Sacred Architecture in a Secular Age Anamnesis of Durham Cathedral [Hardcover]

Having won more than one recent poll as Britains best-loved building, the appeal of Durham Cathedral appears abiding, which begs the question whether an iconic sacred building can retain meaning and affective pertinence for contemporary, secular visitors. Using the example of Durham Cathedral, this book sets out to explore wherein the appeal of historic churches lies today and considers questions of how and why their preservation into a post-Christian era should be secured.

By including feedback from visitors to the cathedral, and the authors own very personal account of the cathedral in the form of an ekphrasis, this work seeks to privilege an interpretation of architecture that is based on the individual experience rather than on more conventional narratives of architecture history and cultural heritage policy. Recognising the implication of our choice of narrative on the perceived value of historic churches is crucial when deliberating their future role.

This book puts forth a compelling case for historical sacred architecture, suggesting that its loss - through imperceptive conservation practices as much as through neglect or demolition - would diminish us all, secularists, atheists and agnostics included.

1. Exordium, 2. Experiencing Durham Cathedral, 3. Secularism in Contemporary Western Architecture and Society, 4. Vestiges of Sanctity, 5. Perspectives on Sacred Architecture, 6. Tractatus

Marie Claus?n holds Bachelors Degrees in Political Science, Sociology, and Art History, and Masters Degrees in International Relations (University of Reading) and Art History (Uppsala University). Her present academic interests include medieval church architecture, the phenomenology of space, the dilemmas of cultural heritage, and the practice of ekphrastic writing. Aside from her academic pursuits, Claus?n is a published poet, and has spent fifteen years in the academic book publishing industry on both slã#