From Sabrina to Supreme, there are plentiful modern representations of the witch in popular culture, each exuding singular or group-sourced power borne from traditions of centuries-past, as manifested in literature, television, film, or local lore. But what about the lesser-known witches, those who practice and represent branches of witchcraft rarely examined within the subcultural analysis or fandom?

This panel examines portrayals of lesser-known witches and how their quiet unconventionality, even within the broader occult subculture, might inform scholarship, practice, and preservation. What can we learn by examining lesser-known witches or unconventional representations of the witch?

Approaches or lenses for papers may include (but are not limited to): 

• Literature, texts, or theory 

• Cultural studies 

• Gender studies 

• Technology or media studies 

• Race and ethnicity studies 

• Environmental studies 

• Pop culture studies

• Local or regional examinations 

• Museum studies and public history

• Historic preservation or conservation 

Abstracts must be submitted before the deadline (9/30/22) to the NeMLA website: https://www.cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/19862 (note: you will need to establish a username and password).

Information about abstract requirements is available here: https://www.buffalo.edu/nemla/convention/callforpapers.html 

This panel is for the Northeast Modern Language Association convention, March 23-26, 2023 in Niagara Falls, NY. To learn more about NeMLA, visit https://www.buffalo.edu/nemla/convention.html  Papers must be delivered in-person at the conference. 

Please don't hesitate to send any questions to both Aíne Norris ainemnorris@gmail.com and Maria DiBenigno mdibenigno@wm.edu.