Undergraduate Course: Witchcraft and Belief in Scotland, 1563-1736 (LLLE07008)
Course Outline
| School | Centre for Open Learning |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 7 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This is a for-credit course offered by the Centre for Open Learning (COL); only students registered with COL should be enrolled.
This course will examine the phenomena of witchcraft and witch hunting in early modern Scotland. We will examine the prosecution and persecution of those accused, and consider the significance of belief in witchcraft for early modern society. Other themes will be covered including religion, popular culture, law and order, illness and death, community tensions and gender differences.
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| Course description |
Content of course
1. Introduction - witchcraft in Scotland and Europe
2. Witches in the community: who were the witches and what did they do?
3. Witchcraft and demonology: God and the Devil
4. Witchcraft and popular culture: fairies and demons
5. Witch hunting: church, state and community
6. The justice process: from accusation to execution
7. Gender differences: the experiences of women and men
8. Regional patterns and differences; decline in witch hunting
9. Judicial scepticism, religious tolerance or scientific enlightenment?
10. Continuation of witchcraft beliefs
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- describe what was understood to be witchcraft by early modern society;
- discuss the relationship between popular and elite cultural interpretations of witchcraft;
- identify key features that were used to indicate demonic witchcraft;
- analyse contemporary documents;
- evaluate evidence relating to witchcraft belief and prosecution.
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Reading List
Readings
Goodare, J., 2002. The Scottish Witch-hunt in Context. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Goodare, J., Martin, L. and Miller, J., 2008. Witchcraft and Belief in Early-Modern Scotland, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Larner, C., 2000. Enemies of God. Edinburgh: John Donald.
Levack, B., 2006. The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe. London: Longman.
Normand, L. and Roberts, G., 2000. Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland: James VI's Demonology and the North Berwick Witches. Exeter: EUP.
Web sources
Survey of Scottish Witchcraft Database (On-line database of witchcraft trial information) - www.shc.ed.ac.uk/research/witches
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Special Arrangements |
This is a for-credit course offered by the Centre for Open Learning (COL); only students registered with COL should be enrolled.
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| Keywords | ZZoll |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Sally Crumplin
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Kameliya Skerleva
Tel: (0131 6)51 1855
Email: |
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