The Scent of Gods & Monsters: Olfaction & Belief

Sep 11, 2026 - Jun 11, 2027

Get a certificate by completing the program.

About

While our modern world prioritises sight and sound, our most primal and visceral sense, olfaction, has quietly guided the human soul between the sacred and the profane for millennia. This autumn, you are invited to cross the incense-laden threshold to another world. The Scent of Gods & Monsters: Olfaction & Belief is a new multi-lecture course running from October to December 2026, designed to help you unearth the aromatic architecture of faith, myth, and folklore. Together, we will wade through the thick smoke of ancient temples, sulphur-drenched witch trials, and perfumed gardens of the afterlife to discover how fragrance bypasses human logic and strikes directly at the heart of devotion and dread. By learning how our ancestors smelled the cosmos, you will unlock a deeper, more visceral understanding of what it means to believe. Along the way, we will explore how this information can inform your personal spiritual connections and inspire your olfactive art. Spaces are limited. Secure your place today. Questions? Contact us hello@atroposparfums.com

Price

Single Payment

US$120.00

Pay in Instalments

US$40.00/month

This course includes:

6 modules (and a bonus module)
Live lectures every two weeks (will be recorded for self-paced study)
Student discussion group
Office hours with the instructor
Live course runs Oct-Dec 2026
Enrolled students will have access for self-paced study until June 2027

Each module includes:

Pre-lecture thought exercise/reading
Live lecture
Recording of the lecture
Course materials
3 optional assignments (sensory, writing, and perfume-making)
Quizz

To receive the course certificate, students must:

Attend 6 lectures live or watch the recordings
Pass the 6 module quizzes
Submit 1 assignment from the course for review.

Instructor

Nuri McBride is a perfumer and historian whose work examines fragrance as a historical, material, and epistemic practice. She founded Atropos Parfums, a research-driven workshop that approaches perfume as a form of cultural inquiry rather than a luxury commodity. McBride co-edited The Scent of Identity: Olfaction’s Role in Culture, Community, and the Formation of Self, and serves as editor of Osmé: A Cultural History of Fragrance. McBride curated The Scent & Society Lecture Series at the Institute for Art and Olfaction and has contributed to a variety of scholarship, including the Encyclopedia of Smell History and Heritage at Odeuropa and Sensorium: Stories of Glass and Fragrance at the Corning Museum.

Course Outline

October: Olfaction & Supernatural Knowledge

Module 1: Fragrant Incantations: Aromatics in Mesopotamian Ritual and Magic

Pre-Class Thought Exercise: How to Know a Haunting
Live Class: October 11th (available for self-study on the 12th)
Post-Class Activities
- Fragrance Exercise: Oil of the Gods
- Reconstruction Exercise: Ziggurat Pastilles
- Creative Writing & Sensory Exercise: Incense & Invocation

Module 2: The Odour of Witches: Scent During the European Witch Hysteria

Pre-Class Reading: The Diabolical Sensorium
Live Class: October 25th (self-study 26th)
Post-Class Activities
- Fragrance Exercise: The Witch’s Perfume
- Creative Writing Exercise: Diary of a Scent Witch
- Sensory Exercise: The Scent Map of Good & Evil

November: Sensing the Divine in a Changing World

Module 3: Anointed with Ambrosia: Scent in Greek Myth

Pre-Class Thought Exercise: What do Ichor and Ambrosia Smell Like?
Live Class: November 8th (self-study 9th)
Post-Class Activities
- Fragrance Formulation Exercise: The Scent of the Dodona
- Reconstruction Exercise: Reconstruct the Bronze Fragrance
- Creative Writing Exercise: Mythologising Your Senses

Module 4: The Odour of Paradise: Scent in Islam

Pre-Class Reading: Selected Hadiths
Live Class: November 22nd (self-study 23rd)
Post-Class Activities
- Fragrance Reconstruction Exercise: Ghaliya
- Art Exercise: The Garden
- Fragrance Exercise: Scented Architecture

December: Odour In or Beyond Nature?

Module 5: Scent of Gan Eden: Olfaction in Judaism

Pre-Class Reading: The Song of Songs
Live Class: December 6th (self-study 7th)
Post-Class Activities
- Fragrance Exercise: The Forbidden Ketorot
- Creative Writing Exercise: The Secret Botanical History of Afarsemon
- Sensory Exercise: The Sensory Anthropology of the Havdalah

Module 6: The Cosmic Odours of Medieval Catholic Saints

Pre-Class Reading: Osmogenesia
Live Class: December 20th (self-study 21th)
Post-Class Activities
- Fragrance Exercise: I Smell Stigmata
- Creative Writing Exercise: The Relic Merchant’s Catalogue
- Sensory Exercise: Mapping Liturgical Air

Bonus Module: Smelly Santa: A Brief Aromatic History of Christmas

Pre-Recorded Lecture Drop: December 23rd
No classwork; enjoy this festive mini lecture while we make pomanders and wrap up the class.