Spirit Possession and Trance
Spirit Possession and Trance

Author: Bettina E. Schmidt

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2010-03-24

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1441171827

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Spirit possession is a phenomenon that often elicits a response of fear, particular in those who are ignorant of its meaning and role within its particular religious and cultural traditions. Possession by divine beings (such as spirits or gods) is, however, a key practice in religions worldwide. It is therefore important to gain an understanding of this practice in its cultural context before trying to develop a wider theory about it. This fascinating book contains several case studies that present new interpretations of spirit possession worldwide. The authors show the diversity of possible interpretations and methodological approaches that provide a new insight into the understanding of possession and trance.

Thinking Blue / Writing Red
Thinking Blue / Writing Red

Author: Stephen Tumino

Publisher: Open Book Publishers

Published: 2024-08-08

Total Pages: 182

ISBN-13: 1800648804

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Thinking Blue/Writing Red interrogates contemporary culture across a range of texts, from the pandemic (‘Covid’ and ‘Trump Speak’) to high theory (Melville's narratives) and popular culture (Beyoncé's ‘Formation’ and Super Bowl performance, Twin Peaks , metamodern ‘cli-fi’ films). Inspired by Derrida’s idea of the secret, Tumino examines the significance of social movements (Black Lives Matter, Occupy, alter-globalization) and naïve art (Darger, Ryden) to argue that these texts speak of the secrets that capitalism cannot speak. Contending that the cultural surfaces narrate only the ‘nonsecret,’ that to see the social logic of the culture one must dig into what Bruno Latour questions as the ‘deep dark below,’ Thinking Blue/Writing Red reads these texts to tease out the underlying narratives of the culture of capital. This book will be of interest to students in several disciplines, including philosophy, literary and cultural studies, film studies, women's studies, critical race studies, history, LGBTQ+ studies and environmental studies.