Witches and Wizards: From Hecate to Harry Potter
Examines witchcraft and wizardry tales from sixteenth-seventeenth century England to contemporary fiction, exploring their connections to religion, the supernatural, and debates on reality.
Summary
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2026: 3.68 GPA, 84.2% A/AB (n=19 letter grades).
What you’ll be able to do
Compare diverse systems of religious belief in a variety of contexts, developing a strong trans-historical understanding of the ways in which magic and religion (especially western religions) interact
Analyze written texts about magic and witchcraft, especially through the lens of religious studies
Utilize a variety of resources and methods of research across disciplinary lines, including, especially, the disciplines of religious studies, and literary and historical research
Demonstrate knowledge of major forms, techniques, social conditions, values, and genres that shaped the representation of magic in the English-speaking world
Compare contradictory critical perspectives
Question critical assumptions
Write original, coherent, and compelling arguments that push beyond summary to analysis and independent and critical thinking in clear prose that meets expectations for grammatical correctness
Source: UW Guide
Grade history
↗All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
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Prerequisite text tree
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Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
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Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
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Meeting source records
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Student experience
the class
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2026: 3.68 GPA, 84.2% A/AB (n=19 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
No workload feedback recorded.
Topics
- Historic representations of witchcraft and wizardry in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England.
- Contemporary depictions of witchcraft and wizardry in children's stories and young-adult fiction.
- Issues concerning religion, science, language, and the nature of reality.
- Major forms, techniques, social conditions, values, and genres shaping magic representation in the English-speaking world.
Skills
- Analyze written texts about magic and witchcraft through a religious studies lens.
- Compare diverse systems of religious belief and understand the interaction between magic and religion across history.
- Utilize interdisciplinary research methods in religious studies, literature, and history.
- Write original, coherent, and compelling analytical arguments in clear, grammatically correct prose.
Grades
Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
Catalog & offerings
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Catalog observation history
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Raw records
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Student reviews
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Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
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