Durkheim, the body and the sacred: The neglected lesson of Homo duplex illustrated by the Wagner Bayreuth Festival

Richard Wagner's Bayreuth Festival is presented as a ‘goldmine’ case study for sociology. Durkheimian approaches to the body overwhelmingly draw on the Elementary Forms to emphasize its productive role. Bodily ritual, rhythm and regulation help us experience the solidary force of the sacred. Durkheim's essay on The Duality of Human Nature adds complexity to this picture. Here Durkheim sees the body as blocking access to higher forms of social thought, as being egoistic rather than solidaristic, and as preventing focused attention on civilizational projects. This paper presents a new set of Durkheimian questions. It directs sociological inquiry to research the body not only as a resource but also as a barrier to transcendence. Furthermore, this paper takes up the challenge with reference to the experiences of opera fans at Bayreuth. A broader Durkheimian agenda would offer a more capacious sociology of the body and the sacred.