Witches and Demons

A Comparative Perspective on Witchcraft and Satanism
1. Auflage 2016
ISBN: 978-1-78533-152-7
Verlag: Berghahn Books

Buch, Englisch, Band 10, 156 Seiten, Paperback, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 240 g

Reihe: Studies in Public and Applied Anthropology

Devil worship, black magic, and witchcraft have long captivated anthropologists as well as the general public. In this volume, Jean La Fontaine explores the intersection of expert and lay understandings of evil and the cultural forms that evil assumes. The chapters touch on public scares about devil-worship, misconceptions about human sacrifice and the use of body parts in healing practices, and mistaken accusations of children practicing witchcraft. Together, these cases demonstrate that comparison is a powerful method of cultural understanding, but warns of the dangers and mistaken conclusions that untrained ideas about other ways of life can lead to.

Autoren/Hrsg.

La Fontaine, Jean

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Volkskunde: Sitten, Traditionen, Mythen, Legenden
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Alternative Glaubensformen Hexerei und Zauberei
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Alternative Glaubensformen Satanismus und Dämonologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction: Understanding the Other

Chapter 1. Hidden Enemies: Evil at the end of the Millennium

Chapter 2. Concepts of Evil, Witchcraft and the Sexual Abuse of Children in Modern England

Chapter 3. Ritual Murder?

Chapter 4. Magic and medicine: The Torso in the Thames

Chapter 5. Child Witches in London: Tradition and change in religious belief

Chapter 6. The morality of childhood

Chapter 7. Pastors and witches

Chapter 8. London’s witch children

Conclusion: Continuities and changes

Über Autor(innen)

La Fontaine, Jean
Jean La Fontaine is a Research Fellow of Inform and Professor Emeritus at the London School of Economics, where she taught for nearly twenty years. She received her PhD from the University of Cambridge and has chaired the Association of Social Anthropologists, and served as President of the Royal Anthropological Institute.

Jean La Fontaine is a Research Fellow of Inform and Professor Emeritus at the London School of Economics, where she taught for nearly twenty years. She received her PhD from the University of Cambridge and has chaired the Association of Social Anthropologists, and served as President of the Royal Anthropological Institute.