The Ashgate Research Companion to Paranormal Cultures
✍️ Olu Jenzen, Sally R MuntCurrently unavailable
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This groundbreaking academic companion delves into the persistent and growing fascination with the paranormal across Western societies. It gathers insights from international scholars in the humanities and social sciences to explore why individuals seek meaning beyond conventional spiritual and rational frameworks. Far from dismissing these beliefs, the volume critically examines how paranormal cultures operate as a space to challenge established knowledge, shape social identities, and manifest in everyday life, media, and technology. It's a vital resource for understanding this often-overlooked dimension of modern existence.
Praise for this book
“The Ashgate Research Companion to Paranormal Cultures sounds like something to have handy by your bedside in case of ghosts, ghouls or other unexplained phenomena and maybe it is, but it is so much more. This work showcases exciting new research into intriguing everyday aspects of parapsychology, critiqued through different filters and from different viewpoints.”
“This is just a marvelous collection of essays (and essayists) - deeply versed in the theoretical literatures and the historical materials, smart, critical, sympathetic, as interested in the popular as the elite, and, above all, sufficiently weird. What they show as a whole is that the paranormal is normal, or, better, that the normal is not what we thought it was. Exactly the kind of notes we should be striking in cutting edge scholarship.”
“This welcome collection takes a refreshingly eclectic approach to the meaning, expression, and representation of the paranormal, demonstrating the scholarly value of research in the field. Drawing upon the diverse expertise of its contributors, it provides an intellectually stimulating look at ghosts, UFOs, spiritualism, and broader paranormal cultures without getting unnecessarily bogged down in abstruse theory.”
📝 Description: The Ashgate Research Companion to Paranormal Cultures
📑 What's inside
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction (Sally R. Munt)
- Part I Paranormal Epistemologies
- 1. Haunted Culture: The Persistence of Belief in the Paranormal (Christopher Partridge)
- 2. The Ghost in the Machine: Spirit and Technology (John Harvey)
- 3. Paranormal Cultural Practices (Annette Hill)
- 4. Extraordinary Experiences with UFOs (David Clarke)
- 5. Ghosts in the Body: Infections, Genes, and the Re-enchantment of Biology (Robert Peckham)
- 6. Sceptic Culture: Traditions of Disbelief in New Mexico (William J. Dewan)
- 7. 'Paranormal Science' from America to Italy: A Case of Cultural Homogenisation (Andrea Molle and Christopher D. Bader)
- 8. Making Sense of the Paranormal: A Platonic Context for Research Methods (Angela Voss)
- 9. Everyday Ghosts: A Matter of Believing in Belonging (Abby Day)
- 10. 'A Giant Bedsheet with the Holes Cut Out' Expectations and Discussions of the Appearance of Ghosts (Paul Cowdell)
- 11. Interpreting Death and the Afterlife in US Paranormal Reality Television Programmes and Online Fan Groups (Diane Dobry)
- Part II The Paranormal and Social Change
- 12. Wilhelm Reich and the Etheric Warriors (Sarah Jane Sloane)
- 13. Other Senses: The Politics of Mediumship (Esther Peeren)
- 14. 'There's Something in My House' Television and the Politics of the Paranormal (Heather Nunn and Anita Biressi)
- 15. Social Realism and the Paranormal in Scandinavian Fiction (Olu Jenzen)
- 16. Immersed in Illusion, Haunted by History: Marisa Carnesky's Ghost Train (Josephine Machon)
- 17. Ireland the Anomalous State: Paranormal Cultures and the Irish Literary and Political Revival
- (Wendy E. Cousins)
- 18. Mexico's La Ilustración Espírita: Towards a Transatlantic Understanding of a Spiritualist Archive
- (María del Pilar Blanco)
- 19. Visions of the Paranormal: Representations of Psychic Women and Ghosts in Television and Film (Karin Beeler)
- Part III Paranormal Phenomenologies
- 20. The Gizmo and the Glitch: Telepathy, Ocular Philosophy, and other Extensions of Sensation
- (Kristen Gallerneaux Brooks)
- 21. Paranormal Art History: Psychometry and the Afterlife of Objects, a Canadian Case Study
- (Jennifer Fisher)
- 22. Music and the Paranormal (Melvyn J. Willin)
- 23. Conjuring the Spirits: Suggestion, Magic, and the Cognitive Approach to Performance Creation (Jon Armstrong)
- 24. Trance, Transfiguration and Trust: Spiritualism in Western Australia (Janet Baldwin)
- 25. A Phenomenology of the Ghosthunting Scene in the USA and in Germany (Gerhard Mayer)
- 26. The GHost Project: Manifesting Ghosts through Visual Art and Creative Research (Sarah Sparkes)
- 27. The Monsters of Hackney and Walthamstow Marshes: The Haunting of East London's Lower Lea Valley by Prehistoric Ghosts (Gareth E. Rees)
- 28. A Short Bestiary of Creatures from the Web (Line Henriksen)
- Bibliography
- Index
💎 Expert review
📖 Why choose it
Why this book is worth reading
This book is essential for scholars, practitioners, and curious minds who wish to understand the deeper sociological and psychological roots of paranormal fascination in the modern world. It offers a rigorous yet accessible analysis of why rationality fails to satisfy the human need for meaning beyond conventional frameworks. Readers will gain insight into how these beliefs shape identity and challenge established knowledge systems. It is not merely about ghosts or magic, but about the cultural mechanisms that sustain them. For those interested in the intersection of technology, media, and the supernatural, this companion provides a critical lens. It validates the study of the paranormal as a serious academic discipline while acknowledging its profound impact on everyday life and social structures.
⭐ Reader reviews
Reader rating
While intellectually robust, this text is strictly for an academic audience comfortable with humanities and social science theory. It will likely frustrate readers seeking practical magical instruction or simple supernatural anecdotes. The tone is analytical rather than mystical, focusing on cultural operation rather than experiential wonder. Those looking for esoteric secrets or spiritual guidance will find it sterile. However, for researchers examining how paranormal cultures challenge rationality and shape identity in Western societies, it is an indispensable resource. It successfully maps the landscape of modern supernatural belief without dismissing it, offering a vital perspective on this often-overlooked dimension of existence.
❓ Frequently asked questions
📖 Who should read this
If you're an academic, student, or simply a discerning reader fascinated by the sociology of belief, cultural studies, or the intersections of spirituality and society, this collection offers profound insights. It's for those who wish to understand the 'why' and 'how' of paranormal engagement, rather than just the 'what.'
🎯 Key themes and symbolism
Critique of Knowledge
The book positions paranormal belief not as superstition, but as a potent site for questioning dominant forms of intellectual and spiritual authority. It investigates how engaging with the supernatural can reveal the limitations and biases inherent in mainstream epistemologies, pushing boundaries of what is considered legitimate knowledge and experience in contemporary society.
Everyday Paranormal Manifestations
This collection explores the pervasive presence of the paranormal in our daily lives, from personal practices and textual engagements to its representation in media, art, and technology. It dissects how these beliefs are lived, shared, and interpreted, highlighting the intricate ways they weave into popular culture, forming both niche subcultures and influencing broader societal trends.
Paranormal's Role in Change
Beyond mere curiosity, the volume examines the profound impact of paranormal cultures on social dynamics. It considers how these beliefs contribute to identity formation, community building, and even act as catalysts for social change. The contributors analyze the epistemological, methodological, and phenomenological implications of such beliefs within a changing world.
📜 Historical context
📚 Glossary
- Epistemology
- Phenomenology
- Subjugated Knowledge
📔 Questions to reflect on
- Reflect on how your personal understanding of 'truth' or 'reality' might be influenced by cultural narratives about the paranormal.
- Consider a specific paranormal phenomenon (e.g., ghosts, astrology). How is it mediated through modern technology or popular culture, and what does this reveal about contemporary belief systems?
- If paranormal belief is a 'subjugated knowledge,' what other forms of knowledge do you observe being marginalized in society, and why might this be the case?
📖 Read on the blog
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