Magic and Ritual
Module title | Magic and Ritual |
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Module code | SOCM049 |
Academic year | 2024/5 |
Credits | 15 |
Module staff | Dr Susannah Crockford (Convenor) |
Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
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Duration: Weeks | 11 |
Number students taking module (anticipated) | 15 |
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Module description
This module provides a social scientific approach to studying magic, witchcraft, and ritual. The focus is on magical practitioners and magical practices in the contemporary period, and methodologically employing empirical methods. We will consider what magic is when examined from a cross-cultural perspective, and then study ethnographic examples of witchcraft and magic from societies around the world, including Melanesia, Europe, and Africa. We will study different forms of magical practitioners, and ask what the difference between a witch, a shaman, or a diviner is. There will also be a focus on contemporary self-identifications such as Wicca, as well as modern permutations of older forms, such as astrology, as well as digital innovations in ritual. This module is available for students on the MA Society and Culture; MA Magic and Occult Science; MA Society and Culture: Meaning, Making Consuming; MA Society, Culture and Media; MRes Social Research; MA Theology and Religion
Module aims - intentions of the module
The aim of this module is to provide a broad overview of magic and witchcraft as forms of ritual in a contemporary, empirically informed perspective. It will support students who want to use social scientific methods in their dissertations, as well as introduce them to anthropological and sociological studies of magic and witchcraft. Seminars will support students in discussing and developing their own understanding of the content, supported by research-informed teaching.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate extensive knowledge of key issues, critical themes, and concepts in the anthropology and sociology of magic and witchcraft
- 2. Critically assess current research on ritual
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Show an in-depth understanding of how qualitative social scientific approaches can be used to study magic and ritual
- 4. Evaluate the cross-cultural variation of magic and ritual
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Communicate effectively in written and oral form
- 6. Conduct specialised research on a topic and organize findings in written form in a compelling manner
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
- Definitions of magic, ritual, and witchcraft
- Witchcraft in societies cross-culturally
- Shamanism
- Astrology and divination
- Wicca
- Occultism
- New age spirituality
- Online and digital ritual practice
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
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22 | 128 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
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Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 22 | 11 x 2 hours per week comprising of lectures and seminars |
Guided Independent Study | 20 | Formative Preparation |
Guided Independent Study | 60 | Summative Preparation and Writing |
Guided Independent Study | 48 | Weekly reading materials in preparation for seminars |
Formative assessment
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
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Essay Plan | 500 | 1-6 | Written and oral |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
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100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
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Essay | 100 | 4000 words | 1-6 | Written and Oral |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
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Essay (4000 words) | Essay (4000 words) | 1-6 | Referral/Deferral period |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
- Adler, M. (1986). Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today. Boston, Beacon Books.
- Ashforth, A. (2000). Madumo: a Man Bewitched. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
- Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1937). Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande. Oxford, Clarendon Press.
- Favret-Saada, J. (1980). Deadly Words: witchcraft in the bocage. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
- Geschiere, P. and J. Roitman (1997). The modernity of witchcraft: politics and the occult in postcolonial Africa. Charlottesville, University Press of Virginia.
- Howe, L. (2000). "Risk, Ritual and Performance." Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 6(1): 63-79.
- Luhrmann, T. M. (1991). Persuasions of a Witches’ Craft: Ritual Magic in Contemporary England. Cambridge, Harvard University Press.
- Marwick, M. G. (1965). Sorcery in its social setting: a study of the Northern Rhodesia Cew?a. Manchester England, Manchester University Press.
- Miller, C., (2022). “How modern witches enchant TikTok: Intersections of digital, consumer, and material culture (s) on #WitchTok.” Religions, 13(2).
- Parmigiani, G. (2021). "Magic and Politics: Conspirituality and COVID-19." Journal of the American Academy of Religion 89: 506-529.
- Turner, V. (1969). The Ritual Process: structure and anti-structure. Piscataway, Aldine Transaction.
- Znamenski, A. A. (2007). The Beauty of the Primitive: shamanism and the Western imagination. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Credit value | 15 |
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Module ECTS | 7.5 |
Module pre-requisites | None |
Module co-requisites | None |
NQF level (module) | 7 |
Available as distance learning? | No |
Origin date | 21/02/2024 |
Last revision date | 21/02/2024 |