The Cultic Milieu: Oppositional Subcultures in an Age of GlobalizationJeffrey Kaplan, Heléne Lööw In 1999, a seemingly incongruous collection of protestors converged in Seattle to shut down the meetings of the World Trade Organization. Union leaders, environmentalists dressed as endangered turtles, mainstream Christian clergy, violence-advocating anarchists, gay and lesbian activists, and many other diverse groups came together to protest what they saw as the unfair power of a nondemocratic elite. But how did such strange bedfellows come together? And can their unity continue? In 1972--another period of social upheaval--sociologist Colin Campbell posited a "cultic milieu": An underground region where true seekers test hidden, forgotten, and forbidden knowledge. Ideas and allegiances within the milieu change as individuals move between loosely organized groups, but the larger milieu persists in opposition to the dominant culture. Jeffrey Kaplan and Helene Loow find Campbell's theory especially useful in coming to grips with the varied oppositional groups of today. While the issues differ, current subcultures often behave in similar ways to deviant groups of the past. The Cultic Milieu brings together scholars looking at racial, religious and environmental oppositional groups as well as looking at the watchdog groups that oppose these groups in turn. While providing fascinating information on their own subjects, each essay contributes to a larger understanding of our present-day cultic milieu. For classes in the social sciences or religious studies, The Cultic Milieu offers a novel way to look at the interactions and ideas of those who fight against the powerful in our global age. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Cult the Cultic Milieu and Secularization | 12 |
Diggers Wolves Ents Elves and Expanding Universes | 26 |
The Historical Communal Roots of Ultraconservative Groups | 75 |
NeoShamanism Psychic Phenomena and Media Trickery | 110 |
The Gothic Milieu | 138 |
Black and White Unite in Fight? | 152 |
The Idea of Purity | 193 |
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Common terms and phrases
activists activities American anarchists animals anti-cult movement anti-Semitism Aryan Ásatrú Association Baumgardner believe black metal Bron Taylor Bruno Ludtke Charles Manson Chip Berlet Christian Identity Church of Satan civil claimed Colin Jordan Communist cult cultic milieu culture Dave Foreman Davidian Deep Ecology deprogramming deviant early Earth First!ers emerged Europe European example Farrakhan followers global Gothic milieu groups Hitler human Hungarian Hungary Ibid ideology Interview issue James Mason Jeffrey Kaplan Jewish Jews John Baumgardner leader leadership living Madole Marxist-Leninist Metzger Michael Mormon mysticism Nation of Islam National Socialism National Socialist nationalists Nazi neo-Nazi Nordisk Kamp November occult Oredsson organization pagan Party political race racial racist right radical environmental radical environmentalists religion religious revolutionary ritual Rockwell's Satanist sects Secularization shamanism society spiritual SPLC subcultures tactics tion Tommasi tradition United violence white racialist WUNS York Zeskind
References to this book
Globalization between the Cold War and Neo-Imperialism Jennifer M. Lehmann,Harry F. Dahms Limited preview - 2006 |