A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
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political registers as well.<br />
This chapter will first treat <strong>the</strong> emergence <strong>of</strong> Spiritualism from <strong>the</strong> earlier precedents <strong>of</strong><br />
vitalism, hypnotism, Swedenborgianism and <strong>the</strong> Shakers, <strong>the</strong> latter two <strong>of</strong> which are centrally<br />
concerned with commun<strong>in</strong>g with spiritual <strong>in</strong>telligences. These are <strong>the</strong> most obvious formal<br />
precedents for Spiritualism, though <strong>of</strong> course <strong>the</strong>re are o<strong>the</strong>r earlier <strong>in</strong>stances <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> commun<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>of</strong> humans with <strong>the</strong> spirit world. Spiritualism “has a nebulous ancestry <strong>of</strong> magnetic<br />
somnambules, witch ridden children, and ecstatic nuns.” 27<br />
While <strong>the</strong> chapter does directly<br />
address <strong>the</strong> first element <strong>of</strong> this list <strong>in</strong> its discussion <strong>of</strong> Mesmerism, it does not address <strong>the</strong> latter<br />
two. Podmore’s characterization <strong>of</strong> Spiritualism’s ancestry as nebulous captures a recurr<strong>in</strong>g<br />
characteristic <strong>of</strong> all <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> movements exam<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> this project. The word nebulous derives from<br />
<strong>the</strong> astronomical term for a cluster <strong>of</strong> stars that when seen from a distance has <strong>the</strong> appearance <strong>of</strong><br />
a cloud or mist—defy<strong>in</strong>g articulation. At any given historical po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>the</strong>re are myriad ways that<br />
one might trace <strong>the</strong> antecedents and consequents <strong>of</strong> Mesmerism or Spiritualism or Space Bro<strong>the</strong>r<br />
religions. The roots and fruits <strong>of</strong> communication between humans and O<strong>the</strong>rworldly be<strong>in</strong>gs are<br />
<strong>in</strong> a word, over determ<strong>in</strong>ed. Any narrative that attempts to track <strong>the</strong> course <strong>of</strong> this l<strong>in</strong>e <strong>of</strong><br />
communication over time will be by necessity partial and <strong>in</strong> most ways a function <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> story<br />
that <strong>the</strong> writer wishes to tell.<br />
After exam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> precedents <strong>of</strong> Spiritualism, <strong>the</strong> chapter will <strong>the</strong>n exam<strong>in</strong>e<br />
<strong>the</strong> rise <strong>of</strong> Spiritualism proper and <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>terface between <strong>the</strong> contemporary politics <strong>of</strong> reform and<br />
Spiritualism, both <strong>in</strong> general and <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> specific case <strong>of</strong> fem<strong>in</strong>ism. The f<strong>in</strong>al section on <strong>the</strong><br />
movement will <strong>in</strong>terrogate <strong>the</strong> ways <strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong> dead are imag<strong>in</strong>ed as actors <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> discourse <strong>of</strong><br />
Spiritualism. Lastly, I will briefly discuss <strong>the</strong> rise <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> so-called “western guru” <strong>in</strong> Theosophy<br />
and <strong>the</strong> advent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> “ascended master” as a central trope <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> nexus <strong>of</strong> alien-human<br />
communication. Through this series <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>vestigations, we will both observe <strong>the</strong> emergence <strong>of</strong> a<br />
peculiar sort <strong>of</strong> utopian politics, one that exhibits desires consonant with rational reform while<br />
27 Frank Podmore, Modern Spiritualism: A History and a Criticism (New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1902) 361.<br />
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