Let the Dead Speak

Spiritualism in Australia

Andrew Singleton, Matt Tomlinson

$478.95 $383.18

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

Manchester University Press
01 February 2025

History of religion; Other non-Christian religions; Spiritualism

This book explores the historical and social dynamics of Spiritualism

a religious movement associated in the popular imagination with nineteenth-century parlour seances and ghost photography. It continues to be practised actively today in Australia, the UK, and USA. The authors draw on their deep fieldwork, interviews, and archival research to analyse Spiritualism's resilience and the enduring popular appeal of mediumship.

There are three key contributions of the book: the first is that the scholarly study of 'belief' should be rehabilitated. The authors propose a model of belief as a dialogue between claims to truth and commitments to institutions supporting those claims. The second is women's agency in Spiritualism. From the movement's beginnings, strong female leaders have decisively shaped its religious and political profile. The third is the need to analyse Australian Spiritualism as a distinct variant of a transnational Anglophone family of ritual practice.

By: Andrew Singleton, Matt Tomlinson
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781526181022
ISBN 10: 1526181029
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 01 February 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Matt Tomlinson is Associate Dean (Research) and Professor of Anthropology at the Australian National University. Andrew Singleton is Professor of Sociology and Social Research at Deakin University.