Anthropology of Ritual

3 credits

This course investigates ritual as a social event where participants convey key cultural values and meanings through symbolic action in "sacred" space and time. Using anthropological theory and ethnographic case studies, the course inquires into how religious belief, ethnic and national affiliation, class and gender, prestige and political power are reproduced and reconfigured in ritual practiced today in differing locales of the world. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 30 credit hours including at least 3 credit hours in ANTH, or permission of the department head.***