Suchergebnisse

Introduction: populist idylls, cultural politics -- The problem with the meritocracy -- Ordinary Americans, average students -- The curious cult of religious practicality -- Against all experts: no experience necessary -- The new age of cultural studies: crisis in the PMC -- Conclusion.

Research among rural clergy in Somerset suggests that both historically and in the present, country clergy play a part in the creation, re–creation, envisioning, and transmission of a spiritual variant of the rural idyll. Earlier studies on the origins, nature, and function of the rural idyll have largely neglected this spiritual dimension. Few have regarded the clergy as an object of scholarly enquiry. What this article suggested is that rural clergy are contributing to the creation of an idealised spirituality as one component within an evolving rural idyll. This is largely the result of growing institutional marginalisation. The creation of a spiritualised component within the rural idyll is the result of a symbiotic or dialectical relationship with 'folk–religion'. For the most part such a process is as unconscious as it is explicit, but it enables country clergy to retain a sense of their own relevance as religious functionaries in a secular world. As such the emergence and re–emergence of these spiritual aspects of the idyll provides a mechanism of clerical self–justification for many rural clergy.

The key aspects and features of Martinborough, a small boutique wine village approximately one hour's drive from Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand are discussed. The entangled fundamentals of the tourists' rural and metro-rural idylls, middle-class distinction and ideal reflexive individuality are highlighthed.