CFP: Interdisciplinary Essays on the Apotropaic (2/15/06; collection)
Call for Essays
Seeking essays for an interdisciplinary collection tentatively titled “The Shield of Perseus: Essays on the Apotropaic.â€
The apotropaic (Gr., “to turn away fromâ€) constitutes a class of rituals intended to ward off evil. Jane Ellen Harrison investigated their presence in ancient Greek religion, but the term has wide application in the humanities. The apotropaic often uses the horrible to repel the horrible (e.g., the evil eye, the head of Medusa); thinkers as diverse as Freud, Paglia, Derrida, and Spivak have found it a topic worthy of comment.