History Blog

HIS 355 (Topics in World History):  Witchcraft and Culture in the Atlantic World

Spring 2009
Tuesday, 6:30-9:15pm
Prof. Aaron Palmer 

In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII wrote: 

“It has indeed lately come to Our ears, not without afflicting Us with bitter sorrow, that in some parts of Northern Germany, as well as in the provinces, townships, territories, districts, and dioceses of Mainz, Cologne, Treves, Salzburg, and Bremen, many persons of both sexes, unmindful of their own salvation and straying from the Catholic Faith, have abandoned themselves to devils, incubi and succubi, and by their incantations, spells, conjurations, and other accursed charms and crafts, enormities and horrid offences, have slain infants yet in the mother’s womb, and also the offspring of cattle, have blasted the produce of the earth, the grapes of the vine, the fruits of trees, nay men and women, beasts of burden, herd-beasts, as well as animals of other kinds, vineyards, orchards, meadows, pasture-land, wheat, and all other cereals; these wretches furthermore afflict and torment men and women, beasts of burden, herd-beasts, as well as animals of other kinds, with terrible and piteous pains and sore diseases, both internal and external; they hinder men from performing the sexual act and women from conceiving, whence husbands cannot know their wives nor wives their husbands; over and above this, they blasphemously renounce that Faith which is theirs by the Sacrament of Baptism, and at the instigation of the Enemy of Mankind they do not shrink from committing and perpetrating the foulest abominations and filthiest excesses to the deadly peril of their own souls, whereby they outrage the Divine Majesty and are a cause of scandal and danger to very many.” 

Here the Pope outlined the very grave, perceived threat posed by witchcraft in Europe and justified the Inquisition’s hunt for these terrifying enemies of God.  The Catholic Church took the threat of witchcraft very seriously, but what of average persons in the Atlantic World?

Witchcraft, magic, the supernatural, and the Devil were believed to be physically present, everyday realities in Europe and the Atlantic world.  They were integral parts of popular culture and religious beliefs.  Witchcraft presents a fascinating opportunity to explore both the popular culture and the intellectual mental universe of the early modern Atlantic world.  By looking beyond Europe to Atlantic societies in the Americas, witchcraft also offers an opportunity to study exchanges between European, Indian, and African beliefs and cultures. 

Thus, this new course will explore the following questions:

• What did average people actually believe about magic and witchcraft in early modern Europe?
• How did witchcraft beliefs fit into the popular culture of the time?  Was witchcraft really practiced? 
• What was “popular culture” in this era, and what can we learn about it by studying witchcraft?
• How did European beliefs merge with and influence (and vice versa) Indian and African beliefs in the “New World” after 1492?
• How did the Church look at witchcraft?  Did intellectual views differ from the popular, and why?
• How was witchcraft defined as criminal?  How were witches hunted and prosecuted?  Why were women more often the victims of witch hunts and accusations than men?
• What about witchcraft beliefs and occult practices in today’s culture?  How should a Christian approach these things?

The course will be heavy on discussion of these questions.  There will be no exams (take home or in-class).  Rather, the work will focus on responding to assigned reading in discussion and through short essays / book reviews. 

Major course reading will focus on Salem (a book of your own selection from our library’s resources); witchcraft in Latin America and Brazil; early modern popular culture; and the European witch hunt. 

Salem provides our major case study.  Hence, the major course project will put students directly in touch with the most famous witchcraft episode of them all.  Using the most complete set of primary records ever complied for the Salem trials, you will look at and interpret the case of one of the nineteen men and women who were executed during the witch hysteria.

Please feel free to contact me if you would like more information or have any questions about the course!

Prof. Aaron Palmer
aaron.palmer@wlc.edu

Phi Alpha Theta is the national honor society for history. It is one of the oldest honor societies in the country. Those who are seriously interested in the study of history should definitely join. Membership looks very good on grad school applications and etc., and it also has tangible benefits including:

• Prize and scholarship competitions.
• Participation in local and national conferences, where undergraduates are encouraged to present research.
• Subscription to the academic journal, The Historian.
• Ability to network with other students and members of the profession in our area and nationally.

To be considered for membership, you must have taken at least 12 history credits and have an overall GPA of 3.0. The one-time membership fee is $40. You will receive the journal for one year, a certificate, membership card, and lifetime access to all other society benefits. Membership applications are available in my office, G306. They are due by March 15, 2008. For more information on Phi Alpha Theta, please click here.

I grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, just a half hour south of Green Bay, so you could say that football is in my blood. I attended my first Packer’s game at Lambeau Field when I was about seven years old. I’ve sat through every kind of weather imaginable there, including a game where it was -9 at kickoff.

I don’t think that younger fans fully appreciate a season like the Packers have had this year. They have not been 13-3 since 1998 (or when our freshmen were about eight years old), but the Packers have only had one really bad year in the last decade. I grew up in the years of Bart Starr (the coach), Forrest Gregg (the coach again) and the offensive genius Lindy Infante. Those were years of hopeless futility in Green Bay. All of that changed with Mike Holmgren, Ron Wolf, and Brett Favre. It did not happen overnight, but it did happen. I’m still amazed that the Packers are a good team. Appreciate these days Packers fans. It might not (and it has not) always be this way.

Now, why am I writing about the Packers in a history blog? Well, this has been a historic year in a lot of ways. Brett Favre broke just about every individual record for a quarterback, and he’s not missed a start since 1992! To put that into perspective, I was a junior in high school when Brett started his first game! I just think we should take a moment sometimes—between the beer and brats while we watch games—to appreciate how lucky we are to be fans at THIS moment in Packers history. Like Marv Levy used to say, “Where else would you rather be than right here, right now?” (See that…I did work history into this entry somehow)!

Merry Christmas!

So sorry about not posting anything for awhile, we were having some problems with a system, but we are up and running once again. Just in time for the break.

Very pleased with the last semester, man, we had some great courses fulled with some great students. Now, it is on to planning for the spring semester.

Once again, I will be teaching HIS101. My other courses are Modern America. Latin America and then the Senior Thesis course. All of them are good courses.

Modern America goes from 1945-Present. We get to look at the Fifties and then the really bad Sixties, I am a firm believer that the Sixties really damaged this country in many ways and do not buy into the idea of the “Youth just trying to make the world a better place” stuff. This time I will also be using a book called 102 minutes that deals with the attacks on the towers on 911.

Latin America is a wide rangin course that goes from pre-Columbus Native Empires like the Aztecs and Incas to the present. This course is usually a real eye opener for students. In this course each student picks a country to focus on for a paper.

The Senior Thesis course is one of my favorites. Here we really sit down and learn about what makes history tick. We discuss historians and argue interpretations. We have big projects and the battle of the Little Big Horn to discover who was at fault for the loss. In this course the students do most of the talking and really learn what it means to be a historian.

Outside of that, three of our professors, Aaron Palmer, Patrick Steele and myself will be presenting papers at the Missouri Valley Historical Conference in Omaha this March. Next time, I will talk more about that.

See ya

Beck

“I like history, but what can I DO with it?” I’ve been asked this question many times by students. The simple answer is that you can do many things with a history degree. As a discipline, history will help you develop research, writing and critical thinking skills, which are essential to a host of professional situations. If you are thinking about history as a major, you might want to check out the American Historical Association (AHA) website for history majors and history careers. They have an excellent introductory website on the topic, as well as a free booklet that even features profiles of history students who have followed various professional paths:

http://www.historians.org/pubs/Free/careers/Index.htm

I have a lot of books.  Some might say I have too many books.  I have an entire room at home with nothing but books in it.  I really started building my collection in graduate school.  Once, for a graduate course at Marquette, the professor assigned books that were all out of print.  I was not really sure what to do, so I started hunting around on the internet.  I found a great site that I have been using ever since to find cheap, old and out of print books:  Bookfinder.  I highly recommend the site to fellow book addicts.  It is basically a network of used book dealers, and you should be able to find multiple copies of almost any book at a range of prices.

 www.bookfinder.com

In August of 2008, I will be leading a research trip to three Presidential Libraries.   The first is the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library and museum in Abilene, Kansas.  From there, we will go to the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri.  Our final stop will include research time at the new Abraham Lincoln Library in Springfield, Ill.  It is a great opportunity for students to conduct this type of primary research while still undergraduates.  Costs have not yet been set, so please watch for an announcement about the trip and an expanded agenda when it is completed.

This is the third time that I have taught the World War I course. I find it a fascinating period. It gets over shadowed by World War II, yet it is such an immense conflict that has such ramifications for world history.

Right now, week six, we have just finished the military offensives of 1914. Prior to this we spent time discussing why the war came and had a great debate over which country was at fault for the war. And no, it was not automaticallly Germany as so often we hear.

One thing I like to do with the class is show movies dealing with the war. I start with Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas) about the amazing Christmas truce of 1914 that the soldiers themselves declared on the western front. I also show Gallipoli, Dawn Patrol, Paths of Glory and All Quiet on the Western Front. There are several others that I’ve shown from time to time.

I also looked forward to the debate the class has over whether the US should have entered WWI. I have some strong feelings on that one so it is always fun to hear what the students have to say about it.

I am building up quite a library on WWI. To have to chance to speak on the Naval and Air aspects of the war, the affects of the war on the home front, fascism and the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War is really something.

Later

P Beck

I also enjoy speaking about the war in the colonies, like Africa. It is amazing how Lettow Von Vorbeck held out for the entire war in German east Africa. Even more so that so few people even know about him.

If you ever need a quick and accurate reference for formatting footnotes in Chicago style, now you can go right to the source:  www.chicagomanualofstyle.org.

The entire manual is NOT available for free, but the University of Chicago Press has put together a short, free guide that you can use as a reference for the basics.  The big style book is usually about $50 at book stores.  The online version is half that price, and it is continually updated.

A lot is going on at WLC this fall for history enthusiasts.  Here are just two highlights of events outside of class.

Monday evening at 7 PM on October 1 world famous Israeli archaeologist Gabbie Mazor will be giving a slide talk on the biblical city of Beth-Shean in the Schwan Concert Hall.  The event is free and open to the public.

On Sundny afternoon Oct. 21 students and faculty will be traveling 45 min. to a small cemetery near Burlington WI called Mt. Hope.  This cemetery was active from 1840-1888, sits in the back of a farmer’s field, and has been abandoned and left to nature for over 100 yrs.  The WLC Student History Association will start a renovation and preservation project that will involve surface archaeology, historical research and mapping and preservation of the site.  This will be a great hands-on opportunity to learn and prserve a historical site.  The project will continue with a full-day of clean-up of the site in November, and further preservation projects in the spring.  We will be working together with members of the Burlington Historical Society, and this will serve as the History club’s community service project for the year.