ITAL 140 - Magic, Religion and Science in Italy

This course approaches the study of magic in medieval and Renaissance Italy as a crossroads where different pathways converge. First, it is a point of intersection between religion and science. Second, studying Italian society through the lenses of magic, religion and science provides a crossroads where popular culture meets with learned culture. As we cover topics from love potions and spells, astrology, alchemy and natural philosophy, students explore fundamental ideas and concepts, beliefs and practices that characterized pre-modern European intellectual thought. Taught in English