If Not all Stones Are Alive

Radical Relationality in Animism Studies

Bibliographic Data

ID7440252
AuthorsGraham Harvey (0000-0003-1917-533X, The Open University, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume11
Issue4
Pages481-497
Publication date2018-02-26
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal for the Study of Religion Nature and Culture (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1749-4907 • E-ISSN: 1749-4915
PublisherEquinox Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1558/jsrnc.31066
OpenAlexW2790311790
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited22

Irving Hallowell’s conversation with an Anishinaabe (Ojibwa) elder in the early twentieth century has gained increasing attention in recent decades. It has been cited by many involved in the multi-disciplinary “turns” to ontology, materiality and relationality. In particular, it has inspired many researchers involved in the “new (approach to) animism”. This article considers efforts to rethink what “person” or “relation” might mean – in the light of Indigenous ontologies and of the ferment of reflection and analysis offered by many colleagues. It proposes that we have not yet sufficiently understood what the elder intended by telling Hallowell that only some stones are animate. A more radically relational understanding of personhood has implications for the ways in which we approach and engage with/in nature, culture, science and religion

Animism · Discipline · Materiality · Personhood · Animal and Plant Science Education · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices

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Open DOIOpen Access