(W)itches vs. The Patriarchy, Part 1 | 41

In our Halloween-themed first of two episodes about Witches, we’re both really in our elements - Misty gets to talk about history, and Allegra gets to talk about witches. We focus on historical witches and witch hunts, the Hammer of Witches, Salem, Macbeth, the Crucible, what made someone more likely to be seen as a witch (surprise: Being a woman! Being a marginalized woman! Not having a husband or children!), and a lots of modern pop culture references to witchery. 

Want extra reading? Check out our sources and recommended books:

• The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege, Marilynne K. Roach
• In The Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692, by Mary Beth Norton
• “Witchcraft and Old Women,” accessible on JSTOR: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3600840?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
• “Salem Witch Trial Victims” from Refinery 29: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/03/192115/salem-witch-trials-victims-date-history-march-1
• An article about Tituba from Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/unraveling-mysteries-tituba-salem-witch-trials-180956960/
• From the University of Virginia Salem Witch Trials Archives, a list of important people in the historical records: http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/people/?group.num=G02&mbio.num=mb22
• From the University of Virginia Salem Witch Trials Archives, an entry about Sarah Good: http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/people/good.html
• From Newsweek on the increasing number of people who identify as witches and / or wiccans: https://www.newsweek.com/witchcraft-wiccans-mysticism-astrology-witches-millennials-pagans-religion-1221019
• From the LA Times, on wiccans in the military: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2011-nov-26-la-na-air-force-pagans-20111127-story.html

Profess-Hers is a podcast written and presented by Misty, a History professor, and Allegra, an English professor, both of whom are here for having a serious, fun conversation about looking at literature, history, current events, pop culture, and media through a feminist lens.

Written by Allegra Hanna and Misty Wilson-Mehrtens. Find the Profess-Hers Podcast on Twitter and Instagram @Professhers.