CONJURING CULTURE - BIBLICAL FORMATIONS OF BLACK AMERICA
Product Description
by Theophus H. Smith
In Conjuring Culture, Theophus Smith provides a sophisticated, interdisciplinary interpretation of the formation and evolution of African American religion and culture. Smith argues for the centrality of "conjure"--a magical means of transforming reality--in black spirituality and culture. He shows how the Bible, the sacred text of Western civilization, has in fact functioned as a magical formulary or sourcebook for African Americans. In addition, Smith explores the influence of conjure on black aesthetics as expressed in music, drama, folklore, and literature. The concept of conjure, he shows, is at the heart of an indigenous and still vital spirituality, with exciting implications for reformulating the next generation of black studies and black theology. Further, Smith proposes that "conjuring culture" can function as a new paradigm for understanding Western religious and cultural phenomena generally
Paperback; 287 pages
In Conjuring Culture, Theophus Smith provides a sophisticated, interdisciplinary interpretation of the formation and evolution of African American religion and culture. Smith argues for the centrality of "conjure"--a magical means of transforming reality--in black spirituality and culture. He shows how the Bible, the sacred text of Western civilization, has in fact functioned as a magical formulary or sourcebook for African Americans. In addition, Smith explores the influence of conjure on black aesthetics as expressed in music, drama, folklore, and literature. The concept of conjure, he shows, is at the heart of an indigenous and still vital spirituality, with exciting implications for reformulating the next generation of black studies and black theology. Further, Smith proposes that "conjuring culture" can function as a new paradigm for understanding Western religious and cultural phenomena generally
Paperback; 287 pages
