Realizing the Witch: Science, Cinema, and the Mastery of the Invisible [Table of Contents] (original) (raw)
Related papers
“In the Study of the Witch: Women, Shadows, and the Academic Study of Religions.”
Religions. Special Issue: Feminism and the Study of “Religions”, 2018
This article examines historically competing categories of magic and religion and their gendered traces in the history of religious studies. On one hand, we have a genealogy that traces the term, “magic”, back to an early modern European Christianity trying to understand itself through contrast with an imagined heresy that comes to be personified with a woman’s face. On the other, we have contemporary political and religious communities that use the identification as Witches to reverse this version of dichotomous Christian gaze and legitimize religious difference, which also comes to be symbolized by a female body. Between these historical moments we have the beginning of the academic study of religion, the theoretical turn in which Christian-dominant scholarship comes to see itself on a continuum with, rather than opposed to, different religions, as first characterized by cultural evolution theories about the origins of religion. Especially given the field’s theological roots, examining the constructed relationships between religion and magic, both of which represent crucial foci for early theorists, through the analytical lens of gender, which does not, provides opportunities to surface implicit assumptions of the current field about what is and is not worth studying.
Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival
2008
The witch is a uniquely powerful image in Western society. It is a symbol alternately vilified, ridiculed and idealised by differing sectors of society and is a powerful symbol in Western mythology. This book traces the evolution of the modern representations of Witchcraft and Paganism from the popular imaginings of witchcraft in 16th-century England to their contemporary manifestations amongst neo-Pagan and Wiccan religious movements in America, Australia and Great Britain today. Tracing how this symbol is continually constructed and reconstructed by the neo-Pagan movement is indicative of broader social, political and cultural issues arising out of the interaction of Romantic and Enlightenment epistemes in Western society. Central to this process is the locating of representations of witchcraft within the twin discourses of romanticism and enlightenment modernity. Beginning with the aftermath of the English witch hunting craze of the 17th century, the book examines how the witch transformed from a symbol of ridicule during the enlightenment to an idealised symbol of romantic rebellion which led to its systemic adoption by romantic religious and political movements. Along the path it examines the development of the neo-Pagan movement from 19th-century Romantic pagan revivals, to Gardner’s Wiccan movement, the sixties counter culture, the rise of eco-feminist neo-Paganism and the contemporary phenomena of “teen witches” and pop commercialization. This book is part of the Ritual Studies Monograph Series, edited by Pamela J. Stewart and Andrew Strathern, Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh. “Modern Paganism is still in the process of finding its history. Dr. Waldron brings to the quest a very wide knowledge of all aspects of the subject and a good grasp of cultural theory. He is fair to all the players in a notoriously complex and fractious field, and covers it deftly and evenly, deploying his learning and his intellectual models with a light but sure touch.” — Ronald Hutton, Professor of Historical Studies, Bristol University “Waldron’s identification and critique of the core aspects of the modern Witch’s identity provide what should be seen as an invitation for practitioners to remove our rose-coloured glasses approach to our own history and instead to take on board the results of rigorous investigation. For the general public, by whom Witches are so often misunderstood, an academic examination of the movement can only enhance the likelihood of tolerance and understanding that are the essence of religious pluralism.” — Caroline Tully, Witchcraft Magazine “David Waldron has done the scholarly community, neo-Pagans, and anyone interested in the study of neo-Paganism and Witchcraft a great service with this volume. In addition to its historical, cultural, and social overview of the subject matter, it makes for an interesting study in the construction of identities and symbolism within witchcraft. I highly recommend this book.” — John W. Morehead, Senior Editor, Sacred Tribes Journal and Director, Western Institute for Intercultural Studies “[Waldron] does an excellent job of summarizing the history of the English witch trials, their end, and the development and commercialization of the witchcraft and Pagan movements. The book will be useful for those who want to begin exploring that history as well as to scholars of ideas who want to consider and investigate his basic thesis of the relationship between the Romantic and the Enlightenment epistemes.” — Helen A. Berger, West Chester University, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
Reviews in Religion & Theology, 2018
A study of two recent contributions to the scholarship on witchcraft and magic uncovers an uncomfortable dilemma. On the one hand, authors argue that magical practices should now be interpreted on their own premises; on the other hand, attempts to take seriously the experience of magic are bracketed and 'disbelief' in magic is encouraged. I argue that such disbelief affirms, ironically, the polarization between religion and magic which is the object of critique and arises from an unexamined fear, directed principally at religion and Christianity. When left unexamined, this fear of religion takes the place of the historically attested religious maligning of magic studied by contemporary scholars, and, it is proposed, results in discourses of violence that repeat, unwittingly, the very stereotypes which modern accounts of witchcraft and magic set out to eradicate.
Witchcraft, Religion, and the State Apparatus: The Witch Craze Revisited
This paper revisits the phenomenon of witchcraft in relation to religion and the state apparatuses. It addresses the following questions: 1. How did the ISAs function during the witch hunt trials in Europe’s and USA’s witch craze? 2. What were the reasons behind the rise and fall of the witchcraft “epidemic”? Various scholars have attributed the rise of witchcraft to economic crises leading to a catastrophic rise in poverty and food shortages, to meteorological conditions brought about by the “little ice age,” which destroyed crops leading Europe into a period of famine, to the European religious wars, to some diseases that caused collective hysteria. As the majority of witches were poor women, some feminist argued for structural misogyny rooted in Christian religious doctrine. The persecution spread even to the New World. Social and natural catastrophes were attributed to witches who were perceived as wielding satanic powers that they gained through a covenant with Satan and the powers of the Anti-Christ. Both the Church and the State institutions worked hand in hand to rid their Christian societies of witchcraft, using the worst means available: torture, hanging, and burning victims at the stake. Both Catholics and Protestants had a share in this odious practice. It is still a mystery why the State and the Church suddenly stopped their trials over witchcraft accusations, despite the fact that it is still thriving as a belief system and secular entertainment. Some scholars attribute that shift to the early emergence of rational enlightenment ethos and the rise of the scientific worldview. And last but not least, 3. What are the implications for a critical study of witchcraft as a (counter)religious practice governed by the complex working of the ISAs?