Folklore and Magic in the Age of Shakespeare

Cardiff University’s Centre for Life Long Learning to offer new course:

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Beliefs about magic and folklore were an integral part of Shakespearean drams and the plays of his contemporaries. This course examines the cultural background of these beliefs and the contexts in which they arose and how they enhance our understanding of Shakespeare’s world.

This course aims to provide students with knowledge and understanding of issues relating to beliefs and motifs incorporated into British dramas in the 16th and 17th centuries, together with a context for the relevant historical debates regarding these topics.

Syllabus content to include:

• Shakespeare’s World: Magic and History
• Plants and Folk Medicine in Shakespeare’s Plays
• Fairy Lore
• Night’s Black Agents: Witchcraft in the Age of Shakespeare
• Magicians and Philosophers: The role of Ritual Magic
• Magicians Real and Imagined: John Dee from Bloody Mary to James I
• The Story of Faust: Marlowe and chapbooks
• Spirits from the Vasty Deep: Shakespeare and Welsh magic.
• The Poisoners Handbook: Elizabethan and Jacobean Blood Tragedies.
• The Vexed Bermoothes – Exotic travel and the Otherworld

Course Information

Title:

Folklore and Magic in the Age of Shakespeare

Tutor:

Dr Juliette Wood

Code:

FOL11A4667A– Enrol

Credits:

10 Credits

Level:

Level 1

Starting:

19-Jan-2012

Duration:

10 weekly meetings

Days:

Thursdays from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Cost:

£102.00 (Concessionary Fee £82.00)

Venue:

Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning
Senghennydd Road
Cardiff
CF24 4AG
Tel: 029 2087 0000
Fax: 029 2066 8935

Find out more here