Marleen De Witte
Biographic Data
| ID | 3611941 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Marleen De Witte |
| GIVEN NAMES | Marleen |
| FAMILY NAME | De Witte |
| SIGNATURE | DE WITTE M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Universidade de Amsterdã, Holanda |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 220 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Converted Gods: Lives and Travels of Asante Abosom and Asuman Figures
The ethnographic collection of the Dutch Spiritans holds six Asante shrine figures, whose journey reflects entangled histories of colonialism, indigenous West African religions, missionary Christianity, and cultural heritage. Originating in the colonial Gold Coast, these abosom and asuman passed through the hands of West African spiritual entrepreneurs, colonial police, "tribal art" dealers, Catholic missionaries, and museum curators. Along the w…
Afroeuropean Modes of Self-Making: Afro-Dutch and Afro-Italian Projects Compared
This article contributes to scholarship on Afroeurope by investigating the intersection of blackness, Africanness, and Europeanness in everyday discourses and social practices in the Netherlands and Italy. We examine how young African-descended Europeans are forging new ways of being both African and European through practices of self-making, which should be understood against both the historical background of colonialism and the contemporary pol…
Religion and Media
Born from anthropologists' sense of surprise at religious media phenomena, over the past two decades “religion and media” has grown into a burgeoning field of anthropological study. This entry gives an introduction to the development of this field, distinguishing two major approaches: first, a focus on the meeting of religion and media as formerly separate domains and, second, a focus on religion as itself a practice of mediation (religion as med…
Pentecostal Forms across Religious Divides: Media, Publicity, and the Limits of an Anthropology of Global Pentecostalism
Scholars of Pentecostalism have usually studied people who embrace it, but rarely those who do not. I suggest that the study of global Pentecostalism should not limit itself to Pentecostal churches and movements and people who consider themselves Pentecostal. It should include the repercussions of Pentecostal ideas and forms outside Pentecostalism: on non-Pentecostal and non-Christian religions, on popular cultural forms, and on what counts as 'r…
Meyer, Birgit: Sensational Movies - Video, Vision, and Christianity in Ghana
Anthropos , Seite 338 - 339
The Making of the Pentecostal Melodrama: Religion, Media, and Gender in Kinshasa
Book Review| November 01 2014 The Making of the Pentecostal Melodrama: Religion, Media, and Gender in Kinshasa The Making of the Pentecostal Melodrama: Religion, Media, and Gender in Kinshasa. By Katrien Pype. Berghahn Books, 2012. 331 pages. $95.00 cloth. Marleen de Witte Marleen de Witte University of Amsterdam Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Nova Religio (2014) 18 (2): 99–101. https://doi.org/10.1525/n…
Missão Midiática afrikania: Representando a "religião tradicional afrikana" na esfera pública cristã em Gana
No campo de estudos de religião e mídia, a importância da comunicação de massa está bem estabelecida para as religiões globalizadas tais como o cristianismo e o islamismo, mas o mesmo não se verifica com relação às religiões nativas africanas. O presente artigo busca preencher essa lacuna investigando as atividades de mídia de um movimento religioso neo-tradicional em Gana, a Missão Afrikania. Ao analisar a posição cambiante de Afrikania na esfer…
Television and the Gospel of Entertainment in Ghana
Charismatic-Pentecostal ‘media ministries’ have become very successful in Africa’s new media fields. They shape new forms of public religiosity that spill over into various forms of popular culture and resonate with broad audiences. This article explores the emergence of new Pentecostal publics at the intersection of media, religion, and entertainment in Ghana, raising critical questions concerning the relations between these domains. It analyses…
Fans and Followers: Marketing Charisma, Making Religious Celebrity in Ghana
Presenting a case study of the Ghanaian charismatic-Pentecostal celebrity-pastor Mensa Otabil, this article explores processes of marketing and mass mediating charisma in the making of religious celebrity. In order to grasp the convincing force of this ‘Man of God’, it moves beyond classical Weberian and theological understandings of charisma by looking at styling, marketing, and branding strategies. Thus analyzing ‘the making of’ religious celeb…
Touch
Touched by the Spirit: Converting the Senses in a Ghanaian Charismatic Church
This article discusses the bodily mass reproduction of divine touch in Ghanaian charismatic Pentecostalism and argues for an understanding of conversion as an ongoing bodily process that 'tunes' the senses to specific sensory experiences. Presenting a case study of the International Central Gospel Church in Accra, it asks how the church's explicit appeal to the body relates to its strong suspicion of bodily mediation and its ideology of conversio…
Modes of Binding, Moments of Bonding. Mediating Divine Touch in Ghanaian Pentecostalism and Traditionalism
On a Sunday evening in 2002 a Presbyterian woman in Accra was baptized by the Holy Spirit while watching a charismatic-Pentecostal television broadcast. She had been sweeping the room when Living Word came on and caught her attention. As she heard pastor Mensa Otabil preaching on speaking in tongues, she put her broom away and sat down to listen to the message. After the sermon, which was prerecorded in church, Otabil came on to address the viewe…
Accra's Sounds and Sacred Spaces
This article explores the sonic sacralization of urban space in the multicultural city of Accra. In Ghanaian cities today religious groups increasingly vie for public presence. It is especially the religious manifestation in the urban soundscape, most forcefully by charismatic-Pentecostal churches and preachers, that has of late generated controversy. While charismatic-Pentecostal 'noisemaking' leads to conflicts all year round, it is especially …
Insight, Secrecy, Beasts, and Beauty
Since the liberalization of the Ghanaian media in 1992, audiovisual representation has become crucial in the struggle over religion and culture. This article examines the neo-traditionalist Afrikania Mission’s struggles with audiovisual media in the context of a strong Pentecostal dominance in Ghana’s religious and media landscape. It argues that the study of religion in an era of mass media cannot be limited to religious doctrine and content. On…
The spectacular and the spirits: Charismatics and Neo-Traditionalists on Ghanaian Television
This paper deals with the visual culture of Pentecostalism as it is produced and broadcast on TV by the numerous and very successful Charismatic-Pentecostal “media ministries” in Ghana. It argues that a transnationally circulating Pentecostal program format has become paradigmatic not only for local Pentecostal groups but also for other religions seeking media access. Comparing Charismatic-Pentecostal and African traditionalist media use, it furt…
Altar Media's Living Word: Televised Charismatic Christianity in Ghana
In many parts of Africa, charismatic-Pentecostal churches are increasingly and effectively making use of mass media and entering the public sphere. This article presents a case study of a popular charismatic church in Ghana and its media ministry. Building on the notion of charisma as intrinsically linking religion and media, the aim is to examine the dynamics between the supposedly fluid nature of charisma and the creation of religious subjects …
Money and Death: Funeral Business in Asante, Ghana
This article examines the current commercialisation and expansion of Asante funeral celebrations in Ghana. Funerals have always been the main public social events in Asante, but the growing funeral business significantly alters the way death is celebrated. The article takes as a point of departure a view of death as a field of strategic interaction, providing the ritual context for the creation of remembrance and identities, the elaboration of di…
Money and Death: Funeral Business in Asante, Ghana
This article examines the current commercialisation and expansion of Asante funeral celebrations in Ghana. Funerals have always been the main public social events in Asante, but the growing funeral business significantly alters the way death is celebrated. The article takes as a point of departure a view of death as a field of strategic interaction, providing the ritual context for the creation of remembrance and identities, the elaboration of di…
Altar Media's Living Word: Televised Charismatic Christianity in Ghana
In many parts of Africa, charismatic-Pentecostal churches are increasingly and effectively making use of mass media and entering the public sphere. This article presents a case study of a popular charismatic church in Ghana and its media ministry. Building on the notion of charisma as intrinsically linking religion and media, the aim is to examine the dynamics between the supposedly fluid nature of charisma and the creation of religious subjects …
Touched by the Spirit: Converting the Senses in a Ghanaian Charismatic Church
This article discusses the bodily mass reproduction of divine touch in Ghanaian charismatic Pentecostalism and argues for an understanding of conversion as an ongoing bodily process that 'tunes' the senses to specific sensory experiences. Presenting a case study of the International Central Gospel Church in Accra, it asks how the church's explicit appeal to the body relates to its strong suspicion of bodily mediation and its ideology of conversio…
The spectacular and the spirits: Charismatics and Neo-Traditionalists on Ghanaian Television
This paper deals with the visual culture of Pentecostalism as it is produced and broadcast on TV by the numerous and very successful Charismatic-Pentecostal “media ministries” in Ghana. It argues that a transnationally circulating Pentecostal program format has become paradigmatic not only for local Pentecostal groups but also for other religions seeking media access. Comparing Charismatic-Pentecostal and African traditionalist media use, it furt…
Accra's Sounds and Sacred Spaces
This article explores the sonic sacralization of urban space in the multicultural city of Accra. In Ghanaian cities today religious groups increasingly vie for public presence. It is especially the religious manifestation in the urban soundscape, most forcefully by charismatic-Pentecostal churches and preachers, that has of late generated controversy. While charismatic-Pentecostal 'noisemaking' leads to conflicts all year round, it is especially …
Television and the Gospel of Entertainment in Ghana
Charismatic-Pentecostal ‘media ministries’ have become very successful in Africa’s new media fields. They shape new forms of public religiosity that spill over into various forms of popular culture and resonate with broad audiences. This article explores the emergence of new Pentecostal publics at the intersection of media, religion, and entertainment in Ghana, raising critical questions concerning the relations between these domains. It analyses…
Touch
Insight, Secrecy, Beasts, and Beauty
Since the liberalization of the Ghanaian media in 1992, audiovisual representation has become crucial in the struggle over religion and culture. This article examines the neo-traditionalist Afrikania Mission’s struggles with audiovisual media in the context of a strong Pentecostal dominance in Ghana’s religious and media landscape. It argues that the study of religion in an era of mass media cannot be limited to religious doctrine and content. On…
Pentecostal Forms across Religious Divides: Media, Publicity, and the Limits of an Anthropology of Global Pentecostalism
Scholars of Pentecostalism have usually studied people who embrace it, but rarely those who do not. I suggest that the study of global Pentecostalism should not limit itself to Pentecostal churches and movements and people who consider themselves Pentecostal. It should include the repercussions of Pentecostal ideas and forms outside Pentecostalism: on non-Pentecostal and non-Christian religions, on popular cultural forms, and on what counts as 'r…
Fans and Followers: Marketing Charisma, Making Religious Celebrity in Ghana
Presenting a case study of the Ghanaian charismatic-Pentecostal celebrity-pastor Mensa Otabil, this article explores processes of marketing and mass mediating charisma in the making of religious celebrity. In order to grasp the convincing force of this ‘Man of God’, it moves beyond classical Weberian and theological understandings of charisma by looking at styling, marketing, and branding strategies. Thus analyzing ‘the making of’ religious celeb…
Missão Midiática afrikania: Representando a "religião tradicional afrikana" na esfera pública cristã em Gana
No campo de estudos de religião e mídia, a importância da comunicação de massa está bem estabelecida para as religiões globalizadas tais como o cristianismo e o islamismo, mas o mesmo não se verifica com relação às religiões nativas africanas. O presente artigo busca preencher essa lacuna investigando as atividades de mídia de um movimento religioso neo-tradicional em Gana, a Missão Afrikania. Ao analisar a posição cambiante de Afrikania na esfer…
Altar Media's Living Word: Televised Charismatic Christianity in Ghana
In many parts of Africa, charismatic-Pentecostal churches are increasingly and effectively making use of mass media and entering the public sphere. This article presents a case study of a popular charismatic church in Ghana and its media ministry. Building on the notion of charisma as intrinsically linking religion and media, the aim is to examine the dynamics between the supposedly fluid nature of charisma and the creation of religious subjects …
Money and Death: Funeral Business in Asante, Ghana
This article examines the current commercialisation and expansion of Asante funeral celebrations in Ghana. Funerals have always been the main public social events in Asante, but the growing funeral business significantly alters the way death is celebrated. The article takes as a point of departure a view of death as a field of strategic interaction, providing the ritual context for the creation of remembrance and identities, the elaboration of di…
Insight, Secrecy, Beasts, and Beauty
Since the liberalization of the Ghanaian media in 1992, audiovisual representation has become crucial in the struggle over religion and culture. This article examines the neo-traditionalist Afrikania Mission’s struggles with audiovisual media in the context of a strong Pentecostal dominance in Ghana’s religious and media landscape. It argues that the study of religion in an era of mass media cannot be limited to religious doctrine and content. On…
The spectacular and the spirits: Charismatics and Neo-Traditionalists on Ghanaian Television
This paper deals with the visual culture of Pentecostalism as it is produced and broadcast on TV by the numerous and very successful Charismatic-Pentecostal “media ministries” in Ghana. It argues that a transnationally circulating Pentecostal program format has become paradigmatic not only for local Pentecostal groups but also for other religions seeking media access. Comparing Charismatic-Pentecostal and African traditionalist media use, it furt…
Accra's Sounds and Sacred Spaces
This article explores the sonic sacralization of urban space in the multicultural city of Accra. In Ghanaian cities today religious groups increasingly vie for public presence. It is especially the religious manifestation in the urban soundscape, most forcefully by charismatic-Pentecostal churches and preachers, that has of late generated controversy. While charismatic-Pentecostal 'noisemaking' leads to conflicts all year round, it is especially …
Modes of Binding, Moments of Bonding. Mediating Divine Touch in Ghanaian Pentecostalism and Traditionalism
On a Sunday evening in 2002 a Presbyterian woman in Accra was baptized by the Holy Spirit while watching a charismatic-Pentecostal television broadcast. She had been sweeping the room when Living Word came on and caught her attention. As she heard pastor Mensa Otabil preaching on speaking in tongues, she put her broom away and sat down to listen to the message. After the sermon, which was prerecorded in church, Otabil came on to address the viewe…
Fans and Followers: Marketing Charisma, Making Religious Celebrity in Ghana
Presenting a case study of the Ghanaian charismatic-Pentecostal celebrity-pastor Mensa Otabil, this article explores processes of marketing and mass mediating charisma in the making of religious celebrity. In order to grasp the convincing force of this ‘Man of God’, it moves beyond classical Weberian and theological understandings of charisma by looking at styling, marketing, and branding strategies. Thus analyzing ‘the making of’ religious celeb…
Touch
Touched by the Spirit: Converting the Senses in a Ghanaian Charismatic Church
This article discusses the bodily mass reproduction of divine touch in Ghanaian charismatic Pentecostalism and argues for an understanding of conversion as an ongoing bodily process that 'tunes' the senses to specific sensory experiences. Presenting a case study of the International Central Gospel Church in Accra, it asks how the church's explicit appeal to the body relates to its strong suspicion of bodily mediation and its ideology of conversio…
Television and the Gospel of Entertainment in Ghana
Charismatic-Pentecostal ‘media ministries’ have become very successful in Africa’s new media fields. They shape new forms of public religiosity that spill over into various forms of popular culture and resonate with broad audiences. This article explores the emergence of new Pentecostal publics at the intersection of media, religion, and entertainment in Ghana, raising critical questions concerning the relations between these domains. It analyses…
The Making of the Pentecostal Melodrama: Religion, Media, and Gender in Kinshasa
Book Review| November 01 2014 The Making of the Pentecostal Melodrama: Religion, Media, and Gender in Kinshasa The Making of the Pentecostal Melodrama: Religion, Media, and Gender in Kinshasa. By Katrien Pype. Berghahn Books, 2012. 331 pages. $95.00 cloth. Marleen de Witte Marleen de Witte University of Amsterdam Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Nova Religio (2014) 18 (2): 99–101. https://doi.org/10.1525/n…
Missão Midiática afrikania: Representando a "religião tradicional afrikana" na esfera pública cristã em Gana
No campo de estudos de religião e mídia, a importância da comunicação de massa está bem estabelecida para as religiões globalizadas tais como o cristianismo e o islamismo, mas o mesmo não se verifica com relação às religiões nativas africanas. O presente artigo busca preencher essa lacuna investigando as atividades de mídia de um movimento religioso neo-tradicional em Gana, a Missão Afrikania. Ao analisar a posição cambiante de Afrikania na esfer…
Meyer, Birgit: Sensational Movies - Video, Vision, and Christianity in Ghana
Anthropos , Seite 338 - 339
Religion and Media
Born from anthropologists' sense of surprise at religious media phenomena, over the past two decades “religion and media” has grown into a burgeoning field of anthropological study. This entry gives an introduction to the development of this field, distinguishing two major approaches: first, a focus on the meeting of religion and media as formerly separate domains and, second, a focus on religion as itself a practice of mediation (religion as med…
Pentecostal Forms across Religious Divides: Media, Publicity, and the Limits of an Anthropology of Global Pentecostalism
Scholars of Pentecostalism have usually studied people who embrace it, but rarely those who do not. I suggest that the study of global Pentecostalism should not limit itself to Pentecostal churches and movements and people who consider themselves Pentecostal. It should include the repercussions of Pentecostal ideas and forms outside Pentecostalism: on non-Pentecostal and non-Christian religions, on popular cultural forms, and on what counts as 'r…
Afroeuropean Modes of Self-Making: Afro-Dutch and Afro-Italian Projects Compared
This article contributes to scholarship on Afroeurope by investigating the intersection of blackness, Africanness, and Europeanness in everyday discourses and social practices in the Netherlands and Italy. We examine how young African-descended Europeans are forging new ways of being both African and European through practices of self-making, which should be understood against both the historical background of colonialism and the contemporary pol…
Converted Gods: Lives and Travels of Asante Abosom and Asuman Figures
The ethnographic collection of the Dutch Spiritans holds six Asante shrine figures, whose journey reflects entangled histories of colonialism, indigenous West African religions, missionary Christianity, and cultural heritage. Originating in the colonial Gold Coast, these abosom and asuman passed through the hands of West African spiritual entrepreneurs, colonial police, "tribal art" dealers, Catholic missionaries, and museum curators. Along the w…
Anthropological Studies and Insights (12 works) · Sociology (12 works) · Art (11 works) · Aesthetics (9 works) · Law (9 works) · Political science (9 works) · Charisma (8 works) · Law (7 works) · Philosophy (7 works) · African history and culture studies (6 works)