Brad Austin, PhD, and Donna A. Seger, PhD — Salem History Without Witches

Brad Austin, PhD, and Donna A. Seger, PhD

In advance of the 400th anniversary of the European settlement of Salem, Massachusetts, Seger and Austin have co-edited a collection of essays which will be published by Temple University Press under the title: Salem’s Centuries: New Perspectives on the History of an Old American City, 1626-2026. This presentation will discuss the conception of the book and the challenges of presenting multiple narratives of Salem’s history with a dominant discourse focused overwhelmingly on the Witch Trials of 1692. Salem’s “other” history is the general history of less storied places, and its experience of peace and war includes essential stories which simply have not been told. They will examine the rise and evolution of Salem’s “Witch City” identity, and how that identity has informed its historical representations.