Cannibalism

by ASKENASY, HANS

• ISBN13: 9780879759063
• ISBN10: 0879759062
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1994-11-01
• Publisher: Prometheus Books

Summary

Psychologist Hans Askenasy has put together the first comprehensive history of a subject combining violence, horror, and exotic customs. In Part One of his study, Dr Askenasy gives a historical and geographic overview of humankind's practice of and attitudes toward cannibalism. Part Two discusses motivational factors for cannibalism, including famines (natural and man-made), survival in extreme situations, magic, ritual, and madness. In Part Three, "Cannibalism in Culture and Society", Askenasy addresses our continuing fascination with cannibals, man-eating witches, werewolves, and vampires in literature, myth, and the media, ranging from Francis Ford Coppola's film version of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' and Anne Rice's 'Vampire Chronicles' to the blood curdling events surrounding the cases of Issei Sagawa, Jeffrey Dahmer, and the Russian schoolteacher-turned torturer, Andrei Romanovitsch Chikatilo.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments	p. 7
Introduction	p. 9
A Historical and Geographical Overview
By the Dawn's Early Light	p. 17
Recorded History	p. 27
Caveats	p. 43
Summary	p. 51
Motivational Factors for Cannibalism
Introduction	p. 57
Natural Famines	p. 59
Manmade Famines	p. 67
Accidents	p. 83
Magic	p. 107
Ritual, Religion, and Sacrifice	p. 117
Punishment, Indifference, and Unification	p. 123
The Gourmets	p. 129
The Sadists and the Mad	p. 135
Intermission	p. 143
Cannibalism in Culture and Society
Werewolves, Witches, and Vampires	p. 149
Special Cases: Medical, Legal, and Psychological	p. 165
Our Preoccupation with Cannibalism	p. 185
Conclusion	p. 213
Postscript	p. 235
Further Readings	p. 239
Endnotes	p. 247
Bibliography	p. 255
Index	p. 259
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