Religion and the UFO Phenomenon
Methodological Challenges
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Publishing:7th Jan '27
£90.00
This title is due to be published on 7th January, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
Brings together scholars of religious studies, anthropology and social science to explore the potential reality of the UFO phenomenon and the impact on academic practice, knowledge production and methodologies.
Focusing on the consequences for research methodology and knowledge production, this book explores how the UFO phenomenon challenges, disrupts and reshapes current academic practice.
How best should scholars of humanities and social sciences approach the UFO phenomenon as an object of study? Why are otherworldly experiences intertwined with new forms of religiosity? Expanding existing scholarship, this book brings together global contributions at the intersection of religion, technology, and the UFO phenomenon. After an introduction addressing the contemporary relevance of the subject, the book is divided into four distinct themes: ontologies, epistemologies, sociologies, and religions.
Chapters include a case for taking UFOs seriously within the theological space; a sociological look at abduction narratives from late-Soviet and post-Soviet popular culture; a plaidoyer for expanding rational knowledge to account for UFOs and non-human intelligences; and the ecological insights such non-human intelligences could inspire. The authors show how the UFO phenomenon challenges our epistemic assumptions, leading us to revaluate research practices and innovate new methodologies.
Rather than solely studying UFOs in relation to minority religious groups, this book unites scholars of religious studies, anthropology and social science to explore the academic, societal, scientific, and religious consequences of a potentially real UFO phenomenon.
By treating the UFO as real—even provisionally—and taking the lived experience of UFOs seriously as evidence, French offers something extraordinary: a volume that allows the UFO to authentically speak. French and the contributing authors show that scholarly rigor need not require ontological closure, and that studying the UFO seriously may demand a radical revision of the frameworks through which we make sense of our shared world. * Kimberly S. Engels, Molloy University, USA *
UFOs are back in the news, and as they have in the past, sightings have raised profound questions about what we know and what we don’t. Aaron French has assembled a fascinating group of essays by leading scholars of religion that provocatively ask us to consider how this anomalous phenomenon tests our intellectual, emotional, and spiritual reach. * Greg Eghigian, Penn State University, USA *
Religion and the UFO Phenomenon is an important part of a revolutionary, new wave of scholarship in the humanities and social sciences. While we have long been trained to be wary of binaries in colonial or gendered contexts, many still have not been able to move beyond the ossified binaries of secular/religious, and physical/mental. Now is the time, and we are more than ready for the bold contributions of the authors of this volume. * Nicole Bauer, The University of Tulsa, USA *
ISBN: 9781350508019
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
296 pages