School of English
Module manager: Dr Catherine Batt
Email: c.j.batt@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This module traces ideas about magic and witchcraft in medieval and Early Modern European thought and literature, from charms, poetry, romance, chronicle and Early Modern drama, to judicial records (e.g., those for Joan of Arc, and Alice Kyteler of Kilkenny) and treatises about witchcraft (e.g., The Hammer of Witches [1486]). Through investigation of a wide range of sources, and topics related to magic, witchcraft and the concept of the witch, we encounter ideas about gender, religion and belief, race and class, in ways relevant to modern society. There will also be an opportunity to study modern representations of witchcraft (for example, in a novel). Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module
On completion of this module, students should be able to: display an awareness of the history of European witchcraft before 1700; engage with methodological questions concerning the use of a wide range of historical evidence, such as judicial records, medical texts, and literary representations; develop interdisciplinary approaches to issues of cultural and literary history.
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
1. Evaluate and critique medieval and Early Modern European attitudes to magic, using key texts of the period.
2. Engage through multi-disciplinary perspectives with how writings about magic illuminate questions of gender, power-relations, and the political and social construction of reality.
3. Evaluate critical approaches to the material.
4. Appreciate and engage critically with the interpretive importance of the text as material artefact.
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
5. Conduct independent research, gathering information from a range of sources, and engaging in good academic practice
6. Produce independent arguments demonstrating advanced proficiency in critical thinking and writing skills.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workshop | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Drop-in Session | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Lecture | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 180 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Formative feedback will be provided weekly in seminars and in response to weekly seminar preparation. Feedback on the first assessment will be formative for the second assessment.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Discursive Prose | 30 |
| Coursework | Essay | 70 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 30/04/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team