Witch Hunt: A Traveler\'s Guide to the Power and Persecution of the Witch

Witch Hunt: A Traveler\'s Guide to the Power and Persecution of the Witch

256 pages, Hardcover

"Part history, part 'armchair' travelogue, Witch hunt is a captivating guide to the historic witch hunts and how their legacy continues to impact us today. Traveling through cities and sites across Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, Kristen J. Sollâee, a second generation witch herself, explores the witch as a figure of female power and persecution. By infusing an adventurous first-person narrative with extensive research and imaginative historical fiction. Witch hunt captures the magic of travel to make an often-overlooked period of history come alive. Between the 15th-17th centuries, a confluence of political, economic, and religious factors inspired witch hysteria to ignite like wildfire across Europe, and later, parts of America. At the heart of the witch hunts were often dangerous misconceptions about femininity and female sexuality and women were disproportionately punished as a result. Today, this lineage of oppression remains an important reference point through which we can contemplate women's rights, and human rights, in the Western world and beyond. Witch hunt isn't only an exploration of the horrors of history, but also uncovers how the archetype of the witch has been rehabilitated. For witches are not just haunting figures of the past: the witch is also a liberatory icon and identity of the present"--Provided by publisher.

Kristen J. Sollée is the author of three books on the legacy of the witch. A writer, curator, and educator exploring the intersections of art, sex, and culture, Kristen has lectured at George Washington University, the University of Southern California, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and across the US and Europe. Her 2017 book, Witches, Sluts, Feminists: Conjuring the Sex Positive was described by The Guardian as "a whirlwind history of the witch in America" and a "Must-Read" by BUST. Kristen's work has also been featured in NYLON, Hazlitt, the Times Literary Supplement, and on Viceland, Huffington Post Live, and NPR. She currently teaches at The New School in New York City.