Radical Spirits: Spiritualism and Women's Rights in Nineteenth-century America - Softcover

Braude, Ann

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0807075019 ISBN 13: 9780807075012

Publisher: Beacon Press, 1993

Synopsis

In Radical Spirits, Ann Braude proposes that the engagement of women in the Spiritualism movement, with its belief in the direct accessibility of divine truth to individuals through spirit communication, not only provided a religious alternative to male-dominated mainstream religions, but also gave women a social and political voice as well. Because Spiritualists found in their faith a direct divine sanction for advancing social change, many of the women involved with Spiritualism were also tied to the early women's rights movements and to the radical wing of the movement for abolition of slavery. Thus, the early women's rights movement and Spiritualism went hand in hand. While much has changed in the academy since the book was first published, feminist historians continue to view religion as the enemy of women's emancipation, while historians of religion see signs of feminism in women's religious activities. Ann Braude proposes to address this scholarly impasse and to press further her argument for the importance of religion in the study of American women's history. In this new edition, Braude discusses the impact of the book on the scholarship of the last decade and assesses the place of religion in interpretations of women's history in general and the women's rights movement in particular. A review of current scholarship and suggestions for further reading make the book even more useful for contemporary teachers and students.

About this title

Review

"It would be hard to imagine a book that more insightfully combined gender, social, and religious history together more perfectly than Radical Spirits. Braude still speaks powerfully to unique issues of women's creativity - spiritual as well as political - in a superb account of the controversial nineteenth-century Spiritualist movement. Braude's vivid prose and analytical clarity make an inherently fascinating story all the more compelling - a 'must read' for nineteenth-century U.S. historians whose recent scholarship only highlights the unique, blazing daring of Radical Spirits." Jon Butler, Yale University "Radical Spirits is a vitally important book. It is an original interpretation of Spiritualism that does far more than recount the narrow history of a single movement. In effect, the work recasts the history of women's rights in such a way as to show the dynamic impact of religion upon American culture, as it enabled women to become aware of their own voices in a culture that still sought to silence them... The book has ... influenced a generation of young scholars emerging into the profession ... no less than more senior social historians and scholars of religion." - Marie Griffith, Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Religion, Princeton University " ... [Radical Spirits] is a wonderful teaching book: it raises crucial questions about gender and race in relation to American religious creativity and asks students to think in new ways about religion and about women's history. My experience has been that students love reading and discussing it." - Robert Orsi, author of Thank You, St. Jude "Braude has discovered a crucial link between the early feminists and the spiritualists who so captured the American imagination during the middle of the [nineteenth] century." - Los Angeles Times "An insightful book and a delightful read." - Journal of American History "Continually rewarding." - New York Times Book Review

Synopsis

Traces the development of Spiritualism during the nineteenth century, and explains how leading Spiritualists became involved in the women's rights movement.

Edition details

• Publisher: Beacon Press
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807075019
• ISBN 13: 9780807075012
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288