GEORGE
GOGA
George Goga’s research focuses on marginalized groups who voluntarily adopt the identity of the Witch to disrupt ecosystems of power. He is the author of Performing the Roma Witch: Stereotype, Mythology, and Profit (2019) and E-Witched: How an Ancient Identity Can Prepare Us for an Uncertain Future (2023) and teaches in the English Department at SUNY Geneseo and chairs the English Department at Geneva High School.
What is a witch? Today, witches evoke images of the Halloween industry—on page, screen, and in costume—but as an identity, the witch is much more complex. Historically, the question of who or what a witch is delves deeply into the brutal realities of the European witch hunts of the early modern period, where fear, suspicion, and societal tensions gave rise to widespread accusations and executions. This lecture examines the witch not just as a myth or character, but as a constructed identity—one that has been manipulated and redefined throughout history to serve political, social, and even personal agendas. We will explore how witches have been both vilified and empowered, and how their perceived roles in society shift based on cultural needs. From a feared symbol of evil and chaos to a reclaimable feminist icon, the witch’s identity has been created, traded, discarded, and destroyed depending on who held the power to define it.
As we trace the evolution of the witch from its origins in historical persecution to its resurgence as a figure of resistance, we will also consider the cultural implications of this transformation. What does the witch represent in today’s world? How has it become a symbol for marginalized groups, particularly within feminist movements, and what might this mean for the future? Together, we will investigate whether the witch’s enduring legacy is here to stay and how it might continue to evolve as a symbol of rebellion, independence, and empowerment in a world that continues to speak truth to power.
More and more, witches are appearing in unexpected places. You might be surprised to find them practicing online magic. Or working to support a thriving billion-dollar industry. Or even engaging in weaponized insurrection. Thanks to technological advancements like artificial intelligence, the average person can now access modern divination tools that once cost others their lives. It’s clear that the Witch has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, becoming associated with positive, feminist, and empowering themes. This book explores the intersection of occult practice and online presence, focusing on the identity of the Witch as a symbol that continues to be used—and abused. We’ll discover how the same world that rejects the occult in the face of scientific objectivity has tacitly come to accept, benefit from, and even misuse many of its principles. Ultimately, this book aims to bridge the gap between past and future, empowering us to fight for what we’ve always held sacred: community, solidarity, and justice. Available on Amazon.
After a fiery start to the new astrological year followed by an intense eclipse season, we are thoroughly enjoying the more laid-back, sunny days of summer. Spring always feels like the moment when the archer draws back the string, the energy is potent and filled with possibility, potential, and hope. Summer is the release of the arrow, the energy is released, nature bursts forth and we are surrounded by verdant abundance and the results of our workings from earlier in the year.
In the last year, automated writing platforms like ChatGPT have taken the world by storm. Much of the discussion around them has focused on their misuse—how they spell the death of academic integrity, rob creators of opportunities to profit from their art, and most damagingly, exacerbate present day inequalities. But reframing these technologies as tools rather than weapons may enable us to support one demographic that has traditionally been excluded from education and civic life, the illiterate.
Geneva High School English teacher George Goga was awarded Youth Advocate of the Year from Success for Geneva’s Children and Geneva 2030. Goga was nominated by a high school parent, Susan Pliner, who drew attention to many of Goga’s efforts to inspire students, among them his annual publication of The Elocutionist, a collection of high school student essays. The award was presented at Success for Geneva's Children and Geneva 2030's fall gathering on Sept. 21.
Commodified magic, or magic that can be “packaged and sold” typically online, is the most recent example of this. Today, this magic can perpetuate harmful stereotypes and cultural appropriation by parodying, white washing, and generally profiting from a legacy of trauma while risking the erasure of original practices in favor of a commercialized façade. Given this, it’s important to question witchcraft as an aesthetic versus a practice. Doing so ensures that you avoid replicating the same colonization and theft visited on communities that turn to the practice in the first place. But drawing connections between online and historical witchcraft is also tricky since most of those historically persecuted weren’t actual witches and were instead falsely accused of a completely made-up crime.
For a special Halloween edition of Knight Lights, we are joined by SUNY Geneseo Adjunct Lecturer and Coordinator of the Individualized Studies Program, George Goga. His research centers around economic and political theories of the occult in Eastern Europe, focusing on marginalized groups who voluntarily adopt the identity of the witch.
Light Through the Blinds is an amalgamation of what it's like to be a teenager-poems that represent every adolescent emotion in the modern day. From the pain of love to first discoveries of nature, the collection bridges childhood and adulthood in a way that asks the question, Should we still hope for a better future? Sally is a former student whose publication my business helped facilitate. Book by Sally Young.
Life can be loud. Until you find the quiet. The life of Serenity ("Ren") Rogers has been loud. Surviving a deadly storm has led her to a place within herself that she thinks she cannot escape. That is, until she meets Holland and Asher, two young men who experience homelessness in the city of Westrider, New York. Now experiencing homelessness herself as well, Ren learns about the trials that come with being homeless, but with it she learns about bravery, honesty, true resilience, and love. Now with a deep desire to help others and to spread awareness about homelessness, Ren is ready to share her story, and to ultimately help cover the ailing, loud world with a blanket of white noise. Molly is a first-time author whose publication my business helped facilitate.
GENEVA — Masks and vaccine cards will be mementos of 2021 for some Geneva High School students. So will The Elocutionist, their published book of essays. While in lockdown last year, AP Language and Composition teacher George Goga worked with students after their AP exam to publish a collection of their work. They agreed to call it The Elocutionist. It was a project that could be done remotely, assembling and editing a smattering of the students’ assignments over the school year. The first collection was so well received that a second volume of The Elocutionist is due out any day, reflecting the work of this year’s AP Language and Composition class as well as some guest writers. Article by Susan Clark Porter.
Almost one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the push is on nationwide to return students to in-person schooling. Unlike many large urban districts that have been fully remote since last spring, most Finger Lakes teachers and students have been in the classroom since September in one way or another--with the majority adopting a hybrid plan that delivers a mix of in-person and remote instruction. What has this new world of teaching been like for those in the trenches? Challenging, yes, but interspersed with some silver linings and positive changes that hopefully will transcend the pandemic. Article by Susan Clark Porter.
What is a witch? Historically, this question involved the European witch hunts of the early modern period. But today, witches have become increasingly prevalent in pop culture, even appearing on Instagram and Tumblr. This book argues that witchcraft is an empowering identity that can be created, traded, discarded, and destroyed to suit a variety of needs. Performing the Roma Witch explores the witchcraft tradition of one people—the Roma living in contemporary Romania—and demonstrates how the witch identity empowers Roma women to participate in modernity.
The Bully Pulpit and The Pulpit Bully: A Comparison of How Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Donald Trump Used the Media To Propel Their Careers and Political Agendas. This thesis compares and contrasts how two of the more media savvy American presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and Donald Trump, utilized the press/media to advance their careers and promote their agendas. Both men’s ascent to power coincided with and benefited from the rise of new media outlets; Roosevelt’s with the newspaper revolution and Trump’s with the social media/networking explosion, specifically that of Twitter. Their groundbreaking mastery of these and other media formats share several common devices including trial balloons, manipulating news cycles and creating news distractions. However, a deeper dive reveals distinct differences as well. Dissertation by Scott E. Miller.
Ronald Herzman, Distinguished Teaching Professor of English, taught at SUNY Geneseo for 49 years. To punctuate his career and celebrate his upcoming retirement, Herzman delivered a farewell lecture on April 13, 2018. Family, friends, alumni, faculty colleagues and current and former students came from near and far to celebrate Ron's half century of teaching, research and service. As one of Ron's friends (and his former student), it was my honor to introduce him before his lecture.
You’ve been self-motivated your whole life. You’ve mastered the skills and technical expertise required by your field. Your colleagues and peers respect you as a professional and a friend. But nothing has prepared you for the host of challenges that come with leading a team: oppressive schedules, demanding customers, and people who just can’t seem to get to work. This book takes a step-by-step approach in helping you to understand how to fulfill the expectations of a team leader—from gaining a basic grasp of what makes a project a project—to techniques in estimating time and creating schedules—to how to properly communicate reports, metrics, and numbers in a way that’s relevant to those who care about your project. Book by Samuel Malachowsky.
Join the movement of people just like you in reaching the long sought after and mythical inbox zero: the state of having an empty email inbox and the ability to focus at will on people and projects that truly matter. In a world of instant availability, the relentless and irresistible need to constantly be checking email has grown to consume more than 5 hours a day from professionals of all types. To solve this digital dilemma, Ian Charnas begins by revealing the addictive properties of email that lure us away from developing vital relationships and achieving important long-term goals. Reaching inbox zero, a term popularized by productivity experts David Allen and Merlin Mann, requires us to explore the hidden forces that chain us to our inboxes, and to discover the surprisingly simple strategies needed to defeat them. By drawing on decades of social science insights, this book presents a three-step solution to achieve inbox zero. Book by Ian Charnas.
UI development has undergone a major transformation with modern frontend technologies. This book guides readers from the foundational building blocks of creating well structured interfaces to a list of different philosophies for creating modular, extendable and scalable U&I—UI intended for all developers, like you and I. Book by Farhad Ghayour.
ABOUT GEORGE GOGA
George Goga shares teaching appointments at SUNY Geneseo and Geneva High School where he chairs the English Department and serves as coordinator of the Early College High School. His pedagogic focus lies in cultivating students to become close readers, critical thinkers, and dynamic writers who see themselves as practitioners within our field of study. To this end, he chairs the Geneva High School English Department and directs publication initiatives that encourage students to participate in the practice of composition, revision, publication, and marketing associated with industry standards.
Outside the classroom, his research centers around economic and political theories of the occult in Eastern Europe, focusing on marginalized groups who voluntarily adopt the identity of the witch.
The other front of his research investigates academically-induced adolescent aliteracy, and how this condition is enmeshed within education policy. He is interested in developing and implementing systems that see automated writing platforms/AI as a means to foster rather than degrade literacy. His research engages with how these technologies may help functionally illiterate students transition to print fluency.
Outside of life in academia, he owns a publishing business and is a Part 107 licensed drone pilot.