About the author
David J. Hess is an anthropologist known for his work on science, technology, and society, and earlier in his career for ethnographic studies of Brazilian Spiritism. Samba in the Night: Spiritism in Brazil (1994) and Spirits and Scientists: Ideology, Spiritism, and Brazilian Culture (1991) both grew out of his fieldwork among Brazilian spirit mediums, examining espiritismo, or kardecismo, the belief in communication with the dead through mediums and healing through spiritual therapies, as a middle-class religious and cultural movement distinct from Anglo-American spiritualism. Spirits and Scientists situates the movement within Brazilian ideology and class culture, while Samba in the Night gives a more immersive, fieldwork-driven account of mediums, poltergeists, psychic surgery, and exorcism as Hess encountered them. Both books approach Spiritism as an anthropologist studying a religious and cultural phenomenon rather than as a participant or advocate, and are aimed at readers interested in the anthropology of religion and Brazilian culture specifically.
📖 Where to start with David J Hess
💬 What our editors say about David J Hess's books
“Hess delivers a compelling academic examination of Brazilian espiritismo, highlighting its unique integration of spiritual healing and scientific inquiry. However, readers seeking practical guides for mediumship or supernatural…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on Spirits and Scientists: Ideology, Spiritism, and Brazilian Culture
“David J. Hess delivers a rigorous yet engaging anthropological account of Brazilian Spiritism, grounding ethereal concepts in vivid fieldwork reality. The narrative effectively demystifies practices like psychic surgery and…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on Samba in the Night: Spiritism in Brazil
