The witch : a pedagogy of immanence

Abstract

This thesis examines three key texts which serve as a means of exploring the process of reclamation, of delving into a process of reconstruction of Indigenous identity but also of social identity within a philosophical and moral structure of the biophilic. This is done through an autoethnographic lens, as I have chosen three formative texts that have served as foundational stories in my coming to know myself. Through reflecting on this process, I investigate how one may relocate the self through the process of storying, as an immanent part of nature and in so doing, I posit that even those living within structures of colonialism may begin to reconfigure the fragmented spaces of the modern into something that recognizes and elevates lived relations with the land as a form of authentic and vital knowledge of the self. Through the figure of the witch, I examine the potential of archetypes to participate in this storying of the self into relation with the world, considering the special nature of the witch as deriving their power from sources outside of human control and as a natural and, often, subversive figure. I theorize the ways in which the witch as an archetype has participated in my own storying of self as well as the potential for archetypes such as these to participate in a relocation of humanity as manifesting within and through nature.