The Power of Rumor: Blood Libel in the Modern World

The Power of Rumor: Blood Libel in the Modern World

E.J. Stone

An exploration into how the life of rumor can impact its perceived validity. This paper gives a brief overview of the history of “blood libel” starting from the Middle Ages moving into the modern era. The focus is on a modern case, which occurred in 1983 in the West Bank, described by Raphael Israeli in his book “Poison: Modern Manifestations of a Blood Libel”. This essay undertakes analysis of media reactions, investigation into the accusations, and determining the believability of the rumor.

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April 16, 2011 - Posted by schrisomalis | abstract

1 Comment »

This is positively *the* most arresting title in the bunch. A number of readers, however, may not be familiar with the term “blood libel.” This refreshingly brief abstract would definitely benefit from a concise definition. Given the subject matter, I guarantee it will not detract from the interest in the paper.

Comment by Dan Harrison | April 16, 2011 | Reply

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Language and Societies is the online presence of the graduate seminar of the same name in the anthropology department and linguistics program at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Its purpose is to disseminate student research and to encourage scholarly discussion of topics in linguistic anthropology and allied areas of study. The abstracts and discussions here constitute work by junior scholars. Comments and suggestions are welcome in the spirit of constructive criticism and scholarly debate.

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