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From grotesque green origins, portrayals of the witch in American culture have ranged from the bubbly misadventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch to the dark, imposing figures in American Horror Story: Coven. Yet, far from an American Horror Story, EXP-0008-F: American Witches explores the dynamic of the witch as socially “other.” Rather than focus on the superhuman elements, Chris Payson’s course examines how a figure as old as the witch continues to evolve within the confines of American culture by emphasizing her human impact through literary, social, and legal means.
Payson finds the witch to be more than a supernatural mystic, but rather a “social stand in” for issues like McCarthyism or Puritan politics. Her course, American Witches, emphasizes the humanity within witchcraft as a vital element of the witch’s social staying power.
From seventeenth century America and onwards, the witch was a woman placed at the fringes of society, punished for her otherness. As Payson mentions, for early Americans the witch is seen as “the outsider...disrupting the smooth flow of social order.”
In the Salem witch trials—to which the class largely refers—witches became more than simply a social matter; they were seen as violating religious and judicial law, which at the time were largely conflated. Even in a modern context, witches have a habit of questioning the social order. Today, when antiquated terms like “witch hunt” have become political discourse, the witch trials of early America adopt a new significance: “The question of why the Salem witch trials keep coming back,” Payson commented after considering the importance of Salem within American history, “is about the question of what is an acceptable role for the government to take. Where is the line between righteous and overzealous? When can we tell where we’ve crossed it?”
Students get the chance to explore the various experiences of witches in America through individual research projects during the semester. In past years, students have grappled with the cultural appropriation of witch stories within Western society. One student looked at the different perceptions of Native American and Eastern myths within Western culture, analyzing how Native American religion is often grouped with New Age movements while Eastern religions become incorporated into trends of health and wellness, like yoga. Another student examined the appropriation of indigenous stories within J. K. Rowling’s popular Harry Potter series, such as her use of the SkinWalkers myth in her new “History of Magic in North America” web series.
At the end of the semester, Payson has her students organize into groups to create a mock conference on their research. Students create flyers and invite their friends as they engage in panel discussions on topics regarding American Witches in modern culture. “I wanted to show them a bit of what I’ve experienced [as a graduate student],” Payson shares excitedly, “to emphasize scholarly collaboration and show what it means to share your research with those who love the topic but may not have the same knowledge as you.”
While Payson admits that the term “witch” today may have “too many meanings to fully reclaim its original meaning,” her course goes beyond trying to revive an ancient figure in a modern context. American Witches provides students with the tools to discover the voices of the socially condemned, while simultaneously allowing students to explore their own voices as they navigate the intricacies of higher academic study.
About the Author
Emma Hodgdon is a senior studying English literature. Apart from reading Gothic fiction, she can be found practicing cello for the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, or dancing with the university’s ballroom dance team. She spends her free time experimenting with calligraphy, learning to speak Chinese, and caring for her succulents, Verotchka and Geraldine.
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