5 papers in the library · 3 citations · publishing 2007
The Beauty of the Primitive July 1, 2007 Andrei A. Znamenski 2 citations
Abstract In the United States at the turn of the 1970s, the countercultural revolution, which turned many Americans on to hallucinogens and alternative lifestyles, was on the decline. Many spiritual seekers felt fatigue from the psychedelic and communal experiences and longed for natural, individually-oriented spirituality. One of these spiritual seekers was Michael Harner, an anthropologist...
The Beauty of the Primitive July 1, 2007 Andrei A. Znamenski 1 citation
Abstract The increased attention given to shamanism in humanities studies and in popular culture since the 1960s is usually associated with two names: Mircea Eliade and Carlos Castaneda. Eliade, a Romanian-born philosopher and religious scholar, released Le Chamanisme et les techniques archaiques de l'extase, the first grand treatise on shamanism, which became an academic bestseller after its...
The Beauty of the Primitive July 1, 2007 Andrei A. Znamenski
Abstract Carlos Castaneda's first book, The Teachings of Don Juan, and two subsequent texts were described as anthropological accounts, which gave them credibility. Coming straight from the Sonoran Desert, Castaneda's ethnographic accounts could easily appear to readers to be authentic anthropology. The fact that Castaneda refused to specify the identity of his characters brought an intrigue to...
July 1, 2007 Andrei A. Znamenski
Abstract For the past forty years shamanism has drawn increasing attention among the general public and academics. So far no one has tried to understand why and how Western intellectual and popular culture became so fascinated with the topic. Behind fictional and non-fictional works on shamanism, this book uncovers an exciting story that mirrors changing Western attitudes toward the primitive....
The Beauty of the Primitive July 1, 2007 Andrei A. Znamenski
Abstract This chapter looks at the relationship between shamanism and psychedelic culture, focusing on the experience of investment banker R. Gordon Wasson and his Russian-born wife, Valentina, with mushrooms. Valentina and Gordon eventually embarked on their lifelong quest to explore the role of mushrooms in the histories and folklore of different cultures. When Valentina died of cancer in...