Researching Esotericism & Witchcraft in Academia

A Livestream Class with Dr. Angela Puca

Sunday, February 18 at 9:00 am in The Mercury Atrium

Most Pagans and magic practitioners are surprised that topics such as Paganism, ceremonial magic, shamanism, and other such occult practices are studied in universities and researched by academics. As an academic in the field herself, Dr. Angela Puca is passionate about bridging the gap between the ‘Ivory Tower’ and the communities of practitioners.

This class will provide an overview of the study of esoteric practices in the academy, the different fields that research them in Humanities and Social Sciences, as well as the difference between approaching the occult as a practitioner and as a scholar.

In this class, we will cover the following:
- the history of the academic study of esoteric and Pagan practices
- the different fields and their related perspectives on magic
- how to find and identify reliable academic sources on the matter
- the difference between emic and etic perspective
- the tools to ‘fact check’ historical claims made by practitioners.

The academic scholarship doesn’t intend to provide the truth - as that is more of a metaphysical/religious endeavour - but helps find accurate knowledge that may be helpful to esoteric practitioners to navigate their belief system, worldview and practices with higher awareness.