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ANTHROPOLOGY (L48)  (Dept. Info)Arts & Sciences  (Policies)

L48 Anthro 3110The Anthropology of Magic3.0 Units
Description:Mankind has long attempted to master magic: action(s) intended to invoke and influence suprasensible forces. Many of us still practice magic today, knowingly or unknowingly. Cultural anthropologists and ethnologists provide accounts about the histories of magicians into the present, but ancient material evidence of magic is also supplied to archaeologists. This course draws from these kinds of sources to appreciate the roles magic plays in past and present cultures. Guided by Anthony Aveni's textbook Behind the Crystal Ball, this course highlights how magic inspired innovative concepts and practices, including those that propel modern science today. Using globally diverse case studies, this course provides a conceptual framework for understanding the social roles of magic at different scales and expose magic in political, religious, and scientific contexts. What cultural values arepreserved by magical practices? In what ways doesmagic fulfill societal needs? What legacies doesmagic leave for our benefit or deficit today? Following a midterm covering essential concepts, students will pursue independent projects that examine the material and ethnohistorical evidence for magic in specific cultural contexts. Fulfilling these requirements, students will learn how to analytically approach "othered" (or exoticized) behaviors as attempts to better understand the social and physical world.
Attributes:
Instruction Type:Classroom instruction Grade Options:CP Fees:
Course Type:HomeSame As:N/AFrequency:Unpredictable / History
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Home/Ident

A course may be either a “Home” course or an “Ident” course.

A “Home” course is a course that is created, maintained and “owned” by one academic department (aka the “Home” department). The “Home” department is primarily responsible for the decision making and logistical support for the course and instructor.

An “Ident” course is the exact same course as the “Home” (i.e. same instructor, same class time, etc), but is simply being offered to students through another department for purposes of registering under a different department and course number.

Students should, whenever possible, register for their courses under the department number toward which they intend to count the course. For example, an AFAS major should register for the course "Africa: Peoples and Cultures" under its Ident number, L90 306B, whereas an Anthropology major should register for the same course under its Home number, L48 306B.

Grade Options
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P=Pass/Fail
A=Audit
U=Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory
S=Special Audit
Q=ME Q (Medical School)

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