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| RJ Peltz-Steele with Google Gemini CC0 1.0 |
Recorded just before Halloween in 2025 by the International Criminal Law Committee of the International Law Section, American Bar Association, "Malleus Maleficarium" is free to stream (and embedded below) at the time of this writing.
The topic is historical and fanciful, yet surprisingly contemporary and serious at the same time. Here is the narrative abstract:
The "witch trials" in Early European history and during the U.S. colonial period have left an indelible mark on the way society understands how and why the "witch hunts" took place. Since the witch trials which were held in Europe and in Salem [Massachusetts], many of the women who were found to be alleged witches have been exonerated. Unfortunately, this has not necessarily translated into the end of witch hunts or the persecution of innocent people in the name of sorcery or other forms of "magic." This session examines witchcraft persecution occurring in the 21st century across the world, with impunity. The panel also discusses how communities respond to these acts and what lessons can be gleaned from history to prevent persecution of innocent people.
Two of my outstanding students moderated the program, Grace Nguyen and Erasmus Ablernarh. Both are officers of the International Law Students Association, which I co-advise at UMass Law with my colleague, office neighbor, and fellow former Arkansan, Professor Frances Rudko.
Presently a 3L in my Comparative Law class and a participant in the Global Law Classroom, Nguyen worked last summer as a certified law clerk at the Orange County District Attorney's Office, Santa Ana, in her native area of Greater Los Angeles, California. Also a 3L, Ablernarh clerked last summer at Cellai Law Offices in Braintree, Massachusetts. Ablernarh holds a master's in languages and business and European management from Université d'Orléans, Centre-Val de Loire, France, and earned his bachelor's in education from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, one of my favorite places on the African continent.
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| English translation in the Internet Archive |
The report was not well received by the French Inquisition, which regarded it as too severe. The French Inquisition, a papal task force to combat heresy, was not known for the brutality that later characterized the Spanish Inquisition. But still, when the Inquisition thinks you're taking something too seriously, ....
The church distanced itself from the Malleus, and from Kramer, who was increasingly regarded as unhinged. Unfortunately for generations of women, however, common people still identified the Malleus with church authority, and the book appealed to the zeitgeist. The Malleus inspired periodic movements of barbaric persecution from the 16th to 18th centuries, including the Salem witch trials of the 1690s.
Witchcraft—and the fear of it, and fascination with it—are not unique to European-American tradition and are not relegated to history. The 2026 FIFA World Cup sparked news reports about the Ghanaian witch doctor whose curse prevented UK striker Harry Kane from scoring. A true-crime docuseries on Hulu now, "Swipe Right on the Devil," is winning audiences with a tale of murder and "so-called witchcraft."
The "Malleus Maleficarium" panel discussed both the history and present-day persecution of witches around the world, and speculated on what it is about human nature that so doggedly insists that there be witches.
These were the expert panelists:
- Govind Kelkar, Ph.D. in the political economy of China; professor and executive director of the GenDev Centre for Research and Innovation, Gurgaon, Haryana, India; and visiting professor at the Council for Social Development and Institute for Human Development, New Delhi, India. A feminist scholar, she has authored 16 books focusing on gender relations in Asia.
- Dev Nathan, research director at the GenDev Centre for Research and Innovation, Gurgaon, Haryana, India; and visiting professor at the Institute for Human Development, New Delhi, iIndia. An economist, he is co-author with Kelkar of Witch Hunts: Culture, Patriarchy and Structural Transformation (Cambridge Univ. Press 2020).
- Jacqueline Mbogo, a Ph.D. candidate in African women studies; a consultant on women, peace, and security development, based in Nairobi, Kenya; and at the time of the program, chief of party and team leader for the UKAID Reducing Insecurity and Violent Extremism Programme, Kenya. She was awarded the Order of Golden Warrior (OGW) by the President of Kenya for her contribution to Kenyan peace and security.
- Jan Machielsen, historian and reader in early modern history at Cardiff University, Wales, UK. An expert on early modern witchcraft and demonology, he is author of The Basque Witch-Hunt: A Secret History (Bloomsbury 2025), winner of the 2025 American Association of Publishers PROSE award for best book in European History.
Have a look at the video. It's enchanting.
