ISSN 0010-4175
5 papers in the library · 137 citations · publishing 2011-2026
Comparative Studies in Society and History August 6, 2026 Matt Tomlinson
Abstract Recent work on metaphysical healing practices extends William James’s observations on what he called the “mind cure.” Four titles are reviewed on the topics of mindfulness, ayahuasca use, Spiritualism, and shamanism. In the United Kingdom, advocates join forces with parliamentarians to promote mindfulness as the key to ensuring a psychologically healthy nation. At commercial ayahuasca...
Comparative Studies in Society and History October 17, 2024 Omri Elisha
Abstract How do invocations of history inform speculative discourses in Western astrology? This article examines how events from the recorded past factor into predictive forecasts among professional astrologers for whom celestial patterns are indicative of shifting and evolving world-historical trends. Drawing on examples from prominent voices in the North American astrology community, across a...
Comparative Studies in Society and History July 1, 2021 Sonia Rupcic 2 citations
In winter 2014, the town of Thohoyandou, South Africa was gripped with panic after a series of rapes and murders. In this area, notorious for its occult specialists and witchcraft, stories began to circulate attributing the violence to demonic forces. These stories were given credence by the young man who was charged with these crimes. In his testimony, he confirmed that he was possessed by...
Comparative Studies in Society and History October 1, 2013 Kristina Wirtz
Abstract: In tracing a discourse history for the emergence and enregisterment of Bozal, a Cuban speech style that robustly indexes the historical persona of the African slave, this paper proposes that such discourse “genealogies” are more accurately reconstructed not through a linear, teleological metaphor of “speech chains” but through a more reticulated, multiply stranded web of...
Comparative Studies in Society and History March 29, 2011 Paul C. Johnson 135 citations
Not all spirits have retreated to metaphor, even in the very public sphere of U.S. electoral politics. As we learned during the last presidential campaign, Governor Sarah Palin enlisted the help of Kenyan pastor Thomas Muthee during his 2005 visit to Alaska to cast out the spirits that hindered her career. TheNew York Timeselaborated, “Ms. Palin has long associations with religious leaders who...