“What Can the Whole World Be Hiding?”: Exploring Africana Esotericisms in the American Soul-Blues Continuum
H. R. Page, Stephen C. Finley
New Approaches to the Study of Esotericism December 3, 2020 DOI: 10.1163/9789004446458_010 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that esoteric thought and practice in African and African-diasporan contexts, particularly the Atlantic World, warrant a distinct trans-disciplinary field, "Africana Esoteric Studies" (AES), and proposes that secrecy, concealment, and selective disclosure of survival-essential information are central to these milieus. The essay also contends that AES should relate to but remain distinct from Western esotericism. |
Abstract
The essays in Esotericism in African American Religious Experience: “There is a Mystery” … (Finley, Guillory and Page, 2015) inscribe the broad contours for trans-disciplinary examination of esoteric thought and practice in the Africana world. Having established the preliminary groundwork for a new field— Africana Esoteric Studies (AES)—the stage is set for exploration of the ways in which secrecy, concealment, and selective disclosure of information deemed essential for survival function within an array of African and African-Diasporan settings, particularly those that are part of the Atlantic World (on the nature of this area of cultural exchange, see the now classic treatment of Gilroy, 1993). in teasing involve, offering inclusive, non-essentialist, parameters for milieu whose esoteric elements are embraced AES and clarifying the theoretical underpinnings of this trans-disciplinary enterprise. Another has to do with delimiting the relationship of AES to the already established discipline of Western esotericism.