The Real History of Witches and Witch Hunts

Audio Sample:

Heralded as one of the world’s greatest scholars of scholars of late medieval religious heterodoxy, Thomas Fudge combines scholarly insight with great storytelling.

For centuries, the idea of witches living in our midst has enthralled us. How did this fascination develop? Why did it lead to the persecution of thousands of accused “witches,” most of them women? What does the history of witch hunts reveal about our identities and Western civilization at large?

Holding doctorates in both medieval history and theology, Prof. Fudge is the perfect guide for this audio course on witch-hunting. Under his tutelage, you will discover how a culture of paranoia developed, why those ideas appealed to men and women in the 16th and 17th centuries, and what effects linger even today. Throughout this 18-part series you will analyze primary sources to understand and contextualize the regulation, detection, and prosecution of alleged witchcraft.

By studying the medieval foundations for modern manifestations of witch-hunting—like McCarthyism—you will become more conscientious of the social dynamics of witch-hunts. As Prof. Fudge underscores, witches are a topic “used, misused, and abused.”

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