Anthropology 320
Anthropology of Religion
Term I 2014
Prof. Jean DeBernardi, Ph.D.
Department of Anthropology
HM Tory 14-18
780 492-0131
jean.debernardi@ualberta.ca
Office Hours:
Thursday 11-12
and by appointment
Teaching Assistant: Ms. Jie Yan
Office hours: Tuesday 11-12 and by appointment
Teaching assistant office: Tory 13-11 Phone: 780 492-1755
Prerequisites: Anthropology 207 or consent of Department. Not open to students with
credit in Anthropology 420.
Course-based Ethics Approval: None needed for this course
Community Service Learning Component: None
Past or Representative Evaluative Course Material Available. I plan to distribute review
questions in class before each examination and will review my requirements and standards for
written work in class. Please note: Previous instructors may have deposited copies of their
examinations in the exam registry. Since these instructors used different readings than the ones I
have selected for this semester, these materials are not likely to be useful to you.
Additional mandatory Instructional Fees: None
The Course
This course will provide a broad survey of anthropology's contribution to the comparative
study of religion. Although some regard the term religion as a Western label that should not be
applied universally, anthropologists have sought to develop frameworks within which they could
compare widely found practices like ritual performance, myth-making, prayer, and divination.
Many social scientists predicted that practices like these would wane in the face of secularism
and science, but religion is now resurgent world-wide. Consequently, some contemporary
anthropologists now focus on the relationship of religious ideas and practices to contemporary
social and political movements, and explore the use of technology in the modernization and
reform of religious practices.
Course requirements include: A midterm examinations on October 9th (30%) and November
6th (30%), a final examination on December 15th (30%), and class participation, including two
short response papers (10%).
Textbooks [ordered through the bookstore]
Yi-Fu Tuan, Morality and Imagination: Paradoxes of Progress. University of Wisconsin Press,
1989.
Victor Turner, Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Aldine reprint, 1995.
Robert Winzeler, Anthropology and Religion Second Edition. Altamira Press, 2012.
Students will also be asked to select additional readings from a list of readings coordinated with
the weekly topics that will be supplied in class. In addition to writing about the readings that
they chose on the examinations, students will be asked to write two short response papers based
on these readings that will be due on October 2nd and October 30th. I do not consider papers to be
late until I have graded and returned a set of papers, after which a grade penalty will be imposed.
The Course
Week 1
Overview
September 4
Week 2
Anthropology and Religion
September 9 – 11
Winzeler, Chapter 1 "Anthropology and Religion"; Chapter 2 "Religion Here and There:
Western Notions in Comparative Perspective". In Anthropology and Religion [AR]
Video: Fieldwork: Sir Walter Baldwin Spencer
Week 3
Anthropological Perspectives on Religion and Evolution
September 16 – 18
Robert Winzeler, Chapter 3 "Religion, Evolution and Prehistory" [AR]
Yi-Fu Tuan, Morality and Imagination: Paradoxes of Progress, Chapter 1 "Introduction: Human
Dilemmas and Progress"; Chapter 2 "Moral Edifice and Life: Simple Societies". In
Morality and Imagination: Paradoxes of Progress [MI]
Week 4
Natural Symbols
September 23 – 25
Winzeler, Chapter 5 "Natural Symbols" [AR]
Victor Turner, Chapter 1 "Planes of Classification in a Ritual of Life and Death"; Chapter 2
"Paradoxes of Twinship in Ndembu Ritual" [RP]
Week 5
Built Worlds, Story, and Moral Imagination
September 30 – October 2
Winzeler, Chapter 6 "Myth and Ritual, Old and New" [AR]
Yi-Fu Tuan, Chapter 3 "Moral Edifice and Life: Complex Societies"; Chapter 4 "Build Worlds
I"; Chapter 5 "Built Worlds II" [MI]; Chapter 8 "Fantasy and Imagination" s [MI]
Video: Journey to the West/Havoc in Heaven
October 2: Paper 1 is due.
Week 6
Midterm 1
October 7 – 9
2
October 7:
October 9:
Week 7
Review
Midterm 1
Ritual Practice I: Liminality and Communitas
October 14 – 16
Winzeler, Chapter 7 "Ritual and Belief" [AR]
Turner., Chapter 3 "Liminality and Communitas"; Chapter 4 "Communitas: Model and Process";
Chapter 5 "Humility and Hierarchy: The Liminality of Status Elevation and Reversal"
[RP]
Week 8
Ritual Practice II: Spirit Mediumship
October 21 – 23
Winzeler, Chapter 9 "Spirit Possession, Spirit Mediumship, and Shamanism" [AR]
Morris, Chapter 1 "Shamanism"; Chapter 2 "Buddhism and Spirit Cults", in Religion and
Anthropology: A Critical Introduction. Electronic resource.
Video: Nine Emperor Gods Festival in Phuket
Week 9
Religion and Exchange
October 28 – 30
Yi-Fu Tuan, Chapter 6 "Social World and Exchange"
October 30:
Paper 2 is due.
Week 10
Midterm II
November 4 – 6
November 4
November 6:
Review
Midterm 2
Week 11
Religious Movements and Syncretism
November 11 – 13
November 11:
Remembrance Day (No class)
Winzeler, Chapter 10 "Religious Movements and the Origins of Religions"
Morris, Chapter 4 "Hinduism and New Religious Movements"; Chapter 8 "Neopaganism and the
New Age Movement" [RA] Electronic resource
Week 12
The Localization of Christianity in Africa and Asia
November 18 – 20
Winzeler, Chapter 11 "Anthropology and the World Religions" [AR]
Morris, Chapter 5 "Christianity and Religion in Africa" [RA] Electronic resource.
3
Week 13
Religious Change under Socialism and Capitalism
November 25 – 27
Winzeler, Chapter 12 "Anthropology and Religion in a Larger Context: Religious Change Under
Socialism and Capitalism" [AR]
Guest lectures: Ms. Jie Yan
Week 14
Wrapup and review
December 2
Final Examination: 9 am Monday December 15th
Required Notes:
“Policy about course outlines can be found in Section 23.4(2) of the University Calendar.”
Academic Integrity
“The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and
honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to
uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize
themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at
http://www.governance.ualberta.ca/en/CodesofConductandResidenceCommunityStandards/CodeofStuden
tBehaviour.aspx ) and avoid any behaviour that could potentially result in suspicions of cheating,
plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence..”
Plagiarism, cheating, misrepresentation of facts and participation in an offence are viewed as
serious academic offences by the University and by the GFC CLRC. Sanctions for such offences range
from a reprimand to suspension or expulsion from the University. An instructor or coordinator who is
convinced that a student has handed in work that he or she could not possibly reproduce without outside
assistance is obliged, out of consideration of fairness to other students, to report the case to the Associate
Dean of the Faculty.
If in doubt about what is permitted in this class, ask the instructor. The "Don't Cheatsheet" is
available on the University Governance website at: http://www.governance.ualberta.ca/ From the drop
down menu click on Student Appeals and navigate to the Don’t Cheatsheet.
Writing help is available through the:
Student Success Centre: http://www.studentsuccess.ualberta.ca/
Centre for Writers: http://www.c4w.arts.ualberta.ca/
Truth in
Education: https://myualberta.ualberta.ca/stusrv/detail?id=2&_b=%5B%7B%22t%22%3A%22Student+
Services%22%2C%22lt%22%3A%22Student+Services%22%2C%22p%22%3A%22index%22%2C%22
a%22%3A%22%22%7D%5D
Learning and working environment
The Faculty of Arts is committed to ensuring that all students, faculty and staff are able to work
and study in an environment that is safe and free from discrimination and harassment. It does not tolerate
behaviour that undermines that environment. The department urges anyone who feels that this policy is
being violated to:
• Discuss the matter with the person whose behaviour is causing concern; or
• If that discussion is unsatisfactory, or there is concern that direct discussion is inappropriate or
threatening, discuss it with the Chair of the Department.
4
For additional advice or assistance regarding this policy you may contact the student ombudservice:
(http://www.ombudservice.ualberta.ca/ ). Information about the University of Alberta Discrimination and
Harassment Policy and Procedures is described in UAPPOL at
https://policiesonline.ualberta.ca/PoliciesProcedures/Pages/DispPol.aspx?PID=110
Recording of Lectures:
Audio or video recording of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching environment by
students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor or as a part of an approved
accommodation plan. Recorded material is to be used solely for personal study, and is not to be used or
distributed for any other purpose without prior written consent from the instructor.
Attendance, Absences, and Missed Grade Components: Regular attendance is essential for optimal
performance in any course. In cases of potentially excusable absences due to illness or domestic
affliction, notify your instructor by e-mail within two days. Regarding absences that may be excusable
and procedures for addressing course components missed as a result, consult sections 23.3(1) and 23.5.6
of the University Calendar. Be aware that unexcused absences will result in partial or total loss of the
grade for the “attendance and participation” component(s) of a course, as well as for any assignments that
are not handed-in or completed as a result.
In this course 10% of the grade is based on participation. The participation grade will include the timely
completion of two short papers based on assigned readings for the course that will be discussed in class.
Policy for Late Assignments: Papers are not deemed to be late until I have graded and returned the set of
papers to the class. I will accept papers after that date, but will impose a grade penalty on the assignment.
Specialized Support & Disability Services: If you have special needs that could affect your performance
in this class, please let me know during the first week of the term so that appropriate arrangements can be
made. If you are not already registered with Specialized Support & Disability Services, contact their
office immediately ( 2-800 SUB; Email ssdsrec@ualberta.ca; Email; phone 780-492-3381; WEB
www.ssds.ualberta.ca ).
Date of deferred Final Examination (if applicable): None scheduled in advance
Grading: Marks for assignments, tests, and exams are given in percentages, to which letter grades are
also assigned, according to the table below (“Office of Interdisciplinary Studies, Department
Undergraduate (or Graduate) Grading Scale”). The percentage mark resulting from the entire term
work and examination then produces the final letter grade for the course.
“Office of Interdisciplinary Studies Undergraduate (or Graduate) Grading Scale here”
Letter
%
Pts
Descriptor
A+
4.0
A
4.0
A3.7
B+
3.3
B
3.0
B2.7
C+
2.3
C
2.0
C1.7
D+
1.3
D
1.0
F
0.0
5