Enchantment - A Critical Primer - Ian Alexander Cuthbertson
The Future of Enchantment
Enchantment - A Critical Primer - Ian Alexander Cuthbertson
Ian Alexander Cuthbertson [+]
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.