Course Details in 2026/27 Session

Module Title	LH The Figure of the Witch: Witch Writings c. 1400-1700
School	Eng, Drama, & Creative Studies
Department	English Literature
Module Code	09 37352
Module Lead	Dr Victoria Flood
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 2
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	The Figure of the Witch explores the representation of witchcraft between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, a transitional period in English, European, and American cultures of supernatural tale-telling. It explores the emergence, disappearance, and re-emergence of moral panics about witchcraft in evidence in texts produced during this long period, across two continents. The module encompasses a rich variety of texts, reading trial documents alongside literary works, exploring how imaginings of witches on the parts of legal authorities, accusers, and the accused themselves, were fuelled by stories of witches. From the figure of the witch in medieval romance to the role played by narrative construction in witchcraft testimonies and confessions, material covered will take us from medieval English fantasies of Morgan le Faye, to the witch-hunters’ handbook the Malleus Maleficarum, and the Salem witch-trials. The module is also alert to the legacies of the figure of the witch beyond the pre-modern period, which it explores as its point of departure, and to which it returns where relevant, using contemporary representations as a tool for the exploration of historical continuity and change in writing the supernatural.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: demonstrate understanding of the cultural foundations of medieval and early modern perceptions of magic and witchcraft, in literature produced in English and other European languages (read in translation). apply and evaluate relevant theoretical and critical approaches to the texts studied on the module demonstrate knowledge of the relationship between literature and cultural history, and the ways in which text shaped and were in turn shaped by the cultures that produced and consumed them. engage in preliminary independent research to support your analysis of medieval and early modern witch-writings.
Assessment	37352-01 : 4,000 Word Essay : Coursework (100%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: 4000-word essay (100%). Reassessment: No resits are permitted in final year. If students miss the assessed task owing to extenuating circumstances, the failed task would be rescheduled at a later date.
Other
Reading List