“What language, cultural customs, political ideologies, and educational methods work to reduce the individual’s capacity to power vs create spaces for new energy?”

I have been a fan of Covino’s scholarly works (perhaps a bit more than his work as a college administrator), so I was delighted to find this, more excited to unpack with him what at first might seem a stretch of a connection between historical conceptions of magic and the power of words. Even so, setting aside the obvious efforts of “abracadabra” and the like, Covino steps more thoroughly into Pico, De Quincey, Agrippa, and others (how much I miss the dedicated study of rhetoric!) to reveal more important (and socially relevant) questions.

One of several that compelled me was the difference between “arresting” and “generative” magic or rhetoric. What language, cultural customs, political ideologies, and educational methods work to reduce the individual’s capacity to power vs create spaces for new energy? And while I was resistant to some of his quick summary judgments of thinkers (Freire and Lapham, for instance), his overall framing of the discussion is worth reflection.

A short book, I was most appreciative of the historical and philosophical debates (some I was unfamiliar with) and less appreciative of the extensive and now dated examinations of astrology, tabloids, and Oprah. And his selective examination of the feminist magical arguments of Starhawk and Mary Daly seemed particularly limited.

For those interested in an opening volley into these reflections on the overlapping roles of magic and rhetoric, however, this is an excellent start.