Who is the Witch? Hexengeschichte, Mythologie und widerständige Praxis

In the organizer's words:

"We are the descendants of the witches you couldn't burn"

This (interactive) lecture followed by a discussion will focus on the topic of the "witch" as a complex concept that, on the one hand, describes a cultural-historical history and, on the other, has been used negatively and positively as an instrument of political power right up to the present day. Together we will embark on a historical-fictional journey to the roots of the concept of the witch, its meaning and its role in the resistance against the emergence of capitalism and early colonialism. In many feminist narratives, the* witch is not a simple historical protagonist but a highly charged concept, as well as a resistant figure that unites many life stories and is still fought and resisted today. In order to trace these life stories, I would like to show that the so-called "witch hunt" has never stopped and still constructs racist, queer-hostile and misogynist stereotypes and oppresses people. The second part of the input revolves around forms and practices of knowledge that are linked to the concept of the* witch: Knowledge about the body, about plants, birth, death and survival but also self-assertion. On the basis of these forms of knowledge, I would like to discuss the concept of "autonomy" and show why it is important for a self-determined and good life to re-appropriate these forms of (practical) knowledge. A good example of this is Zapatista autonomy, within which health, production and education are taken into one's own hands. So what is the* witch in the struggle for a good life? I would like to discuss this question with you and thus continue a collective history in which "witches" have always been diverse, resistant people whose knowledge could never be destroyed despite being fought against.