Book Review of Reassembling Religion in Roman Italy, by Emma-Jayne Graham

Abstract

Graham’s first book, a self-described New Materialist approach to ritual assemblage in Roman religion, revolves around several central questions: What kinds of agency do material things possess, and under what circumstances do they acquire it? What is the effect of interacting with embodiment that is both like and unlike one’s own body? Is it possible for the “more-than-human” (often used in reference to divinity, e.g., 7) to have a material manifestation that does not require human manipulation or participation?