Enchantment - A Critical Primer - Ian Alexander Cuthbertson

Enchantment - A Critical Primer - Ian Alexander Cuthbertson

The Future of Enchantment

Enchantment - A Critical Primer - Ian Alexander Cuthbertson

Ian Alexander Cuthbertson [+-]
Ian Alexander Cuthbertson is an independent scholar who is broadly interested in exploring how the category “religion” is deployed to legitimize certain beliefs, practices, and institutions while delegitimizing others. Ian lives in England with his wife Virginia and their son Ciaran and often puts pineapple on pizza.

Description

I conclude the book by considering how the concept enchantment might best be deployed in future scholarship. I begin by outlining recent arguments that the term enchantment should be divested of its religious or supernatural connotations and reimagined to refer uniquely to heightened emotions or affective states. I argue that ignoring the ways ‘enchantment’ has been associated with supernatural beliefs and practices impoverishes our ability to accurately describe modern engagement with posited spirits and invisible forces. I then argue that, to the extent enchantment signifies the playful attitude described in chapter six, it may provide a productive space for thinking, believing, and experiencing things otherwise.

Notify A Colleague

Citation

Cuthbertson, Ian Alexander. The Future of Enchantment. Enchantment - A Critical Primer. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 128-138 Aug 2024. ISBN 9781800504462. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=43971. Date accessed: 10 Dec 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.43971. Aug 2024

Dublin Core Metadata