The Centre for Magic and Esotericism
The Centre for Magic and Esotericism
Posted by thjs201
19 September 2024
One of our Centre members, Dr Jennifer Farrell (Department of Archaeology and History), is delivering a series of talks around the UK and Ireland on The History of Witchcraft and Feminism. The talks are organised and run by Seed Talks, an independent events company that aims to bring high quality academic content to popular audiences.
In them, Dr Farrell explores the history of the relationship between magic and gender in a European context, focusing in particular on the sorts of magical practices that have been (rightly or wrongly) associated primarily with women. What did magic look like in medieval Europe? Who was practicing it? What happened in the later middle ages to shape the gradual emergence of a new concept of witchcraft by the end of the fifteenth century? Why was this new crime predominantly associated with women? And why does the history of witchcraft speak to the interests of modern feminist movements?
All of these talks are developed with non-specialists in mind and so no prior knowledge of medieval or early modern history is required in order to enjoy them.
Excitingly, these events are also helping to build new communities! At the first of her talks, held at Jujus Bar and Stage in London, the combined in-person and online audience included over 750 people, and a book club dedicated to reading works on magic and witchcraft was formed by audience members in the online chat!
Current scheduled talks include Exeter Phoenix (Sep 25th), The Hen and Chicken, Bristol (Oct 23rd), Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (Nov 13th), and an online only talk on Nov 10th, with more dates and venues to be added in the new year! For more information on these events and for tickets, see https://www.seedtalks.co.uk/tickets . You can also follow Dr Farrell on Instagram @medievaljen