Spirit Possession among the Shakers of Pleasant Hill
Durkheimian Studies December 1, 2023 DOI: 10.3167/ds.2023.270105 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that effervescence, examined through nineteenth-century records of a U.S. religious utopian community, may link embodied feeling, social ideals, and institutional control, and suggests this framework could help explain the creation, maintenance, or decay of social ideals. |
Abstract
Abstract As a conceptual tool, effervescence offers a nuanced and complex explanation of forces for social change. Yet, it can be challenging to identify subject matter that spans the full implications of effervescence from embodied feeling to changes in social action over time. This study joins theories of effervescence with a unique set of primary historical records from a nineteenth-century religious utopian community in the United States to investigate whether effervescence might have a role in the creation, maintenance or decay of social ideals. As an explanation for social action, findings suggest that effervescence points to a link between embodied feeling, social ideals and institutional control – aspects of effervescence that offer avenues for future theoretical and empirical research.