Spring 2024 – Anth 135

Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion

sections #30162 and online #30163

Welcome to the online Anth 135 page! Thank you for your interest in the face-to-face section and asynchronous online section. Below is general information about the course.

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

The face-to-face class will be meeting in the MD building, room 221 (second floor) Tuesday/Thursday 12:45pm to 2:10pm. The first day of class is Tuesday, January 30.

For the asynchronous section, we will not be meeting at a certain time each week as a class.  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 Coursework

For the asynchronous section, the general coursework 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, January 29 or come to class on Tuesday, January 30.

Accessing the Course

If you are enrolled, you should be able to access the online class by Monday, January 29.  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.