ATS2371 - Magic, science and religion - 2018

6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Arts

Organisational Unit

Anthropology

Chief examiner(s)

Associate Professor Julian Millie

Coordinator(s)

Associate Professor Julian Millie

Not offered in 2018

Prerequisites

Twelve credit points of first-year Arts units.

It is highly recommended that students only take this unit after they have completed two gateway units in Anthropology.

Prohibitions

ATS1203 and ATS3371

Synopsis

The unit enables students to gain understanding of what magic, ritual and spiritual beliefs means to people in the modern world. It also introduces first year students to some of the contributions that anthropologists and sociologists of magic and religion have made to knowledge of human societies.

Case studies provide a comparative understanding of rituals and associated cosmologies in a variety of sociocultural settings, from both the developing world and post-industrial settings and examine critically the cultural borders established between the fields of science and spiritual belief.

Topics include: magic's rationalities; teenage magic in the west; witchcraft in the non-west; materiality and faith; embodied experience and spirituality.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:

  1. describe and explain what magic, ritual and spiritual beliefs mean to people in the modern world;
  2. appraise the contributions that anthropologists and sociologists of magic and religion have made to knowledge of human societies;
  3. employ case studies of rituals and associated cosmologies in a variety of sociocultural settings to examine critically the cultural borders established between the fields of science and spiritual belief.
  4. read, think and respond reflectively and critically to global issues and challenges;
  5. utilise developing academic qualitative research skills to locate, link, critically analyse and communicate theory and evidence.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 100%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study