Redefining Shamanisms

Reviews / Votes

This is a rare and valuable field study of Spiritualism, more so because its author is both a practicing medium and a fine scholar of religion. In addition, it is a truly comparative study that goes beyond description to make an innovative case for rethinking the category of 'shamanism' in light of a core emphasis on apprenticeship. -- Steven Engler, Associate Professor in the Humanities Department at Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada This is an elegantly written, original monograph that arguably has singlehandedly resuscitated the study of spiritualism in Religious Studies. It deserves a wide readership and is strongly recommended. -- Carole M. Cusack, Associate Professor in the Department of Studies in Religion at the University of Sydney, Australia David Gordon Wilson's 'insider' position as a Spiritualist medium affords a unique insight which redefines not only our understanding of shamanism, but also the place of Spiritualism in modern British society. As our appreciation and awareness of the sheer complexity of the religious and spiritual landscape of modern Western society continues to develop this text draws attention to the fact that enchanted otherworldly spiritualities do not exist outside society and everyday life, but emerge from and feed into the social, cultural and physical landscapes they are housed within. In this way Wilson offers insight into not only Spiritualism and shamanism, but into the societies from which they emerge, making this nuanced account of a very particular spiritual practice relevant to our wider understanding of the modern - and far from disenchanted - condition. -- Sara MacKian, Senior Lecturer in Health and Wellbeing at The Open University, UK Based in a detailed account of contemporary Spiritualist practices, this is an enterprising study of mediumship in modern European society. The author boldly argues that learning how to be a working Spiritualist medium can be understood as a "western" instance of a cross-cultural institution of Shamanic apprenticeship. The book contains the fullest ethnography of Spiritualism in the UK yet published and will open a new chapter in studies of Spiritualism as well as generate fresh debate within comparative studies of possession and shamanism. * Dr. Steven J. Sutcliffe, Senior Lecturer in the Study of Religion, University of Edinburgh, UK * ...I found this an informative, well-argued, richly descriptive and theoretically persuasive book that I recommend to all readers of Nova Religio. -- Eileen Barker, London School of Economics * Nova Religio *