Introduction

Summary

Animism is a hard-working word. It identifies a range of interesting phenomena but also labels several distinct ways of understanding such matters. The Handbook of Contemporary Animism brings together expert contributors to debates in which the term “animism” is now playing a role. It is intended to advance discussion rather than either merely describe its current state or to bring it to a conclusion. It does this by allowing “animism” to continue working hard by referring to more than one thing or theory while also aiding our efforts to understand the meeting-points of shared interest and difference between contributors. One task of this introduction is to say something about that range and to make sense of the use of one word to convey different meanings. It will conclude that diversity provides refreshing perspectives and provokes new ideas and practices by requiring us to test and reconsider (and sometimes defend) our familiar views and approaches. In the most general terms, animism concerns the nature of human-being and the nature of our world – but what animates the contributors to this book is that these large questions are addressed in specific relationships, etiquettes, activities, ideas and encounters. Therefore, a blend of description and theorizing provide the most common ways in which we engage with animism.