Handbook home
Witch-Hunting in European Societies (HIST20080)
Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5Not available in 2024
Overview
Fees | Look up fees |
---|
Why were c. 50,000 people executed for witchcraft in late medieval and early modern Europe? In this subject we will test different historical models for explaining the shocking rise and ultimate decline of witchcraft as a crime with dramatic social repercussions. Along the way we will encounter accused female and male witches of all ages and all social levels, as well as inquisitors, judges, torturers, accusers and victims. Throughout the subject, we will explore the ways that historians might recover the fears and beliefs of individuals and communities in the past. We will assess the social, political, religious, legal, environmental and cultural underpinnings of witchcraft panics in locations including Germany, France, England, Scotland, Spain and Italy. We will encounter European anxieties about non-European diabolical magic, and the notorious New England Salem witch trials of 1692 in North America. Sources for this subject will include trial records, letters and treatises, visual images, and objects imbued with magical powers. Weekly seminars will be based around primary sources as well as scholarship by leading historians of the witch-hunts and of Europe during the period c. 1350–c. 1700, and will also include a witch trial scenario activity.
Intended learning outcomes
Students that successfully complete this subject should be able to:
- Discern and evaluate key characteristics of important case studies concerning the European witch-hunts as well as the relevant historical backgrounds against which they unfolded
- Understand and critically reflect upon debates by historians about the rise and decline of witch-hunting as a phenomenon c. 1350–c. 1700
- Locate and analyse primary and secondary sources to construct and evaluate historical arguments
- Develop skills of critical thinking and clear communication through seminar participation and the preparation of work for assessment
Last updated: 15 February 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 15 February 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Primary source analysis (750 words) and linked preparatory statement for Salem trial activity (750 words)
| Week 6 | 35% |
Research essay
| During the examination period | 55% |
Participation grade based on preparation for tutorials as well as willingness to share ideas and to engage with material discussed by others. | Throughout the semester | 10% |
Hurdle requirement: 1. If they have not already done so, students must successfully complete the online 'Researching History' module in order to submit assignments and to pass this subject. | Early in the teaching period | N/A |
Hurdle requirement: 2. Attendance hurdle requirement: This subject has a minimum requirement of 80% attendance at tutorials, seminars, or workshops. There is an expectation that students attend lectures. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Hurdle requirement: 3. Late Penalty and Assessment hurdle requirement: Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at five per cent (5%) of the possible marks available for the assessment task per day or part thereof. All pieces of assessment must be submitted to pass the subject. Each submitted assessment must be complete, constitute a genuine attempt to address the requirements of the task and will not be accepted after 20 University business days from the original assessment due date without written approval. | Throughout the semester | N/A |
Last updated: 15 February 2024
Dates & times
Not available in 2024
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Last updated: 15 February 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
There are no specifically prescribed or recommended texts for this subject.
- Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Biomedicine
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Design
- Bachelor of Environments
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and Television)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art)
- Bachelor of Music
- Bachelor of Science
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 15 February 2024