ASH3002y Reading Assignment
February 15, 1999

The Witches of Salem, the Magistrates of Boston

Required reading:

• David D. Hall, Witch-Hunting in Seventeenth-Century New England: A Documentary History:
  • Introduction
  • Chapter 1: The Early Cases (1638-1651)
  • Chapter 18: The Salem Witch-hunt (1692)
  • Appendix: Statutes Relating to Witchcraft in New England
  • One additional chapter of your choice. Please post your selection to the bulletin board, so that we can cover the book collectively. Come to class prepared to be the point-person on your chosen chapter in our discussion.
• Boyer and Nissenbaum's study of Salem in Salem Posessed:  The Social Origins of Witchraft
  • For the purposes of this class, I recommend that you read the article-length version of their study, "Salem Possessed:  The Social Origins of Witchcraft," in Katz and Murrin, Colonial America:  Essays in Political and Social Development, 3d edition, pp. 343-372.  There are multiple copies of this text in the Columbia library system, including two on reserve at Barnard (call number HN57 .C584 1983).   Note that the Boyer and Nissenbaum essay is found only in the 1983 edition.
  • You may also choose to read the book-length version of Boyer and Nissenbaum's study by the same title.   There are at least 14 copies of this text in the Columbia library system, including several copies on reserve in the Barnard library (call number BF1576 .B6). 

Related web sites:

• Famous American Trials:  Salem Witchcraft Trials:  1692
• Salem Witch Trials Chronology
• Salem Witchcraft Hysteria: This describes itself as a National Geographic Interactive Feature. It's not particularly interactive, but it may give you some ideas about ways to use the web in your own projects.
• Salem Witch Museum
• Presentations by students in ASH 3002y:
  • Elizabeth Goodwin:  Thoughts on Witchcraft; Mather vs Goodwin
  • Emily Hawkins:  Sarah Good of Salem Village
  • Ben Koush:  Cases of Witchcraft outside of New England in the Early Colonial Period
  • Stephanie Levin:  The Contest of Wills in Salem, Massachusetts
  • Jessica Martin:  Witches as Female Scapegoats:  Misogyny and Seventeenth Century Witch Hunting
  • Monica Mercado:  Elements of the 17th century Witch-Hunts in New England, or: The Unfortunate Realization of Mary Staples
    

There are many sites out there of variable quality. See what you find and let us know.