Liminality

Liminality is a concept in anthropology and psychology that refers to being in between two stages of life or in the middle of changing from one mode of existence to another. It has been described as being “betwixt and between.” Liminality usually involves some sense of uncertainty as well as the incorporation of a rite of passage or specific event that indicates the completion of the liminal state. People who lose a job or experience the death of a loved one experience a liminal state as they move from the way things were to the way they will be in the future. In a similar way, businesses, schools, and other entities experience liminality when major changes in leadership or organization are undergone.

Background

The word liminality comes from the Latin word limen, which means “threshold.” A threshold is the part of a doorway that is at the point where one transitions from being on one side of the door to the other. An alternate usage of the word threshold is the point at which something has reached its limit and experiences a change, such as the threshold at which a sound becomes audible and ends the previous silence. The word liminality, therefore, incorporates the idea of the period of change before one thing becomes something different.

This usage of the concept of liminality originated with Arnold van Gennep. In 1909, the German-born French ethnographer and folklore expert wrote Les Rites des Passage, in which he described a three-stage process for various rites of passage experienced in different cultures. These included such experiences as marriage, grief, and coming of age, situations in which a person begins in one state and reaches another.

Van Gennep identified these three stages as separation, liminal, and assimilation. He described how the person separates from the way things were before, goes through a period of transition and change, and finally arrives at a place that will become the new normal state for life. In the 1970s, British cultural anthropologist Victor Turner elaborated on van Gennep’s concepts and applied the idea of liminality to individuals undergoing any change that leaves them in a state between where they started and where they will eventually end up. This includes any life change that creates a fundamental difference in a person’s life, such as starting school or a new job, getting married or divorced, or moving away from home.

Overview

The concept of liminality includes the idea of a radical change from one stage or status to another. People in liminal stages are usually not fully part of either the stage they used to be in nor fully in the new stage to which they are moving. For example, a person who loses a spouse is no longer part of a couple but has not yet adjusted to the way life will be in widowhood, and a person who is changing jobs is no longer part of the group of former coworkers but has not yet assimilated into a new group of coworkers or learned all the ins and outs of the new job.

Van Gennep and Turner’s idea of liminality has several required aspects, including the following:

• It is both objective and subjective; that is, both an observer and the person experiencing liminality can tell that the state exists.
• It is a temporary state.
• It is not optional. It must be experienced for the person to move from one stage to the other.
• It is supported by others, either the person’s elders or other people going through the same experience.
• It is a culturally accepted and recognized transition that others have experienced and described.
• It is part of a process that automatically moves to the next logical stage of existence.

Anthropologists and others interested in the study of liminality look for certain hallmarks to identify liminal states. For the person going through liminality, there is a clear sense of being in a state of transition. The cause of the change is understood, and there is an expectation that there will be a new state to come, even if the details of that new state or status are unclear. There are often rites and cultural practices that accompany the state and help define the transition, for example, a funeral or celebration of life ceremony takes place after a loved one passes away. Liminality also often includes a period when the usual rules and roles do not apply. A person starting a new job is often in a sort of grace period while learning new policies and responsibilities. Friends of a newly divorced person are often understanding if that person does not attend some social functions or does not call as often as before.

Over time, the person experiencing liminality gradually moves further from the old state and closer to the new one. This is often facilitated by people who are already in the new state, such as new coworkers, or by those who are or who have recently undergone the same transition, such as a grief support group. These people help direct and guide the person through liminality to the new stage of life, helping them cope with any anxiety, depression, and uncertainty that can come with the change. New practices are adopted to replace those that ended with the old state, and the person gradually adopts a new way of living that is in line with the new state.

Experts suggest that those going through a liminal state seek the support of others, who can sometimes include professional counselors. This can be beneficial when dealing with any feelings of guilt, shame, or inadequacy that might have been caused by changes such as a job loss, divorce, or other separation from family. It is especially important if the person experiencing liminality played a role in the reason for the change, such as getting fired because of misconduct. Experts say it is helpful to remember that by definition, liminality is temporary and a new state will eventually begin, and lessons learned while in the liminal state will have lasting benefits in the future.

Bibliography

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Barron, Carrie. “Creativity and the Liminal Space.” Psychology Today, 4 June 2013, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-creativity-cure/201306/creativity-and-the-liminal-space. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.

Finn, Christine. “2017: What Scientific Term or Concept Ought to Be More Widely Known?” Edge, www.edge.org/response-detail/27094. Accessed 29 Dec. 2018.

Grad, Laurie Burrows. “Liminality: The Threshold Betwixt and Between.” Huffington Post, 25 Dec. 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/laurie-burrows-grad/liminality-the-threshold-‗b‗13845666.html. Accessed 29 Dec. 2018.

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Turner, Victor. “Liminal to Liminoid, In Play, Flow, and Ritual: An Essay in Comparative Symbology.” Rice University, 1974, scholarship.rice.edu/bitstream/handle/1911/63159/article‗RIP603‗part4.pdf. Accessed 29 Dec. 2018.