The thesis examines the work of Opus Dei, a personal prelature within the Roman Catholic Church. In particular it focuses on the very specific ways in which Opus Dei organizes the symbolic reality for its members, mainly through defining and interpreting the 'meaning of work'. The thesis draws upon extensive empirical material in order to explore the ways in which such definitions create meaning in the lives of Opus Dei members. The approach which has been adopted is in the ethnographic tradition. Since the subject of enquiry is a religious organization, parallels are made between ethnography and exegesis, more specifically to patristic (as opposed to scholastic) method of enquiry. The thesis uses a number of stylistic devices in order to communicate both the evolution and the developme~t of the organization and also, and perhaps more explicitly, to explain the epistemological journey of the researcher. In consequence, there are two emergent concerns which both locate the thesis and provide the primary contribution to knowledge. These are the ethnographic work itself which offers unique insights into an organization limited. The second, and arguably more significant, is the method of inquiry which refers to a tradition which deserves further attention. A more complete explanation of these issues is given below.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:504884 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Piątkowski, Przemysław |
| Publisher | University of Essex |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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