--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sociology and anthropology are not…" description: "\"Sociology and anthropology are not disciplines which take easily to situations where people are able to live out their fantasies, not just in the symbo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/960/jonathan-raban-11981_able_sociology-and-anthropology-are-not-disci_895956.jpg" --- # Sociology and anthropology are not disciplines which take… ![“Sociology and anthropology are not disciplines which take easily to situations where people are able to live out their fantasies, not just in the symbolic action of ritual, but in the concrete theater of society at large.” quote by Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/960/jonathan-raban-11981_able_sociology-and-anthropology-are-not-disci_895956.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/960/jonathan-raban-11981_able_sociology-and-anthropology-are-not-disci_895956.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/960/jonathan-raban-11981_able_sociology-and-anthropology-are-not-disci_895956.jpg) > “Sociology and anthropology are not disciplines which take easily to situations where people are able to live out their fantasies, not just in the symbolic action of ritual, but in the concrete theater of society at large.” [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that sociology and anthropology struggle to understand societies where people can fully enact their fantasies, both symbolically and concretely. **In simple terms:** These fields find it hard to study societies that let people live out fantasies. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of social science in fantastical contexts. Themes social science anthropology fantasy societal structures Mood analytical critical inquisitive Type theoretical observational When to use this quote - urban festivals - virtual worlds - experimental communities - artistic collectives Key Concepts symbolic ritual concrete theater cultural expression Questions to Reflect On - How do rituals shape everyday life? - Can fantasy-driven societies be sustainable? A Different Perspective Such societies may be rare or idealized, limiting empirical study. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Anthropology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropology/) [Anthropology Disciplines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropology-disciplines-1195824/) [Concrete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concrete/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Ritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ritual/) [Situation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/situation/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Sociology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociology/) [Sociology Anthropology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociology-anthropology-520769/) [Symbolic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbolic/) [Theater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theater/) ## Related quotes > [I think sociologists are among the best at thinking about emergence, of thinking about the ways that the society is more than the sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/i-think-sociologists-are-among-the-best-at-thinking-about-emergence/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [Before I became a film major, I was very heavily into social science, I had done a lot of sociology, anthropology, and I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lucas/before-i-became-a-film-major-i-was-very-heavily-into-social-science-i/) [George Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lucas/) > [I love seeing what people are eating. It's a great way of looking at what is similar and what is different about people. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/i-love-seeing-what-people-are-eating-it-s-a-great-way-of-looking-at/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [When you ask why did some particular question occur to a scientist or philosopher for the first time, or why did this particular approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/when-you-ask-why-did-some-particular-question-occur-to-a-scientist-or/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [I've got a solid grounding in history, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, etc etc. That means I actually have a good idea about how societies change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-ve-got-a-solid-grounding-in-history-sociology-anthropology/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“It seems very strange that one must turn back, and be transported to the very beginnings of history, in order to arrive at an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/it-seems-very-strange-that-one-must-turn-back-and-be-transported-to/) [Émile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [Architecture is art. I don't think you should say that too much, but it is art. I mean, architecture is many, many things. Architecture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renzo-piano/architecture-is-art-i-don-t-think-you-should-say-that-too-much-but-it/) [Renzo Piano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renzo-piano/) > [People keep asking how anthropology is different from sociology, and everybody gets nervous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-geertz/people-keep-asking-how-anthropology-is-different-from-sociology-and/) [Clifford Geertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-geertz/) > [History is, strictly speaking, the study of questions; the study of answers belongs to anthropology and sociology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/history-is-strictly-speaking-the-study-of-questions-the-study-of/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Economic theorists, like French chefs in regard to food, have developed stylized models whose ingredients are limited by some unwritten rules. Just as traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-akerlof/economic-theorists-like-french-chefs-in-regard-to-food-have-developed/) [George Akerlof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-akerlof/) > [More and more clearly every day, out of biology, anthropology, sociology, history, economic analysis, psychological insight, plain human decency and common sense, the necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ordway-tead/more-and-more-clearly-every-day-out-of-biology-anthropology-sociology/) [Ordway Tead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ordway-tead/) > [Missions is not applied anthropology, comparative religion or sociology. It is storming the gates of hell. It is a power confrontation-h and-to-hand combat with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-p-yohannan/missions-is-not-applied-anthropology-comparative-religion-or/) [K.P. Yohannan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-p-yohannan/) > [Oral history is a research method. It is a way of conducting long, highly detailed interviews with people about their life experiences, often in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-leavy/oral-history-is-a-research-method-it-is-a-way-of-conducting-long/) [Patricia Leavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-leavy/) > [“All social interactions require some loss of freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erol-ozan/all-social-interactions-require-some-loss-of-freedom/) [Erol Ozan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erol-ozan/) > [“In America, Amazon competes with yahoo and Google by competing with a gas station. Imagine if every price in QT was the same, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-america-amazon-competes-with-yahoo-and-google-by-competing-with-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Jonathan Raban > [No president has come near to rivaling Lincoln as a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/no-president-has-come-near-to-rivaling-lincoln-as-a-writer/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [All this piling up of one technology on top of another-railroad on steamboat, interstate highway on railroad, hydroelectric dam on watermill-had reduced the Mississippi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/all-this-piling-up-of-one-technology-on-top-of-another-railroad-on/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Life, as the most ancient of all metaphors insists, is a journey; and the travel book, in its deceptive simulation of the journey's fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/life-as-the-most-ancient-of-all-metaphors-insists-is-a-journey-and/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Inaugurals conventionally start with a history lesson and finish with a prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/inaugurals-conventionally-start-with-a-history-lesson-and-finish-with/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [When New Yorkers tell one about the dangers of their city, the muggings, the dinner parties to which no one turns up for fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/when-new-yorkers-tell-one-about-the-dangers-of-their-city-the/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [ My new city \[Seattle\] and its hinterland felt deceptively homely. Their similar latitude gave them the angular light and lingering evenings I was used… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/my-new-city-seattle-and-its-hinterland-felt-deceptively-homely-their/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [At night, what you see is a city, because all you see is lights. By day, it doesn't look like a city at all.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/at-night-what-you-see-is-a-city-because-all-you-see-is-lights-by-day/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Because Washington state now votes by mail, elections here tend to play out, at an agonizingly slow speed, over many days and, sometimes, weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/because-washington-state-now-votes-by-mail-elections-here-tend-to/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [The only nation I've ever been tempted to feel really racist about are the Swiss - a whole country of phobic hand washers living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/the-only-nation-i-ve-ever-been-tempted-to-feel-really-racist-about/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [ The \[travel\] writer, looking back at the journey from a distance of a year or two (or three), is a different character from the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/the-travel-writer-looking-back-at-the-journey-from-a-distance-of-a/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [The mythical America?that marvellous, heroic, sentimental landwas an object of faith. It challenged you to make the believer's leap over the rude facts at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/the-mythical-america-that-marvellous-heroic-sentimental-landwas-an/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Over emphatic negatives always suggest that what is being denied may be what is really being asserted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/over-emphatic-negatives-always-suggest-that-what-is-being-denied-may/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Heartbreak comes in different sizes, and the departure of an 18-year-old child for a far college has to be treated as a very benign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/heartbreak-comes-in-different-sizes-and-the-departure-of-an-18-year/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Books admitted me to their world open-handedly, as people for their most part, did not. The life I lived in books was one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/books-admitted-me-to-their-world-open-handedly-as-people-for-their/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [One of the oddest features of western Christianized culture is its ready acceptance of the myth of the stable family and the happy marriage.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/one-of-the-oddest-features-of-western-christianized-culture-is-its/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) [Explore all 57 Jonathan Raban quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) [Greg Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-perry/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) [Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sociology and anthropology are not disciplines which take easily to situations where people are able to live out their fantasies, not just in the symbolic action of ritual, but in the concrete theater of society at large.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Raban" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/sociology-and-anthropology-are-not-disciplines-which-take-easily-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Able" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/sociology-and-anthropology-are-not-disciplines-which-take-easily-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/960/jonathan-raban-11981_able_sociology-and-anthropology-are-not-disci_895956.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/960/jonathan-raban-11981_able_sociology-and-anthropology-are-not-disci_895956.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/960/jonathan-raban-11981_able_sociology-and-anthropology-are-not-disci_895956.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sociology and anthropology are not disciplines which take easily to situations where people are able to live…” — Jonathan Raban", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jonathan Raban", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sociology and anthropology are not disciplines...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/sociology-and-anthropology-are-not-disciplines-which-take-easily-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/sociology-and-anthropology-are-not-disciplines-which-take-easily-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```