took on BBC Radio 4’s title of Book of the Week.
Xygalatas explained that he began writing “Ritual” after a fellowship he won through UConn’s Humanities Institute several years ago. He briefly described the main theme of the book.
“In a sense, this book is about what makes us human. In my view, it is not so much the obvious things, like language, technology, and so on, but something more profound, like our deeply situated need to derive meaning from things that seem to be intrinsically meaningless,” Xygalatas said. “Things like art, music, sports, group identity and the myriad rituals that are enacted as individuals and as members of cultural groups.”
Xygalatas mentioned that he wrote the book so that anyone can read it, not just scholars or those who study anthropology.
“In this process, my engagement with different audiences, from schools and museums to UConn students, was invaluable because it allowed me to convey and discuss my ideas with people of different backgrounds and hear questions that I might have not bothered to ask otherwise,” Xygalatas said.
“Ritual” was published in 2022 and has since been nominated for an award from The British Academy. After that nomination, Xygalatas received word that “Ritual” was chosen for Book of the Week, he explained in a UConn Today article.
“Obviously, it’s an honor to get any kind of recognition, but the BBC award makes me particularly happy because a lot of my childhood heroes, people like David Attenborough and Jane Goodall, I got exposed to through BBC documentaries,” Xygalatas said. “It certainly puts a smile on my face.”
Xygalatas, who is originally from Greece, stated that he hopes readers understand the commonalities within humanity that can be seen through cultural expressions around the world.
BBC’s Book of the Week webpage can be found here, along with world news.