Tanya Luhrmann
Encyclopedia
Tanya Marie Luhrmann is an American psychological anthropologist best known for her studies of modern-day witches
, charismatic Christians
, and psychiatrists. She received her AB summa cum laude in Folklore
and Mythology from Harvard-Radcliffe
in 1981, working with Stanley Tambiah. She then studied Social Anthropology
at Cambridge University, working with Jack Goody
and Ernest Gellner
. In 1986 she received her PhD for work on modern-day witches in England, later published as Persuasions of the Witch's Craft (1989). In this book, she described the ways in which magic and other esoteric techniques both serve emotional needs and come to seem reasonable through the experience of practice.
Her second research project looked at the situation of contemporary Parsis, a Zoroastrian community in India
. The Parsi community enjoyed a privileged position under the British Raj
; although by many standards, Parsis have continued to do quite well economically in post-colonial India, they have become politically marginal in comparison to their previous position, and many Parsis speak pessimistically about the future of their community. Luhrmann's book The Good Parsi (1996) explored the contradictions inherent in the social psychology of a post-colonial elite.
Her third book, and the most widely acclaimed, explored the contradictions and tensions between two models of psychiatry
, the psychodynamic (psychoanalytic
) and the biomedical, through the ethnographic
study of the training of American psychiatry residents
during the health care transition of the early 1990s. Of Two Minds (2000) received several awards, including the Victor Turner
Prize for Ethnographic Writing and the Boyer Prize for Psychological Anthropology (2001).
Currently she is working on two projects. One is an NIMH
-funded study of how life on the streets (chronically or periodically homeless) contributes to the experience and morbidity of schizophrenia. The other project examines the growing movement of evangelical
and charismatic
Christianity
, and specifically how practitioners come to experience God as someone with whom they can communicate on a daily basis through prayer and visualization.
Tanya Luhrmann was a faculty member in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, San Diego
, from 1989-2000. From 2000-2007, she was Max Palevsky
Professor in the Department of Comparative Human Development at the University of Chicago
, where she was also a director of the program in Clinical Ethnography
. As of spring 2007, she is now a professor in the Department of Anthropology at Stanford University
.
She was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003, president of the Society for Psychological Anthropology for 2008. She has received numerous awards for scholarship, including the AAA President's award for 2004 and a 2007 Guggenheim award. She often publishes as T.M. Luhrmann. In 2006, Luhrmann delivered the Lewis Henry Morgan Lecture at the University of Rochester
, considered by many to be the most important annual lecture series in the field of Anthropology.
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
, charismatic Christians
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...
, and psychiatrists. She received her AB summa cum laude in Folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
and Mythology from Harvard-Radcliffe
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
in 1981, working with Stanley Tambiah. She then studied Social Anthropology
Social anthropology
Social Anthropology is one of the four or five branches of anthropology that studies how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensive field studies , the social organization of a particular person: customs,...
at Cambridge University, working with Jack Goody
Jack Goody
Sir John Rankine Goody is a British social anthropologist. He has been a prominent teacher at Cambridge University, he was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 1976, and he is an associate of the US National Academy of Sciences...
and Ernest Gellner
Ernest Gellner
Ernest André Gellner was a philosopher and social anthropologist, described by The Daily Telegraph when he died as one of the world's most vigorous intellectuals and by The Independent as a "one-man crusade for critical rationalism."His first book, Words and Things —famously, and uniquely...
. In 1986 she received her PhD for work on modern-day witches in England, later published as Persuasions of the Witch's Craft (1989). In this book, she described the ways in which magic and other esoteric techniques both serve emotional needs and come to seem reasonable through the experience of practice.
Her second research project looked at the situation of contemporary Parsis, a Zoroastrian community in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The Parsi community enjoyed a privileged position under the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
; although by many standards, Parsis have continued to do quite well economically in post-colonial India, they have become politically marginal in comparison to their previous position, and many Parsis speak pessimistically about the future of their community. Luhrmann's book The Good Parsi (1996) explored the contradictions inherent in the social psychology of a post-colonial elite.
Her third book, and the most widely acclaimed, explored the contradictions and tensions between two models of psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
, the psychodynamic (psychoanalytic
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
) and the biomedical, through the ethnographic
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
study of the training of American psychiatry residents
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...
during the health care transition of the early 1990s. Of Two Minds (2000) received several awards, including the Victor Turner
Victor Turner
Victor Witter Turner was a British cultural anthropologist best known for his work on symbols, rituals and rites of passage...
Prize for Ethnographic Writing and the Boyer Prize for Psychological Anthropology (2001).
Currently she is working on two projects. One is an NIMH
National Institute of Mental Health
The National Institute of Mental Health is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health...
-funded study of how life on the streets (chronically or periodically homeless) contributes to the experience and morbidity of schizophrenia. The other project examines the growing movement of evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
and charismatic
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...
Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, and specifically how practitioners come to experience God as someone with whom they can communicate on a daily basis through prayer and visualization.
Tanya Luhrmann was a faculty member in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, from 1989-2000. From 2000-2007, she was Max Palevsky
Max Palevsky
Max Palevsky was an American art collector, venture capitalist, philanthropist, and computer technology pioneer.-Early life:...
Professor in the Department of Comparative Human Development at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, where she was also a director of the program in Clinical Ethnography
Clinical Ethnography
Clinical ethnography is a term first used by Gilbert Herdt and Robert Stoller in a series of papers in the 1980s. As Herdt defines it, clinical ethnography...
. As of spring 2007, she is now a professor in the Department of Anthropology at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
She was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003, president of the Society for Psychological Anthropology for 2008. She has received numerous awards for scholarship, including the AAA President's award for 2004 and a 2007 Guggenheim award. She often publishes as T.M. Luhrmann. In 2006, Luhrmann delivered the Lewis Henry Morgan Lecture at the University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
, considered by many to be the most important annual lecture series in the field of Anthropology.
Select Publications
- Luhrmann, Tanya M. (1989) Persuasions of the Witch’s Craft. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Luhrmann, Tanya M. (1996) The Good Parsi: the postcolonial anxieties of an Indian colonial elite. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Luhrmann, Tanya M. (2000) Of two minds: The growing disorder in American psychiatry. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
- Luhrmann, Tanya M. (2004) "Metakinesis: How God Becomes Intimate in Contemporary U.S. Christianity". American Anthropologist 106(3):518-528.