Active Outline

General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
ANTH D005.
Course Title (CB02)
Magic, Science and Religion
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2023
Course Description
Introduction to the analysis of systems of observation, deduction, reasoning, belief, and practical action across human culture past and present. Issues and topics include symbol, myth, and narrative; ritual and altered states of consciousness; specialist practitioners; healing, illness, and death; and relations between religion, science, politics, intercultural encounter, and historical change.
Faculty Requirements
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

This course is major preparation requirement in the discipline of anthropology for both CSU and UC. It meets a general education requirement for °®¶ą´«Ă˝, CSUGE and IGETC. It is a popular lower division anthropology course which is offered at many community colleges and is a course that applies anthropological thinking to the present world.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
No
Foothill Course ID

Course Philosophy

Formerly Statement

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
0

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to both UC and CSU
°®¶ą´«Ă˝ GEArea(s)StatusDetails
2GDX°®¶ą´«Ă˝ GE Area D - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved
CSU GEArea(s)StatusDetails
CGDYCSU GE Area D - Social SciencesApproved
IGETCArea(s)StatusDetails
IG4XIGETC Area 4 - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
4.0
Maximum Credit Units
4.0

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours4.08.0
Laboratory Hours0.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
48.0
Laboratory
0.0
Total
48.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
96.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
96.0

Prerequisite(s)

Corequisite(s)

Advisory(ies)

EWRT D001A or EWRT D01AH or ESL D005.

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

Entrance Skill(s)

General Course Statement(s)

(See general education pages for the requirements this course meets.)

Methods of Instruction

Lecture and visual aids

Discussion of assigned reading

Field observation and field trips

Guest speakers

Collaborative learning and small group exercises

Collaborative projects

Discussion and problem solving performed in class

In-class exploration of Internet sites

Homework and extended projects

Quiz and examination review performed in class

Assignments

  1. Oral
    1. Small group discussion of course content
    2. Individual and/or small group presentations on selected topics of course material.
    3. In-class debates on topical controversies, at instructor's option.
    4. Student facilitation of classroom discussions under instructor’s supervision (instructor’s option)
  2. Reading
    1. Synthesis of assigned readings from the required texts and other sources.
    2. Suggested supplemental readings.
  3. Writing
    1. Assignments involving critical analysis of current literature and DVDs within the realm of anthropological approaches to magic, religion, and science.
    2. Field project: A comprehensive paper in which students employ anthropological field methods to observe, describe, and analyze an example of culturally conditioned behavior in the fields of magic, religion, and/or science. Students are required to immersing themselves in the field worker's role through participant observation, interviews and the collection of oral/life histories. They will evaluate and select sources, critically analyze data, synthesize information, and formulate conclusions.
    3. Substantive response papers on cultural issues explored through classroom materials and readings.
  4. Preparation of exhibit material: Students will develop an educational exhibit to teach fellow students about aspects of the anthropology of magic, science, and religion

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Multiple choice questions designed to test for basic subject and topical competency.
  2. Essay examinations and comprehensive final examination, all of which are composed of concept based questions which will require the student to demonstrate the ability to integrate, critique and summarize facts, concepts and theory in order to translate them into fundamental units of knowledge
  3. Reading responses that demonstrate basic comprehension, critique and synthesis of course reading
  4. Field project writing assignment: a preliminary proposal, outline or synopsis of the project; a completed set of field notes; a final paper that contextualizes, presents and analyses field data; completed projects demonstrate the student's growth in synthesizing and analyzing ethnographic data anthropologically
  5. Participation in and contribution toward classroom discussions and collaborative group written analytical work involving comparative source materials
  6. Individual or group presentations that demonstrate ability to present data and data analysis in a logical, engaging oral and visual format.

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials: 
  • None.
Essential College Facilities:
  • None.

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
Lambek, M. A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion. 2nd Ed. Blackwell, 2008.
Lehman, A. C. and J. E. Myers. Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion. Mt. View CA: Wadsworth, 7th edition 2008.
Moro, Pamela A. "Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion", 9th Edition. McGraw Hill 2013
Stein, R., and Stein, P. The Anthropology of Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion. 3rd ed. Routledge. 2016.

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisher
Abu-Lughod, L. Veiled Sentiments: Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society. 2nd Ed. University of California Press, 2000.
Boellsdorf, T. Coming of Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually Human. Princeton University Press, 2008.
Brown, K. M. Mama Lola: A Voudou Priestess in Brooklyn. 2nd Ed. University of California Press, 2012.
Buyandelger, M. Tragic Spirits: Shamanism, Memory, and Gender in Contemporary Mongolia. University of Chicago, 2013.
Examples of Supporting Texts and References
Comaroff, J. and Comaroff, J. Of Revelation and Revolution. University of Chicago Press, 1991.
Dundes, A. (ed.) Sacred Narrative. University of California, 1984.
Douglas, M. Purity and Danger. Routledge, 2002.
Durkheim, E. Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Oxford, 2008.
Evans-Pritchard, E. E. Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande. Oxford, 1976.
Fadiman, Anne. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. 2nd Ed. 2012.
Frazer, James. The Golden Bough. Oxford, 2009.
Gerth, H. H. and C. W. Mills (eds). From Max Weber. Oxford, 1958
Hammoudi, A. A Season in Mecca: Narrative of a Pilgrimage. Macmillan, 2006.
Hirschkind, Charles. The Ethical Soundscape: Cassette Sermons and Islamic Counterpublics. Columbia University Press, 2006.
Latour, B. ARAMIS, or the Love of Technology. Harvard University Press, 1996.
Levi-Strauss, C. The Savage Mind. University of Chicago, 1966.
Lindenbaum, Shirley. An Annotated History of Kuru. Medicine Anthropology Theory 2:1, 2015.
Lock, Margaret. Twice Dead: Organ Transplants and the Reinvention of Death. University of California, 2002.
Luhrmann, T. M. When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God. Vintage, 2012.
Malinowski, B. Coral Gardens and Their Magic. Dover, 1978.
Pedersen, Morten. Not Quite Shamans: Spirit Lives and Political Worlds in Northern Mongolia. Cornell University Press, 2012.
Tambiah, S. J. The Buddhist Saints of the Forest and the Cult of Amulets. Cambridge, 1984.
Traweek, S. Beamtimes and Lifetimes: The World of High Energy Physicists. 2nd Ed. Harvard University Press, 1992.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Evaluate the immense scope of the multi-faceted discipline of anthropology and examine the interrelationships between basic areas of inquiry: physical anthropology, cultural anthropology, archaeology/prehistory, linguistic anthropology and applied anthropology
  • Assess the historical development of anthropology as a Western academic discipline and its ties to national colonial projects, giving particular attention to the significant contributions and perspectives of women, minorities, subaltern, and non-Western cultural anthropologists
  • Evaluate the basic conceptual framework of an anthropological study and identify the crucial distinction between ethnocentrism and the practice of cultural relativism
  • Analyze the cultural systems of religion and science, magic and technology in terms of symbolic thought; processes of observation, deduction, and reasoning; and mythology and narrative.
  • Analyze systems of religion, science, magic, and technology as including ritual practices presided over, reshaped, and instituted by specialist practitioners and crucial to defining individual identities and experiences as well as social institutions.
  • Examine and critically evaluate the role of religion, science, magic, and technology in politics, history, and intercultural encounter.
  • Appraise how anthropological knowledge and insights can be applied to current societal issues, and then extrapolated to an analytic evaluation of humanity's future.

CSLOs

  • Students will apply a scientific, holistic and a multidisciplinary approach to understand and analyze human behavior.

  • Students will recognize the value of cultural relativism and the validity of systems of religious and scientific thought and practice as adaptive strategies to the challenges of physical and social environments.

  • Students will analyze the diversity of religious and scientific systems and explain how they arise, function, and change in the contexts of politics, history, and intercultural encounter. They will also recognize underlying similarities between these systems

Outline

  1. Evaluate the immense scope of the multi-faceted discipline of anthropology and examine the interrelationships between basic areas of inquiry: physical anthropology, cultural anthropology, archaeology/prehistory, linguistic anthropology and applied anthropology
    1. Demonstrate anthropology as a science and a humanistic discipline; understand its breadth, especially its interest in global diversity
    2. Assess the role of five major subfields in anthropology in understanding humans spatially and temporally
    3. Apply anthropology to vital issues and new challenges facing humans such as globalization, new medical technologies, revitalization and new religious movements, technologies of digital communication and virtual reality, etc.
  2. Assess the historical development of anthropology as a Western academic discipline and its ties to national colonial projects, giving particular attention to the significant contributions and perspectives of women, minorities, subaltern, and non-Western cultural anthropologists
    1. Develop an understanding of changing theoretical perspectives in anthropology and evaluate these changes
    2. Relate cultural anthropology to other disciplines that study humans
    3. Illustrate the significance of the women cultural anthropologists' perspective
    4. Focus on increasing contributions by cultural anthropologists who are people of color and/or are from the non-Western world
  3. Evaluate the basic conceptual framework of an anthropological study and identify the crucial distinction between ethnocentrism and the practice of cultural relativism
    1. Examining anthropology as a way of thinking, with a world view that is cognizant of the validity of all cultures
    2. Understand the concept of cultural relativism, its strengths and limitations. Identify and examine the crucial distinction between cultural relativism and moral relativism.
    3. Distinguish between emic and etic approaches to anthropology.
    4. Recognize the role of holistic perspective in understanding humanity. Understand and utilize functionalist and interpretivist approaches.
    5. Understand how the study of anthropology develops skills and competencies necessary for success in the 21st century.
    6. Recognizing the realities of ethnocentrism leading to racism and intolerance, and as a political weapon for discrimination.
  4. Analyze the cultural systems of religion and science, magic and technology in terms of symbolic thought; processes of observation, deduction, and reasoning; and mythology and narrative.
    1. Examine the diversity in forms of inquiry and practical action, including oracles, interpretation of omens, and divination; sympathetic and contagious magic; and the scientific method and experimental science.
    2. Identify and evaluate the role of symbols and narratives in outlining and reinforcing cosmologies and moralities as systems of classification
    3. Understand and apply Frazer and Malinowski’s typologies of magic, Evans-Pritchard’s concepts of rationality, and Levi-Strauss’s concepts of binary opposition and structural myth analysis.
  5. Analyze systems of religion, science, magic, and technology as including ritual practices presided over, reshaped, and instituted by specialist practitioners and crucial to defining individual identities and experiences as well as social institutions.
    1. Examine the range of ritual practices including rites of passage (including initiations, weddings, funerals), pilgrimages, trances, possessions, and sacrificial offerings.
    2. Understand and apply theoretical concepts of religious experience, particularly collective effervescence, liminality, and communities.
    3. Examine the diversity of specialist practitioners, including shamans, spirit mediums, priests, doctors, and scientists.
    4. Understand and apply Weber’s distinctions between traditional and charismatic forms of authority.
    5. Explain how ritual experience and forms of authority apply to healing experiences, from spirit possession to the placebo effect.
  6. Examine and critically evaluate the role of religion, science, magic, and technology in politics, history, and intercultural encounter.
    1. Identify new religious movements in the context of intercultural encounters and major political and economic changes (examples: the Native American Ghost Dance, Melanesian cargo cults, Christian evangelism in the Pacific, Africa, and the former USSR, Peyote Religion, New Age spirituality, UFO “cults”).
    2. Apply theories of culture change (including Weber’s concepts of tradition and charisma) to understanding new religious movements.
    3. Explain the relevance of religious ideas and practices in the advent and use of new medical technologies such as organ donation and life support.
  7. Appraise how anthropological knowledge and insights can be applied to current societal issues, and then extrapolated to an analytic evaluation of humanity's future.
    1. Analyze the role of anthropology especially science, religion and technology in medical, educational, environmental, development and corporate settings
    2. Examine and assess the impact science and religion on genetic modification of organisms, stem cells, cloning etc. on the future of humanity and all life forms
    3. Analyze the role of religion, science and technology in influencing the future of humanity and of the planet Earth.
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