Renee Stout’s “Tales of the Conjure Woman,” currently on exhibition at Spelman College’s Cosby Hall, puts on display the culturally mysterious nature of African folklore. In the exhibition, Stout presents with utter brilliance the depth of the culture through her artistic manifestation of ceremonial traditions, magical hoodoo, and spell-related practices. In her works, Stout uses a unique personification, an alter ego of sorts, named Fatima Mayfield, to explore the African folkloric world of which her exhibition represents. Ranging from simple recipes to intricate descriptions of the aforementioned magical practices, Stout takes on her work with her alter ego in an attempt to demonstrate both the past and contemporaneous dimensions of her work. Additionally, it would seem as if Fatima exists as a sort of special source of understanding and clarity for Stout given her vast knowledge and countless abilities. The exhibition is home to various pieces that allow one to “jump inside the pages” and interact with Stout’s rendition of the African folkloric community. Let us take for instance...
Anne Barstow in her book, ‘Witchcraze’ stated that women were subjected to male perversion and even sexual abuse during the period of witch-hunting. She therefore comes to the conclusion that the men used the witch-hunting as an excuse to satisfy their sadism and that women were their primary target, rather than attempting to purify the world of diabolic pacts. This is evident in the records describing methods used to force information from the convicted witches in which these brutal methods were permitted by the legal process during interrogations. In her perspective, witch-hunters were likely to have been carrying out the witch hunt and interrogations while being blinded by their “perverted sexuality”. Robin Briggs agrees to some extent,
The Devil in the Form of a woman by Carol Karlsen details the particular treacheries towards several women of all ages inside colonial The us. This particular thought ended up being created by the male driven culture of the Puritans.. Other than as an evident disciple to the activist institution connected with traditional imagined, the girl delicate factors the particular criticalness connected with witchcraft allegations for ladies inside New England. She contends for that relevance and criticalness connected with women's areas in the devouring madness connected with witchcraft inside seventeenth century United States. She unobtrusively states that many diversions were being used to mince away witchcraft practices along with the publication of material describing the matter. This describes that a certain type of woman gambled denunciation away from scope to help the woman group gain correct portrayal in the public forum.
The book begins with a brief history of the colonial witchcraft. Each Chapter is structured with an orientation, presentation of evidence, and her conclusion. A good example of her structure is in chapter two on the demographics of witchcraft; here she summarizes the importance of age and marital status in witchcraft accusations. Following this she provides a good transition into chapter three in the final sentence of chapter two, “A closer look of the material conditions and behavior of acc...
Since the beginning of time, our ancestors have made sacrifices for the next generation that brought us to where we are today. This idea is woven throughout the book Krik? Krak! Where the author, Edwidge Danticat, portrays fictional short stories people that live in the impoverished nation of Haiti, and how hard it is for families to stay together, provide for each other, and reach their goals of freedom. Danticat uses the motif of generations to illustrate the ideas of hope and survival to develop the theme of sacrifice for a better future of the youth.
The reading by Barbara Creed titled “Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine: An Imaginary Abjection”, is an in-depth examination on the role of women in horror films. Creed challenges the commanding patriarchal view, which frequently puts the woman in the position of the helpless victim. She argues that when the feminine is constructed as monstrous, it is frequently done in conjunction with its mothering role and function. Creed’s main thesis supports that the prototype of all cinematic definitions of monstrosity related to the feminine is linked to the woman’s reproductive body. Creed elects to use the term “monstrous feminine” instead of female monster, because for Creed it is the “femininity itself that is monstrous” (41). It has been unfairly
In the Voodoo religion, a priestess hosts a number of different ceremonies each year. During these ceremonies, one of the people present (usually the priestess herself) is supposedly possessed by one or more spirit(s) who then communicates with the rest of the people present. A typical example of a Voodoo ceremony is that described in the book Mama Lola by Karin McCarthy Brown. Here, Mama Lola, as this voodoo priestess is known, lives in Brooklyn and does all she can to stay faithful to her Haitian religion. After inviting her voodoo ‘family’ for what will be the birthday celebration of the spirit Azaka, all members, important and close gather to help set up the intricate and festive alter in the basement of Mama...
Laura Deeb’s An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety in Shi’i Lebanon seeks to rectify post-9/11 notions of political Islam as anti-modern and incongruous with Western formulations of secular modernity. Specifically, Deeb is writing in opposition to a Weberian characterization of modern secular Western societies as the development of bureaucracies through social rationalization and disenchantment. Within this Weberian framework Deeb asserts that Shia communities are in-part modern because of the development of beuorocratic institutions to govern and regulate religious practice. However, Deeb makes a stronger argument oriented towards dislodging the assumptions "that Islamism is static and monolithic, and that
Sabina Magliocco, in her book Witching Culture, takes her readers into the culture of the Neo-Pagan cults in America and focus upon what it reveals about identity and belief in 21st century America. Through her careful employment of ethnographic techniques, Magliocco allows both the Neo-Pagan cult to be represented accurately, and likewise, scientifically. I argue that Magliocco's ethnographic approach is the correct way to go about this type of research involving religions.
Pessoni, Michele. “‘She was laughing at their God.’: Discovering the Goddess Within Sula.” African American Review 29 (1995): 439-451.
Jackson, P. (1992). (in)Forming the Visual: (re)Presenting Women of African Descent. International Review of African American Art. 14 (3), 31-7.
Angeles, Los. (2009). African arts. Volume 28. Published by African Studies Center, University of California.
Hoffman, Nancy. "A Journey into Knowing." Tradition and the Talents of Women. Ed. Florence Howe. Chicago: Univ. of Illinois. 1991.
Gail Godwin's short story "A Sorrowful Woman" revolves around a wife and mother who becomes overwhelmed with her husband and child and withdraws from them, gradually shutting them completely out of her life. Unsatisfied with her role as dutiful mother and wife, she tries on other roles, but finds that none of them satisfy her either. She is accustomed to a specific role, and has a difficult time coping when a more extensive array of choices is presented to her. This is made clear in this section of the story.
I. INTRODUCTION The Enlightenment and the emerging of modern rationalism have paved the way to a worldview where the suspicion of witchcraft is not needed to explain the mysterious phenomena of this world. This is not the case in Africa. The belief in the existence of witches, evil persons who are able to harm others by using mystical powers, is part of the common cultural knowledge. Samuel Waje Kunhiyop states, “Almost all African societies believe in witchcraft in one form or another.
We have seen magic as a form of entertainment, from making someone disappear, to sawing a girl in half. But all great illusions have an explanation. “Magic, as we have seen, is about power- a seemingly magical power used and expressed by a skilled actor to create the illusion of miraculous happenings’. But the most mysterious part of magic is how these miraculous happenings are performed. The real power of magic lies within the native effects themselves (Blackstone, 117).