Initial Submission?
Resubmission?
Yes X
Yes
No
No X
LEASE COMPLETE
ECTION
AND CHECK THE CONTENT AREA AND A SINGLE
CRITERION THAT THE PROPOSED COURSE IS DESIGNED TO ADDRESS
GT
ATHWAYS
ONTENT
REA GT
ATHWAYS
ONTENT
RITERION
( see Content Criteria for Statewide Guaranteed Transfer on
DHE website )
(Check only one with an “X”)
Arts and Humanities
Communication
History
Mathematics
Natural & Physical Sciences
(Check only one with an “X”)
Arts and Expression (GT-AH1)
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Foreign Languages (GT-AH4)
Introductory Writing (GT-CO1)
Intermediate Writing (GT-CO2)
Advanced Writing (GT-CO3)
GT-HI1
GT-MA1
X Social & Behavioral Sciences
X
Course with Required Laboratory (GT-SC1)
Lecture Course without Required Laboratory
(GT-SC2)
Economic or Political Systems (GT-SS1)
Geography (GT-SS2)
Human Behavior, Culture or Social
Frameworks (GT-SS3)
Course Number: ANT 225 Credit Hours: 3
Course Name:
Anthropology of Religion
Department:
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Prerequisites/Co-requisite (Please list titles and section numbers): NA
Revised 12/11/2012
Course Nomination Form: gtPathways Review
Colorado Department of Higher Education Page 1

Is this course cross-listed? If so, please list the names of the courses with which it is cross-listed, give a reason why it is cross-listed, and acknowledge here that the same approved syllabus will be used across sections of the cross-listed courses:
No
Short description of the course from the catalog:
Explores the culturally universal phenomenon of religion including cross-cultural varieties of beliefs in the supernatural and the religious rituals people employ to interpret and control their worlds.
By completing this section, I attest to the following:
I certify that the course described herein is an approved general education course offered at my institution (or will be so, automatically, upon approval as a gtPathways course). The attached content curriculum description applies to all course sections taught at my institution.
Name/Title of Senior Academic Officer:
Sandra K. Veltri, CAO
Signature (Electronic Accepted):
Name of Institution:
Front Range Community College
E-Mail:
Sandy.Veltri@frontrange.edu
Date:
February 9, 2015
Phone:
303-404-5497
E-Mail: N/A Institutional Contact/Name for this submission if different from above signatory
N/A
Revised 12/11/2012
Course Nomination Form: gtPathways Review
Colorado Department of Higher Education Page 2

C OMPLETE NUMBERS 1-3 BELOW AND ANY COMPETENCY ( NUMBERS 4-8) THAT
APPLIES TO THE NOMINATED COURSE PER CONTENT CRITERIA GUIDELINES ( S EE
C ONTENT C RITERIA F OR S TATEWIDE G UARANTEED T RANSFER O N DHE W EBSITE
AND C OMPETENCY C RITERIA ).
P LEASE SUBMIT A COURSE OUTLINE THAT CONTAINS A
WEEK BY WEEK SCHEDULE , AN EXPLANATION OF THE GRADED PIECES OF WORK AND
HOW GRADES WILL BE CALCULATED
,
AND THE COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
.
Y
OU
MAY ALSO INCLUDE CONTENT OR CURRICULUM GUIDES OR OTHER SUPPORTING
DOCUMENTS .
Revised 12/11/2012
Course Nomination Form: gtPathways Review
Colorado Department of Higher Education Page 3

1. State scope of course and the primary concepts or topics it covers:
ANT 225 Explores the culturally universal phenomenon of religion including cross-cultural varieties of beliefs in the supernatural and the religious rituals people employ to interpret and control their worlds.
TOPICAL OUTLINE:
I. The Nature of the Discipline of Anthropology
A. The fields of anthropology
B. Methodology
II. Culture and the Supernatural
A. Ritual and belief
B. Spirit, mana, gods, goddesses
C. Manipulation of beings and powers
D. Trance, dance, music, magic, sacrifice
III. Myths and Doctrine
A. Ecclesiastical
B. Oral tradition
C. Sanctions and taboos
D. Guiding principles of social order
E. Ancestry worship
F. Symbols
IV. Social and Psychological Functions
A. Maintenance of social solidarity
B. Delimiting human conduct
C. Reduction of stress/provision of comfort
D. Making sense of the world
E. Adaptation to crises
V. Formal and Informal Belief Systems
A. Religion
B. Polytheism
C. Animism
D. Animatism
E. Magic
F. Witchcraft
VI. Associated Healing Practices
A. Specialists
B. Ethnobotany
C. Imitative and contagious magic
D. Pharmacology: faunal and floral
VII. Transformations
A. Rites of passage
B. Rites of intensification
C. States of transition and isolation
D. Separation and incorporation
E. Transfiguration
VIII. Revitalization Movements
A. Societal reformation
B. Response to severe acculturation
Revised 12/11/2012
Course Nomination Form: gtPathways Review
Colorado Department of Higher Education Page 4

2. Provide rationale and/or evidence for how the nominated course meets the specific content criteria:
ANT 225 meets state level goals for a social science course as follows:
Anthropology of religion helps students gain insight into the methods of social science through:
 the use of various theoretical paradigms of the social sciences to analyze religious belief (e.g., functionalism, structuralism, psychosocial approaches, Marxian approaches, and symbolic anthropology).
 requiring students use the professional literature to research a topic and produce a research paper that follows the standard formatting and citation practices of the field of anthropology
 the requirement that students use critical thinking when preparing for and participating in discussion of various case studies, as chosen by peers in the course
Students gain an understanding of historical and social frameworks through
 an exploration of religious beliefs in both modern and historical contexts,
 an exploration of evolutionary ideas about the origins of religion
 discussions of process that encourage or discourage change through time in religious symbols, rituals, and texts
Students gain an understanding of how individuals relate to the social world, past and present through:
 examining the role of religion in cultures
 exploring the differences between high religions and folk religions, and the roles of individuals or subgroups in shaping them
 critical examination of how religion helps individual navigate the social and natural world
 examination of religious activity as a response to various social stresses
Specific criteria for SS3 are met as follows:
1. Knowledge of human behavior, including learning, cognition, and human development or cultural or social frameworks that explore and compare achievements, issues, and characteristics of the world and its different cultures .

This course expands knowledge of human behavior through the focused study of the culturally universal phenomenon of religion. Various topics focus on cognition (different ways people conceive of supernatural power, altered states of consciousness, etc) learning (medicinal practices, oral vs written traditions, myths and doctrines), and human devemopment (revitalization movememnts, societal reformation, rites of passage).

Every topic in the course is explored and compared across different world cultures.
The structure of the course focuses on various aspects of religion and how they are expressed in various cultures, as opposed to focusing on specific religions, so it is inherently cross-cultural and comaritive in its approach

Students explore cultural and social frameworks through the lens of worldview and belief systems in reading material, lectures, and focused discussions.
2. Ability to use the social sciences to analyze and interpret issues

Anthropology’s major theoretical approaches are discussed at the beginning of the class, and then are applied throughout the class to evaluate each specific topic (mythology, healing practices, etc.).

In lecture and discussion, students are asked to analyze various myths, rituals, and other elements of religion, using different theoretical approaches (e.g., functionalism, structuralism, psychological anthropology, etc.) to better understand how theoretical perspectives shape our interpretations or analyses of various practices.

Students have frequent opportunities to evaluate not only the cultural practices, but what they find appealing or problematic about different social science approaches to exploring those practices.
3.
Understand diverse perspectives and groups.

The class focuses on religious beliefs from both complex and non-complex human societies, in the past and in the present, from across the globe.

Beliefs are compared and contrasted across different cultures and different social and environmental contexts to give students a broader understanding of the diversity of perspectives and how those diverse perspectives fit into the culture and environment of different groups.
Revised 12/11/2012
Course Nomination Form: gtPathways Review
Colorado Department of Higher Education Page 5

3. List student outcomes and detail how outcomes will be met in the course:
Outcomes:
1. Describe the goals, questions, and mysteries religion attempts to address
2. Compare similarities and differences between religions in a comparative and cross-cultural context
3. Describe the social and cultural impact religion has on cultures
4. Explain how cultural contexts have affected the emergence and development of religious traditions
5. Apply anthropological theory to the analysis of the influence of religion and spiritual beliefs on cultural and social changes
6. Explain and understand the dynamics of the emergence of alternative religions often referred to as cults
7. Approach religion academically, and discuss fundamental principles of and questions about the nature and function of religion
8. Analyze religious activity as a human activity, even though its frame of reference is to something beyond the ordinary world of human beings
9. Focus on the quest for meaning in light of cultural adaptation to the physical and spiritual environments
10. Discuss how social bonds are reinforced through ritual acts
11. Interpret maintenance of political organization and social stratification through religious practices
How outcomes are met:

The research paper requires students to meet outcomes #5 and 7 as well as at least two other outcomes from the list, depending on the students’ chosen topics (in other words, a students topic must meet two criteria from any of those on the list in order to be approved.)

Lecture and reading material is provided to address all outcomes. Student understanding of lecture and reading materials is assessed through short, in-class write-to-learn exercises as well as formal exams. Exams include multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions, to allow for multiple means of assessing student understanding

Students must research and find discussion materials for classmates that address one or more of these outcomes (depending on the week, questions will vary, but outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 10 will be incorporated nearly every week.)
Revised 12/11/2012
Course Nomination Form: gtPathways Review
Colorado Department of Higher Education Page 6

4. Describe how students demonstrate and develop critical thinking competency:
The guiding principle of the critical thinking competency is “to help students become capable of critical and open-minded questioning and reasoning. An under of argument is central to critical thinking.”

This course meets this competency through:

Student led discussions that require critical thinking both for discussion leaders (all students lead at least one discussion) and participants. These discussions require students to acquire appropriate materials to present to the class, and formulate critical discussion questions for the class. The discussions themselves require students to consider the materials and questions in advance, and formulate well-reasoned arguments for discussion. Students must respond to viewpoints other than their own and evaluate additional content/information brought to the discussion by others.
Finally students must prepare a written assessment of the discussion that evaluates and draws conclusions on the questions posed.

Essay questions on the exams pose questions that require students to demonstrate their ability to identify and differentiate questions or problems , state positions, support their arguments with evidence, and/or synthesis information into effective arguments . Questions are posed in such a way that they require students to draw appropriate conclusions and support them.

The semester paper is analytical in nature. Students must formulate a thesis statement, and then acquire, synthesize and analyse material from academic sources in order to draw conclusions .
5. Describe how students demonstrate and develop reading competency:

The course includes content from scholarly academic sources as well as textbook content and content intended for the general public. For each class discussion, discussion leaders provide content from websites, videos, articles, or books. To prepare for discussions, students must read critically in order to differentiate between different types of written material, their audience, and the biases inherent to them , and use their critical reading to address discussion questions.

The research project requires students to acquire, apply, analyze, and synthesize written sources in order to more fully explore and analyze a topic.
6. Describe how students demonstrate and develop written communication competency:
The social science requirement of polished written work accounting for 20-25 percent of the class grade, this course incorporates a research paper assignment that is scaffalded in order to encourage students to revise their work into clear and concise arguments . Students are required to acquire and synthesize information, apply appropriate conventions of written English, analyze and synthesize the ideas of others into their own creative work, and use feedback from earlier steps in the process to more fully develop their ideas and improve the quality of their written work.
Both large and smaller writing projects are included to encourage students t o communicate a variety of ideas and with a variety of objectives in an appropriate written form.
7. Describe how students demonstrate and develop technology competency: not required
8. Describe how students demonstrate and develop mathematics competency: not required
Note Regarding Natural and Physical Sciences Courses (GT-SC1 & GT-SC2):
The GT-SC1 category is used for courses that integrate a lecture with a lab, and also for separately transcripted labs that have a GT-SC2 lecture course(s) as a prerequisite or co-requisite. When submitting a separately transcripted lab for GT-SC1 approval, indicate the required GT-SC2 course(s) and attach the nomination materials for the GT-SC2 course(s) so that the lab can be evaluated in the context of the companion lecture course. (If the GT-SC2 course was previously approved, include the nomination materials from that earlier review process.)
Revised 12/11/2012
Course Nomination Form: gtPathways Review
Colorado Department of Higher Education Page 7

O BE COMPLETED ONLY IF THIS COURSE IS BEING RESUBMITTED FOR
CONSIDERATION AND PLACEMENT WITHIN THE GT
ATHWAYS CURRICULUM
1. SUBSTANTIVE CONCERNS REGARDING PREVIOUS SUBMISSION(S):
Please attach reviewer comments/justification for the “deferred” designation and respond to the question below.
How has the course been modified to address the concerns raised by the review committee(s)?
Revised 12/11/2012
Course Nomination Form: gtPathways Review
Colorado Department of Higher Education Page 8