Ghost, Broken Narratives and the Art of Dying
Issued Date: 13 Nov 2013
Abstract
This article investigates how experiences of ghosts can be seen as a series of broken narratives. By using cases from contemporary as well 19th century Denmark I will argue that ghosts enter the world of the living as sensations that question both common sense understanding and problematize the unfinished death. Although ghosts have been in opposition to both science and religion in Denmark at least since the reformation I will exemplify how people deal with the broken narrative of ghosts in ways that incorporate and mimic techniques of both the scientist and the priest. Ghosts, thus, initiate a dialogue between the dead and the living concerning the art of dying that will enable both to move on.
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References
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———. 2004. “Life as Narrative.” Social Research 71 (1): 691–711.
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———. 2002. “Preface.” In The Politics of Storytelling: Violence, Transgression, and Intersubjectivity, 11–36. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press.
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Tang Kristensen, Evald. 1980. Danske Sagn, Som De Har Lydt i Folkemunde, Udelukkende Efter Utrykte Kilder Saml. Og Tildels Optegnede - Femte Afdeling: Spøgeri Og Gjenfærd. 2. udg., u. København: Nyt Nordisk Forlag Arnold Busck.
Taussig, Michael. 1984. “Culture of terror—Space of Death. Roger Casement’s Putumayo Report and the Explanation of Torture.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 26 (3 (Jul., 1984)): 467–497.
———. 1993. Mimesis and Alterity: A Particular History of the Senses. Taylor & Francis Group.
———. 2001. “Dying Is an Art, Like Everything Else.” Critical Inquiry 28 (1): 305–316.
Timboukou, Maria. 2010. “Broken Narratives, Visual Forces.” In Beyond Narrative Coherence, ed. Matti Hyväromen and Et Al, 67–85. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Pub.
Willerslev, R. 2004. “Spirits as ‘Ready to Hand’: A Phenomenological Analysis of Yukaghir Spiritual Knowledge and Dreaming.” Anthropological Theory 4 (4) (December 1): 395–418. doi:10.1177/1463499604047918.
Bruner, Jerome. 1991. “The Narrative Construction of Reality.” Critical Inquiry 18 (1): 1–21.
———. 2004. “Life as Narrative.” Social Research 71 (1): 691–711.
Evans-Pritchard, E E, and Eva Gillies. 1976. Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande. [New ed.] . Oxford: The Clarendon Press.
Finucane, R C. 1996. Ghosts: Appearances of the Dead & Cultural Transformation. New York: Prometheus Books.
Jackson, Michael. 1998. “Ghosts.” In Minima Ethnographica : Intersubjectivity and the Anthropological Project, 160–167. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
———. 2002. “Preface.” In The Politics of Storytelling: Violence, Transgression, and Intersubjectivity, 11–36. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press.
Jenkins, Richard, Hanne Jessen, and Vibeke Steffen. 2005. “Matters of Life and Death. The Control of Uncertainty and the Uncertainty of Control.” In Managing Uncertainty : Ethnographic Studies of Illness, Risk and the Struggle for Control, 287 p. Copenhagen ; [Great Britain]: Museum Tusculanum Press.
Møller, J S. 1929. Fester Og Højtider i Gamle Dage: Skildringer Fra Nordvestsjaelland Med Forsøg Paa Tydninger. Bind 1. I kommission hos P. Haase & Søn.
Pedersen, Morten Axel. 2011. Not Quite Shamans - Spirits and Political Lives in Nothern Mongolia. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
Raahauge, KM. 2009. “Hjemsøgelser. Når Det Uvirkelige Bliver Virkeligt.” Tidsskriftet Antropologi (59): 181–200.
Ricoeur, Paul. 1991. “Life in Quest of Narrative.” In On Paul Ricoeur. Narrative and Interpretation, ed. David Wood, 20–33. London: Roudledge.
Rømer, Lars. “Hængende Mellem Himmel Og Jord – En Partikulær Historie Om Overskridelser, Tvivl Og Det Danske Spøgelse.” Tidsskriftet Antropologi.
Rubow, Cecilie. 1993. At Sige Ordentligt Farvel: Om Begravelser I Danmark. Anis.
Steffen, Vibeke. 2010. “Til Konsultation Hos Ånderne. Om Klarsyn, Energier Og Magi i Danmark.” Tidsskriftet Antropologi (61): 59–78.
Tang Kristensen, Evald. 1980. Danske Sagn, Som De Har Lydt i Folkemunde, Udelukkende Efter Utrykte Kilder Saml. Og Tildels Optegnede - Femte Afdeling: Spøgeri Og Gjenfærd. 2. udg., u. København: Nyt Nordisk Forlag Arnold Busck.
Taussig, Michael. 1984. “Culture of terror—Space of Death. Roger Casement’s Putumayo Report and the Explanation of Torture.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 26 (3 (Jul., 1984)): 467–497.
———. 1993. Mimesis and Alterity: A Particular History of the Senses. Taylor & Francis Group.
———. 2001. “Dying Is an Art, Like Everything Else.” Critical Inquiry 28 (1): 305–316.
Timboukou, Maria. 2010. “Broken Narratives, Visual Forces.” In Beyond Narrative Coherence, ed. Matti Hyväromen and Et Al, 67–85. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Pub.
Willerslev, R. 2004. “Spirits as ‘Ready to Hand’: A Phenomenological Analysis of Yukaghir Spiritual Knowledge and Dreaming.” Anthropological Theory 4 (4) (December 1): 395–418. doi:10.1177/1463499604047918.
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