3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

Who were the witches? Why were they persecuted for hundreds of years? Why were women identified as the witches par excellence? How many witches were put to death? (Answer: 30-40,000, between about 1400 and 1800.) What traits did European witchcraft share with witch-mythologies in other societies? After the witch-hunts ended, how did “The Witch” go from being “monstrous” to being “admirable” and even “sexy”? Answers are found in history and anthropology, but also in literature, folklore, music, and the visual arts. After an introduction to ancient and medieval witchcraft, we will study European witch-persecution between 1400 and 1800. The second half of the course will concentrate on artistic representations of witches in media ranging from manuscripts to movies, concentrating on Italy, France, Spain, and Germany.