A History of Magic: From the Magi to Merlin
UndergraduateMAQ-AHIX32022025
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Enrol by
- 20 July 2025
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 13 weeks
- Start dates
- 28 July 2025
- Price from
- $2,160
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
A History of Magic: From the Magi to Merlin
About this subject
On successful completion of this subject, you will be able to:
- Analyse and critique primary sources about magic from the ancient to early modern periods with a view to understanding how different perspectives impact cultural phenomena.
- Understand key theoretical concepts and definitions used to describe magical practice over time, how these shape methods of analysis and what the advantages of such approaches might be.
- Consider critically the impact of later academic and popular discourses on the scholarly study and general understanding of ancient and medieval magic.
- Classify and interpret textual, documentary, and artifactual material in terms of technical or genre-based aspects, types of discourses, and their aims ad functions.
- Effectively and with academic integrity use written and oral communication skills appropriate to professional research and in accordance with publication standards using professional guidelines.
- Work effectively as a team to apply knowledge of ancient practices and their socio-cultural settings to modern contexts
- Navigate specialised databases and integrate search results into research reporting.
- A week-by-week guide to the topics you will explore in this subject will be provided in your study materials.
This unit surveys the history of magic from the ancient world to the present day, covering cultures from the Ancient Near East, Egypt and the Graeco-Roman world, Late Antiquity, Medieval and Renaissance Europe, down to the early modern world, as well as aspects of cognitive psychology such as perceptual illusions and delusional beliefs. It provides thorough coverage of the way magic has been defined, understood, and used in these civilisations, and the way it has been conceived and studied in the history of modern scholarship over the past two centuries. Students will focus closely on the material sources for ancient magic, especially handbooks of spells and amulets on papyrus. There will also be close consideration of the construction of magic as an antithesis to religion in the ancient and modern worlds, and a focus on the role, use, and understanding of magic in wider historical, literary, and scientific contexts.
- Quiz (40%)
- Magical Spell (15%)
- Academic Integrity Quiz (0%)
- Papyrological Report (45%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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Entry requirements
Prior study
You must have successfully completed the following subject(s) before starting this subject:
Others
NCCW (pre-2020 units) AHIS355
Pre-requisite: AHIX2225 and AHIX2250
Additional requirements
- Other requirements - Students who have an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion under Macquarie University's Academic Progression Policy are not permitted to enrol in OUA units offered by Macquarie University. Students with an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion who have enrolled in units through OUA will be withdrawn.
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
What to study next?
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
UndergraduateMAQ-ART-DEG
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