Are Rumors in Pursuit of «Truth» or Alternative «Realities»?
Are you already subscribed?
Login to check
whether this content is already included on your personal or institutional subscription.
Abstract
Rumor and gossip are pervasive phenomena in human communities. They flourish in situations of crisis, uncertainty, conflict, and competition over resources. Accusations of «witchcraft» and «sorcery» can emerge, arising out of fear and the ambiguity of innuendoes and concealed talk, embedded in a background of persistent cognitive and cosmological viewpoints. Solidarity and hostility alike are generated out of this process.
Keywords
- Rumor
- Gossip
- Conflict
- Crisis
- Witchcraft/Sorcery
