Why Not Magic? Magic, Esoterica, and the Occult in the History of Science

Catalog description

This HSOC capstone seminar will explore the history of magic across premodern Europe, North Africa, and western Asia via some of the major methodological and theoretical approaches of STS and history of science. How did magical practices, including those for divination and healing, influence the development of experimental method? Why were so many figures deemed influential or pivotal in the history of science also credited with practicing magic? Explore the hidden links between practices now derided as occult or superstition and what is considered scientific and learn the secret history of how magic and science are related.