Beyond Rationalism
Rethinking Magic, Witchcraft and Sorcery
1st Edition
Published on 20. March 2003
Book
Paperback/Softback
284 pages
978-1-57181-418-0 (ISBN)
Description
This book seeks a reconsideration of the phenomenon of sorcery and related categories. The contributors to the volume explore the different perspectives on human sociality and social and political constitution that practices typically understood as sorcery, magic and ritual reveal. In doing so the authors are concerned to break away from the dictates of a western externalist rationalist understanding of these phenomena without falling into the trap of mysticism. The articles address a diversity of ethnographic contexts in Africa, Asia, the Pacific and the Americas.
Reviews / Votes
"...Kapferer's introduction is an intellectual tour de force, perhaps the most important rethinking of the problems of rationality that underlie the study of witchcraft and sorcery since Evans-Pritchard." ? American Anthropologist"...teems with interesting theoretical insights, and all the chapters are particularly strong in delineating local meanings within the framework of broader processes." ? African Studies Review
"... shows that the discourses on 'occult economies' are multiple ... The presented essays are an excellent illustration of their variety of forms and constitute a valuable contribution to their understanding." ? Anthropos
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Herndon
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
17 Plates, unspecified; 17 Graphs
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
436 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-57181-418-0 (9781571814180)
DOI
10.3167/9781571814180
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
02/2003
1st Edition
Berghahn Books
€32.49
Available for download
Person
Bruce Kapferer is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Bergen, Adjunct Professor at James Cook University and Honorary Professor at University College London.
Content
Introduction: Outside All Reason - Magic, Sorcery and Epistemology in Anthropology
B. Kapferer
Chapter 1. Anthroposophy and Voodoo in Dominican-Haitian Borderlands
M. Brendbekken
Chapter 2. The Smell of Death: Theft, Disgust and Ritual Practice in Central Lombok, Indonesia
K.G. Telle
Chapter 3. Sorcery, Modernity and the Constitutive Imaginary: Hybridising Continuities
B. Kapferer
Chapter 4. The Sorcerer as the Absented Third Person: Formations of Fear and Anger in Vanuatu
K. Rio
Chapter 5. Sorcerous Technologies and Religious Innovation in Sri Lanka
R. Bastin
Chapter 6. Maleficent Fetishes and the Sensual Order of the Uncanny in South West Congo
R. Devisch
Chapter 7. Fantasy in Practice: Projection and Ontrojection, or the Witch and the Spirit-Medium
M. Lambek
Chapter 8. The Discourse of 'Ritual Murder': Popular Reaction to Political Leaders in Botswana
O. Gulbrandsen
Chapter 9. Strange Fruit: The South African Truth Commission and Demonic Economies of Violence
A. Feldman
Notes on Contributors
Bibliography
Index
B. Kapferer
Chapter 1. Anthroposophy and Voodoo in Dominican-Haitian Borderlands
M. Brendbekken
Chapter 2. The Smell of Death: Theft, Disgust and Ritual Practice in Central Lombok, Indonesia
K.G. Telle
Chapter 3. Sorcery, Modernity and the Constitutive Imaginary: Hybridising Continuities
B. Kapferer
Chapter 4. The Sorcerer as the Absented Third Person: Formations of Fear and Anger in Vanuatu
K. Rio
Chapter 5. Sorcerous Technologies and Religious Innovation in Sri Lanka
R. Bastin
Chapter 6. Maleficent Fetishes and the Sensual Order of the Uncanny in South West Congo
R. Devisch
Chapter 7. Fantasy in Practice: Projection and Ontrojection, or the Witch and the Spirit-Medium
M. Lambek
Chapter 8. The Discourse of 'Ritual Murder': Popular Reaction to Political Leaders in Botswana
O. Gulbrandsen
Chapter 9. Strange Fruit: The South African Truth Commission and Demonic Economies of Violence
A. Feldman
Notes on Contributors
Bibliography
Index