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The Evil Eye ( għajn ) in Malta

Grappling with Skinner’s pigeons and rehabilitating lame ducks 1

Bibliographic Data

ID19014345
AuthorsJ P Baldacchino (0000-0001-7673-5001, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, corresponding author), Jean‐Paul Baldacchino
Year2010
Volume21
Issue2
Pages188-207
Publication date2010-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Australian Journal of Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1035-8811 • E-ISSN: 1757-6547
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1757-6547.2010.00078.x
OpenAlexW1960216473
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited35

In this paper, I construct a plea for superstition and examine the ways in which contemporary scholars use the term to denote irrational belief. ‘Superstition’ has, throughout history, been used as a derogatory term denoting inferior and dangerous beliefs. Examining the process whereby people continue to believe that which they deem irrational, I adopt a reflexive and phenomenological approach. Focussing on the evil eye ( għajn ) in Malta and the Mediterranean, I redefine ‘superstition’ as the product of an intrasubjective antinomy between orthodoxy and its subversion

Epistemology · Idolatry · Irrational number · Orthodoxy · Political science · Reflexivity · Sociology · Subversion · Superstition · Theology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy · Psychology

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Unique citing works2
Citations per year0,13
Citation span2011 - 2011 (1)
Citation velocityhistorical
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 2
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