The Spirit of Matter
Modernity, Religion, and the Power of Objects
Published on 15. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
388 pages
978-1-83695-691-4 (ISBN)
Description
A range of meaningful objects-exhibits of human remains or live people, fetishes, objects in a Catholic Museum, exotic photographs, commodities, and computers-demonstrate a subordinate modern consciousness about powerful objects and their "life". The Spirit of Matter discusses these objects that move people emotionally but whose existence is often denied by modern wishful thinking of "mind over matter".
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E-Book
07/2023
1st Edition
Berghahn Books
€22.49
Available for download
E-Book
07/2023
1st Edition
Berghahn Books
€22.49
Available for download
Person
Peter Pels is a Professor of Anthropology of Africa at the University of Leiden. He edited the journal Social Anthropology (2003-2007) and advised the Çatalhöyük excavation project led by Ian Hodder (2005-14). His most recent publication is Museum Temporalities: Time, History and the Future of the Ethnographic Museum (Routledge, 2023) which is co-edited with Wayne Modest.