Medieval Superstition and Modern Skepticism

Michael Bailey, an associate professor of history at Iowa State, examines how magic and superstition have been defined in various historical eras and how these constructions have changed over time. He will discuss how Medieval superstitious beliefs like magic, astrology and divination often transcended religion and draw on rational and scientific thinking. Bailey is the author of Battling Demons: Witchcraft, Heresy, and Reform in the Late Middle Ages; Historical Dictionary of Witchcraft; and Magic and Superstition in Europe: A Concise History from Antiquity to the Present. College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Dean's Lecture Series