Merete Demant Jakobsen

Shamanism has always been of great interest to anthropologists. More recently it has been "discovered" by westerners, especially New Age followers. This book breaks new ground byexamining pristine shamanism in Greenland, among people contacted late by Western missionaries and settlers. On the basis of material only available in Danish, and presented herein English for the first time, the author questions Mircea Eliade's well-known definition of the shaman as the master of ecstasy and suggests that his role has to be seen as that of a master of spirits. The ambivalent nature of the shaman and the spirit world in the tough Arctic environment is then contrasted with the more benign attitude to shamanism in the New Age movement. After presenting descriptions of their organizations and accounts by participants, the author critically analyses the role of neo-shamanic courses and concludes that it is doubtful to consider what isoffered as shamanism.

Shamanism has always been of great interest to anthropologists. More recently it has been "discovered" by westerners, especially New Age followers. This book breaks new ground byexamining pristine shamanism in Greenland, among people contacted late by Western missionaries and settlers. On the basis of material only available in Danish, and presented herein English for the first time, the author questions Mircea Eliade's well-known definition of the shaman as the master of ecstasy and suggests that his role has to be seen as that of a master of spirits. The ambivalent nature of the shaman and the spirit world in the tough Arctic environment is then contrasted with the more benign attitude to shamanism in the New Age movement. After presenting descriptions of their organizations and accounts by participants, the author critically analyses the role of neo-shamanic courses and concludes that it is doubtful to consider what isoffered as shamanism.

Hvad er narrativ medicin? Narrativ betyder fortælling, og narrativ medicin beskæftiger sig med fortællingens indflydelse på patientens fornemmelse af mestring. Hvad sker der i mødet mellem patient og behandler, og hvordan kan beskeden om alvorlig sygdom formidles og opfattes? Bogens indhold Cand.mag. og socialantropolog ph.d. Merete Demant Jakobsen har gennem en længere periode observeret og interviewet kræftpatienter og deres læger for at belyse den alvorlige samtale mellem patient, behandler og pårørende. Med henvisning til teorier om selvet og narrativ medicin inviteres læseren med ind i samtalens maskinrum. Dertil kommer eksempler på skønlitteratur, der kan udvide forståelsen af patientrollen. Hvem kan have glæde af bogen? Den alvorlige samtale har relevans for sundhedsprofessionelle såvel som antropologer og psykologer med sundhedsområdet som interessefelt.