Experiments with Power – Obeah and the Remaking of Religion in Trinidad

"Experiments with Power is an ethnographically and theoretically rich monograph contributing thoughtful
provocations to religious studies. The book is effective in drawing attention to the shortcomings of religious theories when put in conversation with Black Atlantic religious experience. Crosson thoughtfully presents his interlocutors as forceful agents experimenting with power beyond the rule of law. This book should be read by all those interested in postcolonial ethnographies of religion, race, and politics." * Sociology of Religion *
"Covering a woefully under-studied set of traditions and making important and timely interventions in Religious Studies, Anthropology, Science and Technology Studies, and African Diaspora Studies, this is a must-read for scholars across these fields and beyond." * Nova Religio *
"In Experiments with Power, Crosson has tackled an oft-misunderstood subject and engaged with it in an innovative way. By muddling Western definitions of science and religion, Crosson reveals similarities in their practice and experimentation. . . . This is a book that cultural anthropologists, historians, and scholars of religion alike will find both thought-provoking and exciting." * H-Net *
"Experiments with Power is a remarkable ethnography, offering an intimate engagement with spiritual work. With it we step, alongside Crosson’s interlocutors, into the science of crafting postcolonial justice. This important study is a must read that will make lasting contributions to debates on modernity’s key terms, including the nature of religion, sovereign power, and the violence of liberal governance." -- N. Fadeke Castor, author of Spiritual Citizenship: Transnational Pathways from Black Power to Ifá in Trinidad
"In this excellent ethnography, Crosson shows how productive the question of defining obeah is, reframing the very logics used in trying to contain the word. The book models the importance of listening to the expertise of one’s interlocutors and pushes against the limits of modernity’s ‘purifying’ projects. With its pointed political message about justice, the book is a timely contribution." -- Kristina Wirtz, author of Performing Afro-Cuba: Image, Voice, Spectacle in the Making of Race and History
"Crosson makes a dramatic contribution to the study of religion, showing how confounding the very term is in the mouths of spiritual workers, who instead use words like ‘science,’ ‘work,’ and ‘experiment.’ The gambit works wonderfully—like magic. Often beautiful and chilling at once, this is creative work and makes for a gripping read." -- Paul Cristopher Johnson, coauthor of Ekklesia: Three Inquiries in Church and State
"Experiments with Power is a timely text that weaves together anthropology, Caribbean studies, and religious studies to study one of the Black Atlantic's most misunderstood practices. It is a richly interdisciplinary text that draws widely from several fields of study and brings them to bear on important ethical and social concerns. Further, through his use of science and technology studies, Crosson demonstrates how 'science' and 'religion' as disciplines have much to gain from the other. Readers from a wide array of disciplines will find Crosson's text to be a useful resource for examining colonial pasts and presents, and it will serve as an excellent guide for thinking beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries." * Reading Religion *