Demystifying Vodou

Haitian Vodou has long been understood by Americans to be superstition at best and “black magic” at worst. Professor Elizabeth McAlister draws on 15 years of fieldwork in Haiti and Haitian New York to explore this Creole tradition as a religion in its own right. She will talk about the religious thought of Vodou, the logic of its rituals, and the ways Haitian immigrants rely on Vodou to survive the experience of migration and racism in the United States.

Presenter: Elizabeth McAlister, Assistant Professor of Religion