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Witchcraft, Women, and Waste in Africa

Course Description

This interdisciplinary course explores the intersections of women, witchcraft, and waste in Africa, engaging with how gender, materiality, and the occult shape socio-political life across regions, focusing on issues of gender, power, environmental degradation, and the cultural construction of waste. It will address how discarded matter and supernatural beliefs influence economies, governance, and environmental practices, particularly in relation to women’s roles and experiences.

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will: 1. carry on extensive research; 2. deliver conference-style presentations; and 3. write more extensive research paper.

Athena Title

Witchcraft Women and Waste

Prerequisite

Permission of department

Semester Course Offered

Offered fall and spring

Grading System

A - F (Traditional)

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Historical Contextualization: Students will explore the historical role of witchcraft accusations in suppressing women's autonomy and authority. For instance, accusations have been used to marginalize assertive women, labeling them as possessing malevolent powers.
  • Gender and Power Dynamics: Students will analyze how gender, race, and class intersect to shape women's experiences with witchcraft practices. This includes understanding how societal structures influence the portrayal and treatment of women accused of witchcraft.
  • Cultural Representations: Students will investigate the depiction of women and witchcraft in African literature and media, focusing on how these narratives reflect and influence societal perceptions.
  • Contemporary Implications: Students will examine modern-day manifestations of witchcraft accusations, such as the existence of witch camps in Ghana, and their impact on women’s rights and social standing.
  • Environmental and Societal Practices: Students will understand the concept of “waste” in African contexts, exploring how it relates to societal norms, environmental policies, and the marginalization of certain groups, particularly women.

Topical Outline

  • 1. Introduction to Women, Witchcraft, and Waste Overview of key concepts, the interdisciplinary approach, and course structure.
  • 2. Historical Overview of Witchcraft and Environmental Contexts Examining historical witch hunts, gendered power structures, and environmental degradation.
  • 3. The Social Construction of Waste and Gender Understanding how waste is socially and culturally constructed, with implications for women and marginalized communities.
  • 4. Colonial and Postcolonial Witchcraft Accusations Analysis of witchcraft in the context of colonialism and its lingering effects in postcolonial societies.
  • 5. Ecofeminism and the Politics of Waste Exploring ecofeminist perspectives on waste, environmental justice, and women’s roles in the environment.
  • 6. Women and Waste Work: Labor, Class, and Marginalization Investigating gendered labor in waste economies, focusing on sanitation work and recycling industries.
  • 7. Toxic Waste, Reproductive Justice, and Environmental Racism Analyzing the intersection of toxic waste, environmental justice, and the reproductive rights of marginalized women.
  • 8. Women, Witchcraft, and Power in Africa Case studies of African witchcraft, focusing on the political, social, and gendered dimensions of witchcraft accusations.
  • 9. Witchcraft, Spirituality, and Gendered Environmentalism in Africa How spiritual beliefs intersect with gendered environmental activism in Africa.
  • 10. Women in the Informal Waste Economy Case studies of women working in urban waste economies, particularly in African cities like Lagos and Accra.
  • 11. Witch Hunts, Women’s Rights, and Legal Frameworks Analyzing the legal systems’ treatment of witchcraft accusations and their impact on women’s rights.
  • 12. Gender, Witchcraft, and Economic Inequality Examining the relationship between economic class, witchcraft accusations, and gender inequality.
  • 13. Women and Waste: Global and Local Case Studies A comparative analysis of women’s roles in waste management across different African regions and global perspectives.
  • 14. Cultural Rituals of Cleansing and Pollution Exploring religious and cultural rituals of cleansing, menstruation, and purification in relation to gender and waste.
  • 15. Resistance and Regeneration: Feminist Responses to Witchcraft and Waste Investigating how women, through activism and alternative knowledge systems, resist witchcraft accusations and environmental degradation.
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