Witchcraft Worldviews Shape Bias Theories

The piece argues that African conceptions of witchcraft—unseen, malign forces causing misfortune—map onto modern academic ideas like implicit bias, stereotype threat, and systemic racism that posit hidden causes of group disparities. A Canary Islands case, where migrants allegedly killed fellow passengers accused of witchcraft, illustrates the salience of this worldview. Centering certain 'lived experiences' may import culturally specific metaphysics into campus theory. — If bias frameworks are partly cultural imports rather than neutral science, DEI policy, pedagogy, and research norms may be re‑evaluated for epistemic assumptions and universality.