Courses

In 1918, German sociologist Max Weber lamented that scientific innovation had made the world too transparent––disenchanted, devoid of magic. However, even in current times, characterized by information on demand, ubiquitous connectedness, and hyper-rationalization, magic and belief in the supernatural continue to operate and fascinate in the Western world. Think, for instance, of TikTok “ghost cams,” or the incorporation of terms like manifesting or ritual into popular discourses of personal success and self-care. At the same time, we may argue that enchantment never disappeared in many parts of the world: consider the reclamation of the term “brujx” to designate a syncretic spirituality connected with queerness and Latinx ethnicity. In response to these trends and the normalization of magical language in the mainstream, this seminar proposes an expansive an intersectional investigation of what “magic” has meant in the Hispanic world: organized in a loosely chronological manner, it delves into the conceptual roots and historical relevance of notions of magic and supernatural in the Greater Caribbean (Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia), Spain, Guatemala, Argentina, Bolivia, and Mexico and its US border. With a combination of written, cinematic, pictorial, and audio primary and secondary texts, the seminar addresses the political implications of magical belief and practices; the affects and relationships that magic metaphorizes in literature; the role of belief in configuring socioeconomic hierarchies in colonial and postcolonial contexts; and the uses of popular spirituality to assert agency against the forces of colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchy.