Taking a broad interpretation of "supernatural" to include anything beyond nature, Global Perspectives on the Liminality of the Supernatural examines the liminality of often-overlooked types of supernatural beings in light of the themes of death and gender. It gives the reader a tour of the continents and takes them out into space, looking at popular culture and mythologies to propose answers to fundamental anthropological questions about humanity, the concept of "dead," and how we relate to our own genders when using the supernatural to understand them.
Rebecca Gibson is lecturer of anthropology at Virginia Commonwealth University and author of Desire in the Age of Robots and AI: An Investigation in Science Fiction and Fact. James M. VanderVeen is professor of anthropology and assistant director of the University Center of Excellence in Teaching at Indiana University South Bend.
Part I. Korea: Zombies and Other Supernatural Chapter 1. A (Wo)Man's Touch: Doomsday Book as Critique of Metropolis Liz W. Faber Part II. China: Demonic Possession and Spiritual Vampires Chapter 2. Gender, Death, and the Supernatural in The Untamed (Chen Qing Ling): A Danmei Genre Pop Cultural Phenomenon. Lucy Yuan Qin and Kong F. Cheong Part III. Russia: Trans Rebirth Chapter 3. A Real Woman is an Iceberg, and a Real Man is Made: Gender, Failure, and Death in Post-Soviet Cinematic Space Lev Nikulin Part IV. Australia: Aboriginal Vampires Chapter 4. The Yara-ma-yha-who, "Real" Vampires, and Aboriginal Erasure: The Retold Vampires of Australian Horror Fiction McKenzie Lynn Tozan Part V. The Caribbean: Animism and Why the Dead Walk at Night Chapter 5. When Opposites Impact: The Remarkable Duality Present in the Taino Belief System James M. VanderVeen Part VI. Afrofuturism: Astral Projection and Hyperempathy Chapter 6. Dying to Live in Octavia Butler's Kindred and Breonna Taylor's America: Discourses of Policing, Misogynoir, "Runaways," and Zombies Jamie A. Thomas Chapter 7. Death and Disability in Octavia E. Butler's Kindred and Parable of the Sower Kathryn E. Heffner Part VII. Moving from the Real World to the Matrix: Cyborg and the Supernatural Power of Love Chapter 8. Bodies in Pods: Masculine Domination, Sexuality, and Love in The Matrix Franchise Brian Brutlag Part VIII. A Galaxy Far, Far Away: Star Wars, Jedi, and the Force Chapter 9. Half Man, Half Machine: Transhumanism and the Cyborg Through a Fictional Lens Freya Fenton Part IX. The Imperial Radch: The Humanity of Corpse Soliders Chapter 10. "Blood Stays Inside Your Arteries, Dlique": Aliens, Cyborgs, Death, and Tea Ceremonies in Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch Trilogy Rebecca Gibson
Global Perspectives on the Liminality of the Supernatural: From Animus to Zombi is a fascinating exploration of contemporary science fiction and the supernatural. It is an engrossing insight into how writers and film makers have explored the possible and impossible to make sense of the world and the many ways humans exist within it. It has expanded my horizons, deepened my understanding and lengthened my reading list. A highly recommended read. -- Kathryn Harkup, PhD, author of Making the Monster: The Science of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
