To participate in the discussions for this module, students must initiate a thread and clearly indicate in the subject line what specific question they are addressing in their posts.

Question 1: Why do you think that the conception of people who have the innate ability to do evil is found in so many different cultures?

Question 2: Do we have any similar ideas in our modern culture?

Question 3: What conceptions do modern Americans have of witchcraft and witches?

Question 4: In what ways does witchcraft reflect human culture and human nature?

Question 5: What is meant by the statement that the main way of becoming a witch is to be accused of being one? What are the implications for understanding the ways in which witchcraft accusations function in a society?

Question 6: What do you think of the role of the church in the European witch craze? How has the Catholic Church in more modern times dealt with such issues in its past as the Inquisition and the Crusades? Does the modern church bear any responsibility for these past actions?

Question 7: In many cultures witches are equally male or female, but in Europe and America witches are predominantly female. What was the underlying gender ideology that made this the case? Do you think this is still true? If so, to what extent?