Witchcraft, Lycanthropy, Drugs and Disease (eBook)

An Anthropological Study of the European Witch-Hunts- Second Printing

Sidky Homayun Sidky (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2012
330 Seiten
Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers (Verlag)
978-1-4539-1014-6 (ISBN)

Infos

Long before the political mass-murders witnessed in the present century, western Europe experienced another kind of holocaust - the witch-hunts of the early modern period. Condemned of flying through the air, changing into animals, and worshipping the Devil, over a hundred thousand people were brutally tortured, systematically maimed and burned alive. Why did these persecutions take place? Was it superstition, irrationality, or mass delusion that led to the witch-hunts? This study seeks explanations in the tangible actions of human actors and their worldly circumstances. The approach taken is anthropological; inferences are grounded on a wide spectrum of variables, ranging from the political and ideological practices used to mystify earthly affairs, to the logical structure of witch-beliefs, torture technology, and the role of psychotropic drugs and epidemic diseases.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 29.8.2012
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie ► Spezielle Soziologien
• ISBN-10: 1-4539-1014-X / 145391014X
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4539-1014-6 / 9781453910146