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Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Arctic Madness: The Anthropology of a Delusion

Arctic Madness: The Anthropology of a Delusion

Paperback

Series: Anthropological Novellas

Biographies GeneralAnthropologyGeneral World History

ISBN10: 1912808277
ISBN13: 9781912808274
Publisher: Hau
Published: Nov 20 2020
Pages: 142
Weight: 0.44
Height: 0.37 Width: 5.00 Depth: 8.00
Language: English
The French missionary-linguist Émile Petitot (1838-1916) spent twenty years near the Arctic Circle in Canada, publishing numerous works on First Nations languages and practices. Over time, however, he descended into delirium and began to summon imaginary persecutions, pen improbable interpretations of his Indigenous hosts, and burst into schizoid fury. Delving into thousands of pages in letters and memoirs that Petitot left behind, Pierre Déléage has reconstructed the missionary's tragic story. He takes us on a gripping journey into the illogic and hyperlogic of a mind entranced with Indigenous peoples against the backdrop of repressive church policies and the emergent social sciences of the nineteenth century. Apocalyptic visions from the Bible and prophetic movements among First Nations peoples merged in the missionary's deteriorating psyche, triggering paroxysms of violence against his colleagues and himself. Whoever wishes to understand the contradictions of living between radically different societies will find this anthropological novella hard to put down.

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General World History