HS228 Witches: Witch Hunts/Early Mod Hist

This course introduces Early Modern Transatlantic history through the lens of witch-hunts. Witchcraft persecutions and trials on both sides of the Atlantic are explored within evolving civic, cultural, religious, political, popular and folkloric and legal spheres. Topics include a series of witch-hunts from Scotland to New England, cunning folk, wise women, Malleus Maleficarum, Witches’ Sabbath and others, addressed within contemporary gender, class, and property-ownership norms and Early Modern European and Colonial American historical progressions. Students learn how targeting and punishing those accused of witchcraft shaped cultural attitudes and biases, some of which endure to this day. Addresses GLE Outcomes Humanities (HM), Written Communication (WC), and Intercultural Knowledge (IK).