Writing Witch-Hunt Histories: Challenging the Paradigm (Studies in Medieval and Reformation Traditions, 173)

The book gives an analytical review of the history of witch-hunt historiography. The history of the witch-hunt research gives understanding of cultural and academic trends which direct any research even when scholars are not cognisent of their underlying premises. This book gives an analytical review of the history of witch-hunt historiography. So far not much attention has been paid to how the European witch-hunts have been studied and explained in some 150 years of academic research on the issue. The history of the approaches and explanations in witch-hunt research fundamentally contributes not only to our understanding of the bizarre phenomenon in European history but also contributes to understanding of cultural as well as academic trends which heavily direct any research even when scholars are not cognisant of their underlying premises. How and why the picture of witch-hunts has been changing in scholarly works and text books is as illuminating an issue as the proper explanations offered by the research works. Contributors include: Rune Blix Hagen, Ronald Hutton, Gunnar W. Knutsen, Marianna G. Muravyeva, Marko Nenonen, Raisa Maria Toivo, Charles Zika "This book gives an analytical review of the history of witch-hunt historiography. So far not much attention has been paid to how the European witch-hunts have been studied and explained in some 150 years of academic research on the issue. The history of the approaches and explanations in witch-hunt research fundamentally contributes not only to our understanding of the bizarre phenomenon in European history but also provides understanding of cultural as well as academic trends which heavily direct any research even when scholars are not cognisant of their underlying premises. How and why the picture of witch-hunts has been changing in scholarly works and text books is as illuminating an issue as the proper explanations offered by the research works."--page [4] of cover. Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Contributors 1 Challenging the Paradigm of Witch-Hunt Historiography 2 The Dubious History of the Witch-Hunts 3 Images and Witchcraft Studies: A Short History 4 Gender, Sex and Cultures of Trouble in Witchcraft Studies: European Historiography with Special Reference to Finland 5 Russian Witchcraft on Trial: Historiography and Methodology for Studying Russian Witches 6 Witchcraft and Ethnicity: A Critical Perspective on Sami Shamanism in Seventeenth-Century Northern Norway 7 Topics of Persecution: Witchcraft Historiography in the Iberian World 8 Witchcraft and Modernity Index of Names and Subjects