Catalog Description

This course is a cross-cultural survey of religious beliefs and practices with an emphasis on small-scale societies. Topics include but are not limited to rituals, myths, shamanism, altered states of consciousness, healing, magic, divination, witchcraft, death, new religious movements, and globalization.

Catalog and SLO information  This course satisfies: CSU Area C2 – Arts and Humanities; UC Area 3B – Arts and Humanities* Students should be aware that this is not a course that promotes a particular religious or spiritual belief. We will not discuss whether a religion is true or false. The focus will be on critically exploring different religious beliefs and practices with as little judgment as possible.

Text Requirements

There is one required text to purchase:

•  Stein, Rebecca L. and Philip L. Stein. 2017. The Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft.4th ed. New York: Routledge. ISBN-10: 9781138692527.  ***Note you can also rent/purchase the 3rd edition (whichever is least expensive/most convenient for you).

Course Requirements

This is an asynchronous class (sections #70333 and #70334).  We will not be meeting at a certain time each week as a class online.  To take this online course you need to have regular access to a reliable computer(s) and also have a backup in case problems arise.

General Course Work

The general course work will consist of weekly readings from the texts and articles posted on Canvas,  weekly online quizzes, weekly discussion board forums and/or films, and exams.

Adding/Crashing the Course

If you are on a waitlist and/or would like to add the class, please send me an email by Monday, August 22.

Accessing the Course

If you are enrolled, you should be able to access the online class by Monday, August 22.  I will send an e-mail notifying you when the course is available.

Thank you for taking the time to review the information. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions. I look forward to working with you this coming fall semester.

Have a wonderful day.