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Instructors: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Breul
Event type:
Seminar
Displayed in timetable as:
Hexenglaube
Hours per week:
2
Credits:
3,0
Language of instruction:
German
Min. | Max. participants:
3 | 25
Requirements / organisational issues:
The seminar is designed for graduate students (M.Ed. and Mag. Theol.).
The seminar is oriented towards strong participation of the students. In the first session, a number of topics will be proposed from which the seminar group will choose. The proposals may be supplemented by the students.
Compulsory attendance:
The legal regulations apply to the presence in the seminar. Active participation in the seminar sessions is required for active attendance. Non-participation in seminar sessions can be compensated by taking short presentations or other written performances.
Contents:
The topic of "witch hunts" is popular. In parishes and schools, representatives of the church are often asked about the topic - often in connection with a tendency to criticize the church.
Since the late 19th century, the topic has repeatedly been used for populist attacks on Catholicism, Christianity and male domination. In the process, the historical facts were usually coarsened and falsified. In contrast, the seminar "Witch Beliefs and Witch Hunts" aims to develop a reliable and close-to-source church-historical basis for this dark period of church history.
The first sessions will provide an overview of the historical framework and the witch persecutions. Subsequently, the following topics will be chosen:
- Concepts of witchcraft in antiquity and the Middle Ages.
- The beginnings of the conception of witchcraft in the alpine region
- The "Hexenhammer" (Malleus maleficarum)
- Luther and the persecution of witches
- Persecution of heretics by the Inquisition
- Secular witchcraft trials
- Male victims ("warlocks")
- Regional focus and case studies: Mainz, Fulda, Reutlingen, Kurzpfalz
- Contemporary criticism of the witch hunt
- Attempts to interpret the witch hunt
- Late witch trials (18th century) and ideas about witchcraft in the present day
- Historiography of the witch trials.
Seminar participants can contribute their own suggestions and help decide the selection of topics.
Digital teaching:
The seminar takes place in the presence.
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