Published April 12, 2024
MONROE, LA – ULM Professor of History and Associate Director of the School of Humanities Dr.
Jeffrey E. Anderson had his new book published by LSU Press in March. Voodoo: An African American Religion is a modern account of the voodoo faith as it existed in the Mississippi River valley
from colonial times to the mid-twentieth century, when, he argues, it ceased to thrive
as a living tradition.
A news release from LSU Press states that “Despite several decades of scholarship
on African diasporic religion, Voodoo remains underexamined, and the few books published
on the topic contain inaccuracies and outmoded arguments.”
The release goes on to say that “Anderson provides a solid scholarly foundation for
future work by systematizing the extant information on a religion that has long captured
the popular imagination as it has simultaneously engendered fear and ridicule. His
book stands as the most complete study of the faith yet produced and rests on more
than two decades of research, utilizing primary source material alongside the author’s
own field studies in New Orleans, Haiti, Cuba, Senegal, Benin, Togo, and the Republic
of Congo.”
Douglas J. Falen, author of African Science: Witchcraft, Vodun, and Healing in Southern Benin, praised Voodoo, saying, “From Voodoo queens to hoodoo magic, Jeffrey E. Anderson’s Voodoo is a meticulously researched and wide-ranging investigation of the religion’s historical
trends, cultural influences, and ritual life. It is essential reading for anyone interested
in understanding Voodoo’s relationship to the faiths of the African Diaspora, as well
as what makes Mississippi River valley Voodoo unique.”
Anderson has also authored The Voodoo Encyclopedia: Magic, Ritual, and Religion; Hoodoo, Voodoo, and Conjure: A Handbook; and Conjure in African American Society.
More information about Voodoo: An African American Religion, can be found at LSU Press here.
