Whitehead, Neil

   Professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His research and publications are mostly concerned with Amazonian peoples and the influence of Amerindian cultures on academic and Western thought and culture. His book Dark Shamans (2002), discussing “dark shamanism,” especially Kanaimà, and books he has coedited with colleagues about witchcraft and sorcery contribute significantly to the growing interest in the more ambiguous roles played by shamans both in practice and in imagination or fear. He also contributes to discussions of the political positioning and relationships of shamans, especially in relation to the devastation of genocidal colonialism.