The New Generation Witches

Hannah E. Johnston (née Sanders) Ph.D. facilitated the UK's first teenage Witchcraft research and networking site, www.witchwords.net. Her doctoral thesis investigated the rise of contemporary teenage Witchcraft in the UK. She is currently Adjunct Professor in Visual and Media Arts at Emerson College, USA, where she teaches contemporary television studies and cultural theory. Peg Aloi is Adjunct Professor in the Department of Visual and Media Arts at Emerson College, USA, and also teaches film studies at the Massachusetts College of Art. She is the Media Coordinator of The Witches' Voice, Inc., and a film critic for The Boston Phoenix. Her research in Paganism Studies connects many disciplines, including literature, cinema, popular culture and Celtic Studies. She is an award-winning poet and amateur filmmaker. Hannah and Peg are currently working on several book projects, including a collection of essays on HBO's television series Carnivàle, and a book on cinema and the occult.

Contents: Foreword, Ronald Hutton; Introduction, Peg Aloi and Hannah E. Johnston. Part 1 Histories and Reflections of Contemporary Teenage Witchcraft: The pagan explosion: an overview of select census and survey data, James R. Lewis; The perennial teen witch: a discussion of teenage interest in modern pagan witchcraft, Melissa Harrington; Becoming a witch: changing paths of conversion in contemporary witchcraft, Douglas Ezzy and Helen A. Berger; The discovery of witchcraft: an exploration of the changing face of witchcraft through contemporary interview and personal reflection, Julian Vayne; Minor arcana and the inclusion of adolescent psycho-spirituality within the British pagan community, Matthew Hannam. Part 2 Teenage Voices: Accounts from the Field: Becoming a witch: my story, Heather Jenkins; Oreos, Orishas and others: a personal account of being a teenage witch, Morboriel Parthenos. Part 3 Texts, Influences and Practices: Vanquishing the victim: discourses of dis/empowerment in 1990s teenage witchcraft, Hannah E. Johnston; A charming spell: the intentional and unintentional influence of popular media upon teenage witchcraft in America, Peg Aloi; Teen witchcraft and Silver RavenWolf: the internet and its impact on community opinion, Stephanie Martin; Wise young women: beliefs, values and influences in the adoption of witchcraft by teenage girls in England, Denise Cush; Index.