A History of Magic: From the Magi to Merlin

About this subject

• What you'll learn

  On successful completion of this subject, you will be able to:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Consider critically the impact of later academic and popular discourses on the scholarly study and general understanding of ancient and medieval magic.
  4. Classify and interpret textual, documentary, and artifactual material in terms of technical or genre-based aspects, types of discourses, and their aims ad functions.
  5.  Effectively and with academic integrity use written and oral communication skills appropriate to professional research and in accordance with publication standards using professional guidelines.
  6. Work effectively as a team to apply knowledge of ancient practices and their socio-cultural settings to modern contexts
  7. Navigate specialised databases and integrate search results into research reporting.

• Topics covered

• Description

• Assessments

• Textbooks

• About Macquarie University

Entry requirements

Prior study

You must have successfully completed the following subject(s) before starting this subject:

• MAQ-AHIX2225-Rome and the Caesars

• MAQ-AHIX2250-Ancient Egypt: Culture and Society

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 Students with an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion who have enrolled in units through OUA will be withdrawn.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.