Poststructural cartographies on the borders between health alternative practices and new spiritualties

Abstract

The interaction between old and reinvented spiritualties and alternative practices related to health is a key element in addressing cultural transformations in current ways of life. Though based on the presentation of a number of incidental aspects, extracted from ethnographic processes developed over recent years, this work essentially offers an approach for theoretical reflection, showing the ubiquitous, vague and elusive nature of such practices, especially when seeking to compile a set of explanatory viewpoints. The key questions addressed include: What can we learn from this fragmentation? And what is happening with new aspects of these interactions found in other kinds of practice? In the process, we will seek to demarcate the main outlines and issues raised by this complex and interesting anthropological issue, basing our reflections on poststructuralist conceptual proposals.