Narrative Possession: spirits, shamans and the walking dead

Narrative Possession offers a creative and critical investigation of the nature of possession as it manifests in film, fiction, and theory, exploring narrative depictions of possession across a wide range of international cultural practices including shamanism, voodoo, Spiritualism and séance. We will explore the theoretical and political ramifications of possession as it pertains to embodiment, sovereignty, private property and personal identity. Texts include works by Toni Morrison, Muriel Spark, Antoine Volodine, Zora Neal Hurston, Lafcadio Hearn, Ishmael Reed, Cesar Aira, kobo Abe, Derrida, Sartre, and De Certeau. Films include works by Cocteau, Camus, Tourneur, and Russell.