i put a spell on you
15 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment
The past few weeks I’ve been analyzing and reading through numerous primary sources based on the Salem witch trials in 1692 for my 711 class. Most of my sources were manuscripts or books written by men who were indirectly involved with the trials. Some were supportive of the events and judicial ruling, but most condemned the afflicted and the evidence used to arrest and convict the accused.
I’ve also read a lot of secondary sources that offer numerous explanations for the hysteria in Salem. While some authors try to objectively consider the possibility of witchcraft in Salem, others look for political, economic, and scientific reasons to explain the tragic events. Each different approach provides further insight into the mystery of the Salem witch trials.
There was one article by David Harley called Explaining Salem: Calvinist Psychology and the Diagnosis of Possession that I’m considering using as a basis for my thesis for the final project. He states that his “intention here is to show that the distinction between the effects of witchcraft and possession was important in several cases before 1692 and that it played a crucial role in the collapse of the Salem trials and subsequent explanations” (310). He discusses and compares various works (that I’m also using in my thesis for 711) analyzing the authors use and definition of affliction, bewitchment, and possession. I’m thinking about using the same sources he utilizes to test his argument using digital scholarship.
I was able to find digital texts of the sources and I’m glad to have that part out of the way. Although surprisingly most of them weren’t available through Google books. I’ve started exploring and playing with some of the sites from this week too, but I haven’t yet decided which method would work best for my idea. I’m a visual person myself, so I’ve been exploring a lot of the visual graphs on Many Eyes, and even found one related to the Salem trials. Although, I’m not really sure what it’s supposed to be visualizing. But it does change based on the words entered into the interface. I have a lot more playing to do with the websites and topics to determine where to go with my idea. Any thoughts, ideas, or questions would be greatly appreciated!
