Modern Magic and Witchcraft

ANT4990  Summer 2008

Terry J. Prewitt, Professor of Anthropology

M-W 5-12-08 through 6-23-08 – 8:30-11:50 am

 

Welcome to the Modern Magic and Witchcraft course homepage.  This classroom offering in the early Summer Session at University of West Florida is designed as an exploration of magic and witchcraft in Western, mainly European and North American cultures, with some limited comparisons to syncretistic or parallel religious expressions of Africa, Latin America, and Asia.  The two primary texts for this class are:

 

The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft by Ronald Hutton (Oxford University Press, 1999)

 

Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess Worshippers, and other Pagans in America Today by Margot Adler (Penguin Press, 1979, 1986)

 

Hutton offers a comprehensive view of the primary forces shaping modern British witchcraft, from Classical and Romantic interests of the 19th Century to the Masonic system of European modernism and interests in naturism, herbalism, and folklore.  In addition to providing a general context for British witchcraft, he also synthesizes the development of ‘the Craft’ through a number of colorful and strong personalities of the late 19th through early 20th centuries.

 

Adler, though her revised original work of the late 1970s provides an equally comprehensive view of the development of the witchcraft movement in the United States out of the counter-culture movement of the 1960s. She traces some of the connections between North American and British witchcraft, as well as the independent and somewhat more feminist foundations of the American pagan movement.

 

Both of the texts are substantial works that provide a wealth of authoritative information about the origins and connections among diverse pagan communities.  These histories occur in a context of ‘occult’ culture stemming from the early period of philosophical modernism in the 16th and 17th centuries, syncretistic influences of colonial experience, and ideological developments in the late 20th century.  Thus, there are many other kinds of resources we may use to better understand what ‘magic’ and ‘witchcraft’ have meant in Western culture through time, and how current conceptions of witchcraft differ from some of the historically prominent conceptions.

 

We begin this course, then, with some consideration of stereotypes of ‘magic’ and ‘witches’ in our culture, the relationships between ‘magic’ and ‘knowledge’, the forms of magic in the ancient world as they came to be understood in Western monotheism, the intimate connections between religious belief and knowledge building in Western culture, and the relationship of witchcraft to what is generally known as the ‘postmodern’ condition.

 

Because of the size of this class, we will conduct the sessions as an open seminar.  We may all bring information and discussion of the readings into the class sessions, I will lecture on several key points, and we will pursue diverse additional written sources available through the library and internet.  One key starting point, in addition to basic readings, is to browse some of the writings of Isaac Bonewits, one of the individuals who has shaped American paganism in the late 20th century. Bonewits provides authoritative development of important themes concerning the historical validity of claims about witchcraft, the efficacy of ‘magic’, and the identification of ‘cults’ in a religious context.  I urge everyone to explore Bonewits’ many writings available on the web and in book form.

 

Students in this class are expected to read the assigned readings and be prepared for discussion on the dates for which they are assigned.  Early in the term it is understood that students will be establishing their reading schedule, but by May 19 all readings should be completed before coming to class.  In addition, each student should develop an essay project related to the general topics of the course.  This may be a comparative essay, a description of a particular pagan community, a personal reflection, a liturgical composition—all essays should be approved in advance by me.  Students present the essay in written form to be made available to other class members, and in some cases orally in class on June 18th.  Essays should be 4000-5000 words in length (about 8-10 typed, double spaced pages using 10 or 12 point fonts with 1 inch margins), and should include full citations of consulted resources.  Creative projects are encouraged.  The essay project will represent 50% of the final grade.  The final group oral examination will represent 40% of the grade.  General participation in discussions will represent 10% of the final grade.

 

By the conclusion of this course, students should be able to identify all of the major influences on the modern Western witchcraft movement, relate them to broad cultural processes of which they were a part, list the prominent forms of Western paganism, compare modern concepts of magic and witchcraft to ancient and early modern concepts, and generally relate the witchcraft movement to the history of Western monotheism.

 

 

GENERAL OUTLINE OF SESSIONS:  Note:  As the class proceeds summary information will be posted within this lecture/activity outline, including abstracted summaries of any lectures or key discussion points relating to lectures or readings.  Return to this page often for additional information, links, and summary material.

 

May 12 – Basic charge to seek library resources and other materials pertinent to the exploration of the concepts of witch, wizard, sorcerer, and magic.  Begin reading The Triumph of the Moon (Preface and Chapter 1, Finding a Language).

May 14  READ: TOTM CH 2, 3 and 4 – Goddess, God and Structure

         

          First Week Lecture Notes and Links

 

May 19  READ: TOTM CH 5, 6  and 7 – Magic and Folklore

 

          Second Week Notes and Links

 

          GEF Frequently Asked Questions materials on ‘tolerance’

 

May 21  READ: TOTM CH  8, 9, and 10 – from Witchcraft to Synthesis


May 26  READ: TOTM CH 11, 12, 13 and 14 – the early British moment 


May 28  READ: TOTM CH 15, 16, 17, – transformation


June 2  READ: TOTM CH 18, 19 and 20 – dissemination, and the prominent themes of modern witchcraft

 

June4  READ: DDTM front matter and Part I—Background


June 9  READ: DDTM Part II—Witches

 

June 11  READ: DDTM Part III—Other Neo-Pagans

 

June 16  READ: DDTM Part IV—The Material Plane


June 18  Student Presentations

 

June 23  Final Group Examination