The New Generation Witches: Teenage Witchcraft in Contemporary Culture (Routledge New Religions) - Softcover

Aloi, Peg

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1138278254 ISBN 13: 9781138278257

Publisher: Routledge, 2017

Synopsis

From the shelves of mainstream bookstores and the pages of teen magazines, to popular films and television series, contemporary culture at the turn of the twenty-first century has been fascinated with teenage identity and the presence of magic and the occult. Alongside this profusion of products and representations, a global network of teenage Witches has emerged on the margins of adult neopagan Witchcraft communities, identifying themselves through various spiritual practices, consumption patterns and lifestyle choices. The New Generation Witches is the first published anthology to investigate the recent rise of the teenage Witchcraft phenomenon in both Britain and North America. Scholars from Theology, Cultural Studies, Sociology, History and Media Studies, along with neopagan commentators outside of the academy, come together to investigate the experiences of thousands of adolescents constructing an enabling, magical identity through a distinctive practice of Witchcraft. The contributors discuss key areas of interest, inspiration and development within the teen Witch communities from the mid 1990s onward, including teenage Witches' magical practices and beliefs, gender politics, the formation and identification of communities, forums and modes of expression, media representation and new media outlets. Demonstrating the diversification and expansion of neopaganism in the twenty-first century, this anthology makes an exciting contribution to the field of Neopagan Studies and contemporary youth cultures.

About this title

About the Author

Hannah E. Johnston (née Sanders) Ph.D. facilitated the UK's first teenage Witchcraft research and networking site, www.witchwords.net. Her doctoral thesis investigated the rise of contemporary teenage Witchcraft in the UK. She is currently Adjunct Professor in Visual and Media Arts at Emerson College, USA, where she teaches contemporary television studies and cultural theory. Peg Aloi is Adjunct Professor in the Department of Visual and Media Arts at Emerson College, USA, and also teaches film studies at the Massachusetts College of Art. She is the Media Coordinator of The Witches' Voice, Inc., and a film critic for The Boston Phoenix. Her research in Paganism Studies connects many disciplines, including literature, cinema, popular culture and Celtic Studies. She is an award-winning poet and amateur filmmaker. Hannah and Peg are currently working on several book projects, including a collection of essays on HBO's television series Carnivàle, and a book on cinema and the occult.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1138278254
• ISBN 13: 9781138278257
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192