Deana Weibel
Grand Valley State University, Anthropology, Faculty Member
- Religion, Anthropology of Pilgrimage, Pilgrimage, Human Spaceflight, European Catholicism, New Age spirituality, and 15 moreNeo-Paganism and Western Esotericism, Evangelicalism, History of Anthropology, Anthropology, Tourism, Cognitive Anthropology, Visions And Dreams, Roman Catholicism, Wicca, Religious Syncretism, Schema Theory, STS (Anthropology), Ritual, Eschatology and Apocalypticism, and Sectarianismedit
- Deana L. Weibel is a jointly appointed Professor in the Anthropology Department and in the Religious Studies Program ... moreDeana L. Weibel is a jointly appointed Professor in the Anthropology Department and in the Religious Studies Program at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. Weibel's early research focused on pilgrimage and sacred spaces, particularly in Rocamadour, France, and looked into perceptions of location in ritual, concepts of "energy" as they related to pilgrimage destinations, and the intentionally syncretic belief systems of "religious creatives". Her ethnographic fieldwork relating to space exploration looks into how religious and scientific ways of perceiving the universe influence each other and has taken her to many “space sites” around the country, including the Kennedy Space Center, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Mojave Air and Space Port, as well as the Vatican Observatory near Rome, Italy. Her Twitter handle is ethnoethereal and she is a co-organizer of Roger That!: A Celebration of Space Exploration in Honor of Roger B. Chaffee, held each February in Grand Rapids, Michigan.edit
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The Seductions of Pilgrimage explores the simultaneously attractive and repellent, beguiling and alluring forms of seduction in pilgrimage. It focuses on the varied discursive, imaginative, and practical mechanisms of seduction that draw... more
The Seductions of Pilgrimage explores the simultaneously attractive and repellent, beguiling and alluring forms of seduction in pilgrimage. It focuses on the varied discursive, imaginative, and practical mechanisms of seduction that draw individual pilgrims to a pilgrimage site; the objects, places, and paradigms that pilgrims leave behind as they embark on their hyper-meaningful travel experience; and the often unforeseen elements that lead pilgrims off their desired course. Presenting the first comprehensive study of the role of seduction on individual pilgrims in the study of pilgrimage and tourism, it will appeal to scholars of anthropology, cultural geography, tourism, heritage, and religious studies.
Research Interests: Sociology of Religion, Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Anthropology of Pilgrimage, Pilgrimage, and 13 moreAnthropology of Christianity, Anthropology of Eastern Christianity, Anthropology of Europe, Affect/Emotion, New Age (Western Esotericism), Affect (Cultural Theory), Anthropology of ethics and morality, Anthropology of Islam, Seduction, Seduction theory, Anthropology of Judaism, Anthropology of Religion, and New Age Religions
In this collection of essays, anthropologists of religion examine the special challenges they face when studying populations that proselytize. Conducting fieldwork among these groups may involve attending services, meditating, praying,... more
In this collection of essays, anthropologists of religion examine the special challenges they face when studying populations that proselytize. Conducting fieldwork among these groups may involve attending services, meditating, praying, and making pilgrimages. Anthropologists participating in such research may unwittingly give the impression that their interest is more personal than professional, and inadvertently encourage missionaries to impose conversion upon them. Moreover, anthropologists’ attitudes about religion, belief, and faith, as well as their response to conversion pressures, may interfere with their objectivity and cause them to impose their own understandings on the missionaries. Although anthropologists have extensively and fruitfully examined the role of identity in research—particularly gender and ethnic identity—religious identity, which is more fluid and changeable, has been relatively neglected. This volume explores the role of religious identity in fieldwork by examining how researchers respond to participation in religious activities and to the ministrations of missionaries, both academically and personally. Including essays by anthropologists studying the proselytizing religions of Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, as well as other religions, this volume provides a range of responses to the question of how anthropologists should approach the gap between belief and disbelief when missionary zeal imposes its interpretations on anthropological curiosity.
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This is a proof version, edited by the authors but not by the publication's editor.
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In September 2023, a Virgin Galactic spaceflight led by South African billionaire Timothy Nash sparked controversy in the world of anthropology. Nash's journey to the edge of space aboard the VSS Unity spacecraft included two significant... more
In September 2023, a Virgin Galactic spaceflight led by South African billionaire Timothy Nash sparked controversy in the world of anthropology. Nash's journey to the edge of space aboard the VSS Unity spacecraft included two significant biological and historical fragments: the thumb bone of a Homo naledi and a collarbone fragment of an Australopithecus sediba, both potential ancestral species to modern humans. These fossil specimens were chosen by paleoanthropologist Dr. Lee Berger, known for his penchant for attention. While the decision to take these hominin fossils into space raised ethical concerns among anthropologists, it also shed light on the age-old human practice of imbuing significance into objects through their association with sacred or transformative experiences. The act was seen as a symbolic fusion of the past and the future, representing humanity's appreciation for its ancient relatives. However, it raised questions about respecting the prehistoric dead and the appropriation of their remains, highlighting the need for a more enlightened approach to honoring our distant ancestors as we explore space.
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Research Interests: History, Sociology of Religion, Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Anthropology of Pilgrimage, and 15 morePilgrimage, Anthropology of Christianity, Anthropology of Eastern Christianity, Anthropology of Europe, Affect/Emotion, New Age (Western Esotericism), Anthropology of ethics and morality, Tourism, Anthropology of Islam, Seduction, Seduction theory, Anthropology of Judaism, Anthropology of Religion, Routledge, and New Age Religions
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We advocate for a "humanitarian review" of space settlement proposals, which takes seriously the various cultural and ethical questions that space settlement raises. As a preview of how such a review might be conducted,... more
We advocate for a "humanitarian review" of space settlement proposals, which takes seriously the various cultural and ethical questions that space settlement raises. As a preview of how such a review might be conducted, we discuss five rationales or objectives for space settlement (for long-term human survival; for resources; for scientific knowledge; for adventure; and for spiritual insights). We argue that none of these rationales escapes the need for thorough scrutiny, because each rationale raises challenging and distinctive cultural and ethical questions during all phases of the settlement process. Of particular relevance here are questions concerning who gets to participate in settling space as well as who benefits from the endeavor. Thus, regardless of our rationale for settling space, we will not do so ethically unless we continually subject our decision-making to critical scrutiny, not only on Earth during the planning phase, but also while settlers are in-transit and throughout the settlement's founding and growth.
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When pilgrims encounter sacred sites, much of their experience is mediated through guides of one sort of another, such as books, tour leaders, or even, recently, electronic media available on handheld devices. Although the French shrine... more
When pilgrims encounter sacred sites, much of their experience is mediated through guides of one sort of another, such as books, tour leaders, or even, recently, electronic media available on handheld devices. Although the French shrine of Rocamadour celebrated a millennium of Catholic pilgrimage in 2013, it is better known as a tourist center than as a religious destination, due to the lure of outdoor activities, regional cuisine, and various animal parks. Weibel uses ethnographic data in this chapter to detail conflicts between local tourist agencies and the Diocese of Cahors and Rocamadour over the portrayal of the site, then considers how twenty-first-century digital and social media have been harnessed by each in order to persuade the public to interact with and interpret Rocamadour in specific ways.
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This paper, based mainly on astronauts’ first-person writings, historical documents, and my own ethnographic interviews with nine astronauts conducted between 2004 and 2020, explores how encountering the earth and other celestial objects... more
This paper, based mainly on astronauts’ first-person writings, historical documents, and my own ethnographic interviews with nine astronauts conducted between 2004 and 2020, explores how encountering the earth and other celestial objects in ways never before experienced by human beings has influenced some astronauts’ cosmological understandings. Following the work of Timothy Morton, the earth and other heavenly bodies can be understood as “hyperobjects”, entities that are distributed across time and space in ways that make them difficult for human beings to accurately understand, but whose existence is becoming increasingly detectable to us. Astronauts in outer space are able to perceive celestial objects from vantages literally unavailable on earth, which has often (but not always) had a profound influence on their understandings of humanity, life, and the universe itself. Frank Wright’s term, the “overview effect”, describes a cognitive shift resulting from seeing the Earth from s...
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This chapter examines the notion of a geobiological understanding of sacred sites, Rocamadour in particular, from the perspectives of pilgrims to and residents of these places. Another influence, Renaissance and Enlightenment-era theories... more
This chapter examines the notion of a geobiological understanding of sacred sites, Rocamadour in particular, from the perspectives of pilgrims to and residents of these places. Another influence, Renaissance and Enlightenment-era theories about magnetism, should be considered, particularly the thought that there exist magnetic energies inside the human body that can be sensed and manipulated, especially for healing. The chapter also examines a few concepts on how human responses to places and the religious interpretation of these responses can be considered from the perspectives of neurobiology, evolutionary biology, and cognitive science. The broader scientific context of Western society has provided creativist pilgrims with language and concepts that, re-imagined in such a way to emphasize the oneness of what they see as 'true' religion and 'true' science, provide them with validating and universalizing schemas for interpreting pilgrim destinations. Keywords: cognitive science; Enlightenment-era theories; evolutionary biology; magnetic energies; Magnetism; neurobiology; Rocamadour; sacred sites; Western society
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Human spaceflight is likely to change in character over the 21st century, shifting from a military/governmental enterprise to one that is more firmly tied to private industry, including businesses devoted to space tourism. For space... more
Human spaceflight is likely to change in character over the 21st century, shifting from a military/governmental enterprise to one that is more firmly tied to private industry, including businesses devoted to space tourism. For space tourism to become a reality, however, many obstacles have to be overcome, particularly those in finance, technology, and medicine. Ethnographic interviews with astronauts, engineers, NASA doctors, and NewSpace workers reveal that absolute faith in the eventual human occupation of space, based in religious conviction or taking secular forms, is a common source of motivation across different populations working to promote human spaceflight. This paper examines the way faith is expressed in these different contexts and its role in developing a future where space tourism may become commonplace.
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One must allow oneself to be bent out of shape. This is part of the pain of sociological field work, but also part of its craft. (84)This slim yet pithy volume exercises the issues that arise when ...
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When considering the exploration of outer space people typically think about technology, engineering, physics, and the use of the scientific method to understand what is out there, beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, from the nearby Moon to... more
When considering the exploration of outer space people typically think about technology, engineering, physics, and the use of the scientific method to understand what is out there, beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, from the nearby Moon to distant galaxies only visible through the use of high-powered telescopes [...]
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Few have spoken of space as "death," the way William Shatner put it upon his return from his Blue Origin flight. A photo 53 years in the making. Left is a clip showing Captain Kirk (center) on the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise from the... more
Few have spoken of space as "death," the way William Shatner put it upon his return from his Blue Origin flight. A photo 53 years in the making. Left is a clip showing Captain Kirk (center) on the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise from the original Star Trek third season episode "Spock's Brain" which first aired in 1968. To the right is William Shatner looking out at the Earth from space while onboard Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft on October 13, 2021. Photos courtesy CBS and Blue Origin. Photomontage by Kipp Teague and Karl Tate.
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We advocate for a "humanitarian review" of space settlement proposals, which takes seriously the various cultural and ethical questions that space settlement raises. As a preview of how such a review might be conducted, we discuss five... more
We advocate for a "humanitarian review" of space settlement proposals, which takes seriously the various cultural and ethical questions that space settlement raises. As a preview of how such a review might be conducted, we discuss five rationales or objectives for space settlement (for long-term human survival; for resources; for scientific knowledge; for adventure; and for spiritual insights). We argue that none of these rationales escapes the need for thorough scrutiny, because each rationale raises challenging and distinctive cultural and ethical questions during all phases of the settlement process. Of particular relevance here are questions concerning who gets to participate in settling space as well as who benefits from the endeavor. Thus, regardless of our rationale for settling space, we will not do so ethically unless we continually subject our decision-making to critical scrutiny, not only on Earth during the planning phase, but also while settlers are in-transit and throughout the settlement's founding and growth.
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This paper, based mainly on astronauts' first-person writings, historical documents, and my own ethnographic interviews with nine astronauts conducted between 2004 and 2020, explores how encountering the earth and other celestial objects... more
This paper, based mainly on astronauts' first-person writings, historical documents, and my own ethnographic interviews with nine astronauts conducted between 2004 and 2020, explores how encountering the earth and other celestial objects in ways never before experienced by human beings has influenced some astronauts' cosmological understandings. Following the work of Timothy Morton, the earth and other heavenly bodies can be understood as "hyperobjects", entities that are distributed across time and space in ways that make them difficult for human beings to accurately understand, but whose existence is becoming increasingly detectable to us. Astronauts in outer space are able to perceive celestial objects from vantages literally unavailable on earth, which has often (but not always) had a profound influence on their understandings of humanity, life, and the universe itself. Frank Wright's term, the "overview effect", describes a cognitive shift resulting from seeing the Earth from space that increases some astronauts' sense of connection to humanity, God, or other powerful forces. Following NASA convention (NASA Style Guide, 2012), I will capitalize both Earth and Moon, but will leave all quotations in their original style. The "ultraview effect" is a term I introduce here to describe the parallel experience of viewing the Milky Way galaxy from the Moon's orbit (a view described reverently by one respondent as a "something I was not ready for") that can result in strong convictions about the prevalence of life in the universe or even unorthodox beliefs about the origins of humanity. I will compare Morton's ideas about humanity's increased awareness of hyperobjects with Joye and Verpooten's work on awe in response to "bigness", tying both to astronauts' lived experiences in order to demonstrate the usefulness of ethnographic data in this context, discuss how human experiences in outer space might influence religious practices and beliefs, and suggest that encounters with hyperobjects hold the potential to be socially beneficial.
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Human spaceflight is likely to change in character over the 21st century, shifting from a military/governmental enterprise to one that is more firmly tied to private industry, including businesses devoted to space tourism. For space... more
Human spaceflight is likely to change in character over the 21st century, shifting from a military/governmental enterprise to one that is more firmly tied to private industry, including businesses devoted to space tourism. For space tourism to become a reality, however, many obstacles have to be overcome, particularly those in finance, technology, and medicine. Ethnographic interviews with astronauts, engineers, NASA doctors, and NewSpace workers reveal that absolute faith in the eventual human occupation of space, based in religious conviction or taking secular forms, is a common source of motivation across different populations working to promote human spaceflight. This paper examines the way faith is expressed in these different contexts and its role in developing a future where space tourism may become commonplace.
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From Missionary Impositions by Hillary Crane and Deana Weibel, Lexington Books
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This is a preprint of the book review found here: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/9NUXYDM5KCYS8JU4X7EY/full?target=10.1080/14766825.2020.1777644