Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 6

Anthropology 13, Section 6

Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion


Dr. Liam D. Murphy
Fall 2005
Office: MND 4022 (278-6022)
Office Hours: M, 3:00pm-6:00pm (or by appointment)
Webpage: www.csus.edu/indiv/m/murphyl
WebCT: http://online.csus.edu
E-mail: lmurphy@csus.edu (the best way to reach me!)

Course Time and Location:


T/Th, 9am-10:15am
CLV 145

Catalogue Description:
A cross-cultural study of the forms and functions of supernatural beliefs and associated rituals in
various societies of Africa, Asia, aboriginal Australia, Oceania, South America, native North
America and elsewhere. Emphasis is on understanding beliefs and rituals within given social
contexts, and broad comparisons to derive insight into the general function of beliefs and rituals
in human life. 3 units.

Instructor's Course Description:


This is a survey course designed for GE and anthropology students that share an interest in
religion and religious phenomena, wherever and however they are found. It is neither a theology
course nor a history course, although both worldview and change-through-time are implicit in the
subject matter. Rather, readings and lectures will concentrate on a number of topics that have
assumed centrality in anthropological debates about the nature of various cultural phenomena, all
of which (from a Western perspective, at any rate) might be understood as pertaining to the
supernatural or "Other World." Among these are the historically and culturally specific
significance of myth, ritual, gender, and beliefs regarding unseen power and authority, and how
these differ between societies, the ways in which many religious phenomena merge with
various economic, political, and social concerns, and the historically troubled relationship
between religion and science.

Required Texts:
1.

Stein, Rebecca L. and Philip L. Stein. (2005). The Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and
Witchcraft. Boston: Pearson Education Inc., and Allyn and Bacon.

2.

Goulet, Jean-Guy A. (1998). Ways of Knowing: Experience, Knowledge, and Power


Among the Dene Tha. Vancouver: UBC Press.

Both texts are available at the Bookstore (278-6446), and one copy of each will be available on
2-hour reserve at the CSUS Librarys Reserve Book Room.
Note: the assigned books are intended to be read with a critical eye. Accordingly, during the
course of the semester, we might occasionally disagree with the opinions expressed by a
particular author. Also, recalling that cultural relativism has been a central value of critical
anthropological research since its earliest days, please remember that in this class we make no
assumptions about the truth-value of one belief or practice versus another. Through the
anthropological lens, all religious perspectives are equally interesting and worthwhile for the
light they shed on how culture and society operate.

Course Requirements:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

quiz #1: 20%


quiz #2: 20%
quiz #3: 20%
quiz #4: 20%
quiz #5: 20%
quiz #6: 20%

** N.B.: Although 6 quizzes will be assigned, only 5 of these will count toward a
students final course grade (i.e., the lowest quiz score will be dropped from a students
grade).**
The quizzes are not cumulative, and cover only discussions, readings, films, etc., assigned since
the previous quiz. Each will consist of 20 short questions (multiple choice and short-answer)
designed to test your familiarity with the lecture materials, with the monograph, Ways of
Knowing, and the textbook The Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft.
Final course grades will be based on the following scale:
A=90-100%; B=80-89%; C=70-79%; D=60-69%; F=59 or below
Requests for extra credit assignments will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Any extra credit
assignments offered will be based on general knowledge and understanding of course films (see
class schedule below).

I am available for consultation with students, either during my Office Hours, or by appointment.
If you need to contact be and are unable to do so before or after class, please just drop me an email (preferable), or, if necessary, voice mail.
All students are expected to adhere to the highest standards of academic integrity in the
completion of quizzes. Failure to do so will result in permanent dismissal from the class. Please
consult the CSUS manual for further details on academic and grading policy, or go to
http://www.csus.edu/admbus/umanual/ump14150.htm. N.B.: Copying and pasting from online
dictionaries, etc., is a form of cheating (even in an open-book quiz). Students caught
doing so will fail the quiz and may not be permitted to continue in the course.

Make-Up Policy:
Make-up quizzes are given only to students who have discussed their failure to take the quiz with
me, and who have provided suitable evidence this was unavoidable. Make-up quizzes will then
be administered either online (if possible) or in the testing center on the 2nd floor of Lassen Hall
(278-7870). The testing center has its own set of procedural requirements. After consulting with
the instructor, students must call the center a.s.a.p. to make an appointment before arriving to
take a quiz. Only one make-up quiz is permitted per studentno exceptions.

Quizzes on WebCT:
All course work for Anth 13 will be conducted in an online environment. For this reason, all
students MUST HAVE ACCESS TO WORKING, PREFERABLY HIGH-SPEED
INTERNET CONNECTIONS. If you have doubts about your home connection, then another
must be found BY THE QUIZ DATE. If necessary, computer terminals are available
throughout the campus for students to use at will. COMPUTER PROBLEMS WILL NOT BE
ACCEPTED EXCUSES FOR MISSING PART OR ALL OF A QUIZ.
Once you log into the WebCT class page and click the icon for Quizzes you will be given 25
minutes to complete a quiz. All quizzes are available for a period of 2 days, beginning at 7:00am
and ending at 11:55pm on the days listed in the Course Schedule below. BE ADVISED: PLAN
AHEAD TO TAKE YOUR QUIZ! ONCE THE 2-DAY QUIZ PERIOD HAS EXPIRED
YOU WILL NO LONGER HAVE THE OPTION OF TAKING A QUIZ, FOR ANY
REASON. Be on the safe side: Never wait until the last minute to take your quiz!
Always bear in mind that this is STUDENT CENTERED learning.
YOU must be RESPONSIBLE!
YOU must be aware of quiz dates!
YOU must figure out a way to get the material if both your cable and computer break down!
Many course documents will be available for viewing either on my webpage or on WebCT (for
instance, my syllabus). However I NEVER give out my PowerPoint slidesfor any reason!

Web CT Instructions:
1. You MUST have a CSUS saclink account to use WebCT.
If you do not have a saclink account, get one right away by contacting:
http://www.csus.edu/uccs/inetemail/SacLink/index.htm
You can sign up there, or, if you have trouble contact the UCCS helpdesk on the third floor of
Sequoia or call 278-7337 or email web-courses@csus.edu
2. The WebCT address is: http://online.csus.edu/
Once you are there, you login with your CSUS saclink username and password.
When you have done this, you will see this Anth 13 class listed, click on it and it will take you
directly to the correct page.
You can download or print copies of the syllabus and other course related documents.
This is also where you access quizzes. Click on the Quizzes icon on the
main page and it will take you to the list of quizzes for the class. You can check to see when the
quiz is available for you to access it.
The WebCT server is available almost anywhere there is internet access. You can access it from
the CSUS Library, from home, from any computer lab on campus, from a public library, even
from overseas. Thus, you can take the quizzes at home if you like. If you do not have a
computer, then you can take them anywhere else listed above. FYI: I highly recommend a cable
modem or DSL connection! Otherwise, it's slow!
If you experience trouble with WebCT, contact me or: http://www.csus.edu/webct/contact.htm
You can also contact the UCCS helpdesk on the third floor of Sequoia or call 278-7337 or email
web-courses@csus.edu
NEVER wait until the last minute to take quizzes, the web server will be slow and
congested, and there is the strong possibility of running out of time before you finish the
quiz! If this happens, you will not be allowed to repeat the quiz!

Films:
Anthropological films are an important part of the course. All films will be on reserve at the
Library Media Center for approximately one week following the class in which they are
scheduled to be viewed (please call the Media Center ahead of your visit to be sure the film is
available!).

Course Schedule:
The following is a detailed outline of the lectures and required readings for the course, based on
the sixteen week semester. Please feel free to ask questions, and email me as needed. This
schedule is subject to change at my discretion.

Week

Date

Topics of Discussion

Readings & Quizzes

Introduction to course

Stein & Stein, chapter 1

Aug. 30th- Sept. 1st


Film: Religions of Small Societies
(Anthropology Dept. film # 108; on
reserve at library media center)
The Origins of Religion

2
Sept 6th
Sept. 8th

Film:
Mythology

Goulet, Introduction (pages xiii-xviii;


pages xxxiii-xxxvii) and chapter 1

Stein & Stein, chapter 2

Sept. 13th-15th
**Quiz #1** (Sept. 12th-13th)
Stein & Stein, chapter 3

4
Sept. 20th-22nd

Mythology (cont.)
Goulet, chapter 2

Ritual

Stein & Stein, chapter 4

Film: Feast in Dream Village (media


center video #4686)

Goulet, chapter 3

Understanding the Unseen

Stein & Stein, chapter 8

Sept. 27th-29th

6
Oct. 4th-6th

Goulet, chapter 4
**Quiz #2** (Oct.3rd-4th)
Understanding the "Unseen" (continued)

Stein & Stein, chapter 7

Oct. 11th- 13th


Goulet, chapter 5
8

Shamanism

Stein & Stein, chapter 5

Film: Native American Spirituality


(Anthropology Dept. film # 104; on
reserve at library media center)

Goulet, chapter 6

Oct. 18th- 20th

Religious Institutions

Stein & Stein, chapter 10

Film: Cults (media center video #6358)

Goulet, chapter 7

Oct. 25th-27th
**Quiz #3** (Oct. 24th-Oct. 25th)
Stein & Stein, chapter 6

10
Nov. 1st 3rd

Special Topics: Halloween


Magic in Cross-Cultural Perspective

Magic (continued)

11

Goulet, chapter 8

Nov. 8th- 10th


Stein & Stein, chapter 9, pp. 225-231

12
Nov. 15th-17th

Witchcraft in the Non-Western World


**Quiz #4** (Nov. 14th-15th)

13
Nov. 22nd-24th

Witchcraft in the non-Western World


(continued)

Goulet, chapter 9

Film: Voodoo Secrets (media center


video #6376)
Stein & Stein, chapter 9, pp. 232-238

14
Nov. 29th
Dec. 1st:
**Class
Cancelled**

15

Puritanism and Witchcraft

The Witchcraft Persecutions in Salem

Goulet, chapter 10

Film: Witches (media center video


#6362)

**Quiz #5** (Dec. 5th-6th)

Dec. 6th-8th

16
th

th

Dec. 13 -15

**EXAM WEEK**

**Quiz #6** (Dec. 12th13th)

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi