Beyond Counterculture: Towards a People’s History of Psychedelic Networks
Psychedelic Intersections January 17, 2025 DOI: 10.70423/0001.07 (opens in new tab)
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe concept of 'counterculture' is too vague to describe the rapidly evolving communities, scenes, and networks that emerged from the religious awakening sparked by psychedelics in the mid-1960s. An alternative framework called 'psychedelicism' is proposed to better capture the nuances and complexity of both historical and contemporary psychedelic groups.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Proposes that the term "counterculture" is poorly defined for describing psychedelic communities and offers "psychedelicism" as a more precise framework. |
Abstract
This article demonstrates how “counterculture” remains a poorly defined way to talk about rapidly developing milieux, scenes, and networks born out of the religious awakening stimulated by psychedelics in the mid-1960s. It proposes an alternative framework of “psychedelicism” to better understand the nuances and complexity of historical and contemporary psychedelic communities.