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Date Permissions Signed

7-13-2011

Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

First Advisor

Eurich, S. Amanda, 1956-

Second Advisor

Hochstetler, Laurie

Third Advisor

Kennedy, Kathleen, 1963-

Abstract

Set against the backdrop of the now infamous seventeenth-century witch-panic in Salem, Massachusetts, this thesis argues for a new conceptualization of the men who were accused of witchcraft. Rather than considering men as adjuncts to female actors in this narrative, or feminizing them to explain the accusations against them, this thesis argues that it was often their performance of hyper-masculinity put them at risk. Despite this focus, this thesis knits together a complex web of contextual and behavioral threads to explain accusations of witchcraft made against men in colonial New England. Additionally, this thesis argues that the writings of American demonologists like Cotton and Increase Mather illustrate an intellectual continuity between Old World and New, one that did not balk at the idea of male witches.

Type

Text

DOI

https://doi.org/10.25710/wwqa-4940

Publisher

Western Washington University

OCLC Number

757517195

Subject – LCSH

Warlocks--New England--History; Witches--New England--History; Witchcraft--New England--History; Men--New England--History; New England--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775

Geographic Coverage

New England

Format

application/pdf

Genre/Form

masters theses

Language

English

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this thesis for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.

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