Global Perspectives on the Liminality of the Supernatural

Rebecca Gibson is lecturer of anthropology at Virginia Commonwealth University and author of Desire in the Age of Robots and AI: An Investigation in Science Fiction and Fact.James M. VanderVeen is professor of anthropology and assistant director of the University Center of Excellence in Teaching at Indiana University South Bend.

Global Perspectives on the Liminality of the Supernatural: From Animus to Zombi is a fascinating exploration of contemporary science fiction and the supernatural. It is an engrossing insight into how writers and film makers have explored the possible and impossible to make sense of the world and the many ways humans exist within it. It has expanded my horizons, deepened my understanding and lengthened my reading list. A highly recommended read.

• Part I. Korea: Zombies and Other SupernaturalChapter 1. A (Wo)Man’s Touch: Doomsday Book as Critique of MetropolisLiz W. FaberPart II. China: Demonic Possession and Spiritual VampiresChapter 2. Gender, Death, and the Supernatural in The Untamed (Chen Qing Ling): A Danmei Genre Pop Cultural Phenomenon.Lucy Yuan Qin and Kong F. CheongPart III. Russia: Trans RebirthChapter 3. A Real Woman is an Iceberg, and a Real Man is Made: Gender, Failure, and Death in Post-Soviet Cinematic SpaceLev NikulinPart IV. Australia: Aboriginal VampiresChapter 4. The Yara-ma-yha-who, “Real” Vampires, and Aboriginal Erasure: The Retold Vampires of Australian Horror FictionMcKenzie Lynn TozanPart V. The Caribbean: Animism and Why the Dead Walk at Night Chapter 5. When Opposites Impact: The Remarkable Duality Present in the Taíno Belief SystemJames M. VanderVeenPart VI. Afrofuturism: Astral Projection and HyperempathyChapter 6. Dying to Live in Octavia Butler’s Kindred and Breonna Taylor’s America: Disco