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P20


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"Attract good fortune? I am counting on that": divination as energizing practices in uncertain and changing times 
Convenors:
Stéphanie Homola (CNRS, French Research Institute on East Asia)
Lai Hung Yu (The University of Oxford)
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Format:
Panel
Location:
BG01
Sessions:
Wednesday 12 April, -, -
Time zone: Europe/London

Short Abstract:

At the crossroads of the spiritual, psychological, material, and commercial dimensions of divination, this panel explores ethnographic accounts of divination as a coping mechanism in a context of growing digitalization and glocal uncertainties.

Long Abstract:

Divination as a coping mechanism—long documented by anthropologists—gains a renewed acuteness in times of world pandemic, environmental crisis, and international conflicts. As uncertainties expend from the global scale to the daily lives of individuals, divination plays more than ever its role of last resort in decision-making (Boyer 2020). Although diviners and their clients in many societies have long embraced the digital turn, extensive digitalization during the pandemic not only boosted an already thriving industry but also inspired new practices.

Do online divination and social media-like features shape new forms of rituals? For instance, young unmarried Chinese women watch online tarot divination to alleviate the social pressure put on "leftover" women. They take advantage of the "bullet screen" feature of the video platform Bilibili to share their anxieties with one another and accumulate propitious "attract good fortune" and "I am counting on that" messages.

Through which mechanisms does divinatory counselling address stress, doubts, and anxiety, and what is its impact on clients' mental health? Do divinatory statements foster forms of resilience and empowerment through making sense of social inequalities, navigating liminal situations, or gathering energy (Esquerre 2013)?

Digital developments also impact the work of practitioners. Do they resist or take advantage of them commercially and/or intellectually to legitimate their trade?

Just as divination is a paradigmatic topic for comparative studies in anthropology, contributors are also encouraged to reflect how online divination and its various forms (mass consultation, self-teaching etc.) can contribute to emerging comparative studies in digital ethnography.

Accepted papers:

Session 1 Wednesday 12 April, 2023, -
Session 2 Wednesday 12 April, 2023, -