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International Journal of Cultural Studies
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Subtle transformations

Imagining the body in alternative health practices

Jay Johnston

Ruth Barcan

University of Sydney, Australia

This article is an examination of an ancient but widespread model of the body known as the subtle body. Subtle body is a term used to describe a model of embodied subjectivity in which matter and consciousness are not understood as ontologically distinct but as varieties of ‘energy’ resonating at different densities. The subtle body model figures the self as multiple, extensive and radically intersubjective. We argue that this model has much to offer cultural studies but that in order for it to be considered, cultural studies will have to overcome its traditional scepticism, if not outright hostility, to spiritual/religious thought. The article grounds its argument in a study of some alternative health practices, arguing that they represent a popular body practice hitherto neglected by cultural studies.

Key Words: alternative therapies • body • cultural studies • Deleuze & Guattari • health • intersubjectivity • Luce Irigaray • New Age • spirituality • subtle bodies

International Journal of Cultural Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1, 25-44 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1367877906061163
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[Abstract] [PDF]