The Gut

Reviews / Votes

'The Gut is a well-theorized and richly illustrated account of the place of the digestive tract in Black Atlantic religions, sure to be of interest to scholars of these traditions, particularly those with interests in embodiment and ways of knowing. A focus on interoceptive sensation and engagement with the 'thinking gut' concept from the sciences also makes this text a unique contribution to the wider religious studies discourse on emotion, knowledge, and the body that should not be overlooked by scholars outside of the subfield of Afro-diasporic religions.' Alana Dickey, Reading Religion 'Perez's monograph is a succinct study focused on the 'gastrointestinal tract as a privileged experiential zone' in Black Atlantic Religions. Perez foregrounds the significance of human digestive anatomy across time, place, and Black Atlantic traditions through brief yet generative analyses of rituals, songs, proverbs, and African cosmological principles. The book's seemingly narrow theme invites us into the depths of the important relationship between human and animal physiology within Black Atlantic traditions. Perez persuasively conceptualizes the elongated path that connects the mouth, throat, stomach, and intestines as a track/tract as a site to theorize the imbrication of race, religion, and wellness (spiritual and physical).' K. B. Dennis-Meade, Material Religion