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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Magic in the Middle Ages by Universitat de Barcelona

4.6
stars
1,606 ratings

About the Course

Magical thought has always attracted human imagination. In this course we will introduce you to the Middle Ages through a wide conception of magic. Students will have an approach to medieval culture, beliefs and practices from the perspective of History and History of Science. Popular magic, as well as learned magic (alchemy, geomancy and necromancy) will be addressed. Moreover, we will also deal with how eastern practices and texts influenced western culture. In July 2016, the course will contain a brand-new module devoted to astrology. Magic in the Middle Ages offers a captivating overview of medieval society and promotes reflection about certain stereotypes associated with this period. At the end of the course, the students: a) will have overcome the usual prejudices about the Middle Ages, b) will be able to analyze historical documentation from the Middle Ages and recognize the most common patterns of juridical documents regarding witchcraft, and c) will be capable of distinguishing between popular magic and the magic of the learned people; will have a notion of which spiritual practices were allowed in medieval Europe and which ones were related to the devil, and will be aware of the link between a cultural product and the society that produced it. This course is taught in English, although subtitles in English, Catalan and Spanish will also be provided. COURSE SYLLABUS Week 1. Introduction to medieval magic (Pau Castell). Week 2. Magic & Heresy (Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel). Week 3. From Magic to Witchcraft (Pau Castell). Week 4. Magic in Islam (Godefroid de Callataÿ and Sébastien Moureau). Week 5. Astrology & Geomancy (Theo Loinaz, Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel, Godefroid de Callataÿ and Blanca Villuendas). © Gemma Pellissa Prades (coord.), Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel and Joana Palau Mumany Magic in the Middle Ages by Gemma Pellissa Prades (coord.), Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel and Joana Palau Mumany is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License....

Top reviews

A

Feb 17, 2022

Thank you for preparing such an informative course from an objective perspective and allowing us students to gain a new view of seeing thi s still controversial-topic. It was well informative and fun!

BW

Mar 23, 2018

Helpful and insightful. I try to learn as much about witchcraft and all religions as I can. The first set of videos were well lit and well read. I recommend this for anyone who wants to learn more.

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151 - 175 of 524 Reviews for Magic in the Middle Ages

By Deleted A

Nov 29, 2016

Great lecturers, interesting material, easy to understand. Good course! But some background in history is desirable for students, in my opinion.

By Emmanuel A S P

Oct 3, 2016

Excelente curso. Interesante y emocionante. Una experiencia invaluable. Algo para mejorar son las evaluaciones porque en ocasiones son confusas.

By teresa p c

Nov 30, 2016

Un curso muy interesante sobre un tema que abre las puertas a conocimientos que no suelen fluir por la red con nivel académico.

Muchas gracias!

By Susana P

Oct 5, 2023

Very good course. The only set back is the Coursera platform itself, as peer assessments have problems and the platform has several glitches.

By Jessica R

Mar 15, 2021

the course is quite interesting! for putting a punch... it's all in English and for non-practitioners it's more jaleous. I'll give you a 10!!!

By juan c b m

Oct 30, 2020

Una gran experiència que espero tornar a repetir amb algun altre curs de la Universitat de Barcelona, gràcies i espero estar aviat a Coursera

By Emma S

Nov 14, 2019

So informative and fun to learn about how magic influenced and was incorporated into other religions and cultures. I truly loved this course!

By André M F

Aug 2, 2020

Realmente gostei muito do curso. Tudo foi feito com muita seriedade e dedicação, e aprendi muitas coisas interessantes. Recomendo altamente!

By Thomas L

Jul 22, 2017

Loved this introduction to the topic. No previous knowledge required. The MOOC necessarily only scratches the surface of this broad topic.

By Jorge L R

Nov 16, 2023

Gracias a todos los profesores de la Universidad de Barcelona que fueron instructores en este curso. He enriquecido mi cultura general.

By Penelope R H

Jun 14, 2018

This course was absolutely fascinating! I loved it and it was very interesting and enlightening ... I would love if you punch a part 2.

By Ekaterina G

May 29, 2020

Extremely interesting course on a very unusual and specific subject! The instructors are wonderful and organized the course very well.

By Gustavo C

Jan 26, 2018

Very interesting and well done !!! What surprised me the most is the neutral point of view (something rare in this sort of matter) !!!

By Tara D

Jul 8, 2020

I very much enjoyed this course it was very interesting and made you think about a lot of things that you may or may not have known.

By Haleigh B

Feb 5, 2018

I had a wonderful time taking this course. I learned all kinds of interesting facts. The professors were engaging and knowledgeable.

By Martha H

May 15, 2020

I absolutely loved this class! I'm a retired FBI agent and wanted to start taking classes to occupy my brain and I'm so glad I did!

By Jennifer N

Jul 10, 2018

This course was fun, informative and much more challenging then I anticipated. I really enjoyed the curriculum and the professors.

By Kamilya S

May 31, 2020

Excellent course, very engaging presentation - excellent mix of authors, sources, presenters! Very enjoyable & nicely structured.

By Faris K

Nov 12, 2017

Really interesting course indeed. I'm also pleased to have gained a certificate from the University of Barcelona. Well done all!

By Sandra S C

Oct 24, 2022

Me pareció un curso muy completo, abarcando temáticas súper interesantes y que amplió totalmente mi concepción de la Edad Media

By Adriana O

Mar 17, 2021

Very interesting course; the facilitators were very knowledgeable and explained the content very clearly. Loved the music, too!

By Warren P

Mar 5, 2019

Really interesting and colourful course. I particularly enjoyed the part about the influence of middle eastern magic on Europe.

By Angelina W

Dec 21, 2016

An excellent class with great historical references. The written assignments really coalesce the information in the lectures.

By ZAMORA M M S

Jun 28, 2020

Es un curso que me pareció sumamente interesante. Los docentes con gran conocimiento y expertis en los temas que presentaron.

By Kate S

Dec 11, 2017

Excellent information and delivery--in fact, I went through it twice! One of the best courses on Coursera that I've taken!