Article
Provincializing European Witchcraft: Thoughts on Peter Geschiere’s Latest Synthesis
Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
1-1-2015
DOI
10.1353/mrw.2015.0005
Abstract
This review essay offers a reaction to Peter Geschiere’s Witchcraft, Intimacy and Trust. Geschiere’s book argues hat witchcraft is essentially about the paradox that the group of people with whom we are most intimate (neighbors and kin) has, by virtue of its intimacy, tremendous power and a potentially dangerous hold over us. The remedy for this paradox is trust; when trust fails, witchcraft appears. While Geschiere’s study is primarily grounded in African witchcraft, the present essay considers the possibilities these ideas may hold for the study of witchcraft phenomena on a global scale, both historically and sociology, in other parts of the world, and especially for those who focus on Western Europe
Copyright Owner
Project Muse
Copyright Date
2015
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Michael D. Bailey. "Provincializing European Witchcraft: Thoughts on Peter Geschiere’s Latest Synthesis" Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft Vol. 10 Iss. 1 (2015) p. 75 - 96 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/michael_bailey/57/
This article is published as Bailey, Michael D. "Provincializing European Witchcraft: Thoughts on Peter Geschiere's Latest Synthesis." Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft 10, no. 1 (2015): 75-96. 10.1353/mrw.2015.0005. Posted with permission.