Magic and Populism in Southern Europe

Magic and Populism in Southern Europe: Lived Religion, Materiality, and Gender

This project tackles the complexity of the phenomena of contemporary populism from an unexplored point of view: that of magical thinking and practices.

If, on the one hand, scholars of populism and religion have not considered contemporary magic religions in their analyses, on the other hand, scholars of Contemporary Paganisms have only rarely explicitly touched the topic of populisms. Moreover, the majority of research on magic and politics has focused on Northern and Eastern Europe and North America, leaving the southern part of Europe underexplored.

This research, based in Southern Italy, offers a novel perspective and contribution in both the study of magic in the contemporary world, and of populism in Europe. 

Project point person: Giovanna Parmigiani, Research Associate and Lecturer on Religion and Cultural Anthropology