Download or read book Rethinking the Anthropology of Magic and Witchcraft written by Phillips Stevens, Jr. and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-12-12 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces students to the anthropology of magic and witchcraft, terms widely used but without widely accepted definitions. It takes a new approach to this area within the anthropology of religion, demonstrating that the bases for these beliefs and alleged practices are inherent in human cognition and psychology, even instinctual, and likely rooted in our evolutionary biology. It shows how magic and magical thinking are regular elements in people’s daily lives, and that understanding the components of the witchcraft complex offers surprisingly important insights into patterns of thinking and social behavior. The book reviews the many meanings of “magic” and “witchcraft,” and introduces the best anthropological meanings of the terms. The components of these beliefs are timeless and universal; this fact, and recent advances in the brain sciences, suggest that the principles of magic are derived from basic processes of human thinking, and the attributes of the witch derive from neurobiologically based fears and fantasies. The propensity for such beliefs probably had adaptive significance in the evolutionary development of the human species; they are inherently human. This book is intended to focus anew on the core concepts of magic, witchcraft, and the supernatural, while also serving as an introduction to the anthropology of religion for undergraduate and graduate-level courses.
Download or read book Rethinking the Anthropology of Magic and Witchcraft written by Phillips Stevens and published by . This book was released on 2023-12 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book introduces students to the anthropology of magic, witchcraft, and supernatural belief. It takes a new approach to this area within the anthropology of religion, demonstrating that the bases for these beliefs and alleged practices are instinctual, inherent in human cognition and psychology, and are likely rooted in our evolutionary biology. It shows how magic and magical thinking are regular elements in people's daily activities, and that understanding the components of the witchcraft complex offers surprisingly important insights into patterns of thinking and social behavior. The book reviews the many meanings of "magic" and "witchcraft," explains why they are inadequate, and introduces the anthropological meanings of the terms. The components of these beliefs are timeless and universal; this fact, and recent advances in the brain sciences, suggest that the principles of magic are derived from basic processes of human thinking, and the attributes of the witch derive from neuro-biologically based fears and fantasies. Such beliefs had adaptive significance in the evolutionary development of the human species; they are inherently human. This book is intended to focus anew on the core concepts of magic, witchcraft, and the supernatural, while also serving as a valuable introduction to the anthropology of religion for undergraduate and graduate-level courses"--
Download or read book Beyond Rationalism written by Bruce Kapferer and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2003-02-01 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Magic Witchcraft and the Otherworld written by Susan Greenwood and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-08-02 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anthropology's long and complex relationship to magic has been strongly influenced by western science and notions of rationality. This book takes a refreshing new look at modern magic as practised by contemporary Pagans in Britain. It focuses on what Pagans see as the essence of magic - a communication with an otherworldly reality. Examining issues of identity, gender and morality, the author argues that the otherworld forms a central defining characteristic of magical practice. Integrating an experiential ethnographic approach with an analysis of magic, this book asks penetrating questions about the nature of otherworldly knowledge and argues that our scientific frameworks need re-envisioning. It is unique in providing an insider's view of how magic is practised in contemporary western culture.
Download or read book Magic Witchcraft and Religion A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion written by Pamela Moro and published by McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages. This book was released on 2009-09-18 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comparative reader takes an anthropological approach to the study of religious beliefs and practices, both strange and familiar. The engaging articles on all key issues related to the anthropology of religion grab the attention of students, while giving them an excellent foundation in contemporary ideas and approaches in the field. The multiple authors included in each chapter represent a range of interests, geographic foci, and ways of looking at each subject. Divided into 10 chapters, this book begins with a broad view of anthropological ways of looking at religion and moves on to some of the core topics within the subject, such as myth, ritual, and the various types of religious specialties.
Download or read book Magic Witchcraft and Religion written by and published by McGraw-Hill Humanities, Social Sciences & World Languages. This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comparative reader takes an anthropological approach to the study of religious beliefs, both strange and familiar. The engaging articles on all key issues related to the anthropology of religion grab the attention of students, while giving them an excellent foundation in contemporary ideas and approaches in the field. The multiple authors included in each chapter represent a range of interests, geographic foci, and ways of looking at each subject. Divided into ten chapters, this book begins with a broad view of anthropological ways of looking at religion, and moves on to some of the core topics within the subject, such as myth, ritual, and the various types of religious specialists.
Download or read book Magic Witchcraft and Religion written by Arthur C. Lehmann and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comparative reader that takes an anthropological approach to the study of religious beliefs, both strange and familiar.
Download or read book Magic Witchcraft and Curing written by John Middleton and published by . This book was released on 1977 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cross cultural studies from many areas; p.23; Footnote on case of Aboriginal in Darwin hospital April 1956 seen as type of sorcery.
Download or read book Magic Witchcraft and Religion A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion written by James Myers and published by McGraw-Hill Education. This book was released on 2012-09-27 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Magic Witchcraft and Religion: A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion takes an anthropological approach to the study of religious beliefs and practices, both strange and familiar. The engaging articles on all key issues related to the anthropology of religion grab the attention of students, while giving them an excellent foundation in contemporary ideas and approaches in the field. The multiple authors included in each chapter represent a range of interests, geographic foci, and ways of looking at each subject. Features of the ninth edition include new study questions and articles, as well as updated discussions on religion, illness, healing, and death.
Download or read book The Anthropology of Religion Magic and Witchcraft written by Rebecca L. Stein and published by . This book was released on 2024 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This concise and accessible textbook introduces students to the anthropological study of religion. It is an essential guide for students encountering anthropology of religion for the first time and also those with ongoing interest in this fascinating field.
Download or read book A History of Magic Witchcraft and the Occult written by DK and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-08-18 with total page 898 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover the beguiling history of witchcraft, magic, and superstition through the centuries in this stunningly illustrated title. A History of Magic, Witchcraft and the Occult charts the extraordinary narrative of one of the most interesting and often controversial subjects in the world, covering everything from ancient animal worship and shamanism, through alchemy and divination to modern Wicca and the resurgence of the occult in 21st-century literature, cinema, and television. Providing readers with a comprehensive account of everything from Japanese folklore and Indian witchcraft to the differences between black and white magic, and dispelling myths such as those surrounding the voodoo doll and Ouija, the book explores the common human fascination with spells, superstition, and the supernatural. This riveting read on witchcraft further includes: - Engaging text and lavish illustrations with over 500 full-color images that bring the subject to life. - Special features on aspects of magic, such as oracle bones of ancient China, the Knights Templar, and magic at the movies, and “plants and potions”, such as mandrake and belladonna examine topics in great detail. - Quick-fact panels explore magic origins, key figures, key deities, uses in spells, structures of religions, and more. The perfect introduction to magic and the occult, it explores forms of divination from astrology and palmistry to the Tarot and runestones and offers key insights into the ways in which magic has interacted with religion. The most comprehensive illustrated history of witchcraft available, A History of Magic, Witchcraft and the Occult will enthral and fascinate anyone interested in spiritualism and the occult.
Download or read book The Anthropology of Magic written by Susan Greenwood and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Magic Witchcraft and Religion in the Media Revised Second Edition written by Liam D. Murphy and published by Cognella Academic Publishing. This book was released on 2016-08-18 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Western popular culture is saturated with ideas drawn from religious institutions and a variety of other forms of awareness. In an age that many view as secular, news accounts are replete with sensationalist stories about inexplicable supernatural events. The Occult, mythology, vampires, zombies, ghosts and apparitions, and paranormal activity are but a few of the supernatural or cosmological themes and images that are felt in everyday life. Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion in the Media, represents a unique effort to capture a cross-section of these events in media reportage and analyze them through the lens of anthropology. The essays selected for this text, which are drawn from a variety of news media and online sources, are clustered around important themes and discussed in terms of their impact on society. They illustrate how classic observations and theory made by social and cultural anthropologists have real world application in everyday American life. This is an ideal supplemental text for introductory and general education courses on "the anthropology of religion," yet it is accessible to an educated public.
Download or read book Magic and Modernity written by Birgit Meyer and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book to explore comparatively how magic—usually portrayed as the antithesis of the modern—is also at home in modernity.
Download or read book Persuasions of the Witch s Craft written by T. M. Luhrmann and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1991-03-01 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To find out why reasonable people are drawn to the seemingly bizarre practices of magic and witchcraft, Tanya Luhrmann immersed herself in the secret lives of Londoners who call themselves magicians. She came to know them as friends and equals and was initiated into various covens and magical groups. She explains the process through which once-skeptical individuals—educated, middle-class people, frequently of high intelligence—become committed to the ideas behind witchcraft and find magical ritual so compellingly persuasive. This intriguing book draws some disturbing conclusions about the ambivalence of belief within modern urban society.
Download or read book The Anthropology of Religion Magic and Witchcraft written by Rebecca L. Stein and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This concise and accessible textbook introduces students to the anthropological study of religion. Stein and Stein examine religious expression from a cross-cultural perspective and expose students to the varying complexity of world religions. The chapters incorporate key theoretical concepts and a rich range of ethnographic material. The fourth edition of The Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft offers: - increased coverage of new religious movements, fundamentalism, and religion and conflict/violence; - fresh case study material with examples drawn from around the globe; - further resources via a comprehensive companion website. This is an essential guide for students encountering anthropology of religion for the first time.
Download or read book The Anthropological Lens written by Christopher Morton and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-02-08 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sir Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard (1902-1973) is widely considered the most influential British anthropologist of the twentieth century, known to generations of students for his seminal works on South Sudanese ethnography Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande (OUP 1937) and The Nuer (OUP 1940). In these works, now classics in the anthropological literature, Evans-Pritchard broke new ground on questions of rationality, social accountability, kinship, social and political organization, and religion, as well as influentially moving the discipline in Britain away from the natural sciences and towards history. Yet despite much discussion about his theoretical contributions to anthropology, no study has yet explored his fieldwork in detail in order to get a better understanding of its historical contexts, local circumstances or the social encounters out of which it emerged. This book then is just such an exploration, of Evans-Pritchard the fieldworker through the lens of his fieldwork photography. Through an engagement with his photographic archive, and by thinking with it alongside his written ethnographies and other unpublished evidence, the book offers a new insight into the way in which Evans-Pritchard's theoretical contributions to the discipline were shaped by his fieldwork and the numerous local people in Africa with whom he collaborated. By writing history through field photographs we move back towards the fieldwork experiences, exploring the vivid traces, lived realities and local presences at the heart of the social encounter that formed the basis of Evans-Pritchard's anthropology.
