{"product_id":"the-collective-self-zachary-ugolnik-9781531514198","title":"The Collective Self: Reflection and Religion in Byzantium and the Middle East","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eReveals a conception of selfhood in Byzantine and Middle-Eastern sources that is fundamentally collective rather than merely individual, challenging Western-centric narratives of the modern self and enriching contemporary discussions on communal ways of being\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhat if the story we tell ourselves about of the modern self is incomplete? \u003ci\u003eThe Collective Self \u003c\/i\u003echal-lenges narrow histories of Western selfhood that limit our understanding of both past and present. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on mirror imagery as a unifying thread, this book brings overlooked sources from the eastern Mediterranean, Middle East, and Orthodox Christian tradition into conversation with Western genealogies of \"knowing thyself.\" Reflections and mirrors--an ancient technology--become embedded in discussions of self-knowledge. From the \u003ci\u003eOdes of Solomon \u003c\/i\u003eand Plotinus's \u003ci\u003eEnneads \u003c\/i\u003eto the writings of Evagrius, Athanasius, and Ephrem the Syrian, and concluding with medieval Syriac writers and a few emblematic Sufi sources, Ugolnik reveals a conception of selfhood that is fundamentally collective rather than merely individual. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Collective Self \u003c\/i\u003eintervenes in current debates about embodiment, interdependence, and communion by demonstrating that reflexivity and communal selfhood are not exclusively modern or post-modern innovations. By highlighting optical theories that allow convergence in perception and embodied notions of the self, this book problematizes the assumption that introspection is only mental or individual and challenges typical associations of what is ancient or modern, Eastern or Western. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn these texts, mirror imagery articulates a convergence of gazes between oneself, the divine, and glorified beings--what Ugolnik calls \"I and We.\" This synthesis occurs through communal practices of prayer, liturgy, psalm, and hymn singing that create pathways for practitioners to participate in each other's subjectivity across space and time. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs we enter a new bio-technological and computational age, this alternative history of self-reflection offers vital resources for imagining more inclusive models of identity, empathy, and col-lective flourishing--reminding us that technology has long served as a medium for understanding who we are.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Zachary Ugolnik\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1531514197\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781531514198\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Fordham University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 244\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.03lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.69d","brand":"Zachary Ugolnik","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48997113233663,"sku":"9781531514198","price":140.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-collective-self-zachary-ugolnik-9781531514198","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}