{"id":1783,"date":"2026-01-21T16:23:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T16:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/magic\/?p=1783"},"modified":"2026-01-21T21:56:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T21:56:56","slug":"sitting-down-with-charlie-clark-magic-museums-and-following-what-excites-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/magic\/2026\/01\/21\/sitting-down-with-charlie-clark-magic-museums-and-following-what-excites-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Sitting down with Charlie Clark: Magic, Museums and Following What Excites You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This post starts off a brand<\/em> new series on the Magic Centre blog. To read more as they come out see it’s homepage here<\/a><\/em>! If you or someone you know in the centre would like to take part, please message Vic at vk290@exeter.ac.uk<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, I sat down with Charlie Clark (they\/he)<\/strong>,a second-year PhD researcher at the IAIS Centre of Magic Studies, in the Ram Bar to talk all things Jewish magic, museums and what happens when you decide to follow the academic path that genuinely excites you\u2014even when it raises a few eyebrows at home <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(something that certainly a lot of us can probably relate to!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charlie\u2019s research focuses on Jewish magic and everyday religion, particularly what their intersections reveal about the daily concerns and social interactions of specific cultural groups. What stands out immediately is how human their approach to magic is. Rather than treating it as something strange or marginal, Charlie examines magic as a tangible part of ordinary life; one that exposes anxieties, invites humour and addresses relatable problems, even from a modern perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI fell in love with magic\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Alongside their doctoral research, Charlie is also deeply interested in museums and heritage. They\u2019re particularly drawn to questions around who owns objects, how they move through museum spaces, and what those movements say about where heritage belongs. It\u2019s an area they\u2019ve found themselves increasingly pulled toward during their PhD, one they feel isn\u2019t talked about nearly enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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Charlie’s replica of an incantation bowl typical of late antique Sassania\u2026 except the text is nonsense and the medium is a Spider-Man cereal bowl!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A replica gem that Charlie printed with support from the Digital Humanities team<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A third replica Charlie made of a miniature amulet bearing Hebrew text calling calling for the suppression of a town beneath Yose ben Zenobia, though fashioned from cardboard and tin foil, and engraved with a Pok\u00e9mon chopstick!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Some replica pieces Charlie has made during their studies<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Charlie\u2019s shares with me how their route into magic wasn\u2019t planned from the start, but it also wasn\u2019t entirely accidental. They came to the field through theology, with a strong interest in Abrahamic traditions and, especially, in hearing individual stories rather than subscribing to top-down religious narratives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things really clicked during their undergraduate degree at the University of Bristol, when Anne Burberry came to teach a course on magic and the Abrahamic religions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI fell in love,\u201d Charlie says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, magic became the focus of their undergraduate thesis and later their research master\u2019s in religion. Although Charlie describes themselves as having taken a fairly orthodox academic route\u2014having known they wanted to do a PhD from a young age\u2014magic kept resurfacing (as it often does!) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMagic appeared in my life and I thought, fuck it, let\u2019s go<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Languages, texts and \u201ca beautiful language\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Within their research, Charlie works with Ancient Greek and is also currently learning Arabic, which they describe as \u201ctough, but a beautiful language.\u201d For them, languages aren\u2019t just technical tools; they\u2019re a way of opening up new worlds, texts, and perspectives that shape how magic and religion are understood. It’s wonderful to hear them describe a recent lesson they had where they revel in the small but meaningful details that make the magic centre, within the Islamic and Arabic Institute, a special place to be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry about what people think\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When I asked Charlie what advice they\u2019d give to students interested in studying magic, they didn\u2019t hesitate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be worried about what people think,\u201d they said. They talked honestly about how some people in their family (particularly those erring on the more traditional side!<\/em>) were initially concerned about what studying magic might mean. But, thankfully, those worries didn\u2019t last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople will be enthusiastic and get on board,\u201d Charlie explained. \u201cMy grandma got fully into it!” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Charlie, the field is simply too interesting to avoid because of other people\u2019s expectations. If it excites you, they think it\u2019s worth taking seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n
An exhibition Charlie put together titled “Magic and Law: “Witchcraft” Then and Now” displayed in the Forum Library<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where magic meets museums: Where does Charlie see themselves in 5 years?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now 2 years into their PhD journey, Charlie has found their interests expanding beyond texts alone. They\u2019ve become increasingly drawn to heritage and object studies (see above)<\/em>, especially the movement of objects through museum spaces and the ethical questions that come with that movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s work that bridges scholarship and public engagement, and it\u2019s where Charlie hopes to head next. In five years\u2019 time, they see themselves either in a postdoctoral role or working within the museum sector, continuing to think critically about objects, heritage and the stories we tell about the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019d like to hear more about Charlie\u2019s work, they\u2019re happy to chat and can be contacted at cc1370@exeter.ac.uk<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post starts off a brand new series on the Magic Centre blog. To read more as they come out see it’s homepage here! If you or someone you know in the centre would like to take part, please message Vic at vk290@exeter.ac.uk Recently, I sat down with Charlie Clark (they\/he),a second-year PhD researcher at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2759,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[43,81,79],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSitting down with Charlie Clark: Magic, Museums and Following What Excites You - The Centre for Magic and Esotericism<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/magic\/2026\/01\/21\/sitting-down-with-charlie-clark-magic-museums-and-following-what-excites-you\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sitting down with Charlie Clark: Magic, Museums and Following What Excites You - The Centre for Magic and Esotericism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This post starts off a brand new series on the Magic Centre blog. 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