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Syllabus

 1.       Course Description

The course is aimed to provide a general overview of the vast field of Anthropology of Religion. The students will be exposed to diverse approaches, concepts and theories regarding the notion of religion. Specifically, we will explore the relationship between culture, society, individual and religion to build toward a general understanding of religion.

2.      Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will gain clear understanding of various religious practices and how to place these into proper context. In particular, the students will be able to offer a critical perspective on what is involved in studying religions through focusing on specific theories and approaches represented by anthropology of religion.

In addition, the students will be able to demonstrate a sound knowledge of key ethnographies in the anthropology of religion, thereby exhibiting their understanding of religious beliefs and practices of smaller scale societies thus being able to identify and investigate the intersections between religion, culture and society. Finally, students will also gain experience in basic academic research and writing appropriate to the undergraduate level.

3.      Reading Material – required and recommended material

Required and recommended articles are all available on-line on the course website and are all listed in section 5.

4.      Teaching methodology

The course consists of lectures and discussions. The course consists of lectures and discussions. While there will be a substantial portion of lecturing, we will focus on discussing readings and try to make them relevant to the theoretical topic lectured. Students should be aware that I ask many questions during the lectures to make the discussed theoretical topic relevant to the world and problems around us.

This way, the reading constitutes an integral part of the course and students are required to do the assigned readings for each week because active participation in discussion of the articles is essential and graded part of the course. Attending class without participation in class discussion is not graded and does not have any impact on the final grade.

 

5.      Course Schedule

Date	Class Agenda
September 3	Topic: Week One – Introduction Description: Introducing the concept of religion Reading: none Assignments/deadlines: none
September 10	Topic: Week Two - Theories and viewpoints Description: Discussing various theories of and about religion Reading: *Daniel, Valentine E. (2000): The Arrogation of Being: Revisiting the Anthropology of Religion. In Macalester International 8:171-191. Lee, Dorothy (2008): Religious Perspectives in Anthropology. In Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, ed. Moro, Pamela, Myers, James & Arthur C Lehmann. 7th edition. McGraw Hill. Pp 20-27. Optional: Geertz, Clifford (1973): Religion as a cultural system. In The Interpretation of Cultures. Basic Books, Inc. New York. 87-125. Asad, Talal (1983): Anthropological Conceptions of Religion: Reflections on Geertz. In Man 18(2):237-259. Assignments/deadlines: active participation/homework (for online students); Possible: student’s presentation of an assigned article; critical review essay I (on the article with an asterisk)
September 17	Topic: Week Three - Myth and symbol Description: Continuation of discussion from previous week, focusing on myth, and the way anthropologists have dealt with it and symbolism connected with it Reading: Beattie, John (2008): Nyoro Myth. In Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, ed. Moro, Pamela, Myers, James & Arthur C Lehmann. 7th edition. McGraw Hill. Pp: 63-67. Levi-Strauss, Claude (2008): Harelips and Twins: The Splitting of a Myth. In Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, ed. Moro, Pamela, Myers, James & Arthur C Lehmann. 7th edition. McGraw Hill. Pp. 68-71. *Ortner, Sherry (1973): On key symbols. In American Anthropologist 75(5):1338-1346. Optional: Levi-Strauss, Claude (1955): The Structural Study of Myth. In Structural Anthropology. Basic Books Inc. New York. 1963:206-231. Assignments/deadlines: active participation/homework (for online students); Possible: student’s presentation of an assigned article; critical review essay I (on the article with an asterisk)
September 24	Topic: Week Four - Cosmologies and Knowledge Description: Discussion of relevance of perceiving religion as a system of knowledge Reading: *Chua, Liana (2009): To know or not to know? Practices of knowledge and ignorance among Bidayuhs in an ‘impurely’ Christian world. In Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute 15:332-348. *Lindstrom, Lamont (1984): Doctor, Lawyer, Wise Man, Priest: Big-Men and Knowledge in Melanesia. In Man 19(2): 291-309. Assignments/deadlines: active participation/homework (for online students); Possible: student’s presentation of an assigned article; critical review essay I (on an article with an asterisk)
October 1	Topic: Week Five - Religious Identity and the Outer World Description: Discussing link between religion and identity Reading: *Arkin, Kimberly A. (2009): Rhinestone aesthetics and religious essence: Looking Jewish in Paris. In American Ethnologist 36(4): 722-734. *Vallely, Anne (2002): Moral Landscapes: Ethical Discourses among Orthodox and Diaspora Jains. In A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion, ed. Lambek, Michael, Blackwell Publishers. 555-569. Assignments/deadlines: active participation/homework (for online students); Possible: student’s presentation of an assigned article; critical review essay I (on an article with an asterisk)
October 8	Topic: Week Six - The Body: Embodiment and Religious Experience Description: Discussing the way people can experience religion and learn to embody it Reading: *Mauss, Marcel (1979): Body Techniques. In Sociology and Psychology. Essays by Marcel Mauss. London & Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul. 95-123. *Bowie, Fiona (2003): An Anthropology of Religious Experience: Spirituality, Gender and Cultural Transmission in Focolare Movement. In Ethnos 68(1): 49-72. Assignments/deadlines: active participation/homework (for online students); Possible: student’s presentation of an assigned article; the last day to turn in your critical review essay I (on an article with an asterisk)
October 15	Topic: Week Seven - Presentation of research paper topics Description: Students will present their research paper topic Reading: none Assignments/deadlines: Presentation of a research paper topic
October 22	Topic: Week Eight - Gender in Religion Description: Discussion of relevance of gender in various religious systems Reading: *Boddy, Janice (1988): Spirits and Selves in Northern Sudan: The Cultural Therapeutics of Possession and Trance. In American Ethnologist (15)1: 4-27. *Thorbjørnsrud, Berit (1997): Born in the Wrong Age: Coptic Women in a Changing Society. In Between Desert and City: The Coptic Orthodox Church Today. Ed. Van Doorn-Harder, Nelly & Kari Vogt. The Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture, Oslo. 167-189. Optional: Plaskow, Judith (1985): The Coming of Lilit. In Rosemary Radford Ruether, Women-guides: Readings Toward a Feminist Theology. Boston. Beacon Press. 72-73. *Rebhun, L.A. (2008): Swallowing Frogs: Anger and Illness in Northeast Brazil. In Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, ed. Moro, Pamela, Myers, James & Arthur C Lehmann. 7th edition. McGraw Hill. Pp. 239-250. Assignments/deadlines: active participation/homework (for online students); Possible: student’s presentation of an assigned article; critical review essay II (on an article with an asterisk)
October 29	Topic: Week Nine - Mid-term break Description: Reading: Assignments/deadlines:
November 5	Topic: Week Ten – Ritual Description: Discussing ritual, the way it can be embodied, violence present at rituals etc. Reading: Turner, Victor (2008): Betwixt and Between: The Liminal Period in Rites de Passage. In Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, ed. Moro, Pamela, Myers, James & Arthur C Lehmann. 7th edition. McGraw Hill. Pp. 91-100. Stevens, Phillips, Jr. (2004): Play and Liminality in Rites of Passage: From Elder to Ancestor in West Africa. In Sacred Realms: Essays in Religion, Belief, and Society, ed. Warms, Richard, Garber James & Jon McGee. Oxford University Press. Pp; 185-195. *Mahmood, Saba (2001): Rehearsed Spontaneity and the Conventionality of Ritual: Disciplines of “Salāt.” In American Ethnologist 28(4): 827-853. Optional: *Mines, Diane P (2002): Hindu Nationalism, Untouchable Reform and the Ritual Production of a South Indian Village. In American Ethnologist 29(1): 58-85. *Turner, Victor (2002): Liminality and Communitas. In A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion, ed. Lambek, Michael, Blackwell Publishers. 358-374. Assignments/deadlines: active participation/homework (for online students); Possible: student’s presentation of an assigned article; critical review essay II (on an article with an asterisk)
November 12	Topic: Week Eleven - Magic versus Religion and Science Description: Discussing the way magic has been posited outside religion, the relationship between magic and religion, magic and science Reading: Malinowski, Bronislaw (2008): Rational Mastery by Man of His Surroundings. In Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, ed. Moro, Pamela, Myers, James & Arthur C Lehmann. 7th edition. McGraw Hill. Pp. 296-301. Gmelch, George (1992): Baseball Magic. A revised version of “Superstition and Ritual in American Baseball.” In Elysian Fields Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 3, 1992, pp. 25-36. Felson, Richard B. and George Gmelch (1979): Uncertainty and the Use of Magic. In Current Anthropology 20(3): 587-589. *Callan, Alyson (2007): What else do we Bengalis do? Sorcery, overseas migration, and the new inequalities in Sylhet, Bangladesh. In Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute 13: 331-343. Optional: *Rytter, Mikkel (2010): In-laws and outlaws: black magic among Pakistani migrants in Denmark. In Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute 16:46-63. Malinowski, Bronislaw: The role of magic and religion. Assignments/deadlines: active participation/homework (for online students); Possible: student’s presentation of an assigned article; critical review essay II (on an article with an asterisk)
November 19	Topic: Week Twelve – Witchcraft Description: Discussion of witchcraft in general, general characteristics of a witch. Contrasting the difference between European/Christian understanding of witchcraft and the rest of the world. Reading: *Favret-Saada, Jeanne and Catherine Cullen (1989): Unbewitching as Therapy. In American Ethnologist 16(1): 40-56. *Ehrenreich, Jeffrey David (1990): Shame, Witchraft and Social Control: The Case of an Awá-Coaiquer Interloper. In Cultural Anthropology 5(3): 338-345. Optional: *Kelly, Raymond C. (2002): Witchcraft and Sexual Relations: An Exploration in the Social and Semantic Implications of the Structure of Belief. In A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion, ed. Lambek, Michael, Blackwell Publishers. 258-274. Assignments/deadlines: active participation/homework (for online students); Possible: student’s presentation of an assigned article; critical review essay II (on an article with an asterisk)
November 26	Topic: Week Thirteen – Shamanism Description: Discussing different types of shamanism, shamanism as an ecstatic type of behavior, contrasting shamanism with state religions. Reading: *Peters, Larry G. (1982): Trance, Initiation and Psychotherapy in Tamang Shamanism. In American Ethnologist 9(1): 21-46. Humphrey, Caroline (1999): Shamans in the city. In Anthropology today 15(3):3-10. Assignments/deadlines: active participation/homework (for online students); Possible: student’s presentation of an assigned article; critical review essay II (on the article with an asterisk)
December 3	Topic: Week Fourteen – Pilgrimage Description: Reading: *Turner, Victor (1973): The Center Out There: The Pilgrim’s Goal. In History of Religions 12: 191-230. Assignments/deadlines: active participation/homework (for online students); Last day to turn in your critical review essay II (on the article with an asterisk)
December 10	Topic: Week Fifteen - Exam week Description: none Reading: none Assignments/deadlines: Final research paper due

6.      Course Requirements and Assessment (with estimated workloads)

Assignment	Workload (average)	Weight in Final Grade	Evaluated Course Specific Learning Outcomes	Evaluated Institutional Learning Outcomes*
Presentation of an article	10 hours	15%	Presentation skills, ability to explain the studied topic to peers, identify key issues, subject knowledge.	1,2,3
Two critical review essays	8 hours each	10% each essay	Ability to analyze the discussed topic and relate it to other reading (i.e. theories, approaches) and/or the world around us.	1,3
Presentation of the topic for final paper &outline with three sources	8 hours	10%	Gaining experience in academic research and working with professional anthropological journals. Ability to identify and summarize key issues.	1,2
Final research paper	25 hours	35%	Gaining experience in academic research and writing a research paper. Ability to identify and summarize key issues	1,3
Class participation/ homework	8 hours per week (preparing for the class discussion	20%	Gaining understanding of various religious beliefs and practices, and anthropological approaches and theories towards them. Ability to discuss and place into proper context these beliefs and practices and understand the links between religion, culture and society	1,2,3
TOTAL	150	100%

*1 = Critical Thinking; 2 = Effective Communication; 3 = Effective and Responsible Action

 

Course Requirements and Course Assessment (short description):

Class participation/homework – is based not on attendance but on participation during fellow classmate presentations and in class discussions of the assigned reading. This can be done in two ways, either on-site students are active during the class discussion – actively answering questions (posted on the website) pertaining to the assigned reading or they can submit them in writing on NEO. On-line students need to submit the questions in writing on NEO. In case class participation is low in class, the instructor will make the written submission of answers to the questions obligatory and part of the grade! Class participation counts for 20%

Presentation – each student will present in class one article from the reading throughout the semester. Each presentation must be submitted to others via NEO on Sunday before the class, by 8 pm so that others can review it and prepare questions and/or comments (please see the guidelines below). Presentation of an assigned article is each worth 15%, with 5% down for each day late in submitting the presentation on-line.

Two critical review essays – the student will hand in two critical essays on assigned articles. The essays are to be submitted via NEO before beginning of the class when the articles will be discussed in class (please see the guidelines below). The first critical review essay is to be submitted by October 8^th (the middle of semester) while the second critical review essay is due by December 3^rd. Each critical review essay is worth 10% of the grade.

Presentation and research paper outline – the students are required to present their topic, outline and at least three sources in class on October 15 (please see the guidelines below). Presentation of the topic, outline and at least three sources will be worth 10% of the grade.

Final research paper – is due on December 10 (please see the guidelines below). Research paper counts for 35% of the grade.

7.      Detailed description of the assignments

CLASS PARTICIPATION

During each class, students are required to be prepared to answer questions pertaining to reading scheduled to be lectured/discussed in that class and/or be actively engaged in the lecture. The questions are posted on the course web-site together with reading material and need to be read and answered for homework assignment. Active class participation is worth 20% of the final grade, and means that the students actively engage in the lecture.

On-line students need to submit the answers to questions pertaining to reading in writing on NEO before the beginning of the relevant class. On-line students need to submit the answers to questions pertaining to reading in writing on NEO before the beginning of the relevant class. The submitted answers to the questions must be individual work! Otherwise, such work will be considered as plagiarism for all parties involved! On-site students can choose whether to submit the answers in writing just as on-line students or they can answer the questions orally during the class. Again, please be aware that if class participation is low in class, the instructor will make the written submission of answers to the questions obligatory!

In each class, students can earn max 2 points, and the maximum points earned in the assignment is 20, while there are 13 lectures where class participation is graded!!

ARTICLE PRESENTATION GUIDELINES

Throughout the semester each student will have to present a specified (below) anthropological article chosen beforehand.  Each presentation should be about 20 minutes long without class discussion and each presenter needs to submit the presentation in a written form to the instructor after his/her presentation. In addition, the presentations are due on NEO course web site on Sunday before the class when the article is to be presented by 8 pm for others to review it and prepare comments and/or questions. Articles for presentations are listed below and will be assigned to particular students during the first two lectures. It is not possible to write a critical review essay on the same article that the student will present in class.

The presentation needs to address and contain

• brief review of the article content (i.e. what the article is about),
•  discussion of the main argument (i.e. what the author is trying to say),
•  discussion of its relationship to other reading and/or relationship to the world around us (i.e. how the article fits within the framework of our class),
•  discussion of interesting points that article raised, or parts that were incomprehensible (i.e. what problems you had while reading),
•  two relevant and meaningful questions based on the reading.

The aim of the presentation is to critically reflect on the reading, and thus it is imperative that others (not presenting) also do the reading, answer questions and are able to discuss the reading with the presenter (and with the instructor)! Presentation of an assigned article will be worth 15%, with 5% down for each day late in submitting the presentation on-line.

Articles suitable for class presentation are following:

Week 2            Daniel, Valentine E. (2000): The Arrogation of Being: Revisiting the Anthropology of Religion. In Macalester International 8:171-191.

                       Lee, Dorothy (2008): Religious Perspectives in Anthropology. In Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, ed. Moro, Pamela, Myers, James & Arthur C Lehmann. 7^th edition. McGraw Hill. Pp 20-27.

Week 3            Ortner, Sherry (1973): On key symbols. In American Anthropologist 75(5):1338-1346.

                        Beattie, John (2008): Nyoro Myth. In Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, ed. Moro, Pamela, Myers, James & Arthur C Lehmann. 7^th edition. McGraw Hill. Pp: 63-67.

                        and

Levi-Strauss, Claude (2008): Harelips and Twins: The Splitting of a Myth. In Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, ed. Moro, Pamela, Myers, James & Arthur C Lehmann. 7^th edition. McGraw Hill. Pp. 68-71.

Week 4            Chua, Liana (2009): To know or not to know? Practices of knowledge and ignorance among Bidayuhs in an ‘impurely’ Christian world. In Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute 15:332-348.

Lindstrom, Lamont (1984): Doctor, Lawyer, Wise Man, Priest: Big-Men and Knowledge in Melanesia. In Man 19(2): 291-309.

Week 5            Arkin, Kimberly A. (2009): Rhinestone aesthetics and religious essence: Looking Jewish in Paris. In American Ethnologist 36(4): 722-734.

Vallely, Anne (2002): Moral Landscapes: Ethical Discourses among Orthodox and Diaspora Jains. In A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion, ed. Lambek, Michael, Blackwell Publishers. 555-569.

Week 6            Mauss, Marcel (1979): Body Techniques. In Sociology and Psychology. Essays by Marcel Mauss. London & Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul. 95-123.

Bowie, Fiona (2003): An Anthropology of Religious Experience: Spirituality, Gender and Cultural Transmission in Focolare Movement. In Ethnos 68(1): 49-72.

Week 8            Boddy, Janice (1988): Spirits and Selves in Northern Sudan: The Cultural Therapeutics of Possession and Trance. In American Ethnologist (15)1: 4-27.

Thorbjørnsrud, Berit (1997): Born in the Wrong Age: Coptic Women in a Changing Society. In Between Desert and City: The Coptic Orthodox Church Today. Ed. Van Doorn-Harder, Nelly & Kari Vogt. The Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture, Oslo. 167-189.

Rebhun, L.A. (2008): Swallowing Frogs: Anger and Illness in Northeast Brazil. In Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, ed. Moro, Pamela, Myers, James & Arthur C Lehmann. 7^th edition. McGraw Hill. Pp. 239-250.

Week 10          Turner, Victor (2008): Betwixt and Between: The Liminal Period in Rites de Passage. In Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, ed. Moro, Pamela, Myers, James & Arthur C Lehmann. 7^th edition. McGraw Hill. Pp. 91-100.

                        and

Stevens, Phillips, Jr. (2004): Play and Liminality in Rites of Passage: From Elder to Ancestor in West Africa. In Sacred Realms: Essays in Religion, Belief, and Society, ed. Warms, Richard, Garber James & Jon McGee. Oxford University Press. Pp; 185-195.

Mahmood, Saba (2001): Rehearsed Spontaneity and the Conventionality of Ritual: Disciplines of “Salāt.” In American Ethnologist 28(4): 827-853

Mines, Diane P (2002): Hindu Nationalism, Untouchable Reform and the Ritual Production of a South Indian Village. In American Ethnologist 29(1): 58-85.

Week 11          Malinowski, Bronislaw (2008): Rational Mastery by Man of His Surroundings. In Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, ed. Moro, Pamela, Myers, James & Arthur C Lehmann. 7^th edition. McGraw Hill. Pp. 296-301.

                        and

Gmelch, George (1992): Baseball Magic. A revised version of “Superstition and Ritual in American Baseball.” In Elysian Fields Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 3, 1992, pp. 25-36.

and

Felson, Richard B. and George Gmelch (1979): Uncertainty and the Use of Magic. In Current Anthropology 20(3): 587-589.

Callan, Alyson (2007): What else do we Bengalis do? Sorcery, overseas migration, and the new inequalities in Sylhet, Bangladesh. In Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute 13: 331-343.

Rytter, Mikkel (2010): In-laws and outlaws: black magic among Pakistani migrants in Denmark. In Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute 16:46-63.

Week 12          Favret-Saada, Jeanne and Catherine Cullen (1989): Unbewitching as Therapy. In American Ethnologist 16(1): 40-56.

Kelly, Raymond C. (2002): Witchcraft and Sexual Relations: An Exploration in the Social and Semantic Implications of the Structure of Belief. In A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion, ed. Lambek, Michael, Blackwell Publishers. 258-274.

Week 13          Peters, Larry G. (1982): Trance, Initiation and Psychotherapy in Tamang Shamanism. In American Ethnologist 9(1): 21-46.

Assessment breakdown

Assessed area	Percentage
Knowledge of the read article	26.66% (i.e.4 pts)
Structure and clarity of the presentation	26.66% (i.e. 4 pts)
Analysis (identifying the key problems/issues, theories)	26.66% (i.e. 4 pts)
Ability to present (voice clarity and loudness, eye contact with the audience)	6.666% (i.e. 1 pt)
Including relevant and meaningful questions based on the reading	13.33% (i.e. 2 pts)

GUIDELINES FOR CRITICAL REVIEW ESSAY ASSIGNMENT

During the semester students are required to hand in at least two critical review essays (on specified articles – marked by asterisk* in the course schedule or see below). It is possible to submit more essays with only two best considered for grading. Critical review essay should essentially contain the same discussion of the reading as the presentation should but rather obviously it is not possible to write a critical review essay on the same article that the student will present in class. Each essay should be 3-5 pages long, typed, spell-checked, double-spaced and submitted via NEO before the reading is discussed in class (i.e. students need to send their essays before class during which the article is anticipated to be discussed.). The first essay needs to be submitted by the first half of the semester i.e. by October 8^th, while the second essay is due by December 3^rd, 2024.

The essay should contain

• brief review of the article content (i.e. what the article is about),
• discussion of the main argument (i.e. what the author is trying to say),
•  discussion of its relationship to other reading and/or relationship to the world around us (i.e. how the article fits within the framework of our class).

The aim of the essay is to critically reflect on the reading, and thus although the essay should include review of the content, this should be done in main points, and thus briefly because the main point of the critical essay is to discuss the author’s principal argument and critically reflect on it!

Articles that can be subject of students’ critical essays are following:

Week 2:            Daniel, Valentine E. (2000): The Arrogation of Being: Revisiting the Anthropology of Religion. In Macalester International 8:171-191.

Week 3:            Ortner, Sherry (1973): On key symbols. In American Anthropologist 75(5):1338-1346.

Week 4:            Chua, Liana (2009): To know or not to know? Practices of knowledge and ignorance among Bidayuhs in an ‘impurely’ Christian world. In Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute 15:332-348.

Lindstrom, Lamont (1984): Doctor, Lawyer, Wise Man, Priest: Big-Men and Knowledge in Melanesia. In Man 19(2): 291-309.

Week 5:            Arkin, Kimberly A. (2009): Rhinestone aesthetics and religious essence: Looking Jewish in Paris. In American Ethnologist 36(4): 722-734.

Vallely, Anne (2002): Moral Landscapes: Ethical Discourses among Orthodox and Diaspora Jains. In A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion, ed. Lambek, Michael, Blackwell Publishers. 555-569.

Week 6:            Mauss, Marcel (1979): Body Techniques. In Sociology and Psychology. Essays by Marcel Mauss. London & Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul. 95-123.

Bowie, Fiona (2003): An Anthropology of Religious Experience: Spirituality, Gender and Cultural Transmission in Focolare Movement. In Ethnos 68(1): 49-72.

Week 8:           Boddy, Janice (1988): Spirits and Selves in Northern Sudan: The Cultural Therapeutics of Possession and Trance. In American Ethnologist (15)1: 4-27.

Thorbjørnsrud, Berit (1997): Born in the Wrong Age: Coptic Women in a Changing Society. In Between Desert and City: The Coptic Orthodox Church Today. Ed. Van Doorn-Harder, Nelly & Kari Vogt. The Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture, Oslo. 167-189.

Rebhun, L.A. (2008): Swallowing Frogs: Anger and Illness in Northeast Brazil. In Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, ed. Moro, Pamela, Myers, James & Arthur C Lehmann. 7^th edition. McGraw Hill. Pp. 239-250.

Week 10:         Mahmood, Saba (2001): Rehearsed Spontaneity and the Conventionality of Ritual: Disciplines of “Salāt.” In American Ethnologist 28(4): 827-853.

Mines, Diane P (2002): Hindu Nationalism, Untouchable Reform and the Ritual Production of a South Indian Village. In American Ethnologist 29(1): 58-85.

Turner, Victor (2002): Liminality and Communitas. In A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion, ed. Lambek, Michael, Blackwell Publishers. 358-374.

Week 11:          Callan, Alyson (2007): What else do we Bengalis do? Sorcery, overseas migration, and the new inequalities in Sylhet, Bangladesh. In Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute 13: 331-343.

Rytter, Mikkel (2010): In-laws and outlaws: black magic among Pakistani migrants in Denmark. In Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute 16:46-63.

Week 13:         Favret-Saada, Jeanne and Catherine Cullen (1989): Unbewitching as Therapy. In American Ethnologist 16(1): 40-56.

Ehrenreich, Jeffrey David (1990): Shame, Witchraft and Social Control: The Case of an Awá-Coaiquer Interloper. In Cultural Anthropology 5(3): 338-345.

Kelly, Raymond C. (2002): Witchcraft and Sexual Relations: An Exploration in the Social and Semantic Implications of the Structure of Belief. In A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion, ed. Lambek, Michael, Blackwell Publishers. 258-274.

Week 14:         Peters, Larry G. (1982): Trance, Initiation and Psychotherapy in Tamang Shamanism. In American Ethnologist 9(1): 21-46.

Week 15:          Turner, Victor (1973): The Center Out There: The Pilgrim’s Goal. In History of Religions 12: 191-230.

Each critical review essay will be worth 10% of the grade.

Assessment breakdown

Assessed area	Percentage
Structure and clarity of the essay	30% (i.e. 3 pts)
Knowledge of the read article	30% (i.e. 3 pts)
Analysis (identifying the key problems/issues, theories)	20% (i.e. 2 pts)
Mechanics: spelling, grammar	20% (i.e. 2 pts)

GUIDELINES FOR PRESENTATION OF A RESEARCH PAPER TOPIC

This assignment is to help students to prepare for their final research paper, (which needs to be between 8-15 pages long, (not shorter!) typed, double-spaced, in font 12). The students should choose a topic that they find interesting, however, within the frame of anthropology of religion. For the research paper students need to find and actively use at least three articles (not books or book reviews) coming from one of the journals (below). For this assignment students need to read their chosen articles, and present their chosen topic together with a detailed outline of their intended future paper, and the presentation needs to be also handed in a typed form to the instructor. Each presentation should be about 10- 20 minutes without class discussion. The presentation will take place in class on October 15^th, 2024.

The presentation needs to address and contain:

• brief review of the content of the articles (i.e. what the articles are about),
• discussion of the main arguments (i.e. what the authors are trying to say in each article)

A draft of your presentation can be given for remarks and comments to the instructor by October 3^rd, 2024. 

List of journals that can be used for sources in the final research paper:

• American Anthropologist
• American Antiquity
• American Ethnologist
• Annual Review of Anthropology
• Anthropologica
• Anthropological Journal of European Cultures
• Anthropological Linguistics
• Anthropological Quarterly
• Anthropology & Education Quarterly
• Anthropology Now
• Anthropology Today
• Anthropos
• Archaeology in Oceania
• Arctic Anthropology
• Asian Ethnology
• Biennial Review of Anthropology
• The Cambridge Journal of Anthropology
• Cultural Anthropology
• Current Anthropology
• Dialectical Anthropology
• Ethnography
• Ethnohistory
• Ethnomusicology
• Ethos
• Man
• Medical Anthropology Quarterly
• Medical Anthropology Newsletter
• Proceedings of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
• RAIN
• Signs
• The Journal of American Folklore
• The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
• The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
• The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
• Transactions of the Anthropological Society of Washington
• Yearbook of Anthropology

These journals are available on-line (not recent issues) through JSTOR database, available for instance in the library of Academy of Science. The more recent issues (but sometimes not full-text) are also available through Pro-Quest host database, available through AAU library and Academy of Science.

I strongly recommend going to AAU library as soon as possible and ask for enabling an access to JSTOR and other databases as the arrangement takes some time.

Presentation of the topic, outline and at least three sources will be worth 10% of the grade.

Assessment breakdown

Assessed area	Percentage
Finding three relevant articles from allowed sources	30% (i.e. 3 pts)
Structure and clarity of the presentation	30% (i.e. 3 pts)
Analysis (identifying the key problems/issues, theories)	30% (i.e. 3 pts)
Ability to present (voice clarity and loudness, eye contact with the audience)	10% (i.e. 1 pt)

RESEARCH PAPER GUIDELINES

The paper should be between 8-15 pages long, (not shorter!) typed, double-spaced, in font 12 and it is to be submitted via NEO by December 10, 2024. I would like you to choose a topic that you find interesting, however, within the frame of Anthropology of Religion. Each student will have to present his/her chosen topic together with outline of his/her intended paper and at least three sources coming from one of the journals (below) in class on October 15 (see above). The presentation also needs to be handed in in a typed form to the instructor. A draft of the final paper can be given for remarks and comments to the instructor by November 29, 2024. 

• American Anthropologist
• American Antiquity
• American Ethnologist
• Annual Review of Anthropology
• Anthropologica
• Anthropological Journal of European Cultures
• Anthropological Linguistics
• Anthropological Quarterly
• Anthropology & Education Quarterly
• Anthropology Now
• Anthropology Today
• Anthropos
• Archaeology in Oceania
• Arctic Anthropology
• Asian Ethnology
• Biennial Review of Anthropology
• The Cambridge Journal of Anthropology
• Cultural Anthropology
• Current Anthropology
• Dialectical Anthropology
• Ethnography
• Ethnohistory
• Ethnomusicology
• Ethos
• Man
• Medical Anthropology Quarterly
• Medical Anthropology Newsletter
• Proceedings of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
• RAIN
• Signs
• The Journal of American Folklore
• The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
• The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
• The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
• Transactions of the Anthropological Society of Washington
• Yearbook of Anthropology

These journals are available on-line (not recent issues) through JSTOR database, available for instance in the library of Academy of Science. The more recent issues (but sometimes not full-text) are also available through Pro-Quest host database, available through AAU library and Academy of Science. Final research paper will count for 35% of the grade.

Assessment breakdown

Assessed area	Percentage
Structure and clarity of the paper	31.4% (i.e. 11 pts)
Analysis of the three articles (identifying the key problems/issues, theories) and ability to put them coherently and relevantly together	31.4% (i.e. 11 pts)
Providing sufficient, credible information based on the sources; distinguishing between information and inferences drawn from that information	31.4% (i.e. 11 pts)
Mechanics: spelling, grammar	5.7% (i.e. 2 pts)

8.      General Requirements and School Policies

General requirements

All coursework is governed by AAU’s academic rules. Students are expected to be familiar with the academic rules in the Academic Codex and Student Handbook and to maintain the highest standards of honesty and academic integrity in their work. Please see the AAU intranet for a summary of key policies regarding coursework.

Course specific requirements

♦   This course requires extensive reading and discussion in class.

♦   Attendance, i.e., presence in class in real-time, at AAU courses is default mandatory; however, it is not graded as such. Participation is crucial!

♦   The use of AI-generated writing is prohibited. Students whose submissions show AI assistance may be required to produce drafts of their texts and/or to reproduce the text orally or in hand-written form. Plagiarism is strictly forbidden and will result in failing the entire course, i.e. in “F” grade!!! Plagiarism can apply to all works of authorship – verbal, audiovisual, visual, computer programs, etc. An aggravating circumstance in plagiarism is an act intended to make the plagiarism more difficult to detect. Such conduct includes, for example, the additional modification of individual words or phrases, the creation of typos, the use of machine translation tools or the creation of synonymous text, etc.