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136-012 Sorcery and Witchcraft: The Anthropology of Evil | |
Note | Formerly available as 136-279/379. Students who have completed 136-279/379 are not eligible to enrol in this subject. |
Availability | 2nd and 3rd year |
Credit Points | 12.5 |
Coordinator | Dr Mary Patterson |
Prerequisites | see Prerequisites |
Semester | Not Offered (view timetable) |
Contact | A 2-hour lecture and a 1-hour tutorial per week |
Subject Description | The subject entails a cross-cultural and historical investigation of the beliefs and activities seen as manifestations of evil in the world, from sorcery and witchcraft in Africa, the Pacific and the Americas to witchcraft revivals and 'witch hunts' in the modern world. Students completing this subject should be able to make a critical analysis of the ways in which anthropologists have attempted to explain the phenomena in question; understand the nature of beliefs and practices about supernatural malevolence in relation to arguments about rationality; and present some arguments about the interpretation of evil in society in relation to issues of race, class, gender and colonialism. |
Assessment | An essay and a take-home exam equivalent to 4000 words. |
Prescribed Texts | A subject reader will be available. |
Search : Index : Faculty of Arts : Anthropology
Prev 136-010 Power, Ideology and Inequality
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Status: Official 1999 Last Modified: Tuesday October 20 11:46 SGML to HTML Conversion: Information Technology Services Authorised by: Academic Registrar Email Enquiries: Course_Information@registrar.unimelb.edu.au