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This book is the first comprehensive study of Westermarckian sociology and social anthropology, which flourished in Finland for half a century, until the Second World War. Edward Westermarck (1862–1939) was not only the founder of Finnish sociology but also Britain’s first professor of sociology, influencing and contributing to teaching and research at LSE for nearly three decades. In Finland, a group of disciples shared his Darwinian interest in the human mind and the comparative study of the origins of social phenomena. Like Westermarck, they also conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork beyond Europe. Many of them became internationally renowned scholars who published their works through leading British publishers. The book traces his influence on British sociology and social anthropology more broadly also by considering his work and students at LSE, who emphasised their debt to Westermarck. Drawing on both published writings and unpublished archival material, the book offersa reinterpretation of ‘origin’ as the Westermarckian school’s core concept.
This book provides answers to two sorts of questions. It explores, on the one hand, how and what sociological ideas were developed in the Scottish Enlightenment. And, on the other hand, how the ideas of the Scottish Enlightenment would emerge and develop in subsequent traditions of sociology. Scottish Enlightenment thinkers developed and refined a descriptive-explanatory approach and methodology to explore social and economic processes - an approach that was different from the normative and justificatory aspirations of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century social and political philosophies. This distinct contribution of the Scottish Enlightenment is frequently overlooked, even if some of its central figures are acknowledged as important forerunners of contemporary social sciences. This book offers a synoptic view on individual contributions and a connective view of theoretical achievements that are otherwise typically treated in isolation.
Professor Geo Widengren (1907–1996), holder of the chair in History of Religions and Psychology of Religions at Uppsala University between 1940 and 1973, is one of Sweden’s best-known scholars in the field of religious studies. His involvement in the start of the IAHR and publications on topics such as the phenomenology of religions, Iranian studies and Middle Eastern Religions make Widengren one of the founding fathers of the History of Religions as an academic discipline. This volume pays tribute to Widengren’s academic achievements and critically discusses his work in light of the latest academic findings and research.
Cover -- Table of contents -- Acknowledgements -- 1 Approaching shamanism -- 2 Eighteenth and nineteenth-century interpretations -- 3 Early twentieth-century American interpretations -- 4 Twentieth-century European constructions -- 5 The Bollingen connection, 1930s-1960s -- 6 Post-war American visions -- 7 The genesis of a field of shamanism, America 1960s-1990s -- 8 A Case Study: Shamanisms in the Netherlands -- 9 Struggles for power, charisma and authority: a balance -- Bibliography -- Index