HIST342

A survey of major outbreaks of witchcraft in Europe and on the American continent from the late Middle Ages through the 17th century. After an interdisciplinary introduction to the questions of shamanism and possession, the course will analyze the religious doctrines from which Western theories of witchcraft were derived and the skeptical attitudes which ultimately destroyed them. The final unit is an attempt to use the course findings in analyzing more contemporary "witch-crazes."