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
Organisational Unit
Chief examiner(s)
Associate Professor Julian Millie
Coordinator(s)
Associate Professor Julian Millie
Unit guides
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:
- describe and explain what magic, ritual and spiritual beliefs mean to people in the modern world;
- appraise the contributions that anthropologists and sociologists of magic and religion have made to knowledge of human societies;
- 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.
- read, think and respond reflectively and critically to global issues and challenges;
- 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