The Modernity of Witchcraft: Politics and the Occult in Postcolonial Africa

Cover
University of Virginia Press, 1997 - 311 Seiten

To many Westerners, the disappearance of African traditions of witchcraft might seem inevitable wuth continued modernization. In The Modernity of Witchcraft, Peter Geschieres uses his own experiences among the Maka and in other parts of eastern and southern Cameroon, as well as other anthropological research, to argue that contemporary ideas and practices of witchcraft are more a response to modern exigencies than a lingering cultural custom. The prevalence of witchcraft, especially in African politics and entrepreneurship, demonstrates the unlikely balance it has achieved with the forces of modernity. Geshiere explores why modern techniques and commodities, usually of Western Provenance, have become central in rumors of the occult.

 

Inhalt

TWO
15
COMPARATIVE INTERSTICE 1
61
FOUR
97
COMPARATIVE INTERSTICE 2
131
SIX
169
SEVEN
198
AFTERWORD
215
BIBLIOGRAPHY
283
INDEX
301
Urheberrecht

Andere Ausgaben - Alle anzeigen

Häufige Begriffe und Wortgruppen

Autoren-Profil (1997)

Peter Geschiere is Professor of African Anthropology at the University of Leiden, The Netherlands. He is the author of Pathways to Accumulation in Cameroon, Old Modes of Production and Capitalist Encroachment, and Village Communties and the State.

Bibliografische Informationen