Amazon Resale

The Hammer and the Flute – Women, Power and Spirit Possession

Illustrated Edition
5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
Loading Images...
Double-tap to zoom
See all formats
See all formats
As an alternative, the Kindle eBook is available now and can be read on any device with the free Kindle app.
5 options from £34.02
Item couldn't be saved. Please try again later. This item could not be removed from your list. Please try again later
Press and hold to save to specific list
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Book details

  1. ISBN-10
    0801881889
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0801881886
  3. Edition
    Illustrated
  4. Publisher
    Johns Hopkins University Press
  5. Publication date
    3 May 2005
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    15.24 x 2.01 x 22.86 cm
  8. Print length
    304 pages
  9. See all details
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Feminist theory and postcolonial theory share an interest in developing theoretical frameworks for describing and evaluating subjectivity comparatively, especially with regard to non-autonomous models of agency. As a historian of religions, Mary Keller uses the figure of the "possessed woman" to analyze a subject that is spoken-through rather than speaking and whose will is the will of the ancestor, deity or spirit that wields her to engage the question of agency in a culturally and historically comparative study that recognizes the prominent role possessed women play in their respective traditions. Drawing from the fields of anthropology and comparative psychology, Keller brings the figure of the possessed woman into the heart of contemporary argument as an exemplary model that challenges many Western and feminist assumptions regarding agency. Proposing a new theoretical framework that re-orients scholarship, Keller argues that the subject who is wielded or played, the hammer or the flute, exercises a paradoxical authority-"instrumental agency"-born of their radical receptivity: their power derives from the communities' assessment that they no longer exist as autonomous agents. For Keller, the possessed woman is at once "hammer" and "flute," paradoxically powerful because she has become an instrument of the overpowering will of an ancestor, deity, or spirit. Keller applies the concept of instrumental agency to case studies, providing a new interpretation of each. She begins with contemporary possessions in Malaysia, where women in manufacturing plants were seized by spirits seeking to resacralize the territory. She next looks to wartime Zimbabwe, where female spirit mediums, the Nehanda mhondoro, declared the ancestors' will to fight against colonialism. Finally she provides an imaginative rereading of the performative power of possession by interpreting two plays, Euripides' Bacchae and S. Y. Ansky's The Dybbuk, which feature possessed women as central characters. This book can serve as an excellent introduction to postcolonial and feminist theory for graduate students, while grounding its theory in the analysis of regionally and historically specific moments of time that will be of interest to specialists. It also provides an argument for the evaluation of religious lives and their struggles for meaning and power in the contemporary landscape of critical theory.

Review

[A] provocative exploration of possession theory . . . Keller is able to offer not only fresh insight into possession phenomena but also a penetrating critique of the categories and concepts with which it has been theorized.
--Kelly E. Hayes, Journal of Religion

A welcome addition to scholarly literature on spirit possession. It provides an innovative exploration into the agency of women's possessed bodies and the way scholarly representations construct agency.
--Margaret J. Rausch, Journal of the American Academy of Religion

Keller's argument for a revisioning of agency, women, and possession is important intervention. By bringing together an unusual mix of theorists and case studies, she makes a thoughtful contribution to the study of religion, gender, and post-colonial theory that raises provocative questions for all scholars of religion.
--Pamela E. Klassen, History of Religions

About the Author

Mary Keller is an adjunct in the religious studies and African American studies programs at the University of Wyoming.

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Mary Keller
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Jhalak Children's & YA Prize 2021

Celebrating Children's and YA books by British and British resident BAME writers
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Toy Safety

Our recommended age:
Manufacturer's minimum age:

Product information

Customer reviews

5 out of 5 stars
2 global ratings

Top reviews from United Kingdom

There are 0 reviews and 0 ratings from United Kingdom

    Top reviews from other countries

    • Wade Sikorski
      5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
      A fascinating account of feminine agency!
      Reviewed in the United States on 28 April 2014
      This book made me rethink many of my presumptions about human agency. After reading it, I'm wondering if we are ever really in full possession of our selves, if we are not, in fact, more often possessed by our language, our culture, our history, and our family systems....See more
      This book made me rethink many of my presumptions about human agency. After reading it, I'm wondering if we are ever really in full possession of our selves, if we are not, in fact, more often possessed by our language, our culture, our history, and our family systems. Many theorists and philosophers, like Nietzsche, Foucault, and Heidegger, have contested the presumption of the ego's agency, but by focusing on spirit possession, taking it on terms sympathetic to the people undergoing it, Keller brought the issue home to me in a fascinating new way.

      Report this review

      Optional: Why are you reporting this?

      Not about the product

      Disrespectful, hateful, obscene

      Paid for, inauthentic

      Something else

      We’ll check if this review meets our community guidelines. If it doesn’t, we’ll remove it.

      Submit
      Report
    See more reviews

    How customer reviews and ratings work

    Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings, help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon