Spirituality

UW-Oshkosh event examines the history of witchcraft and attitudes toward women

A UW-Oshkosh student organization held a History of Witches event on Oct. 27, where professor Michelle Kuhl discussed links between witchcraft beliefs and attitudes toward women, The Advance-Titan reports. The event took place in The Hub in Reeve Memorial Union.

Kuhl, a history professor who also teaches African American studies and women and gender studies, described witchcraft as a subject tied to anxieties about women in society. She said beliefs about witchcraft and the status of women have changed over time, according to The Advance-Titan.

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Kuhl traced accusations to social expectations#

Kuhl described historical Judeo-Christian beliefs that portrayed women as weaker than men and more susceptible to temptation by Satan. Those beliefs cast women as a route through which Satan could also bring men down, The Advance-Titan reported.

Women who departed from social expectations, including through premarital sex, expressions of sexual interest or behavior that crossed gender norms, could be viewed as followers of the devil, Kuhl said. She also linked fascination with witches to their taboo status and their association with power.

The Women's Advocacy Council organized the event, according to The Advance-Titan. Its president, Adrian Ramirez-Wall, described the UW-Oshkosh group as a community where students can take action on issues they care about.

British trials show the reach of persecution#

In Britain, the first laws against witchcraft came in 1542 under Henry VIII, according to HistoryExtra. The account notes that concerns about witches existed before those laws, and that belief in witchcraft made sense within the worldview of people at the time.

In Lancashire, two men and eight women were prosecuted and hanged in the Pendle Hill case in 1612, HistoryExtra reports. The story has since been retold in forms including pamphlets, plays and novels.

In Essex, 107 people were executed and 47 died in prison between 1542 and 1736, Essex Witch Museum founder Emma Wardall told the BBC. The museum does not yet have a permanent space and wants to restore the identities of people accused and executed for witchcraft.

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