Let the dead speak (Paperback)

Paperback. 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 Spiritualisms 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 womens agency in Spiritualism. From the movements 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. Let the dead speak explores the historical and social dynamics of Spiritualism, the religious movement associated in the popular imagination with nineteenth-century parlour seances and ghost photography. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…