Charles Emmons has an MA in Anthropology from the University of Illinois and a PhD in Sociology from the University of Illinois, Chicago. He is Prof. of Sociology at Gettysburg College. His research is mainly in the area of the sociology/anthropology of science, religion and the paranormal. His latest book, coauthored by his wife, Penelope Emmons, is Science and Spirit: Exploring the Limits of Consciousness (2012). They also collaborated on Guided by Spirit: A Journey into the Mind of the Medium (2003). Other publications by Charlie include Chinese Ghosts and ESP: A Study of Paranormal Beliefs and Experiences (1982), Hong Kong Prepares for 1997 (1987) and At the Threshold: UFOs, Science and the New Age (1997). He also appears in the TV documentaries “Ghosts of Gettysburg.” He is active in Exploring the Extraordinary, is an honorary member of the Board of Reviewers of the journal Paranthropology, and a member of The Society for Scientific Exploration. Charlie has also made three documentary DVDs in the area of science and spirituality: Drum Dreams (Drum Circles in North America), Roll Your Own Religion (New Spirituality in North America), and Science and Spirit(s).
In this second part we ask "the epistemic/ontological question": in studying these experiences, how far should we be concerned with the ontology? Would to do so be an abandonment of the scientific materialism which underpins the discipline, and therefore a slide back into theology? Or can there be a bigger model of materialism - a "complicated materialism", to use Ann Taves' expression - in which these phenomena might be suitably explicable?
In October 2013, a four day international conference was held at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, on the theme of ‘Anthropology and the Paranormal’. This special two part episode explores some aspects of the sometimes fraught relationship between "paranormal" events and beliefs (The World Religions")...
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial- NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
The views expressed in podcasts, features and responses are the views of the individual contributors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Religious Studies Project or our sponsors. The Religious Studies Project is produced by the Religious Studies Project Association (SCIO), a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (charity number SC047750).
