description | syllabus | discussion questions | links | Essays on Witch Hunting back to David's home page
| Th | Sept. 9 | Course Introduction | |
| I. First Approach to the Problem | |||
| Tu | Sept. 14 | Problems attending interpretations of the trials
Reading: Klaits, Servants of Satan, 1-85 |
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| Th | Sept. 16 | Accusations and Trials
Reading: Klaits, Servants of Satan, 86-176 |
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| Tu | Sept. 21 | Religious Assumptions about Sin, Sex, and Women
Reading: Miles, Intro. and Material on Eve (p/c) |
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| Th | Sept. 23 | Further Assumptions about Sin, Sex, and Women
Reading: Miles, Material on "the Grotesque" (p/c) |
Round-Table #1 |
| Tu | Sept. 28 | An Early Modern Extreme
Reading: Malleus Maleficarum (p/c) |
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| Th | Sept. 30 | Court Practices
Reading: Boguet, An Examen of Witches (p/c) |
Round-Table #2 |
| II. Feminist Analyses: What Difference Do Assumptions Make? | |||
| Tu | Oct. 5 | Role of Gender Considered
Reading: Barstow, xi - 56; 97-107 |
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| Th | Oct. 7 | Sexualized Violence
Reading: barstow, 109-167 |
Group Pres. #1 |
| Tu | Oct. 12 | "Murdering the Goddess:
Reading: Daly, Gyn/Ecology (p/c) |
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| Th | Oct. 14 | Mid-Term Exam | Mid-Term Exam |
| Tu | Oct. 19 | Fall Break | |
| III. Witch Beliefs as Discursive Practices | |||
| Th | Oct. 21 | "Reality" as Social Construction
Rreading: Berger (p/c) |
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| Tu | Oct. 26 | "Legitimations"
Reading: Berger (p/c) |
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| Th | Oct. 28 | Power, Knowledge, and the Body
Reading: Foucault (p/c) |
Round-Table #3 |
| Tu | Nov. 2 | Do Witch Practices "Crystallize" Culture? | Group Pres. #2 |
| IV. Interpretations of Salem | |||
| Th | Nov. 4 | Considering Salem
Reading: Boyer and Nissenbaum 1-79 |
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| Tu | Nov. 9 | Economic and Social Clashes
Reading: Boyer and Nissenbaum, 80-132 |
Essay II Due |
| Th | Nov. 11 | The People Involved
Reading: Boyer and Nissenbaum, 153-216 |
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| Tu | Nov. 16 | Confessions as Satire
Reading: Godbeer (p/c) |
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| Th | Nov. 18 | Gender and New England Society
Reading: Karlsen, Chs. 1-3 |
Round-Table #4 |
| Tu | Nov. 23 | Gender and Puritan Beliefs
Reading: Karlsen, Chs. 4-5 |
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| Th | Nov. 25 | Thanksgiving | |
| Tu | Nov. 30 | Gender and Puritan Society
Reading: Karlsen, Chs. 6-7 |
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| V. Witch Representations In Popular Culture | |||
| Th | Dec. 2 | Salem as Mythic Event in American History
Reading: The Crucible |
Group Pres. #3 |
| Tu | Dec. 7 | Reversal in The Crucible | |
| Th | Dec. 9 | Witches in Pop Culture: Carrie and Beyond
Reading: "Carrie as Witch" |
Group Pres. #4 |
| Tu | Dec. 14 | Concluding Reflections | |
| Mo | Dec. 20 | Final Project Due | Final Project Due |