Research Catalog

Title

Magic : a history : from alchemy to witchcraft, from the Ice Age to the present / Chris Gosden.

Author

Gosden, Chris, 1955-

Publication

• New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020.
• ©2020

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xix, 482 pages : illustrations, maps; 24 cm

Summary

• "An Oxford professor of archaeology explores the unique history of magic, the oldest and most neglected strand of human behavior, and its resurgence today"--
• "An Oxford professor of archaeology explores the unique history of magic--the oldest and most neglected strand of human behavior and its resurgence today. Three great strands of belief run through human history: Religion is the relationship with one god or many gods, masters of our lives and destinies. Science distances us from the world, turning us into observers and collectors of knowledge. And magic is direct human participation in the universe: we have influence on the world around us, and the world has influence on us. Over the last few centuries, magic has developed a bad reputation--thanks to the unsavory tactics of shady practitioners, and to a successful propaganda campaign on the part of religion and science, which denigrated magic as backward, irrational, and "primitive." In Magic, however, the Oxford professor of archaeology Chris Gosden restores magic to its essential place in the history of the world--revealing it to be an enduring element of human behavior that plays an important role for individuals and cultures. From the curses and charms of ancient Greek, Roman, and Jewish magic, to the shamanistic traditions of Eurasia, indigenous America, and Africa; from the alchemy of the Renaissance to the condemnation of magic in the colonial period and the mysteries of modern quantum physics--Gosden's startling, fun, and colorful history supplies a missing chapter of the story of our civilization. Drawing on decades of research around the world--touching on the first known horoscope, a statue ordered into exile, and the mystical power of tattoos--Gosden shows what magic can offer us today, and how we might use it to rethink our relationship with the world. Magic is an original, singular, and sweeping work of scholarship, and its revelations will leave a spell on the reader."--

Uniform Title

History of magic

Alternative Title

History of magic

Subject

• Magic > History
• HISTORY / Social History
• SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social
• RELIGION / History
• Magic

Genre/Form

History.

Note

• "Originally published in 2020 by Viking, Great Britain, as The History of Magic: From Alchemy to Witchcraft, from the Ice Age to the present."

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages [437]-449) and index.

Contents

What is magic and why is it important? -- The deep history of magic (c. 40,000-6000 BCE) -- The magic of cities: Mesopotamia and Egypt (4000 -1000 BCE) -- Chinese magic: deep participation (c. 20,000 BCE-present) -- Shamanism and magic on the Eurasian Steppe (c. 4000 BCE-present) -- Magical traditions in prehistoric Europe (10,000-0 BCE) -- Jewish, Greek and Roman magic (c. 1000 BCE-1000 CE) -- The magics of Africa, Australia and the Americas -- Medieval and modern magic in Europe (500 CE-present) -- Modern and future magic -- Timeline: Global history of magic.

Call Number

JFE 21-766

ISBN

• 9780374200121
• 0374200122

LCCN

• 2020013393
• 40030301650

OCLC

1145900857

Author

Gosden, Chris, 1955- author.

Title

Magic : a history : from alchemy to witchcraft, from the Ice Age to the present / Chris Gosden.

Publisher

New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020.

Copyright Date

©2020

Edition

First American edition.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages [437]-449) and index.

Other Standard Identifier

40030301650

Research Call Number

JFE 21-766