Self-destructive desires and the supernatural in early modern Britain

现代早期英国的自我毁灭欲望和超自然现象

• 批准号: 2433821
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Warwick
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2433821
• 关键词: Self; destructive; desires; supernatural; early

This study will examine the connections between supernatural experiences and expressions of suicidaland self-harming urges in early modern Britain, framed for these purposes by the witchcraft statutes of1563 and 1735. In this context, the supernatural refers to aspects of faith culture which are not everydayor 'usual', encompassing affliction by such beings as witches, ghosts, demons, and fairies. Examiningsuicide and self-harm through the lens of the supernatural offers important new perspectives on thehistory of these topics, challenging earlier studies which implicitly convey the deterministic view thatsuicidal urges lead ultimately to suicide. Narratives in which an individual experiencing suicidal and self-harming urges is seen to survive, and in many cases recover, allow a critical re-evaluation of culturalattitudes. My project will investigate the cultural mechanisms through which early modern individualscould express, understand, and engage with feelings of suicide and self-harm. In the process, it seeks tomake a significant contribution to histories of suicide and mental health more broadly, themes ofcontinuing relevance to modern society.

本研究将探讨近代早期英国的超自然经历与自杀和自残冲动表达之间的联系，这些目的是由 1563 年和 1735 年的巫术法规制定的。在这种情况下，超自然指的是信仰文化中非日常或“平常”的方面，包括女巫、鬼魂、恶魔和仙女等生物的痛苦。通过超自然的视角来审视自杀和自残，为这些主题的历史提供了重要的新视角，挑战了早期的研究，这些研究隐含地传达了自杀冲动最终导致自杀的决定论观点。在叙述中，经历自杀和自残冲动的个人被认为能够生存，并且在许多情况下康复，允许对文化态度进行批判性的重新评估。我的项目将调查早期现代人表达、理解和参与自杀和自残感受的文化机制。在此过程中，它力求对更广泛的自杀和心理健康历史做出重大贡献，这些主题与现代社会持续相关。