HISTORY 359 : Special Topic: Healers, Sorcerers and Astrologers c.300-900

Arts

2020 Semester One (1203) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

No prescription

Course Overview

'Healers, Sorcerers, and Astrologers c300-900' covers the development and practice of medicine, sorcery, and astrology from Late Antiquity until the early Medieval period. Students can expect introductions to the political, institutional, cultural, and religious shifts in this period, and how these changes affected practices such as gynecology, children's health, necromancy, protective magic, and casting spells and curses. Women's practices, small societies, law, and Christianisation will also be discussed extensively. Lecturers will discuss major criminal trials to demonstrate how late antique and early medieval societies understood--and sometimes feared--healing, sorcery, and astrology.

Tutorials for level 3 will cover various methodological approaches specific to understanding medicine, 'magic', religion, and women's history. Gender, women, and sexuality in depictions, conceptualisations, and accusations of sorcery will be examined throughout the course. Students will be expected to synthesise and apply different approaches, such as legal and gender analysis, to course work.

Course Requirements

No pre-requisites or restrictions

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Arts

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate understanding of methodological approaches to the study of medicine, sorcery, and astrology in the time period. (Capability 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3)
  2. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of different types of evidence and methodologies. (Capability 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Assignments 20% Individual Coursework
Essay 40% Individual Coursework
Essay 40% Individual Coursework

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course. For this course, you can expect 2 hours of lectures, a 1 hour tutorial, and approximately 7 hours of reading, thinking about the content, and working on assignments and/or test preparation.

Digital Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website at http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page (https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894), which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter (https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html).

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

Published on 19/12/2019 12:30 p.m.