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Anthropology 121 - Anthropology of Religion

Syllabi

Pierce - Fall 2019
Pierce - Fall 2020

Additional Resources

The following are concerned with themes and topics related to the course. Available for extra credit, geeking out, and diving deep.

Books

America: Religions and Religion -  by Catherine L. Albanese
American Heathens: Religion, Race and Reconstruction in California - by Joshua Paddison
Big Gods - How Religion Transformed Cooperation and Conflict - by Ara Norenzayan
Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, & Wisdom - by Rick Hanson, Alan Bomar Jones, Richard Mendius
Dharma Rain : Sources of Buddhist Environmentalism - by Stephanie Kaza & Kenneth Kraft
Dynamics of Faith - by Paul Tillich
Explaining Culture: A Naturalistic Approach - by Dan Sperber
From the Shahs to Los Angeles: Three Generations of Iranian Jewish Women between Religion and Culture - by Saba Soomekh
GOD: A Biography - by Jack Miles
Going Clear - Scientology Hollywood and the Prison of Belief - by Lawrence Wright
Go Tell it On the Mountain - by James Baldwin
Holy Bible - King James Edition
Immigration and Religion in America: Comparative and Historical Perspectives -
by Alba, Raboteau, DeWind
In the Field: An introduction to Field Research. - by Robert Burgess
Introducing Religions - Readings from Classic Theorists - by Daniel L Pals
Life of Pi - by Yann Martel
Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief - by Jordan B Peterson
MAUS - Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 - by Art Spiegelman
Mere Christianity - by C.S. Lewis
Modes of Religiosity: A Cognitive Theory of Religious Transmission -  by Harvey Whitehouse
Psychology and Religion - by Carl Jung
Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought - by Pascal Boyer
Stone Edition TANACH - Art Scrolls
The Crucible -
by Arthur Miller
The Elements of Style - by William Strunk Jr. and E.B.  White 
The Ethnographer’s Eye: Ways of Seeing in Modern Anthropology. - by Anna Grimshaw
The Happiness Hypothesis - by Jonathan Haidt
The Interview: An Ethnographic Approach - by Jonathan Skinner
The Jews of the United States - by Hasia R Diner
The Kingdom of Matthias: A Story of Sex and Salvation in 19th-Century America - by Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz
The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values How Science Can Determine Human Values - by Sam Harris
The Question of God - CS Lewis And Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex and the Meaning of Life - by Dr. Armand M Nicholi Jr.
The Qur’an: A New Translation - by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided By Politics And Religion - by Jonathan Haidt
The Sacred Canopy - by Peter L Berger
The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century - by Steven Pinker
The Varieties of Religious Experience - A Study of Human Nature - by William James
When God Talks Back - Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God -  by T.M. Luhrmann
Why Would Anyone Believe in God? - by Justin Barrett

TV Show Episodes/Movies

"A Rugrats Passover" - Rugrats - S:3 E:23

"The Icarus Factor" - S:2 E:14 - Star Trek: The Next Generation

"Who Watches the Watchers" - S:3 E:4 - Star Trek: The Next Generation

"Déjà Q" - S:3 E:13 - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "Sins of the Father" - S:3 E:17 - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "Captain’s Holiday" - S:3 E: 19 - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "Transfigurations" - S:3 E: 25 - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "Family" - S:4 E:2 - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "Devil’s Due" - S:4 E: 13- Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "Night Terrors" - S:4 E: 17 - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "Qpid" - S:4 E: 20 - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "Half a Life" - S:4 E: 22 - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "Redemption" - S:4/5 E: 26/1 - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "Darmok" - S:5 E: 2 - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "The Masterpiece Society" - S:5 E: 13  - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "Ethics" - S:5 E: 16  - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "The Perfect Mate" - S:5 E: 21  - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "The Next Phase" - S:5 E: 24  - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "True Q" - S:6 E: 6  - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "Tapestry" - S:6 E: 15  - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "Birthright" - S:6 E: 16/17  - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "The Chase" - S:6 E: 20  - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "Rightful Heir" - S:6 E: 23  - Star Trek: The Next Generation

 "Descent" - S:6/7 E: 26/1  - Star Trek: The Next Generation

Inherit the Wind (1960 Film)

Documentaries

Course Relevant Videos

Short Clips

Intro to of Evans Pritchard’s Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic among the Azande Macat Anthropology

Modern Korean Shamans

The Oracle of Delphi

Religion Spreads

Is Moral Disgust Just Bad Evolution? | Robert Sapolsky

Wicca

Mary Devotion

Birth of Voodoo

Altered States of Consciousness

Modern Tent Preaching

The New Science of Religion

The New Science of Religion | Series Intro | Dr Edward Slingland

Religion, Myth, Science, Truth | an evening of Darwinian thought with Dr. Jordan B. Peterson

Gods, Morality and Cooperation (Part I) | Dr Ben Purzycki

Big Gods & the Fabric of Society | Dr Ara Norenzayan | Spring 2018

Philosophy's Struggle with God | Dr Anders Kraal | Spring 2018

The Bible, Symbol and Identity | PART I | Jordan B Peterson (2017)

Belief, Identity and Sacrifice | Dr Jonathan Lanman

Religion and Cooperation in Brazil | Dr Montserrat Soler

Cultural Evolution & the Origin of Faith | Dr Joseph Henrich

Evolution, Psychology & Religion | Dr Gad Saad

Religion & Moral Psychology | Dr Azim Shariff | Jan 2018

The Bible, Symbol and Identity | PART II | Jordan B Peterson (2017)

TED-esque Lectures

The Roots of Religion  |  Genevieve Von Petzinger 

The Roots of Religion  |  Genevieve Von Petzinger 

Building Sacred Spaces

Militant atheism  |  Richard Dawkins

What Makes a Hero?

Divination

Vampire Folklore

Crash Course

Mythology

What is myth?

Freud and Jung on Myths

Creation Myths 2

Creation Myths 4

Trickster Myths 1

Trickster Myths 3

Pantheons: Ancient Mediterrean

Pantheons: Greeks and Romans

Pantheons: Africa

The Dying God

More on Goddesses

Religion and Society

Theories of Myth

Creation Myths 1

Creation Myths 3

Apocalypse Myths 1

Trickster Myths 2

Hero Myths 1

Pantheons: India

Pantheons: Norse

Archetypal Gods - Male Divinity

Archetypal Gods: Goddesses

Witchcraft

More on Witches

Religion For Breakfast

The Scientific Study of Religion

Marx on Religion

What is Ritual

The Hajj

History of Halloween

Exorcisms

Atheist Churches

 Denomination Relations

What is Religion?

Freud on Religion

Sacrifice

The Baha'i Holy Cities

Animism

Christianity from Judaism

Success in Strict Religious Communities

Christian Ankhs?

History of Magic Wands

Baba Brinkman

Religion Evolves

God of the Gaps

Jordan B Peterson: The Psychological Significance of the Biblical Stories

Lecture 1 of 17

Additional Internet Resources

APA Writing Guidelines

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html

American Anthropological Association:

www.aaanet.org

The Society for the Anthropology of Religion of the AAA

www.aaanet.org/sar

Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance

www.religioustolerance.org

Encyclopedia Mythica

http://pantheon.org/

Internet Sacred Texts Archive

www.sacred-texts.com

The Joseph Campbell Foundation

www.jcf.org

The Mayan Calendar

www.mayacalendar.com

Official website of the ministry of Hajj. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

www.hajjinformation.com

Native American arts, humanities, and culture.

http://tahtonka.com/religion.html

The Foundation for Shamanic Studies

www.shamanism.org

An online copy of James Frazer’s The Golden Bough

www.bartleby.com/196

The African Burial ground National Monument Website

https://www.nps.gov/afbg/index.htm

A site that explores mummification from the British Museum

www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/home.html

Halloween history

https://guides.loc.gov/halloween/

American Atheist

www.athiests.org

Apparitions of the Virgin Mary

http://www.marypages.com/

The text of Malleus Maleficarum

www.malleusmaleficarum.org

The Church of Satan

www.churchofsatan.org

Website of unification church

www.unification.net

Heaven’s Gate website

www.psywww.com/psyrelig/hg/index.html

The Witch’s Voice

www.witchvox.com

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