My professor made comments in yellow on the pdf I attached. If you click on the yellow small box next to each highlighted critique you will find his comments. He suggested the following for the rewrite: “Half of the paper should be about chapter 1 of Ginzburg Night Battles summarizing a concise overview. Include: Who the bendanti were? How do we know about them? What do they believe? What is the outcome of the confrontation with inquisitors?………..Then go on to explain: Why is this relevant to the other readings (Brucker and Cohn) , how does this connect with other readings, what is the significance? What does Ginzburg believe about the witches compared to Cohn and Brucker’s perspectives? How were the witches perceived/stereotyped by all authors. What was misinterpreted in folklore? Compare and contrast the three readings. Mention the caul through their birth more. Do not put any personal thoughts into it.”
The instructions for the full paper. “Paper length: minimum 5 double-spaced, typewritten pages (an eventual works cited page will not be included in the count). Max. length: 7 pages. Please include page numbers. You will be discussing the main reading: “Ginzburg, The Night Battles, chapters. 1-2” STRUCTURE OF PAPER: (From professor) I expect you to start with a summary of the piece’s contents, no more than 2 pp., outlining clearly and concisely what the author says. You should then follow with the analysis, or critical discussion, of the author’s main points. You have to explain what you think is relevant about these points – if anything – and what is the reading’s importance in the context of our course. This means you should be able to critically connect the piece to other readings. The readings you will connect are: Cohn, “The Demonization of Mediaeval Heretics”, pp 35-78 AND “Sorcerers” in Brucker, The Society of Renaissance Florence, pp 260-273. Use them to explain how different pieces/authors integrate and confirm one another – or disagree. If you feel the author (Ginzburg: Night Battles) is wrong in his/her main thesis, or has overlooked crucial arguments, explain why in a clear, articulate way. Be careful, though: you cannot blame an author for not discussing something that was out of the scope of his/her article (especially applicable when reviewing just one chapter out of a longer book). Every time you quote from the main reading (Ginzburg night battles) word-by-word, I expect you to give me exact pp. numbers between parentheses (no need to include author’s name or other details). If you quote from the other two readings from class (in Brucker and Cohn), I also expect you to provide both author’s name and title of piece besides pp numbers. Writing style: be simple. Avoid choosing a “difficult” or fashionable word just in order to sound sophisticated. Equally important is word choice, as I highly value precision. Plan what you want to say and organize your thoughts before actually writing. Keep in mind this: a paper should not be a mere transcriipt of a spontaneous speech, but a more complex organization of ideas, in the end helping *you* get a better grasp of the topic. Follow a logical thread in your analysis: don’t jump back and forth, avoid abrupt changes of topic from one sentence to the next. I have zero tolerance for spelling mistakes, and especially for sloppy grammar or syntax and poor word choice. To me, form is almost as important as content, and the paper’s grade will reflect this. Re-read carefully your paper to check for typos and missing words (a very frequent problem); run the spell checker; ask a friend to read it (very useful especially to get an outside opinion on whether what you wrote makes any sense at all…). Note from me: I attached the three readings you will be using and their page numbers for clarification The main one that this review is about is: Ginzburg Ginzburg, The Night Battles, chaps. 1-2 The two articles you will use to help connect each other is: Cohn, “The Demonization of Mediaeval Heretics”, pp 35-78 AND “Sorcerers” in Brucker, The Society of Renaissance Florence, pp 260-273. Let me know if you have any questions I know it is a lot.
