A technology of re-enchantment: reading, referencing, and redistributing Orthodox ‘spiritual literature’ in post-Yugoslav Serbia
This article explores the issue of ‘re-enchantment’ through an ethnographic analysis of ‘spiritual literature’ in post-Yugoslav Serbia. Following the anthropologist Alfred Gell, it argues that Orthodox texts can be understood as ‘enchanted technology’ which, in turn, allows them to work as a ‘techno...
| Subtitles: | ‘Re-enchantment’ and Religious Change in Former Socialist Europe |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2024
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| In: |
Religion
Year: 2024, Volume: 54, Issue: 1, Pages: 126-142 |
| Further subjects: | B
Reading
B spiritual literature B Orthodox Christianity B Re-enchantment B postsocialism B Serbia B Alfred Gell |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This article explores the issue of ‘re-enchantment’ through an ethnographic analysis of ‘spiritual literature’ in post-Yugoslav Serbia. Following the anthropologist Alfred Gell, it argues that Orthodox texts can be understood as ‘enchanted technology’ which, in turn, allows them to work as a ‘technology of enchantment’. Spiritual literature – distributed as physical objects between bags, bookshelves, bookshops, and kiosks, as well as digitally via social media – can propel some people to grow as Orthodox Christians and relate to society in Orthodox terms. After situating the re-emergence of Orthodox publishing in historical perspective, the article shows how people defer to books and how texts circulate. Overall, the article reveals the mechanics of one form of re-enchantment. |
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| ISSN: | 1096-1151 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/0048721X.2023.2277020 |
