AHSEM-UA 173 - The Spanish Inquisition

Institution:

New York University

Subject:

Description:

In contemporary media and in the wake of 9/11, the Spanish Inquisition has been used as shorthand to denote intolerance, persecution, fanaticism, and a disposition to cruelty in the pursuit of "truth." While some elements of this reputation are well-earned, the history of the Inquisition is far more complex and interesting. We begin the semester with the heated question of the origins of the Inquisition and its key role in nation building, in order to then turn to the Inquisition's internal organization and standard practices. From there, we consider the various targets of inquisitorial suspicion or persecution from the late 15th through late 17th centuries: Judaism and crypto-Judaism (the conversos), Protestantism, prohibited books, mystics and Illuminati, witches, Islam and crypto-Islam (the moriscos), and those accused of sexual or religious misconduct (blasphemy, bigamy, and sodomy). We close the semester considering what finally brought about the definitive abolition of the Inquisition in 1834. We will read transcripts from Inquisitorial trials, edicts and proclamations, historical chronicles, novels, plays, autobiographies, an Inquisitor's manual with instructions for torture, a witch-hunting treatise, and devotional literature. We also will examine more contemporary reflections: Dostoevsky's 1880 The Brothers Karamazov, Monty Python's 1970 "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition" skit, and the film adaptation of J. K. Rowling's 2003 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Credits:

4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.nyu.edu

Phone Number:

(212) 998-1212

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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