The war on witchcraft : Andrew Dickson White, George Lincoln Burr, and the origins of witchcraft historiography / Jan Machielsen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Machielsen, Johannes M., 1984- author.

Series:

Cambridge elements. Elements in Magic, 2732-4087

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

White, Andrew Dickson, 1832-1918.

White, Andrew Dickson.

Burr, George Lincoln, 1857-1938.

Burr, George Lincoln.

Witchcraft--Historiography.

Witchcraft.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (61 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2021.

Summary:

Historians of the early modern witch-hunt often begin histories of their field with the theories propounded by Margaret Murray and Montague Summers in the 1920s. They overlook the lasting impact of nineteenth-century scholarship, in particular the contributions by two American historians, Andrew Dickson White (1832-1918) and George Lincoln Burr (1857-1938). Study of their work and scholarly personae contributes to our understanding of the deeply embedded popular understanding of the witch-hunt as representing an irrational past in opposition to an enlightened present. Yet the men's relationship with each other, and with witchcraft sceptics - the heroes of their studies - also demonstrates how their writings were part of a larger war against 'unreason'. This Element thus lays bare the ways scholarly masculinity helped shape witchcraft historiography, a field of study often seen as dominated by feminist scholarship. Such meditation on past practice may foster reflection on contemporary models of history writing.

Contents:

Cover

Title page

Copyright page

The War on Witchcraft: Andrew Dickson White, George Lincoln Burr, and the Origins of Witchcraft Historiography

Contents

1 'Ding! Dong! The Witch is Dead'

2 Two Historians on a Double Date: White and Burr Meet Flade and Loos

3 History and a Reformer's Project of Reform

4 The Reformer's Apprentice

5 Meditations on Masculinity

6 Reflections

Bibliography

Acknowledgements.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 30 Jun 2021).

ISBN:

1-108-95673-4

1-108-95693-9

1-108-95331-X

OCLC:

1295280933