ANTH 5190 - Modern Shamanism

(3 Lecture Hours 0 Lab Hours 3 Credit Hours)

A survey/research class on the contemporary practice of shamanism as a cross-cultural system of divination, healing, and prophecy, foundational to the practice of religion and healing in most cultures. Using examples from traditional small-scale indigenous and rural societies to the transposition of shamanism into Western urban cultures/subcultures, we examine the rationale, development, and adaptive practice of shamanism (e.g., altered states of consciousness and the use of shamanic tools and movements) as part of the wider cultural context of faith and healing. In their class research, graduate students will focus on the practice and application of shamanism in Western, non-indigenous societies.