The book is a largely unprecedented inter-disciplinary collaboration between archaeology, anthropology, and literary studies, although it touches on philosophy and religious studies, too. It explores the creative ways that altered states of consciousness play in culture and the arts, whether these states are induced though rituals like the trance dance or meditation, or through the consumption of mind enhancing substances.
The author explores altered states of consciousness present in select Anglophone literature illuminated by archaeological research on trance states in relation to rock art. This specifically concerns the shamanistic theory of David Lewis-Williams.
In response to Northover, Wayne Stables relates it to the Western philosophical tradition, seeing altered states and the loss of the sense of self that these usually involve as a critique of Western individualism. Contributions by David Whitley and Francis Thackeray are primarily concerned with the creative role that mind-altering substances play in culture. Also stepping into the conversation, Dan Wylie’s reflections are critical, even sceptical, about the use of psychedelics and opiates for recreational, religious and creative purposes. Wylie’s references to Southern African literature complements Whitley’s discussion of North American texts and Northover’s focus on Anglophone literature.
Overall, the book creates by way of multiple perspectives a multivoiced dialogue on the currently highly debated topic of the use of mind-enhancing substances and techniques in art, culture, therapy and religion. In addition to the more academic material, blogs written by two of the authors are included to contextualise and broaden the discussion. This aligns with the book’s multivocal and multimodal spirit.
Print editions not for sale in Sub-Saharan Africa.
By:
Richard Alan Northover
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 216mm,
Width: 138mm,
Weight: 380g
ISBN: 9781041011255
ISBN 10: 1041011253
Series: Routledge/UNISA Press Series
Pages: 104
Publication Date: 24 June 2025
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Contributors Foreword Introduction: Between Visionary and Mystical Experiences Trance and Transfiguration in Rock Art and Literature A World without Selves: A Reply to Richard Alan Northover’s Lecture John Taylor (1620) and the Shakespeare-Hemp-Cannabis Hypothesis: Was the “Noted Weed” a Source of Inspiration for Creativity (“Invention”)? Sceptical Reflections on Hallucinogens and Other Worlds Conclusion: Trance, Healing and Transgression Additional Material: Five Blogs and a Critical Reading 70 Critical Diaries Blog 1: No 116 – Where’s the Zol in Our Literature? Ethicalanimal Blog 2: Newgrange, Ireland: Neolithic Spirituality Blog 3: Otherworldly Termites Blog 4: Embodied Metaphors in Shamanic Art Blog 5: The Axis Mundi, Shamanism and Trance States Critical Reading Altered States of Consciousness in Kim Stanley Robinson’s Shaman (2013) Index
Richard Alan Northover is a Professor of general literary theory and critical theory in the Department of Afrikaans and Theory of Literature at the University of South Africa. His PhD, obtained at the University of Pretoria in 2010, concerns the work of J.M. Coetzee in relation to animal ethics. In addition to articles on the work of JM Coetzee, he has published on Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam Trilogy and southern African rock art, both prehistoric and contemporary, placing his work in the fields of animal studies and ecocriticism. His inaugural lecture, delivered in 2023, was the point of departure of this book.
