Degree comprising 180 credits at the undergraduate level or equivalent + English 6 or equivalent.

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The aim of the course is that the student develops advanced knowledge on esotericism (e.g., hermeticism, neoplatonism, kabbalah, magic, astrology, alchemy, freemasonry, occultism) from late antiquity until today with a focus on issues of gender and sexuality. Since antiquity, esoteric currents have been characterized by different notions of sex, gender, and sexual identity. Alchemical, astrological, kabbalistic, and magical texts are permeated by gendered and erotic symbolism, and in modernity esoteric currents have shaped, and been shaped by, political movements such as the women’s movement and the LGBTQ movement. In this course, the student will analyze esotericism from a gender perspective as a dynamic and living religious phenomenon and identify both recurrent themes and points of tension, continuities, and changes.

On successful completion of the course the student will be able to

1. Independently account for and compare how a selection of esoteric currents have related to questions of gender and sexuality historically and today
2. Independently search for and evaluate academic research on esotericism, gender, and sexuality
3. Independently analyze and problematize esoteric primary sources from the perspective of theoretical frameworks that are central to the field

The course comprises different forms of learning activities such as lectures, seminars, academic writing, and peer response. The learning activities are developed based on the aim and purpose of the course in dialogue between students and teacher.

Exam 1: Written and Oral Presentation. 3 credits. Learning outcomes 1 and 2.

Exam 2: Paper. 4,5 credits. Learning outcome 3.

For a grade of Pass with credit on the course as a whole, it is necessary to receive Pass with credit on at at least 2/3 of the credits of the course.

Grading criteria are announced by the course coordinator at the start of the course.

For all assessments, the basis must be such that individual performance can be distinguished.

Feraro, Shai. 2020. Women and Gender Issues in British Paganism, 1945–1990. Leiden: Palgrave Macmillan. (321 p).

Hanegraaff, Wouter J. and Jeffrey J. Kripal (eds.). 2011. Hidden Intercourse: Eros and Sexuality in the History of Western Esotericism. New York: Fordham University Press. (Introduction, chapters 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 14, 16). (240 p).

Hedenborg White, Manon. 2021. “Double Toil and Gender Trouble? Performativity and Femininity in the Cauldron of Esotericism Research.” InNew Approaches to the Study of Esotericism, eds. Egil Asprem och Julian Strube, 182–200. Leiden: Brill. (18 p). https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004446458_011

Martin, Lucinda. 2020. “Jacob Böhme and the Spiritualist Reformation of Gender Exemplified by the Correspondence of Anna Magdalena Francke and the Angelic Brethren.” Daphnis 48: 214–246. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/18796583-04801007

Segol, Marla. 2021. Kabbalah and Sex Magic: A Mythical Ritual Genealogy. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. (220 p).

Snoek, Jan A.M. and Alexandra Heidle (red.). 2008. Women’s Agency and Rituals in Mixed and Female Masonic Orders. Leiden: Brill. (Introduction, chapter 4, 6, 8, 9). (102 p).

Urban, Hugh B. 2006. Magia Sexualis: Sex, Magic, and Liberation in Modern Western Esotericism. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. (Introduction, chapter 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8). (164 p).

Additional literature (approx. 200 pages) in the form of articles and book chapters will be provided by the teacher.

Malmö University provides students who participate in, or who have completed a course, with the opportunity to express their opinions and describe their experiences of the course by completing a course evaluation administered by the University. The University will compile and summarise the results of course evaluations. The University will also inform participants of the results and any decisions relating to measures taken in response to the course evaluations. The results will be made available to the students (HF 1:14).

If a course is no longer offered, or has undergone significant changes, the students must be offered two opportunities for re-examination based on the syllabus that applied at the time of registration, for a period of one year after the changes have been implemented. The syllabus is a translation of a Swedish source text.

If a student has a Learning support decision, the examiner has the right to provide the student with an adapted test, or to allow the student to take the exam in a different format. The syllabus is a translation of a Swedish source text.