{"id":136015,"date":"2023-10-26T00:08:03","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T04:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=136015"},"modified":"2023-10-25T22:38:22","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T02:38:22","slug":"university-to-offer-masters-degree-in-witchcraft-magic-and-occult-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/university-to-offer-masters-degree-in-witchcraft-magic-and-occult-science\/","title":{"rendered":"University to offer master’s degree in witchcraft, magic and occult science"},"content":{"rendered":"

Professor says she’s seen a \u2018surge in interest\u2019 from students<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A new master\u2019s degree in witchcraft, magic, and occult science is scheduled to be offered September 2024 at the University of Exeter in England as faculty cite growing student interest.<\/p>\n

The new program will explore \u201cspecific interests within the long and diverse history of esotericism, witchcraft, ritual magic, occult science, and related topics,\u201d and \u201cbuild interdisciplinary expertise,\u201d according to the university website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Students will study history, literature, philosophy, archaeology, sociology, psychology, drama, and religion to understand \u201cthe role of magic on the west and east,\u201d The Guardian<\/em> reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cA recent surge in interest in magic and the occult inside and outside academia lies at the heart of the most urgent questions of our society,\u201d Professor Emily Selove, director of the new program, told the newspaper.<\/p>\n

The new post-graduate program will be housed within the university\u2019s Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies. The placement will help students understand \u201cthe Arabo-Islamic cultural heritage back where it belongs\u201d with \u201cdecolonisation, the exploration of alternative epistemologies, feminism, and anti-racism\u2026at the core\u201d of the program, according to its website.<\/p>\n

The university refused to comment to The College Fix<\/em> when asked about the new program, including how many students it anticipates will participate and why it believes the new major is unique and beneficial.<\/p>\n

Selove told<\/a> the BBC<\/em> the new program \u201cwill allow people to re-examine the assumption that the West is the place of rationalism and science, while the rest of the world is in a place of magic and superstition.\u201d<\/p>\n

The practices of witchcraft and magic have been growing in recent years.<\/p>\n

In 2017, a Market Watch<\/em> article<\/a> began with the headline, \u201cWhy millennials are ditching religion for witchcraft and astrology.\u201d The report cited<\/a> a Pew Research study at the time that found 25 percent of Americans identify with no religion, up from 18 percent in 2011.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, a 2014 National Science Foundation poll<\/a> found nearly half of Americans say astrology is either \u201cvery scientific\u201d or \u201csort of scientific,\u201d up from about one third in 2010. The government foundation describes astrology as \u201cpseudoscience.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 2022 census report also showed a rise in the related practices of paganism and wicca in the United Kingdom, The Guardian<\/em> reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, this fall, the NYU Steinhardt Department of Art and Art Professions hosted<\/a> a sold-out Occult Humanities Conference in coordination with the Witch Wave Podcast. Sessions included “Witch Houses: The Magical Homes of the Matriarchy” and “Preserving and Presenting the Occult.”<\/p>\n

Commenting on the trend, Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky, said he believes witchcraft studies programs like the one at Exeter will spread \u201clike a virus\u201d to other higher education institutions across the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what happens when society is progressively evacuated of Christian content,\u201d Mohler said in his Oct. 18 podcast<\/a> The Briefing<\/em>. \u201cThe resulting space is not a vacuum.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another way to describe witchcraft and the occult is \u201cancient paganism,\u201d which \u201cfeeds so many of the obsessions of a secular culture right now: obsessions about gender, obsessions about sexuality,\u201d Mohler said.<\/p>\n

Last chance to\u00a0support student journalists<\/span><\/a>\u00a0during our Back to School fundraising campaign! We’re very close to our goal of $25,000. The deadline for the matching offer is quickly approaching so please\u00a0donate by Oct. 31<\/a>\u00a0to help us meet the goal. Thank you!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

MORE: More students, young Americans turn to paganism<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

IMAGE: Different Nata \/ Shutterstock<\/p>\n

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