Encounters With Witchcraft: (Text and Exhibits)

Encounters With Witchcraft: Field Notes From Africa (SUNY Press, 2012)

Encounters with Witchcraft is a personal story of a young man’s fascination with African witchcraft discovered first in a trek across East Africa and the Congo. The story unfolds over four decades during the author’s long residence in and many trips to Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. As a field researcher he learns from villagers what it is like to live with witches, and how witches are seen through African eyes. His teachers are healers, cult leaders, witch-hunters, and self-proclaimed “witches” as well as policemen, politicians, and judges.

Published by State University of New York Press (January 30, 2012) Available on Amazon.com

Also available as a pdf: Encounters With Witchcraft

The companion Teacher’s Guide contains connections to the US Core Curriculum for grades 9-12: Encounters with Witchcraft Teachers Guide

African Witchcraft and Healing Exhibit

African Witchcraft and Healing, an exhibit honoring the launch of Norman Miller’s book Encounters with Witchcraft: Field Notes from Africa, includes 70 photos, maps, documents, art objects, and a video made by African students.

Shown at Dartmouth College’s Baker-Berry Library for several months in 2012, the exhibit was curated by Norman Miller and designed by Dennis Grady. Two related exhibits ran concurrently: Witchcraft Art, Devil Art, and Makonde Art and Solutions to Witchcraft Violence.

Interview with Norman Miller in Dartmouth Now, May 9, 2012

“When the topic of witchcraft comes up most people think of the Salem Witch Trials of the late 1600s. But according to Norman Miller’s new book, Encounters with Witchcraft: Field Notes from Africa, witch-hunting and witchcraft-related crimes are found today in more than 70 developing countries.” Read the full interview: “Dartmouth Exhibit and Lecture Highlight African Witchcraft.”