Rites of passage help transition individuals from one stage of life to the next, and no matter the stage, they often share a similar underlying structure. In this video, anthropologist Robert Lemelson walks you through the three parts of a rite of passage proposed by cultural theorist Arnold Van Gennep: separation, liminality, and incorporation. Lemelson explains how group participation in a rite of passage can build a powerful sense of connection known as communitas, and investigates what happens when rites of passage become objects of tourism or cultural appropriation.

Part 2: Coming of Age surveys different coming of age rituals, where young people around the world can train for and demonstrate their mastery of skills required for adulthood, such as religious and gendered knowledge, bravery and endurance.

Part 3: Funeral Rites, covers the last rite of passage a human will go through– death

Part 4: Death Ritual: Continuity and Change goes even deeper into this most mysterious transition, raising pressing questions about how rites of passage around death are changing in response to societal and environmental conditions today.

Part 4: Death Ritual: Contemporary Death goes even deeper into this most mysterious transition, raising pressing questions about how rites of passage around death are changing in response to societal and environmental conditions today.