Overview
An advanced anthropological study of religion and the supernatural, providing critical, cross-cultural and comparative perspectives of human belief systems.
This paper explores the social, cultural, and political aspects of religious practice; also offering students a chance to think about the broader role of belief, ritual, symbol, myth, pilgrimage, and more, in contemporary societies. In the first part of the course we focus on lived experiences of religious, spiritual, and magical lifeworlds. We examine some of the ways people engage with deities, magic, witchcraft, shamanism, ghosts, spirits, and ancestors, across a variety of different cultural settings. In the second part of the course we focus on the social context of religious and supernatural practice, using both classical and contemporary scholarship to consider the role of historical, economic, and political factors. We learn to apply a critical lens to tensions and debates around religion in contemporary New Zealand, the Pacific, and elsewhere; for example about alternative medicine, secularism in education, welfare policy, biculturalism, and more.
While we survey key concepts in the anthropology of religion, we also attempt to cultivate a particular way of thinking about the world, the supernatural, and our assumptions about it, deconstructing key terms and reflexively assessing our encounter with the study of ‘religion’.
About this paper
| Paper title | Anthropology of Religion and the Supernatural |
|---|---|
| Subject | Anthropology |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Not offered in 2026 (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees ( NZD ) | $1,103.10 |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Prerequisite
- 18 200-level ANTH points or 108 points
- Restriction
- ANTH 228
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music
- Eligibility
- This paper is designed for students with and without strong backgrounds in Anthropology.
- Contact
- More information link
Please visit the Programme of Social Anthropology
- Teaching staff
- Paper Structure
The paper involves active learning and students are requested to read their required weekly readings before attending class.
- Teaching Arrangements
- One 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour tutorial per week.
- Textbooks
- Required reading is from journal articles and book chapters available electronically through the library using course reserve.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global perspective, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Research.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this paper will:
- Understand some of the seminal anthropological approaches to the study of religion and the supernatural
- Evaluate approaches to the study of symbols, myths and rituals and be able to provide ethnographic examples
- Critically discuss contemporary anthropological debates surrounding the study of religion and the supernatural
- Gain proficiency in the use of critical thinking skills in the assessment of analytical texts on religion and ritual
- Enhance research and academic reading skills, the use of central concepts and approaches to the study of religion and society, and develop a comparative approach to cultural and social difference in the context of religion
- Assessment details
This paper is 100% internally assessed:
- Research Essay: Students are supported to select and develop their own research project, using a literature-based method or a component of fieldwork.
- Two in-class short-answer/multiple choice tests.
- A multi-part reflexive journal assignment, to be completed throughout semester.
Overview
An advanced anthropological study of religion and the supernatural, providing critical, cross-cultural and comparative perspectives of human belief systems.
This paper explores the social, cultural and political aspects of religious practice; also offering students a chance to think about the broader role of belief, ritual, symbol, myth, pilgrimage and more, in contemporary societies. In the first part of the course we focus on lived experiences of religious, spiritual and magical lifeworlds. We examine some of the ways people engage with deities, magic, witchcraft, shamanism, ghosts, spirits and ancestors, across a variety of different cultural settings. In the second part of the course we focus on the social context of religious and supernatural practice, using both classical and contemporary scholarship to consider the role of historical, economic and political factors. We learn to apply a critical lens to tensions and debates around religion in contemporary New Zealand, the Pacific and elsewhere; for example about alternative medicine, secularism in education, welfare policy, biculturalism and more.
While we survey key concepts in the anthropology of religion, we also attempt to cultivate a particular way of thinking about the world, the supernatural, and our assumptions about it, deconstructing key terms and reflexively assessing our encounter with the study of "religion."
About this paper
| Paper title | Anthropology of Religion and the Supernatural |
|---|---|
| Subject | Anthropology |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Semester 2 (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for 2027 have not yet been set |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Prerequisite
- 18 200-level ANTH points or 108 points
- Restriction
- ANTH 228
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music
- Eligibility
This paper is designed to be suitable for students with and without strong backgrounds in Anthropology.
- Contact
- More information link
View more information on the Programme of Social Anthropology site.
- Teaching staff
- Paper Structure
The paper involves active learning and students are requested to read their required weekly readings before attending class.
- Teaching Arrangements
One 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour tutorial per week.
- Textbooks
Required reading is from journal articles and book chapters available electronically through the library using course reserve.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global perspective, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Research.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this paper will:
- Understand some of the seminal anthropological approaches to the study of religion and the supernatural, and some of the key contemporary debates.
- Evaluate approaches to the study of symbols, myths and rituals and be able to provide ethnographic examples from a variety of cultural settings.
- Develop reflexive skills, applying theoretical frameworks from scholarship to examples from their own lifeworlds, and to assessing their own positionally.
- Enhance critical thinking skills, academic reading skills and ability to develop and communicate (in writing) a situated, ethnographic and reflexive analysis of a case study to do with religion or the supernatural in a particular cultural setting.
- Demonstrate the ability to plan and enact a small-scale project to gather and analyse data around a chosen topic in this area, using an anthropological lens and methods.
- Assessment details
This paper is 100% internally assessed:
- Tutorial participation (10%)
- Reflexive journals (35%)
- Research proposal (15%)
- Research essay (40%)