New course teaches history of Salem witch trials

West Virginia University honor students have the opportunity to learn about U.S. history in a new way, thanks to a course that chronicles the Salem witch trials.

Honors 412 will assign students to research one individual who was accused of witchery during the historic period throughout the semester, said Professor Kevin Gooding.

Gooding said though most have heard about the infamous Salem witch trials, many don't know the difference between the facts and popular cultural interpretations.

"The trials have occupied part of our national identity. There aren't many people who haven't heard of the trials at some point, either in middle school or high school," he said.

"It was a very violent, nasty period, and more than 20 people were executed as a result of this."

Gooding, who earned his Ph.D. in American history at Purdue and is a Methodist pastor, said he wanted to teach a course on the gloomy subject for years.

"Here's an event that we're still not really sure why it happened," Gooding said. "There's no consensus on what really happened, yet it captured a corner of our national identity. It's still an open discussion and crops up in historical interpretation, poetry, drama, art – everything."

Gooding said the class is an opportunity for students to better understand the present by learning from the past.

"It is a good thing to look at the ways it has been interpreted, not only in history, but in art and other mediums, as well," he said.

The Honors College class is offered only in the fall and challenges students to approach history as something other than reciting the past.

The unique course also offers non-history majors the opportunity to experience higher level historical work than they might otherwise be exposed to, Gooding said.

"The class gives students the opportunity to engage in historical thinking and work in a way they normally wouldn't engage in unless they were history majors," he said. "It's a fun time."

For more information about the Salem witch trials course, contact the Honors College at 304-293-2100.