For “Witches” Read “Women”: An Introduction

Abstract: This introduction to the discussion forum on revitalizing the feminist historiography of witchcraft traces contemporary feminist engagements with the figure of the witch, exploring four categories of theorizing about this figure: misogyny, reality, empowerment, and patriarchy. The introduction then surveys the flourishing of feminist historiography of witchcraft in the 1990s, its subsequent somnolence, and the possibilities of a revived and strengthened feminist historiography of witchcraft in the present and future.