Duke students will create their own 'spell book' in 'Radical magic' course exploring 'tarot' and 'incantations'
A Duke University writing course this fall will examine "Tarot, spells, and incantations" as students are tasked with creating their own "spell book."
A Duke University writing course this fall will examine “Tarot, spells, and incantations” as students are tasked with creating their own “spell book.”
The class, “Radical Magic,” is being offered through Duke University’s writing program and seeks to survey ”the ways in which magic and the supernatural have been coded as feminine, irrational, and sinister.”
According to the course description, topics of discussion in the class will include the Salem Witch Trials, ”19th -century spiritualist and occultist movements,” second-wave feminism in the 1960’s and 70’s, and will end with “witchcraft in our current moment.”
”We will explore the feminist and queer communities who have gravitated towards spells, incantations, and Tarot decks to provide a greater insight into a dominant world that was not made for them,” the description states.
As part of the class, students will also ”examine the literary qualities of Tarot, spells, and incantations, and question the distinction between writing and magic.”
For the course’s final project, students will be tasked with creating their own “personal grimoire, or spell-book.”
”Yes, you read that right—a spell book! This nontraditional assignment challenges the distinctions we often put between writing, crafting, art, and magic, and it will provide a space to try new things. Your grimoire will likely be playful, at times somber, but ultimately the tenor of your book will be defined by what excites you,” the description states.
