Training in writing expository prose. Instruction in expository writing in conjunction with reading literature. Satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement.

The theory of disenchantment, as formulated by Max Weber, would have us believe that we live in an age of rationality, science, and secularism. Yet even contemporary society’s obsession with horoscopes, tarot cards, and new age beliefs destabilizes the notion that ours is a disenchanted world. The theory of disenchantment takes as its starting point the surge of natural and human sciences – think of Charles Darwin, and the field of anthropology – in the 19th century, when technological advancements ran parallel to the expansion of colonial projects. As the theory goes, religion lost its appeal in a Western world overflowing with narratives of progress and conquest, and scientific discoveries that seemed to negate the truth of religious doctrine. Suddenly, people needed something new to believe in. For some, this need was fulfilled by a belief in science and technology, in man’s ability to conquer nature, or in the cultivation of humanism. Yet, contrary to Weber’s theory, others remained curious about the power of things unseen. Using scientific models and modes of inquiry, these people – many of whom were important modern thinkers we wouldn’t intuitively connect to the occult – immersed themselves in the study of all things supernatural and magical. They conducted seances, experimented with telepathy, practiced astral projection, learned astrology, explored alchemy, and more. Several also returned to older, often non-Western, traditions of belief as a means of creating new systems for the modern individual. Perhaps, then, modernity is more enchanted than we might think. Rather than a theory of disenchantment, we might instead consider disenchantment a myth. In this course, we will read firsthand accounts of supernatural events, as well as short stories and novels that take on the subject of the occult from the 19th century onwards. We will discuss the nature of belief, and why so many “modernized” people believed and continue to believe in things that exceed the bounds of reason. We will also investigate how an interest in the occult has coincided with orientalist fantasies. Possible readings may include texts by William James, Henry James, Shirley Jackson, Mary Shelley, H.G. Wells, Bram Stoker, and more.

Requisites

• Satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing Requirement

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills