Witch-Hunts and Persecution
by La Trobe University
This course material is only available in the iTunes U app on iPhone or iPad.
Course Description
In this course, we will use the anthropological approach and methodology to understand witch-hunts and persecution. We start by looking at magic, witchcraft and sorcery and explaining the persistence of related beliefs and practices. As we will see the basic idea of witch persecution is that we have an image of a witch (or sorcerer) and then we pin it on someone. We analyze this image in greater detail. Pinning this image on someone is a process of accusation; we analyze among whom, why and how accusations occur. Finally, we look at some “witch-hunts”—including the Great Witch-hunt, the Salem Trials, and McCarthyism—in greater detail.
| Name | Description | Time | Price | ||
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1 |
Witch-Hunts and Revitalization | The concept of “revitalization movement”, theorized by Wallace in 1956, describes three ways societies to deal with cultural change. | 20:21 | Free | View in iTunes |
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2 |
Accusations: Directions of Witchcraft Accusations | In this lecture, I want to analyze more deeply relationships between those involved in both witchcraft and accusation. I suggest that harm can result from either the perceived black magic or from accusations and attack against ‘witches’ and ‘sorce | 24:40 | Free | View in iTunes |
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3 |
Accusations: Who Gets Accused? | In the previous lecture, we looked at the “how” of identification. Now we will look at who is involved. I proposed that identification works through accusation that is gossiped. In this lecture, I want to look at the ‘who’ of identification. | 17:13 | Free | View in iTunes |
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4 |
Accusations: Gossip | In the previous three lectures, we have, for the purpose of analysis, distinguished the witch of our imagination. When someone is accused of being a witch, some of the qualities of the witch image are attributed. | 22:45 | Free | View in iTunes |
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5 |
Cannibal Mothers | Mair says the witch image represents the opposite of good. Needham says it is a synthesis of primary factors. Stephen, who has researched the Mekeo and the Balinese, says that the image of the witch is a fantasy the child has about the mother. | 9:22 | Free | View in iTunes |
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6 |
Primordial Characters | One idea to explain the similarity of witch imagery between cultures is that the witch represents the opposite of good. Another idea is that the witch image is created through joining together some of the most basic elements of experience. | 14:51 | Free | View in iTunes |
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7 |
Nightmare Witches | In the previous four lectures, we considered witch-hunting in various contexts. Now we need to analyze what is going on in these cases. | 19:23 | Free | View in iTunes |
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8 |
Indonesian Witch-Hunts | This lecture provides an overview of witch-hunts I have studied in Indonesia. | 54:19 | Free | View in iTunes |
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9 |
African Witch-Finding Movements | This lecture focuses particularly on witch-hunting in Africa. As we shall see, such witch-hunting has, on certain occasions taken the form of a cult based around a reincarnated saviour. | 28:58 | Free | View in iTunes |
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10 |
Salem and McCarthyism | The lecture focuses on the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism. In doing this, I hope to provide a clearer sense of what we might call “persecution” and “witch-hunt”. | 27:20 | Free | View in iTunes |
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11 |
The Great Witch-Hunt | In this lecture, we consider several famous cases from Europe’s Great Witch-hunt. We cover aspects of the late Medieval and Early modern period that form the backdrop to the events. | 37:43 | Free | View in iTunes |
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12 |
The Modernity of Witchcraft | Secularization theory holds that with increasing modernization of the world, magic and religion would decline. Most scholars now argue religion and magic have grown in the past half-century. | 31:38 | Free | View in iTunes |
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13 |
Anthropological Explanations of Magic | Now we have an idea of what we are talking about with “magic”, we need to understand how anthropologists account for its existence. In this lecture, I want to explain what anthropology can tell us about magic and particularly sorcery and witchcraft. | 43:23 | Free | View in iTunes |
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14 |
Magic, Witchcraft, and Sorcery | If we are going to study the persecution of alleged witches and sorcerers, we first need to understand what we mean by “witchcraft” and “sorcery”. In this unit, we will use specific definitions for these concepts. | 26:23 | Free | View in iTunes |
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15 |
Anthropological Approach and Methodology | In this unit, we use the anthropological perspective to analyze witch-hunts and persecution. | 27:18 | Free | View in iTunes |
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16 |
Persecution and Witch-Hunts | The killing of witches and sorcerers is a pressing contemporary issue. Studying such killings will provide greater insight into persecution in general. In order to undertake this study, the concepts of anthropology can be very useful. | 14:04 | Free | View in iTunes |
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