Within the historical metropolis of Exeter, three girls had been hanged for working towards witchcraft within the late 17th century, the final of such executions in England. Now, merely a brief stroll from the place the hangings occurred, the College of Exeter will provide a postgraduate diploma in magic and occult science, which the varsity says is the primary of its sort at a British college.
Prof. Emily Selove, the pinnacle of the brand new program and an affiliate professor in medieval Arabic literature, mentioned the thought for the diploma, which can be supplied beginning in September 2024, got here out of the current surge in curiosity within the historical past of witchcraft and a need to create an area the place analysis on magic may very well be studied throughout tutorial fields.
Coursework will embrace the examine of Western dragons in lore, literature and artwork; archaeology concept; the depiction of ladies within the Center Ages; the observe of deception and phantasm; and the philosophy of psychedelics. By means of the lenses of Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions, lecturers will discover how magic has influenced society and science.
Christina Oakley Harrington, a retired tutorial of medieval historical past and the founding father of Treadwell’s, a London bookstore specializing in literature on magic and spiritualism, mentioned that many witches she knew had been speaking in regards to the diploma program, introduced final week, and had been eager about enrolling.
“Not as a result of they’re idiots and suppose it’s going to show them how you can wave a magic wand and do a spell,” Dr. Oakley Harrington mentioned. “They’re individuals who have simply an enormous curiosity in regards to the world and the best way we understand the seen and the unseen worlds.”
And in the USA, the place fewer individuals are affiliated with non secular establishments than prior to now, curiosity in all things magic has surged. Six in 10 U.S. adults imagine in a number of of the next: reincarnation, astrology, psychics and the presence of non secular vitality in bodily objects like mountains or bushes, in response to a 2017 Pew Research Center study.
There has additionally been renewed curiosity in witches, with feminism and popular culture embracing them as symbols of female independence. The pattern is mirrored in posts on TikTok, the place videos under the #WitchTok tag have amassed almost 50 billion views on matters reminiscent of cleansing homes of unwanted energy and figuring out the qualities that make a person a witch.
Dr. Oakley Harrington mentioned that she had seen a rise in gross sales in books on feminist witchcraft and on the historical past of magic, together with to clients of their teenagers and early 20s. “They’ll choose up a e-book on witch hunts, which they wouldn’t have 10 years in the past,” she mentioned.
Pam Grossman, an creator and the host of the favored “The Witch Wave” podcast who Vulture described as “the Terry Gross of witches,” mentioned that individuals didn’t should be “woo woo” to be excited by magic. “Whether or not or not one believes in magic, it’s nonetheless worthy of educational rigor as a result of human beings have practiced magic for 1000’s upon 1000’s of years, and due to this fact it’s worthy of examine and a focus,” she mentioned. This weekend, Ms. Grossman is main the Occult Humanities Conference, hosted by New York College.
Whereas some faculties, just like the College of Exeter, are including to their humanities applications, others have eradicated programs due to funding shortfalls. West Virginia College mentioned in August that it was shutting down 32 of its 338 majors and cutting programs together with inventive writing and languages. On the identical time, some schools are emphasizing career-focused programs, reminiscent of provide chain administration.
The College of Exeter mentioned it was the primary British college to supply a level in magic, however different universities have supplied programs and certificates on the topic. The College of Amsterdam gives a specialization in Western esotericism. The faith division at Rice College in Texas gives a certificates in gnosticism, esotericism and mysticism. Profession paths might embrace work in museums or artwork organizations, main non secular retreats, or pursuing additional tutorial analysis within the area, Dr. Selove mentioned.
Magic is usually thrown round as a synonym for false considering, mentioned Prof. Jeffrey J. Kripal, who helped to create the Rice College certificates program. “Folks have been working towards magical rituals and eager about the world in magical phrases for much longer and deeper than the world religions,” Dr. Kripal mentioned. He added that the defunding of research within the humanities might result in a extra polarized world that’s much less ready to deal with the largest points going through society.
Southwest England has a protracted historical past of witches and witchcraft, and a focus of people who find themselves within the topic. The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, about 60 miles west of Exeter, has a group of greater than 2,000 artifacts representing British magical traditions, from medieval magic to trendy Wicca, which is a part of the modern pagan motion.
Dr. Selove mentioned she had obtained just a few hundred inquiries in current days from college students within the diploma on the College of Exeter. “If we’re on the lookout for actually new and artistic options to the issues that we as a society face, then we should be trustworthy and brave about the truth that a few of our tried and true methodologies do have a restrict,” she mentioned. “Let’s cautiously and responsibly attempt some new or some previous concepts that we’ve thrown out.”
