Anthropology of Religion

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

The course focuses on major concepts and theories that shape the anthropological study of religion, meaning the study of religious phenomena and experience in various cultures and societies. The course offers analyses classical anthropological themes, including myth, ritual, magic, divination, witchcraft, symbolism, and taboos. Students will learn about key religious specialists such as shamans, healers, prophets, traditional priests and priestesses, and ideas of and about supernatural beings like spirits, gods, ancestors, saints, and demons. The course will also give an overview of emerging topics in anthropology of religion including religious movements and fundamentalisms, secularism and religion, media, and technology. In addition to classic anthropological case studies, the course also engages the instructor’s own primary research and case studies of religions in West Africa and the African diasporas. By studying the lecturer’s ethnographic materials including images, videos, sound recordings, objects, ritual perfumes, substances, and various cultural artifacts, students will become familiar with ethnographic research methods such as interviews, participant observation, photography, video, and sound recordings.