4. The Impossible Ghost
Kirsty Logan discovers how ghosts survive, even when we are told they are impossible, because they have great social and psychological value.
Illustration by Seonaid Mackay
'When people are told explicitly that ghosts do not – cannot – exist, this should mean an extinction, the end of the line. But…'
The three main Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, teach a belief in the unseen, but with ghosts… there is a struggle. While ghosts make an appearance in the bible, in the tale of Saul and the Witch of Endor the meaning of the story is ambiguous. And when it comes to Islam, it is very clear, no ghosts.
And yet, tales of ghosts survive even when we’re told they’re impossible. Kirsty discovers how they survive by diving into the tales of the spirits of Malaysia, where ghosts not only survive but thrive alongside the various religions and cultures in the country - because they have become part of life.
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Cheryl L. Nicholas - Hantu, believe but don't believe.
Duration: 19:04
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Dr. Cheryl L. Nicholas - Duality of Beliefs
Duration: 02:46
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The Pocong
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Cheryl L. Nicholas - Hantu, believe but don't believe.
OurΒ Extra Interview today isΒ
Cheryl is an Associate Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences and Global Studies at Penn State Berks. She is an ethnographer who enjoys doing research in her homeland, Malaysia. Her research is based on how symbolic activity constitutes and is constituted by cultural worldviews. Theoretically, her work is grounded in language and social interaction, and critical perspectives.Β
She is the recipient of the 2011 Penn State Berks Outstanding Full-Time Teacher Award and the 2014-15 Penn State University Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Equity (CLGBTE) Award for Outstanding Service. In 2017 she was honored in the 'Teachers on Teaching' series by the National Communication Association, at their annual conference, and in 2019 she was named an Alumni Teaching Fellow at Penn State.
She teaches classes in intercultural communication, message evaluation, nonverbal communication, storytelling, and communication theory. She has also developed research-based classes on focused topics such as LGBTQ identity, comic-book communities, and food culture.
In this interview she shares her research about Hantu in Malaysia, and how people of different faiths and cultures have adopted ghosts into everyday life, and how those ghosts can be used to explore fears and taboos in society.
Broadcasts
- Thu 22 Oct 2020 13:45Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
- Fri 1 Oct 2021 14:45Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4