网曝门 logo
网曝门鈥檚 Anderson has book published by LSU Press

Published April 12, 2024

Anderson Voodoo

MONROE, LA 鈥 网曝门 Professor of History and Associate Director of the School of Humanities Dr. Jeffrey E. Anderson had his new book published by LSU Press in March. Voodoo: An African American Religion is a modern account of the voodoo faith as it existed in the Mississippi River valley from colonial times to the mid-twentieth century, when, he argues, it ceased to thrive as a living tradition.

A news release from LSU Press states that 鈥淒espite several decades of scholarship on African diasporic religion, Voodoo remains underexamined, and the few books published on the topic contain inaccuracies and outmoded arguments.鈥

The release goes on to say that 鈥淎nderson provides a solid scholarly foundation for future work by systematizing the extant information on a religion that has long captured the popular imagination as it has simultaneously engendered fear and ridicule. His book stands as the most complete study of the faith yet produced and rests on more than two decades of research, utilizing primary source material alongside the author鈥檚 own field studies in New Orleans, Haiti, Cuba, Senegal, Benin, Togo, and the Republic of Congo.鈥

Douglas J. Falen, author of African Science: Witchcraft, Vodun, and Healing in Southern Benin, praised Voodoo, saying, 鈥淔rom Voodoo queens to hoodoo magic, Jeffrey E. Anderson鈥檚 Voodoo is a meticulously researched and wide-ranging investigation of the religion鈥檚 historical trends, cultural influences, and ritual life. It is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding Voodoo鈥檚 relationship to the faiths of the African Diaspora, as well as what makes Mississippi River valley Voodoo unique.鈥

Anderson has also authored The Voodoo Encyclopedia: Magic, Ritual, and Religion; Hoodoo, Voodoo, and Conjure: A Handbook; and Conjure in African American Society.

More information about Voodoo: An African American Religion, can be found at LSU Press here.