“Mediterranean Magic: An Introduction”
Mediterranean Studies Summer Skills Seminar
10-13 June 2024 • Remote
The Summer Skills Seminar, “Mediterranean Magic: An Introduction” will be held via Zoom from Monday, 10 June to Thursday, 13 June 2024 from 10am to noon and 1pm to 3pm MDT.
Late registration to 3 June
Course overview
If we were a Mediterranean magician, especially in the premodern period, what skills would we have and how would we have been represented in contemporaneous fiction? How would we define magic? Who else practiced it? How was it imagined? How did it intersect with religion and science? Throughout the centuries, among other hubs, medieval Spain was home to the creation, circulation, and translation of magical material in Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and Spanish. Despite moments of persecution, it is there that Hermetic philosophy resurfaced and Kabbalah took shape. The coexistence, collaborations, and conflict between Christians, Muslims, and Jews fostered the social landscape that facilitated the blending of diverse occult practices and traditions. Many of these traditions crossed borders and blended into modern esoteric practices today.
This four-day intensive skills seminar will not only provide participants with an overview of magic’s history (broadly defined) throughout the premodern period but also introduce them to recurring patterns in magical practice and representation, significant symbols, and even tools for bringing similar material into their classrooms or personal reflections. As much as possible the content will be catered to participants interests and needs. Medievalists of all disciplines and ranks, graduate students, qualified undergraduate students, library and archival professionals, independent scholars, and modern magic practitioners or enthusiasts are encouraged to apply. Participants will leave with a stronger grasp of magic’s significance in Mediterranean history, the ability to recognize important symbols, and a thirst for discovering further magical connections within their fields and interests. Hands-on sections will be dedicated to internalizing new symbols and patterns as well as developing strategies for classroom instruction and/or practice.
The first day is dedicated to conceptualizing magic. In the first section we will briefly introduce types of magic (benevolent/natural, divine, and maleficent) and how they manifested in the three main religions in the Peninsula (Christian, Jewish, and Muslim magic). This will lead us into a discussion on magic and the law as well as various translation efforts that sparked the continued spread of occult practices. The second section will be more theoretical as we explore how in the Middle Ages and today magic is at the “crossroads” between many other fields of knowledge. What effect did this have then and now with “modernity”? We will also explore the “myth of disenchantment” and how magic remains relevant today, albeit in different forms.
Since astrological knowledge was often the prerequisite for medieval magical usage, the second day will be entirely dedicated to this field of knowledge. What is astrology? How did it inform their Ptolemaic and Neoplatonic cosmology? What are some astrological glyphs and what correspondences (primarily drawing on the Picatrix/Ghayāt al-Hakīm) did the celestial bodies have? As we discover these connections we will do some hands-on inferences and practice as we learn the language of the sky. The second section will then provide an overview of astral magic and review some magical prologues further establishing the importance of mastering this discipline. We will close the day with one example of magic that deviates from this requirement with the more rural Morisco magic.
The third day brings us into the world of imagination and societal reflections. In the first section we will explore the way magic showed up in Mediterranean stories of miracles, movement, and go-betweens. The second section will focus on fictional monsters and the marvelous closing with some very brief pop culture references. We will also do a hands-on activity reviewing some magical symbols and references seeing how they manifest in fiction.
The final day takes us out of fantasy and into the practical. What type of solutions did magic offer? Beyond planetary manipulation, how else could magicians effect change? We will also explore the most profound change of all—the internal one. We will explore ways neoplatonic thought influenced the quest for unity with creation. The second section will take us into a recap of the various networks magic created and explore ways we could visually represent this using digital tools like Knightlab. We will also hint at modern echoes and contemporary practices like tarot since it too was has premodern origins and was dependent on Mediterranean networks.
A reading list will be provided for each day with required and suggested sources.
This Summer Skills Seminar builds on the experience of earlier editions, which participants signaled as “transformative” in terms of their research, and which provided them with an opportunity to network and lay the foundations for future collaborations. For information and participant reviews of our former Skills Seminars (Ladino/Judezmo & Aljamiado) see here.
Faculty
This course will be conducted by Prof. Veronica Menaldi (Modern Languages, University of Mississippi), a specialist of medieval and early modern Spanish literature and culture. She is currently the Vice President of the Societas Magica. She was also a participant in two Summer Skills Seminars (Aljamiado and Ladino/Judezmo). Her publications and interdisciplinary research explore socioreligious cultural contact primarily through the use and representation of magic or food in the Peninsula and Colonial Spanish America emphasizing Andalusi influence or Morisco production on both sides of the Atlantic and across the Mediterranean. Her monograph, Love Magic and Control in Premodern Iberian Literature was published in 2021 by Routledge. Among other projects including public humanities endeavors, she is currently exploring the intersection of magic and death.
Fees
$1000 for Full Professors, Librarians & Professionals
$750 for tenured Associates, Emerita/us, Retired Faculty, Independent Scholars & Non-Academics;
$500 for non-tenured Associates and Assistants & Graduate and Undergraduate students;
$350 for Adjuncts, Lecturers & Contingent faculty.
Members of University of Colorado departments may be eligible for a discount.
Applicants who are (1) nationals; (2) current residents; (3) AND faculty or students in low-per-capita GDP countries may apply for a reduction (please see below).
Payment information will be provided at the time of acceptance. Posted fees do not include a 5% processing fee. NB - fees have not changed since 2017, we anticipate an increase of 10% for 2025.
Application & Information
There are no prerequisites apart from an interest in magic, astrology, and occult science in both culture and literature. While many primary texts are in Spanish, Arabic, Hebrew, Galician-Portuguese and more, they will be discussed and available in English translation. Among other texts, for some background reading see Richard Kieckhefer, Magic in the Middle Ages; Jason Josephson Storm, The Myth of Disenchantment; and Sophie Page and Catherine Rider, The Routledge History of Medieval Magic.
Please note: sessions will not be recorded; synchronous attendance is required.
The regular application period is until April 15 [Late registration to 3 June].
Applicants will be advised of acceptance on April 21. Payment of no less than 50% of the course tuition is due on April 28, with the balance due on May 7. Applicants waiting on a grant or subvention may request an extension for the second payment.
Late applicants may be accommodated if space remains. Full payment will be due within three days of acceptance, including a $50 surcharge for late applications.
All payments are final and non-refundable. A letter of confirmation/ receipt will be provided by the Mediterranean Seminar.
Apply via this form.
For further information or inquiries, contact mailbox@mediterraneanseminar.org subject: “Summer Skills Information”)
Important dates:
Application period: 15 April 2024 [Late registration to 3 June]
Acceptance/stand by notifications: 21 April 2024
Full payment: 7 May 2024 (subject to extension for late applicants/ or pending grants)
NOTE: Numbers are limited; participants are encouraged to apply early. [download poster]
Proposed Program
Monday, 10 June 2024: Magic and Theory
10am—noon & 1—3pm
1. Defining Magic: Types of magic • Christian, Jewish, and Muslim magic • Magic and the law • Translation efforts
2. Theorizing Magic: Magic at the “crossroads” • Magic and modernity • The “myth of disenchantment”
Tuesday, 11 June 2024: Astrology Prerequisite
10am—noon & 1—3pm
1. Lay of the Sky: Cosmology • Astrological glyphs • Correspondences
2. Examples and Deviations: Astral magic • Magical prologues • Morisco magic
Wednesday, 12 June 2024: Magic in Fiction
10am—noon & 1—3pm
1. Miracles and Movement: Cantigas de Santa Maria • Necromancer of Toledo • Go-betweens
2. Marvels and Monsters: Review of magical symbols and references • Marvelous sights in Alexandre the Great legends • Monsters in Amadis and Don Quijote • Popular culture
Thursday, 13 June 2024: Magic in Practice
10am—noon & 1—3pm
1. Solutions and Elevation: Hermetic magic • Hermetic magic • Neoplatonic theories of unity in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam
2. Travel, Tourism, and Tarot: Tracing magic • Spain as a destination (past and present) • Modern echoes and tarot