Shamanism: An Inquiry into the History of the Scholarly Use of the Term in English‐Speaking North America
Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 2006 DOI: 10.1525/ac.2006.17.2.4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Scholarly and popular uses of the terms shamanism and shaman in English-speaking North America |
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Citations | 27 |
| Key points | Argues that current uses of the terms shamanism and shaman are inadequate for historical discussion and that their meaning has changed greatly over more than 100 years, complicating an agreed-upon operational definition. |
Abstract
In this paper, I discuss the results of a large‐scale archival and data base research project that investigated the history of the scholarly use of the terms shamanism and shaman in English‐speaking North America. This was done to provide a historical grounding in the hope of arriving at an operationally sound definition of the term. Twomajor findings emerged from the data: first, current uses of the terms shamanism and shaman are inadequate for any discussion of the phenomenon from a historical perspective; second, the terms shamanism and shaman have been widely used in English‐speaking North America by researchers, scholars, scientists, and lay people for more than a 100 years, and the use of the term has changed greatly in this time, complicating any possibility of arriving at an agreed‐upon operational definition. I discuss these two research findings and how they fit into contemporary uses of the terms, concluding that current definitions and understandings of this phenomenon are unduly circumscribed, largely the result of historical research orientations. I then suggest future research questions and call for a concise, workable understanding of the phenomenon of shamanism.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California | 1998 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press | 2020 | Historical analysis | |
| Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation | 2010 | Reflective essay or personal narrative |
Citations in the library
Cited by 11
- The Globalization of Ayahuasca Shamanism and the Erasure of Indigenous Shamanism Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 2016
- Spirituality, drugs, and tourism: tourists’ and shamans’ experiences of ayahuasca in Iquitos, Peru Tourism Recreation Research June 22, 2016
- An Ethnological Analogy and Biogenetic Model for Interpretation of Religion and Ritual in the Past Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory April 30, 2021
- Dropping Ecstasy? Minoan Cult and the Tropes of Shamanism Time and Mind April 3, 2015
- Worldviews in Collision/Worldviews in Metamorphosis: Toward a Multistate Paradigm Anthropology of Consciousness March 1, 2011
and 6 more in the library
Cites 11
- The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience Choice Reviews Online June 1, 2000
- Subjective effects and tolerability of the South American psychoactive beverage Ayahuasca in healthy volunteers Psychopharmacology February 22, 2001
- Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science March 1, 2004
- Phenomenological experience in response to monotonous drumming and hypnotizability. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis October 1, 1997
- Shamans, Sacraments, and Psychiatrists Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 1989
and 6 more in the library