WHITEHEAD, NEIL

Professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His research and publications are mostly concerned withAmazonianpeoples and the influence of Amerindian cultures on academic and Western thought and culture. His bookDark Shamans(2002), discussing “dark shamanism,” especiallyKanaimà, and books he has coedited with colleagues aboutwitchcraftandsorcerycontribute significantly to the growing interest in the moreambiguousroles played by shamans both in practice and in imagination or fear. He also contributes to discussions of thepoliticalpositioning and relationships of shamans, especially in relation to the devastation of genocidal colonialism.