Witchcraft and the limits of mass mediation in Malawi

Bibliographic Data

ID2266876
AuthorsH Englund (0000-0001-6063-4986, University of Cambridge, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume13
Issue2
Pages295-311
Publication date2007-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1359-0987 • E-ISSN: 1467-9655
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-9655.2007.00429.x
OpenAlexW1989506385
LanguageEN
Citations received34
References cited58

This article explores what the study of witchcraft in an African setting can contribute to current efforts to theorize mass mediation and the imagination it fosters. Recent ethnographies of witchcraft discourses in Africa have continued to associate them with the formation of small-scale groups, but evidence from Malawi shows how they enable subjects to imagine sociality on an indeterminate scale. The article deploys the concept of mediation to theorize how in this imagination witches mediate sociality as the unrecognized third parties who give rise to recognized social relationships of varying scale. The ethnography of witchcraft discourses in radio broadcasting and an impoverished peri-urban area demonstrates not only their relevance to apparently disparate contexts but also their potential to exceed the impact of the mass media. The case of a violent conflict involving Pentecostal Christians, South Asian entrepreneurs, Muslims, and members of a secret society provides an example of how arguments about witchcraft had a greater impact on the popular imagination than a mass-mediated report of the same conflict. The article concludes by arguing that witchcraft discourses should be accorded weight equal to the mass media in theorizing the imagination

Ethnography · Geography · Mass media · Mediation · Political science · Relevance (law · Scale (ratio · Social science · Sociality · Sociology · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Law

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