Miracles and Magic

Miracles and Magic: Facts, frauds, fictions. The module will be in introduction to miracles and magic, as it was viewed, practiced and described from Classical Antiquity, through the Old and New Testament times, and the Middle Ages, up to the early modern period and the 20th century. It will embrace an historical, literary and theological context and will have strong focus on comparative religion. The classes will be interactive seminars, mostly with a well-defined group of sources to analyze together. It will provide students with a working knowledge both in terms of theoretical narrative and in terms of practical ability to identify and interpret miracle narratives that are on the borderline between facts and fiction and analyze their historical, literary and religious background. It aims to give an overview of typological and historical development of miracle and magic and to foster a better understanding of the literary structures that form belief-narratives and equip students with the necessary tools that will allow them to analyze such sources on their own.