The Anthropology of Religion

Curriculum guideline

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Course
ANTH 1130
Discontinued
No
Course code
ANTH 1130
Descriptive
The Anthropology of Religion
Department
Anthropology
Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Credits
3.00
Start date
End term
202020
PLAR
No
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
35
Contact hours
Lecture: 4 hrs. per week / semester
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Learning activities

This course will be presented mainly by way of lectures, with class discussion of selected ethnographic material.  This may be supplemented by films, slides, videos, and class discussion.

Course description
An introduction to the varieties and experiences of religion in a variety of cross-cultural contexts. We will analyze the social construction of belief systems as well as the relationship of religion to other aspects of social systems, including how people use religion to make their lives meaningful.
Course content
  1. Introduction
    • Basic premises and definitions
    • Culture, society, religion
    • Relativity of religious beliefs, traditions and world religions
  2. Mystical Power
    • The problem of meaning in human social life
    • Everyday reality and the paradigms of the self
    • Belief systems and personal identity
    • Mystical power and the person
  3. Home Symbolicus:  Animals and Plants in Religions
    • The power of symbols, cultural universals
    • Sacred and profane
    • Incest taboo
    • Animals, plants and society
  4. Shamanism and Mystical Beings
    • Divinity spirit world & supernaturals
    • Shamanism & possession
  5. Spirit Possession & Communication
    • Induction of trance
    • Altered states of consciousness
    • Possession and channeling
    • Speaking in-tongues
    • Exorcism
  6. Drugs and Other Altered States of Consciousness:  Wizardry
    • Magic mushrooms and chemical substances
    • Medieval European witchcraft and feminism
    • Wizardry & society
  7. Illness & Healing
    • Specialization  and curing
    • Indigenous medicine and medical systems
    • Core clinical functions
    • Traditional versus modern healers
    • Surgery and psychology
    • Reactions to illness
  8. Rites of Passage & Relations Between the Sexes:  Social Construction of Reality
    • Explanation and symbols
    • Ideology and practice
    • The process of legitimation and consensus
    • Consensus and personal identity
    • Males and Females
  9. Ancestors & Ghosts:  Deaths of the Afterlife
    • Survival of death and the power of spirits
    • Hearth fires and ancient cities
    • Blaming the ancestors
    • The origins of ancient beliefs
    • Survival and reincarnation
  10. Waiting for the Goods; Cargo & Renewal
    • Culture and identity
    • Culture and transformation
    • Contact and diffusion
    • Sacrifice and exploitation
    • Cults and charisma
    • Syncretism and religious changes
  11. Altered States, Altered Time       
    • Religion and economy
    • Personal identity and beliefs
    • The confines of language and rationality
    • Beliefs and gender issues
    • Bridging from old to new
  12. What Traditional Religions Do for the People: Symbolic Universes & Paradigms
    • Video Diary
  13. Anthropology as Possession
    • Anthropology as a way of being in the world
    • Anthropology and critical thinking
    • The need to believe and the will to believe
    • The relativity of belief
    • The tyranny of belief
Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate an adequate grasp of basic terminology in the sub-field.
  2. Discuss the nature of belief systems and how they are socially constructed.
  3. Explain the relevance of the anthropological approach to the study of religion.
  4. Demonstrate acknowledge of the connections between belief systems and other aspects of the social system.
  5. Identify various traditional peoples and their beliefs from a variety of ethnographic sources.
Means of assessment

The evaluation of this course follows ÌÇÐÄvlog´«Ã½policies as outlined in the current calendar.  During the first week of classes the instructor will provide students with a typed course outline handout setting out the evaluation scheme for the course.   A sample evaluation scheme follows:

 

SAMPLE EVALUATION

A series of examinations, up to 30% each    
     multiple choice or essay style		  60%
An individual/group assignment or
research paper		  30%
Student presentation  10%
Total 100%
Textbook materials

Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students

Texts will be updated periodically.  Typical examples would include the following:

Lehmann, Arthur C. & Myers, James. E.   (2001).  Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion: An Anthropological  Study of the Supernatural.  Palo Alto:  Mayfield Publishing Company.

Child, Alice B. & Child, Irvin L.  (1993).  Religion and Magic in the Life of Traditional Peoples.  Prentice Hall.

Prerequisites

Courses listed here must be completed prior to this course:

  • No prerequisite courses
Corequisites

Courses listed here must be completed either prior to or simultaneously with this course:

  • No corequisite courses
Equivalencies

Courses listed here are equivalent to this course and cannot be taken for further credit:

  • No equivalency courses