The Ashgate Research Companion To Paranormal Cultures

Author : Olu Jenzen
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317042182
Total Pages : 554 pages
Book Rating : 4.81/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book The Ashgate Research Companion to Paranormal Cultures written by Olu Jenzen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-03-23 with total page 554 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite the much vaunted ’end of religion’ and the growth of secularism, people are engaging like never before in their own ’spiritualities of life’. Across the West, paranormal belief is on the rise. The Ashgate Research Companion to Paranormal Cultures brings together the work of international scholars across the social sciences and humanities to question how and why people are seeking meaning in the realm of the paranormal, a heretofore subjugated knowledge. With contributions from the UK and other European countries, the USA, Australia and Canada, this ground-breaking book attends to the paranormal as a position from which to critique dominant forms of knowledge production and spirituality. A rich exploration of everyday life practices, textual engagements and discourses relating to the paranormal, as well as the mediation, technology and art of paranormal activity, this book explores themes such as subcultures and mainstreaming, as well as epistemological, methodological, and phenomenological questions, and the role of the paranormal in social change. The Ashgate Research Companion to Paranormal Cultures constitutes an essential resource for those interested in the academic study of cultural engagements with paranormality; it will appeal to scholars of cultural and media studies, popular culture, sociology, cultural geography, literature, film and music.

Author : Olu Jenzen
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317042190
Total Pages : 492 pages
Book Rating : 4.98/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book The Ashgate Research Companion to Paranormal Cultures written by Olu Jenzen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-03-23 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite the much vaunted ’end of religion’ and the growth of secularism, people are engaging like never before in their own ’spiritualities of life’. Across the West, paranormal belief is on the rise. The Ashgate Research Companion to Paranormal Cultures brings together the work of international scholars across the social sciences and humanities to question how and why people are seeking meaning in the realm of the paranormal, a heretofore subjugated knowledge. With contributions from the UK and other European countries, the USA, Australia and Canada, this ground-breaking book attends to the paranormal as a position from which to critique dominant forms of knowledge production and spirituality. A rich exploration of everyday life practices, textual engagements and discourses relating to the paranormal, as well as the mediation, technology and art of paranormal activity, this book explores themes such as subcultures and mainstreaming, as well as epistemological, methodological, and phenomenological questions, and the role of the paranormal in social change. The Ashgate Research Companion to Paranormal Cultures constitutes an essential resource for those interested in the academic study of cultural engagements with paranormality; it will appeal to scholars of cultural and media studies, popular culture, sociology, cultural geography, literature, film and music.

Author : Darryl Caterine
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351731815
Total Pages : 449 pages
Book Rating : 4.12/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book The Paranormal and Popular Culture written by Darryl Caterine and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-02-18 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Interest in preternatural and supernatural themes has revitalized the Gothic tale, renewed explorations of psychic powers and given rise to a host of social and religious movements based upon claims of the fantastical. And yet, in spite of this widespread enthusiasm, the academic world has been slow to study this development. This volume rectifies this gap in current scholarship by serving as an interdisciplinary overview of the relationship of the paranormal to the artefacts of mass media (e.g. novels, comic books, and films) as well as the cultural practices they inspire. After an introduction analyzing the paranormal’s relationship to religion and entertainment, the book presents essays exploring its spiritual significance in a postmodern society; its (post)modern representation in literature and film; and its embodiment in a number of contemporary cultural practices. Contributors from a number of discplines and cultural contexts address issues such as the shamanistic aspects of Batman and lesbianism in vampire mythology. Covering many aspects of the paranormal and its effect on popular culture, this book is an important statement in the field. As such, it will be of utmost interest to scholars of religious studies as well as media, communication, and cultural studies.

Author : Sharon A. Hill
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476672474
Total Pages : 255 pages
Book Rating : 4.72/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Scientifical Americans written by Sharon A. Hill and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2017-12-08 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 21st century, reality television and the Internet have fed public interest in ghosts, UFOs, cryptozoology and other unusual phenomena. By 2010, roughly 2000 amateur research and investigation groups formed in the U.S.--ghost hunters, Bigfoot chasers and UFO researchers, using an array of (supposedly) scientific equipment and methods to prove the existence of the paranormal. American culture's honorific regard for science, coupled with the public's unfamiliarity with scientific methods, created a niche for self-styled paranormal experts to achieve national renown without scientific training or credentials. The author provides a comprehensive examination of the ideas, missions and methods promoted by these passionate amateurs.

Author : Candi K. Cann
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 113481741X
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.12/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book The Routledge Handbook of Death and the Afterlife written by Candi K. Cann and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-06-27 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Handbook traces the history of the changing notion of what it means to die and examines the many constructions of afterlife in literature, text, ritual, and material culture throughout time. The Routledge Handbook of Death and the Afterlife is an outstanding reference source to the key topics, problems, and debates in this exciting subject. Comprising twenty-nine chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into three parts and covers the following important themes: The study of dying, death, and grief Disposal of the dead: past, present, and future Representations of death: narratives and rhetoric Youth meets death: a juxtaposition Questionable deaths and afterlives: suicide, ghosts, and avatars Material corpses and imagined afterlives around the world Within these sections, central issues, debates, and problems are examined, including: the world of death and dying from various cultural viewpoints and timeframes, cultural and social constructions of the definition of death, disposal practices, and views of the afterlife. The Routledge Handbook of Death and the Afterlife is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies, philosophy, anthropology, and sociology.

Author : Andrew K.T. Yip
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317043839
Total Pages : 360 pages
Book Rating : 4.36/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book The Ashgate Research Companion to Contemporary Religion and Sexuality written by Andrew K.T. Yip and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-01 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Ashgate Research Companion to Contemporary Religion and Sexuality provides academics and students with a comprehensive and authoritative state-of-the-art review of current research in the area of sexuality and religion, broadly defined. This collection of expert essays offers an inter-disciplinary study of the important aspects of sexuality and religion, calling upon sociological, cultural, historical and theological contributions to an under-researched subject. The Companion focuses on the exploration of diverse religious faiths, spiritualities, and sexualities with contributions that embrace many contrasting approaches related to the contemporary context. By adopting a truly inter-disciplinary and multi-dimensional perspective, the Companion embraces the complexities of both sexuality and religion. Aimed primarily at a readership with specialist interest in both, The Ashgate Research Companion to Contemporary Religion and Sexuality offers an innovative and refreshing analysis of key theoretical and empirical issues in an increasingly relevant and expanding area of academic interest. The Companion comprises five main thematic sections, each with chapters ranging across a variety of crucial topics traversing various faith traditions. The principal themes are: epistemological and methodological issues; the significance of religious text; institutional religious settings; stability transformation and change; contesting hegemonic structures and discourses. Each section includes four chapters contributed by leading international experts in their respective fields and who are at the cutting-edge of current research. Collectively, they offer an inter-disciplinary and comprehensive survey of sexuality and religion.

Author : Oliver Tristan Dunnett
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429631634
Total Pages : 311 pages
Book Rating : 4.34/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Earth, Cosmos and Culture written by Oliver Tristan Dunnett and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-04-19 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book traces the development of diverse British cultures of outer space, utilizing key geographical concepts such as landscape, place, and national identity. It examines the early visionary ideas of writers H. G. Wells and Olaf Stapledon, the ambitious British space programme of the 1960s, and narrations of British cultural identity that accompanied the space missions of Helen Sharman, Beagle 2 and Tim Peake. The exploration of British cultures of outer space throughout the book helps understand the emergence of the British Interplanetary Society. It also explains its significance in pre-war and post-war periods through an analysis of the roles of influential figures such as Arthur C. Clarke and Patrick Moore. The chapters explore utopian and dystopian representations of space exploration, examine the mysterious phenomenon of UFO culture, and consider plans for humanity’s imagined future across interstellar space. Throughout the book geography is advocated as a home for critical studies of outer space, illuminating its significance in terms of the reciprocal relationships between exploration and the sublime, science and the imagination, Earth and cosmos. As an emergent field of research in the social sciences, this book makes an excellent contribution to the study of the outer space in Britain and abroad developing a distinctive kind of outer spatial geography with major implications for future teaching and research.

Author : Eric Carlton
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351777092
Total Pages : 177 pages
Book Rating : 4.94/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book The Paranormal written by Eric Carlton and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-11-22 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title was first published in 2000: A manifestation of mass hysteria, a compensation for physical or emotional deprivation, or an alternative to religion? What is the function of the paranormal in society? This question and its many possible answers are the subject of this scholarly study of our enduring fascination with experiences for which science provides no ready explanations. From the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt to the present day, Eric Carlton surveys the development of ideas and research associated with the paranormal, culminating as it does today in the recognized academic status accorded to parapsychology. With a critical yet open mind, Carlton explores issues associated with the study of the paranormal, such as witchcraft beliefs, near-death experiences and the UFO phenomenon. Case studies are employed to illustrate and illuminate certain examples and theories. This thought-provoking book concludes that the paranormal and our study of it provides a multi-faceted vehicle for humanity's quest to find meaning in life.

Author : Annette Hill
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1136863176
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.72/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Paranormal Media written by Annette Hill and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-11-05 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The paranormal has gone mainstream. Beliefs are on the rise, with almost half of the British population, and two thirds of Americans, claiming to believe in extra sensory perceptions and hauntings. Psychic magazines like Spirit and Destiny, television shows such as Fringe, Ghost Whisperer and Most Haunted, ghost-cams and e-poltergeists, bestselling books on mind, body and spirit, and magicians like Derren Brown have moved from the outer limits to the centre of popular culture, turning paranormal beliefs and scepticism into revenue streams. Paranormal Media offers a unique, timely exploration of the extraordinary, unexplained and supernatural in popular culture, looking in unusual places in order to understand this phenomenon. Early spirit forms such as magic lantern shows or the spirit photograph are re-imagined as a search for extraordinary experiences in reality TV, ghost tourism, and live shows. Through a popular cultural ethnography, and critical analysis in social and cultural theory, this ground-breaking book by Annette Hill presents an original and rigorous examination of people's experiences of spirits and magic. In popular culture, people are players in an orchestral movement about what happens to us when we die. In a very real sense the audience is the show. This book is the story of audiences and their participation in a show about matters of life and death. Paranormal Media will be a highly interesting read for undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as academics, on a wide range of television, media, cultural studies, and sociology courses.

Author : Marina Levina
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 1441185372
Total Pages : 202 pages
Book Rating : 4.72/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Monster Culture in the 21st Century written by Marina Levina and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2013-05-23 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the past decade, our rapidly changing world faced terrorism, global epidemics, economic and social strife, new communication technologies, immigration, and climate change to name a few. These fears and tensions reflect an evermore-interconnected global environment where increased mobility of people, technologies, and disease have produced great social, political, and economical uncertainty. The essays in this collection examine how monstrosity has been used to manage these rising fears and tensions. Analyzing popular films and televisions shows, such as True Blood, Twilight, Paranormal Activity, District 9, Battlestar Galactica, and Avatar, it argues that monstrous narratives of the past decade have become omnipresent specifically because they represent collective social anxieties over resisting and embracing change in the 21st century. The first comprehensive text that uses monstrosity not just as a metaphor for change, but rather a necessary condition through which change is lived and experienced in the 21st century, this approach introduces a different perspective toward the study of monstrosity in culture.