“Techno-Mystical Substantiations of the Air” by Maria José A. De Abreu (Anthropology, University of Amsterdam)

Abstract

Modern Western conceptions of the air emerged according to, and by means of, a particular relationship between religion and technology. The introduction of depth techniques during the Renaissance aimed at re-organizing medieval perceptions of airspace. Whereas medieval air was thick with mysticism, modern air was conceived as an empty space, clear and open to construction. In this process, air ceased to be perceived as an atmosphere, and became instead a dimension. Considering, however, the changes that are taking place in our contemporary experiences of the air, as a space that on the one hand is animated by new aerial technologies, and on the other, rendered ever more unruly and indeterminate (in both ecological and mystical senses), this chapter calls for a re-examination of the connections between “our air” and the air of the middle-ages. Is air becoming once gain a substance?  Based on ethnographic research among Catholic Charismatics in contemporary Brazil—in particular their reliance on breathing techniques associated to the pneumatic nature of Spirit of Pentecost—this chapter deals with the construction of a monastery for a medieval Catholic order (the Poor Clares), located within the spatial confines of a Catholic Pentecostal global media community.  The aim of this study is twofold.  One is to examine how and why the relationship between the Poor Clares monastery and the media-rich Charismatic movement is so readily characterized in terms of the depth of the former and the ‘flatness’ of the latter, which are in turn indebted to modern ideas of perspective and hierarchical thinking. The other is to show how, in the contemporary context, the mystical and the technological relate to each other in ways that are—quite literally—substantially different from those standing behind modern ideas of the air and world construction.

About the Author

Maria José A. De Abreu is a doctoral student in the Amsterdam School of Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam. Her present research interests deal with media, ethics, body and space, with a particular focus on the fields of religion and spirituality, especially Christianity, within the context of Brazil. In the past, she has pursued interests in museum studies and material culture, and studied the political reception of Indian Cinema in the Portuguese post-dictatorship period.  Her publications include: “On Charisma, Mediation and Broken Screens.” Etnofoor 15 (2002), and “Breathing into the Heart of the Matter: Why Padre Marcelo Needs No Wings.” Postscripts 1 (2006).

Contact and Further Links

Contact Information:  m.j.deabreu@hotmail.com