Witchcraft course: - Faculty of Humanities - McMaster University

3HI3: Advance Historical Inquiry
The European Witchcraze
Prof. M. Armstrong
Time/Day: Mon 11:30-2:20pm, GS 102
Office hours: Mon 2:30-3:30pm
Office: CNH 626
Contact: marmstr@mcmaster.ca
Summary
The European witchcraze (1500-1700) remains one of the most fascinating and disturbing
episodes in European history. This is in part because it confronts us with a historical reality
that seems on the surface quite different from that found in the West today. Students are often
puzzled, for example, by the intensity and widespread nature of belief in witchcraft at that
time, and in the use of judicial torture on accused witnesses. Over the last several decades,
scholars have found the witchcraze useful for rethinking long held assumptions about the
intellectual, political and social character of the early modern period. The witchcraze after all
coincided with the Renaissance, a time of intense intellectual ferment that is often linked to
fundamental changes in scientific knowledge. The predominance of women among the
accused also points to a gendered historical culture that remained persistently unfavourable,
and even hostile, to women. Still other scholars find witch trials appearing in locales struck
by religious division in the wake of the Reformation, and/or economic and social dislocation.
It is precisely because of its popularity as a field of historical investigation that the witchcraze
is well suited for a course focused upon the examination of changing historical approaches.
Over the following ten weeks, students will be introduced to the study of the Witchcraze from
many different perspectives.
Course Expectations:
Advanced Historical Inquiry has emerged as an initiative in the Department of History after
extensive discussions about what we as historians feel students need to know about the
practice and habits of the field. 3HI3 is intended to engage students in an exploration of both
the philosophical and scientific aspects of the study of human societies while encouraging the
further development of a critical eye to sources and narrations of historical events in texts and
on the web.
Students will develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of the historical craft; acquire
a more nuanced reading of secondary sources, with an eye to their place within existing
fields’ literature, themes, etc.; compare and contrast competing perspectives within specific
historiographic debates; search for and identify potential research questions that emerge from
their readings and discussions, and hone written and oral communication skills.
1

Required Texts:
Mark T Gilderhus, History and Historians: A Historiographical introduction
The Hammer of the Witches: A Complete Translation of the Malleus Maleficarum
(Cambridge, 2009).
Lyndal Roper, Oedipus and the Devil: Witchcraft Religion and Sexuality in Early Modern
Europe (1994).
*all other materials are available either as e-books through the McMaster library website or as
pdfs on Avenue to Learn
Grading
25% participation
40% two short essays (1000 each) (2 x 20%)
35% historiographical essay (3000 words)
Submission of Course Work
Students are advised to retain a photocopy of each essay they submit, and to keep all research
notes for their essays. History essays will be marked for clarity of writing, grammar, and
organization, in addition to content and analysis. Work should be submitted on time.
Permission to submit a late assignment is at the discretion of the instructor and, except in
exceptional instances, a penalty will be imposed for late submission without prior discussion
with me (3% per day).
Extensions and Accommodations (MSAF)
Extensions or other accommodations will be determined by the instructor and will only be
considered if supported by appropriate documentation. Absences of less than 5 days may be
reported using the McMaster Student Absence Form (MSAF) at www.mcmaster.ca/msaf/. If
you are unable to use the MSAF, you should document the absence with your faculty office.
In all cases, it is YOUR responsibility to follow up with the instructor immediately to see if an
extension or other accommodation will be granted, and what form it will take. There are NO
automatic extensions or accommodations.
Academic Integrity Language:
You are expected to exhibit honesty and use ethical behaviour in all aspects of the learning
process. Academic credentials you earn are rooted in principles of honesty and academic
integrity.
Academic dishonesty is to knowingly act or fail to act in a way that results or could result in
unearned academic credit or advantage. This behaviour can result in serious consequences,
e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a notation on the transcript
(notation reads: “Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty”), and/or suspension or
expulsion from the university.
It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information
on the various types of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy,
located at http://www.mcmaster.ca/academicintegrity
2

The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:
1.Plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one’s own or for which other credit has
been obtained.
2.Improper collaboration in group work.
3.Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations.
Plagiarism and any other form of academic dishonesty will not be accepted in this course. If
you are at all unsure what constitutes plagiarism, please consult with your tutorial instructor.
E-mail Communication
It is the policy of the Faculty of Humanities that all email communication sent from students
to instructors (including TAs), and from students to staff, must originate from the student's
own McMaster University email account. This policy protects confidentiality and confirms
the identity of the student. Instructors will delete emails that do not originate from a
McMaster email account.
Avenue to Learn course website
Access to Avenue to Learn is through your McMaster email account. Students should be
aware that, when they access the electronic components of this course, private information
such as first and last names, user names for the McMaster e-mail accounts, and program
affiliation may become apparent to all other students in the same course. The available
information is dependent on the technology used. Continuation in this course will be deemed
consent to this disclosure.
Modifications to Course Outline:
The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during the
term. The university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme
circumstances. If either type of modification becomes necessary, reasonable notice and
communication with the students will be given with explanation and the opportunity to
comment on changes. It is the responsibility of the student to check their McMaster email and
course websites weekly during the term and to note any changes.
3

Monday Jan 7
Week 1: introduction
Guilderhus, ch. 1
SCHEDULE
Monday Jan 14
Guilderhus, ch. 2
Week 2: The Hammer of the Witches: Malleus Maleficarum
Ques: This primary source was one of the most popular and influential manuals on witch
craft. What does it tell us about the core elements of belief in witchcraft during the early
modern period? Who were the authors? Why is this significant?
Monday Jan 21
Gilderhus, chs. 3, 4
Week 3: Witchcraft, Keith Thomas and Anthropology
Ques: How does Thomas argue for the use of cultural anthropology to study withcraft? What
were the critiques of those who challenged this approach?
Keith Thomas, “An Anthropology of Religion and Magic, II” Journal of Interdisciplinary
History 6 (1975): 91-109.
Monday Jan 28
Week 4: Regional/Local approaches
Ques: Where do we see the influence of anthropological methodologies and theories in this
analysis of the Salem witch trials?
Boyer and Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed (e-book through Library), chs. 1, 2
Robin Briggs, “Women as Victims? Witches Judges and the Community,” French History 5
(1991): 438-450.
Monday Feb 4
Gilderhus, ch. 5
Week 5: Witchcraft, Medicine and the Natural World
Wolfgang Behringer, “Weather, Hunger and Fear: Origins of the European Witch Hunts in
Climate, Society and Mentality,” German History 13 (1995): 1-27.
Blécourt, W., “Witch Doctors, Soothsayers and Priests. On Cunning Folk in European
Historiography and Tradition,” Social History, 19 (1994): 285–303.
First short paper due in class: on this week’s readings
4

Mon Feb 11
Week 6: The Law, the State and Witchcraft
Ques: What does the legal perspective bring to the study of witchcraft? What can the legal
study of witchcraft tell us about early modern justice?
Alfred Soman, “The Parlement of Paris and the Great Witch Hunt,” The Sixteenth Century
Journal 9 (1978): 30-44.
Brian Levack, “The Great Scottish Witch hunt of 1661-1662,” The Journal of British Studies
20 (1980): 90-108.
Diana Paton, “Witchcraft, Poison, law, and Atlantic Slavery,” The William and Mary
Quarterly 69 (2012): 235-264.
Monday Feb 18
Week 7: Intellectual history
Ques: Why do these historians emphasize the “rational” nature of witchcraft?
R Kiekefer, “The specific rationality of medieval witchcraft,” American Historical Review 99
(1994): 813-836.
Stuart Clarke, “Inversion, Misrule, and the Meaning of Witchcraft,” Past and Present
Monday Feb 25
Week 8: Reading Week
Monday March 4
Week 9: Gender
Ques: How has the focus on gender shaped scholarship on the witchcraze?
Anne Barstow, “On Studying Witchcraft as Women’s History,” Journal of Feminist Studies in
Religion 4(1988): 7-19.
R. Monter, “Toads and Eucharists: The Male Witches of Normandy, 1564-1660” French
Historical Studies 20 (1997): 563-595.
Tamar Herzig, “Flies, Heretics, and the Gendering of Witchcraft,” Magic, Ritual and
Witchcraft 5 (2010): 51-80.
*Second short paper due: on gender
Monday March 11
Week 10: Psychoanalysis
Ques: What does a psychoanalytical approach assume about past societies? About human
nature?
5

Lyndal Roper, Oedipus and the Devil: Witchcraft Religion and Sexuality in Early Modern
Europe (1994).
Monday March 18
Week 11: Psychoanalysis (Part II)
John Demos, “Underlying themes in the Witchcraft of Seventeenth Century England.” AHR
75 (1970): 1311-1326.
Charles Zika, “Cannibalism and Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe: Reading the Visual
Images,” The History Workshop Journal 44 (1997): 77-105.
March 25: Post-modernism
Gilderhus, ch. 7
Week 12:
Ques: What do these scholars mean by the “discourses” or “narratives” of magic and
witchcraft? What do they mean? How is this approach fruitful?
Alison Rowlands, “Telling Witchcraft stories: new perspectives on Witchcraft and Witches in
the Early Modern Period,” Gender and History 10 (1998):
Michael Bailey, “The Meanings of Magic,” Magic, Ritual and Witchcraft 1 (2006):
April 1
Week 13: TBA
April 8
Week 14: No class. Submit final paper
6