Doubting Ghosts

Paranormal Investigation and the Paradoxes of Belief

Michele Hanks (New York University, USA)

$305

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Routledge
28 April 2025

Popular culture; Social theory; Social & cultural anthropology; Cognition & cognitive psychology

Based on ethnographic research in England, Doubting Ghosts explores the paradoxes faced by paranormal investigators or ""ghost hunters"": in spite of spending significant time observing and documenting what they suspect to be paranormal phenomena—in a scientific, secular and rational fashion—many paranormal investigators remain skeptical about the existence of the paranormal. What, then, does it mean to regularly see ghosts and yet to not believe ghosts are real?

Examining the manner in which the scientific approach adopted by investigators produces profound doubts about the existence of the paranormal, the meaning of science, and the nature of modernity, the author demonstrates that doubt itself is central to experiences of secularity and that doubt can constitute a foundation for long-term engagements with the paranormal. Thus, paranormal investigators are able to sustain a relationship, albeit an uneasy one, with the paranormal while maintaining a commitment to a scientific, secular, and rational worldview.

A contribution to understandings of doubt, science, religion, and disenchantment, this book will appeal to scholars of sociology and anthropology.

By: Michele Hanks (New York University USA)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 530g
ISBN: 9781032734521
ISBN 10: 1032734523
Pages: 194
Publication Date: 28 April 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Michele Hanks is a Clinical Associate Professor at New York University. She is interested in people’s experiences of conviction and doubt. This has led to her to conduct ethnographic fieldwork with paranormal investigators in England. More recently, she has been conducting ethnographic fieldwork with psychics in the US to understand the affective and political dynamics of their labor. She is the author of Haunted Heritage: The Cultural Politics of Ghost Tourism, Populism, and the Past (2015).