Beauty of the Primitive : Shamanism and Western Imagination

The Beauty of the Primitive explores how shamanism, an obscure word introduced by the eighteenth-century German explorers of Siberia, entered Western humanities and social sciences, and has now become a powerful idiom used by nature and pagan communities to situate their spiritual quests and anti-modernity sentiments. With its interdisciplinary approach and engaging style, it promises to be the definitive account of this neglected strand of intellectual history.