The Ghosts of Iceland

This ethnography, uniquely set in contemporary Iceland, takes an in-depth look at the way supernatural beliefs and practices (long an important subject of anthropology) thrive as an "unnamed, unpretentious, and quiet, nearly silent, spiritual movement that impacts most of the population either directly or indirectly in deeply personal ways." The author lived and worked in Reykjavik, where friends, acquaintances, students, colleagues and spirit mediums talked with him about their experiences of being in contact with spirits of the dead, including deceased loved ones and spirit doctors. Anderson's book is a primary example of signature anthropology methodology, i.e., ethnographic fieldwork or participant observation. He spent time with spirit mediums, joined in group seances, observed and recorded conversations between the living and the dead, arranged for spirit doctors to treat sick friends, and attended lectures at spiritist schools, and coffee klatches of the 'spirit society'.

There's a lot you don't know about Iceland. Easy to follow and full of quality research, THE GHOSTS OF ICELAND introduces you to ancient spiritual practices that still affect the culture today. Whether it's group séances, spirit doctors, or conversations between the living and the dead, this spiritual anthropology textbook goes in-depth to examine Iceland's spiritual climate.

Robert Anderson is a physician-anthropologist who specializes in medical anthropology, including alternative medicine and healing, shamanism, and religion. He is a Medical Doctor (MD) who graduated from the University of Ciudad Juarez as well as a full Professor of Anthropology and Head of the Deparment of Sociology and Anthropology at Mills College, and his credentials are impressive with both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in anthropology from U.C. Berkeley. Dr. Anderson's interests in anthropology have always centered on issues of bipedalism—including back pain, bonesetting, and birthing—as well as medical anthropology and alternative medicine. While teaching in 1998 at the University of Iceland as a visiting Fulbright lecturer, Dr. Anderson was also researching alternative medicine. He discovered that in the North Atlantic, alternative medicine frequently included treatment by the ghosts of deceased doctors, which resulted in his fascinating fieldwork on religious beliefs and practices in contemporary Iceland that includes the paranormal. Over the years, he has served as Editor or as a member of the Editorial Board of several journals, including Medical Anthropology and Clinical Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, as well as the Director of Research at the San Francisco Spine Institute at Seton Medical Center. His published books include ALTERNATIVE AND CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE IN ICELAND: THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF LOW BACK PAIN (2000), and MAGIC, SCIENCE, AND HEALTH: THE AIMS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY (1996).