Beyond Counterculture: Towards a People’s History of Psychedelic Networks
Psychedelic Intersections January 17, 2025 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.70423/0001.07
Summary
The article discusses the inadequacy of the term 'counterculture' in describing the evolving scenes and networks resulting from the religious awakening linked to psychedelics in the mid-1960s. It suggests using 'psychedelicism' as a more effective framework to capture the complexities of both historical and modern psychedelic communities.
Study at a glance
| Key finding | The term 'counterculture' is insufficient for understanding the dynamics of psychedelic communities, and 'psychedelicism' is proposed as a better framework. |
|---|
Abstract
This article demonstrates how “counterculture” remains a poorly defined way to talk about rapidly developing milieux, scenes, and networks born out of the religious awakening stimulated by psychedelics in the mid-1960s. It proposes an alternative framework of “psychedelicism” to better understand the nuances and complexity of historical and contemporary psychedelic communities.