The Palm at the End of the Mind

Relatedness, Religiosity, and the Real

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Inspiration & Meditation, Meditations, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology
Cover of the book The Palm at the End of the Mind by Michael D. Jackson, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Michael D. Jackson ISBN: 9780822392439
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: February 20, 2009
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Michael D. Jackson
ISBN: 9780822392439
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: February 20, 2009
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

In many societies and for many people, religiosity is only incidentally connected with texts or theologies, church or mosque, temple or monastery. Drawing on a lifetime of ethnographic work among people for whom religion is not principally a matter of faith, doctrine, or definition, Michael Jackson turns his attention to those situations in life where we come up against the limits of language, our strength, and our knowledge, yet are sometimes thrown open to new ways of understanding our being-in-the-world, to new ways of connecting with others.

Through sixty-one beautifully crafted essays based on sojourns in Europe, West Africa, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, and taking his cue from Wallace Stevens’s late poem, “Of Mere Being,” Jackson explores a range of experiences where “the palm at the end of the mind” stands “beyond thought,” on “the edge of space,” “a foreign song.” Moments of crisis as well as everyday experiences in cafés, airports, and offices disclose the subtle ways in which a single life shades into others, the boundaries between cultures become blurred, fate unfolds through genealogical time, elective affinities make their appearance, and different values contend.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In many societies and for many people, religiosity is only incidentally connected with texts or theologies, church or mosque, temple or monastery. Drawing on a lifetime of ethnographic work among people for whom religion is not principally a matter of faith, doctrine, or definition, Michael Jackson turns his attention to those situations in life where we come up against the limits of language, our strength, and our knowledge, yet are sometimes thrown open to new ways of understanding our being-in-the-world, to new ways of connecting with others.

Through sixty-one beautifully crafted essays based on sojourns in Europe, West Africa, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, and taking his cue from Wallace Stevens’s late poem, “Of Mere Being,” Jackson explores a range of experiences where “the palm at the end of the mind” stands “beyond thought,” on “the edge of space,” “a foreign song.” Moments of crisis as well as everyday experiences in cafés, airports, and offices disclose the subtle ways in which a single life shades into others, the boundaries between cultures become blurred, fate unfolds through genealogical time, elective affinities make their appearance, and different values contend.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book Globalization by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Beyond Repair? by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Healing Songs by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Communities of the Air by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Magical Realism by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Bruno by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book To Die in this Way by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Harriet Tubman by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book State Formation and Democracy in Latin America, 1810-1900 by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book The Crux by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Performance in America by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Neglected Policies by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Empires of Vision by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Sex Scene by Michael D. Jackson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy