Knot of the Soul: Madness, Psychoanalysis, Islam

Anthropologist Stefania Pandolfo explores the problematic of the subject through a dual examination of psychoanalysis and Islamic theological-medical reasoning, offering an ethnographic journey through madness and contemporary formations of despair. She demonstrates how contemporary Islamic cures for madness address some of the core preoccupations of the psychoanalytic approach, revealing how a religious and ethical relation to the ordeal of madness might allow for spiritual transformation.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 04 May 2018
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

In this thought-provoking and pioneering book, anthropologist Stefania Pandolfo delves into the complex issue of the subject through a dual exploration of psychoanalysis and Islamic theological-medical reasoning. Reflecting on the unconscious maladies of the soul during a period of immense global upheaval, Pandolfo offers a profound and multifaceted examination. Through extensive historical research and attentive listening to contemporary patients in Morocco, she provides an ethnographic journey into madness, as well as a philosophical and theological exploration of the vagaries of the soul. Pandolfo's study encompasses a wide range of experiences, including psychosis in psychiatric hospitals, visionary torments in urban settings, the challenges of undocumented migration, and the sacred space of Quranic healing. By demonstrating how contemporary Islamic cures for madness align with some of the central concerns of psychoanalysis, Pandolfo unveils how a religious and ethical relationship to the ordeal of madness can facilitate spiritual transformation. Overall, this intricate work sheds new light on the realms of psychoanalysis and the ethical imagination, while also providing a sensitive examination of the collective psychic struggles faced by many communities today.

Weight: 656g
Dimension: 169 x 228 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780226465081