ANTHR 215H - Magic, Myth and Ritual - Honors

This course presents a cross-cultural study of various beliefs surrounding the supernatural world and associated rituals in various societies of Africa, Asia, Oceania, South America, native North America and elsewhere. The emphasis of the course is on understanding beliefs and rituals within their social contexts and on broad comparison to derive insight into the general functions of belief and rituals in human societies. Using anthropological theory, the course will explore the roles of mythology, ritual specialists, magic, witchcraft, and ritualized behavior to expose students to the variability of ideological belief around the world form the strange to the familiar.

Pre or Corequisites: Successful completion of prerequisite course ENG 92 - Writing for College 2  or ESL 122 - Introduction to Academic Writing 2 , or appropriate course placement. Alternatively, students may take this course if they have completed ENG 101 - Writing and Research  or are taking it as a corequisite.