Johann Wier

This book deals with a fascinating and original claim in 16th-century Europe. Witches should be cured, not executed. It was the physician and scholar Johann Wier (1515-1588) who challenged the dominant idea. For his defense of witches, more than three centuries later, Sigmund Freud chose to put Wier’s work among the ten books to be read. According to Wier, Satan seduced witches, thus they did not deserve to be executed, but they must be cured for their melancholy. When the witch hunt was rising, Wier was the first to use some of the arguments adopted in the emerging debate on religious tolerance in defence of witches. This is the first overall study of Wier which offers an innovative view of his thought by highlighting Wier’s sources and his attempts to involve theologians, physicians, and philosophers in his fight against cruel witch hunts. Johann Wier: Debating the Devil and Witches situates and explains his claim as a result of a moral and religious path as well as the outcome of his medical experience. The book aims to provide an insightful examination of Wier’s works to read his pleas emphasizing the duty of every good Christian to not abandon anyone who strays from the flock of Christ. For these reasons, Wier was overwhelmed by bitter confutations, such as those of Jean Bodin, but he was also celebrated for his outstanding and prolific heritage for debating religious tolerance.

Cameroon’s special criminal court: an appraisal of its first decade of existence

Purpose In total, 10 years since the establishment of the Special Criminal Court (SCC) in Cameroon to deal with a specific kind of corruption, one may wonder whether any achievements have been made so far in fulfilling its mandate and also assuaging the tense and toxic perception that the Court was established as an arsenal to witch-hunt political opponents. This study aims to look into the work done so far in this regard, and makes an assessment as to whether any accomplishments have been made in the first decade of its establishment. Design/methodology/approach This paper takes an evidence-based approach in seeking answers to what accomplishments, if any, have been made by the Court, explores the notion of corruption within Cameroon’s legislative and institutional landscape prior to the establishment of the Court and looks into the profiles of those who have been indicted by the SCC for that crime; the amounts that were misappropriated and for which they were convicted; the sentences imposed. It identifies some outstanding cases: where the amounts misappropriated exceeded a threshold and asks the question of what made it possible for these individuals to misappropriate such huge sums of money? Findings The inconsistencies and irrationality in the sentencing are a few findings made. Added to those is the timing of the establishment of the Court which, as most have perceived, is a political witch-hunting aimed at bringing credibility to a failed regime, as well as deal with a few political “irresponsibles” who were once the president’s buddies. Research limitations/implications This research unravels key insights into the functioning of the SCC. It advances the knowledge thereon and adds to the literature on corruption in Cameroon. Practical implications The establishment of the SCC is commendable. However, as it deals with but a particular kind of corruption, it might be necessary to rethink the need of additional institutional mechanisms that have specialized jurisdiction to deal with the different kinds of corruption in Cameroon. Social implications The paper highlights the entrenched nature of corruption in the social fabrics of Cameroonian society, and exposes the need for a much holistic approach in dealing with corruption, as the SCC offers but one institutional mechanism toward that direction. Originality/value This paper, given the issues discussed therein, and considering the dearth of literature on the topic, advances the literature on the SCC in particular and the problem of endemic corruption in Cameroon in general.

Livy's Witch-hunts: A Study of Investigations into Veneficium found in Livy

<p>This thesis is an exploration of large scale incidents of veneficium as they are depicted in Livy’s Ab Urbe Condita. Livy’s earlier books include references to four quaestiones de veneficiis, investigations into poisoning, which resulted in the executions of thousands of people. This study attempts to understand what happened while hypothesising why they occurred. Veneficium and its associated words have often been declared ambiguous, referring to poisons, potions, and, eventually, magic. However, this interpretation developed significantly later than the events seen in Livy and is anachronistic. This thesis explores this language and so we can understand what veneficium meant during the quaestiones de veneficiis of the fourth and second centuries BC and in Livy’s own time, and how it evolved to become magical and thus colour modern scholarships. Using this knowledge, we can review and reconsider Livy’s reports to gain a fresh understanding of what actually happened during the quaestiones and how the motifs and themes of these investigations reveal that they were in fact social responses to a period of rapid change to Roman life in the second century BC. This final point is reaffirmed when we engage with interdisciplinary theories from anthropology and sociology. By considering theories and models from these schools we can confidently say that, while venefici were not witches, their persecution was a type of witch-hunt.</p>

Livy's Witch-hunts: A Study of Investigations into Veneficium found in Livy

<p>This thesis is an exploration of large scale incidents of veneficium as they are depicted in Livy’s Ab Urbe Condita. Livy’s earlier books include references to four quaestiones de veneficiis, investigations into poisoning, which resulted in the executions of thousands of people. This study attempts to understand what happened while hypothesising why they occurred. Veneficium and its associated words have often been declared ambiguous, referring to poisons, potions, and, eventually, magic. However, this interpretation developed significantly later than the events seen in Livy and is anachronistic. This thesis explores this language and so we can understand what veneficium meant during the quaestiones de veneficiis of the fourth and second centuries BC and in Livy’s own time, and how it evolved to become magical and thus colour modern scholarships. Using this knowledge, we can review and reconsider Livy’s reports to gain a fresh understanding of what actually happened during the quaestiones and how the motifs and themes of these investigations reveal that they were in fact social responses to a period of rapid change to Roman life in the second century BC. This final point is reaffirmed when we engage with interdisciplinary theories from anthropology and sociology. By considering theories and models from these schools we can confidently say that, while venefici were not witches, their persecution was a type of witch-hunt.</p>

Card Index of Former Latvian SSR KGB Agents: Trauma and the Path to Public Reconciliation

In August 1991, the Republic of Latvia took over the documents of the former Latvian SSR KGB, including the card index of KGB agents. At that time, by postponing the card index publication, the political authorities made the issue of former KGB agents a hostage of their political interests. Discussion on the fate of the card index continued in Latvian public sphere over the next 27 years. The stance of the political elite, which found support in some groups of society, was opposed to the publication of the card index, being concerned about a possible witch-hunt and psychological trauma of the people mentioned in the card index as well as their relatives. However, as a result of public pressure, after lengthy indecision, the card index was made public in December 2018. Unfortunately, the publication of the card index has offered only a formal solution to the issue of the former KGB agents, and the expected results have been achieved from the aspect of neither historical truth nor public reconciliation. Only a small number of people mentioned in the card index have admitted the fact of their cooperation and just a few have expressed public regret. In turn, after 27 years of political elite’s hesitancy, most of the KGB persecution victims accepted the publication of the card index in silence. However, it is clear that denial and silence are not the way to public reconciliation and comprehension of trauma. Those few attempts to make one’s experience public show that in today’s situation people can seek reconciliation only with themselves and within themselves.

Renouvellement du personnage de la sorcière dans le roman pour la jeunesse

There are many publications on witches both in children’s literature and in scholarly essays. Mona Chollet’s Witches, the Undefeated Power of Women explains that the word has become an emblem of feminism. This article offers a comparative analysis of several recent novels, based on the latter’s thesis, whose aim is to examine how the witch character is constructed, how the authors treat historical data (healer witch, witch-hunt, stake, etc.) and how they renew this character regarding certain issues (identity, transmission, emancipation, etc.). Are the witches of children’s novels carrying feminist demands for young readers?

From “Hero” to “Evil”

The security guard, who was the pioneer to prevent the suspicious package left in the entertainment area, was primarily declared as ‘hero' after the incident in Atlanta during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and then he was vilified as ‘evil' as a result of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and media representations about the incident. The incident was adapted into the movie Richard Jewell in 2019, directed by Clint Eastwood. The movie, in which Jewell's devastating life is narrated in the screenplay, is regarded as to be worth analyzing because the media reflects the witch hunt that Stanley Cohen defines as a moral panic. Consequently, the moral panic creation of the media is tried to be analyzed through the movie Richard Jewell in this study.