Religious education and the feminisation of witchcraft: a study of three secondary schools in Kumasi, Ghana

摘要

This study, conducted during the summer of 2008 in Kumasi, Ghana analysed the role of religious and moral education (RME) in ameliorating the witchcraft discourse in three Ghanaian junior secondary schools. Although the syllabus acknowledges the pernicious effects of witchcraft allegations, it adopts a ‘Thou shalt not’ approach that fails to adequately grapple with the challenge. Through the use of semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and a questionnaire, pupils’ attitudes towards witchcraft were analysed. The study reveals deep-seated beliefs to the effect that women - particularly elderly females - engage in witchcraft for devious purposes. Employing the theoretical framework of Foucault’s knowledge - power symbiotic nexus, I explore the misogynous nature of the witchcraft discourse as evidenced through these responses. It is argued that RME can benefit from attending more closely to the subtle ways in which the ‘dense web’ of knowledge - power is internalised and perpetuated by pupils.View full textDownload full textKeywordsreligious and moral education, witchcraft discourse, toleranceRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2011.592823