DivinationOracles in Asian Tr

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

How have people traditionally coped with the uncertainties of the future, the past, and the present? What are the differences between the consultation of a human spirit medium like the oracle at Delphi, the reading of augurs and signs from the natural world such as the appearance of ravens, and the manipulation of chance with randomizing technologies such as casting dice or drawing lots? How are such practices situated with respect to the categories of science and religion? How does divine foresight coexist with the concepts of fate, karma, and luck? To what extent is divination a form of play? Drawing on classical and medieval materials from the Greco-Roman world, South Asia, and East Asia, and complementing this with recent ethnographies of spirit possession and divination, this course addresses these and other questions while examining traditions of oracles and divination across Asia.