Seed Talks
The History of Witchcraft and Women with Prof Diane Purkiss
Wednesday 25 February
19.00 - 21.30
Lemon Tree Lounge, 5 West North Street, Aberdeen AB24 5AT
Explore modern witchcraft in a new light and its connections to feminism and political movements throughout history. Followed by Q&A.
The witch is a deeply important and appealing figure, and her story is more relevant than ever. Witches weren’t evil, and they certainly didn’t wear pointy black hats. Instead, society has long used the idea of the witch as a dumping ground for everything it fears or hates in women. Witches are old – too old to be sexy, too old to bear children – and even today, we stigmatise older women as “problematic” or “ugly”. Exploring the true history of witches reveals much about ourselves, how we got here, and how we can change.
But who hunted witches? Surprisingly, it wasn’t mostly men. It was often younger women, pressured by patriarchal systems to blame older women in exchange for temporary favour, that disappeared as they aged. This history still echoes today, as generational divides between women persist and even worsen. Learning about witches reminds us of the importance of solidarity between generations – why we must stand together to break free from these old patterns.
The History of Witchcraft and Women with Dr Laura Kounine
Wednesday 11 March
19.00 - 21.30
Brighthelm Centre, North Road, Brighton BN1 1YD
Learn about the dark history of witchcraft and its connection to modern beliefs about witches and magic. Followed by Q&A.
The traditional stereotype of the witch as an ugly old woman who harms others using supernatural means has a strong hold within the popular imagination, but in modern society other types of witches have emerged, including those who use supernatural means to benefit others, those who follow a nature-based neo-pagan religion, and those who resist the imposition of patriarchal structures and hierarchies.
From among this complex environment of different understandings of witchcraft emerged Modern Pagan Witchcraft, also known as Wicca, in the 1950s. It has been described as one of the fastest growing religions in Western civilisation and it is the only religion that Britain has given to the world. Social media channels abound with specialised groups for witchcraft and Wicca, with numbers measuring in the millions for Facebook and Instagram, and in the billions for views on TikTok. Most YouTube videos relating to Wicca have hundreds of thousands of views, ranging from guides for beginners to advanced discussions. But is it just a trend? Or is there more to the modern revival of witchcraft?
Dr Laura Kounine is an Associate Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Sussex, where she specialises in witch-hunting, feminism, emotions, gender, and selfhood. She holds a PhD in History from the University of Cambridge. Her 2018 book, Imagining the Witch: Emotions, Gender and Selfhood in Early Modern Germany, was published by Oxford University Press, and she is co-editor of the upcoming Cambridge Companion to the Witch. Kounine also writes reviews for the Times Literary Supplement and has contributed to the BBC Sounds ‘Witch’ podcast and the Channel 4 documentary Suranne Jones: Investigating Witch Trials. She has spoken at the Brighton Festival and the British Library’s ‘Festival of the Accused’. With fellowships at the Max Planck Institute in Berlin and the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions in Melbourne, she was also awarded a British Academy ‘Rising Stars’ grant.