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A UK university is set to offer a unique master's degree for next year's cohort of students related to magic.

The University of Exeter has launched a new postgraduate course called ‘Magic and Occult Science’ which will be on offer in 2024.

Discussing the degree, course leader Professor Emily Selove said: “A recent surge in interest in magic and the occult inside and outside of academia lies at the heart of the most urgent questions of our society.

"Decolonisation, the exploration of alternative epistemologies, feminism, and anti-racism are at the core of this programme.”

What will be taught in the Magic and Occult Science degree?

Modules in the degree include 'The Western Dragon in Lore, Literature and Art', 'The Legend of King Arthur', 'Philosophy and Psychedelics' and 'Theorising the Middle East'.

On its course page, it says: "The MA Magic and Occult Science is a unique programme that allows you to tailor a programme to your own interests by choosing a range of modules within humanities and social sciences, or by specialising in a certain area.

"The core module, ARAM251 Esotericism and the Magical Tradition is a team-taught module where students explore key topics including magic in Greece and Rome, occult texts in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the history of witchcraft, magic in literature and folklore, deception and illusion, and the history of science and medicine, among other key themes."

It adds that as the course is held within the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies it places "the Arabo-Islamic cultural heritage back where it belongs in the centre of these studies and in the history of the “West.”"

The first cohort for the course is due in September 2024. UK students will pay £12,000 to study the one-year programme full-time, while international students will be asked to fork out £24,300.

Academics with expertise in history, literature, philosophy, archaeology, sociology, psychology, drama, and religion will all contribute to teaching.

In terms of entry requirements, the course page says: "Normally a minimum of a 2:1 Honours degree (or international equivalent) in a social sciences or humanities discipline [is required].

"While we normally only accept applicants who meet these criteria, if you have a high 2:2 or equivalent, are coming from a different academic background which is equivalent to degree level, or have relevant work experience, we would welcome your application.?"

Watson has enrolled in MA in Creative Writing course

Emma Watson is returning to Oxford University this September, 10 years after she completed her first degree.

Previously, Watson attended Oxford during the 2011 to 2012 academic year as part of the Visiting Student Programme.

She took part in the programme while she deferred her degree at Brown University to focus on filming for the Harry Potter franchise, in which she starred as Hermione Granger.

The 33-year-old has now enrolled in MA in Creative Writing course starting in September 2023.

Her decision was revealed during an interview with the Financial Times, as she and her brother, Alex, announced the launch of their new organic, carbon-neutral gin.

Watson has reportedly remained closely affiliated with Oxford University through the years.

In 2016, the Beauty and the Beast star became a Visiting Fellow at Oxford’s Lady Margaret Hall. The role involved her being invited to attend debates and speak at the college.

Watson was a Visiting Fellow for three years, after which she was made an Associate Fellow in 2019.

In the FT interview, Watson explained her decision to step back from the world of acting.

“I wasn’t very happy, if I’m being honest,” she said. “I think I felt a bit caged.

“The thing I found really hard was that I had to go out and sell something that I really didn’t have very much control over. To stand in front of a film and have every journalist be able to say, ‘How does this align with your viewpoint?’

“It was very difficult to have to be the face and the spokesperson for things where I didn’t get to be involved in the process.”

Watson went on to lament that she didn’t “have a voice”, when being interviewed.

“I was held accountable in a way that I began to find really frustrating, because I didn’t have a voice, I didn’t have a say,” she said.

This is the second time the Harry Potter star has studied at Oxford

Pieter Snepvangers

News OXFORD

Emma Watson is set to become Britain’s best known uni student in September as she’s joining Oxford University to study a Master’s in creative writing.

In an interview with the Financial Times, the Harry Potter star revealed she’s going back to university having reignited her love for writing during lockdown when she begun writing poetry and a series of essays.

Emma, 33, previously went to Oxford University more than a decade ago when she studied English at Worcester College for a year in 2011 as a visiting student from Brown University in the United States.

She has however always remained closely affiliated with Oxford University. In 2016, Emma became a Visiting Fellow at Lady Margaret Hall. The non-academic role involved her being invited to attend debates and speak at the college.

Describing the role of Visiting Fellow at the time, college principal Alan Rusbridger said : “At a minimum we’d like them to drop in occasionally at college, eat with us and meet informally with a variety of the LMH (Lady Margaret Hall) community.”

After three years as a Visiting Fellow, she was made an Associate Fellow in 2019. The college praised her “valuable work” and highlighted her focus on promoting gender equality and women’s rights.

Emma is originally from Oxford and grew up studying at the Dragon School, a stone’s throw from Lady Margaret Hall, as well as Headington School in the east of the city.

Previously, a former Headington student told The Tab students were not allowed to approach the star for autographs and told not to speak to her if they did not know her.

Girls at the £20,000-a-year private school were apparently sat down by the Head of the Lower School when joining the school and told they would receive “penalty points” if they approached her.

Three penalty points and you were thrown into detention.

Headington graduate Lucy said: “Of course if you were friends with her you could speak to her, but no one was allowed to go up and ask for an autograph or anything.”

Another pupil, Lydia, said: ” I was really scared of getting a penalty point. At the time it would have been so embarrassing.”

However, a spokesperson for the school denied these claims, saying: “There were no special disciplinary measures implemented during Emma’s time at Headington School.’

It’s unclear yet which college Emma Watson will join when she begins her Master’s in September although we’re confident Oxford students don’t have to worry about penalty points or detentions.

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• Oxford University hits students with more than £180,000 in library fines in past five years

• Exclusive: Pupils at Emma Watson’s school weren’t allowed to approach her

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Featured image via HBO Max.

DOUGLAS, Mass. - Central Massachusetts native Tyler Desautels was one of eleven firefighters from Massachusetts who responded to help fight wildfires in Canada.

"In Quebec, they were hurting for man power badly," he said.

The crew from the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation spent two weeks relieving firefighters, putting out hotspots and preventing more fire from spreading.

"We were actually replacing 110 French army soldiers," Desautels said. "We'd fly in on helicopters and go in four of five man squads and they'd set us up in the middle of the woods with a pump site"

Desautels was tasked with working out of the country on unfamiliar terrain with different tactics, alongside international partners.

"A lot of moss and swampish areas," he said. "Here in the states, we like to dig hand lines and separate the fuels down to mineral soil to stop the fire from burning."

The Oxford native is also a call member with the fire departments in Millbury and Oxford. He said wildfires back home, like the one at Mount Pisgah earlier this year, helped prepare him to work with members outside of his own department.

"Because of the complexity, they brought in a task force, which I guess you could relate to bringing in other countries, or hand crews, firefighters from other departments from across the Commonwealth, coming in to help for a common goal," Desautels said.

DCR Chief Fire Warden Dave Celino said mutual aid like this is crucial when it comes to the wildfires in Canada, which span more than 25 million acres.

"Large, large fires that are now at the point where there's no way you are going to catch up to them," Celino said. "It will take, what we call a season ending event, like a lot of rain or snow."

Help from local firefighters like Desautels better prepares first responders to answer the call back home.

"We bring tactics and strategies that we've learned elsewhere and they learn from us, and that's a great success story from a mobilization like this," Celino said.

The relationship between Massachusetts and Canada is part of the Northeast Forest Fire Compact between the New England states, New York and all five eastern Canadian provinces.

WORCESTER, Mass. - Friends and family are sending cheerful messages to 11-year-old Olivia LaMountain.

What You Need To Know

“It’s really nice and kind," Olivia LaMountain said. "It's great to have a lot of friends and have them support you."

Olivia was feeling cold and tired a lot, so doctors ran some tests. She was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in September and is receiving chemotherapy at UMass Memorial Children's Medical Center.

“There have been days where it’s been rough and you don’t want to do anything, but other days it’s been like a normal day," LaMountain said.

She’s spent more than a month in the hospital, but Olivia has a big team of family and friends from Central Massachusetts rallying around her.

A lot of them are participants in this year’s UMass Cancer Walk and Run. They’re holding signs, wearing matching t-shirts, and some are even rocking tutus.

“The outpouring of support from her dance studio, her school, all the community. They had a day for her at school where they wore her favorite color," Lisa Quitadamo, Olivia’s grandmother, said. "It’s just been amazing."

Team Olivia Strong is made up of about 130 people and raised more than $14,000 to help with cancer research and trials at UMass Chan Medical School.

“It’s great that the money is going to them to do the research, to hopefully find some sort of cure. Even if Olivia doesn’t have a cure for it now, and medicine they have currently is working for her which is great." Alex LaMountain, Olivia's mother, said. "If they can find a cure for somebody down the road, I am so happy to be a part of it."

And even though Olivia couldn’t attend the walk because of her condition, she says she’s feeling the support of those who love her.

“It makes me feel like I got it," Olivia said. "I can do it."

Olivia has about two years of treatments and tests left, but she was released from the hospital Saturday. Her family celebrated with a drive by celebration for her after Sunday's walk.

Nearly 3,000 people registered to participate in the event overall. Organizers expected to raise more than $650,000.