Anthropology 326 Jonathan Andelson
Fall 2001 HHH 104, x3139
MWF 10-10:50 Goodnow 105 andelson@grinnell.edu
ANTHROPOLOGY OF RELIGION
The anthropological study of religion is a fascinating part of the discipline to which, sooner or later, nearly every eminent anthropologist has turned. Perhaps this is because religion is one of humankind's most distinctive attributes, if not the most distinctive: so far as we know, no other species has religion. Or perhaps it is because the anthropological study of religion raises so many difficult questions about social relations, the cosmos, human nature, diversity, and the human mind.
In addition to being intellectually engaging, the anthropological study of religion is also highly problematic, in that of necessity it involves an attempt to understand the belief systems of others through the lens of one’s own -- the anthropological lens -- which, whatever else it may involve, has usually meant a global, comparative, and relativistic perspective. This strikes many anthropologists as more problematic than turning the anthropological lens onto subsistence practices, economic exchange, or political systems. What, after all, are the implications of trying to study one belief system from the perspective of another? This intellectual conundrum circles around such loaded concepts as faith, dogma, truth, belief, science, and relativism.
This course must begin with the premise that religion can profitably be studied cross-culturally. Otherwise there would be no course. If you are fundamentally bothered by the attempt to understand a belief system not your own, this is not the course for you. In addition, two “operating principles” are needed to get us under way: (1) that all belief systems, “religious” or not, are worthy of consideration, be they new or old, or from literate or non-literate cultures, and (2) that while the truthfulness of the non-empirical propositions of various religions cannot be ascertained through anthropological study, the meaningfulness of those beliefs to those who hold them, and the contribution that a belief system makes to a total way of life, can.
I have chosen to structure the course this semester around the religions of what have been referred to variously as small-scale, tribal, non-literate, or acephalous societies. I do so for several reasons. For one thing, so far as I know, every other course dealing with religion offered at the college treats only so-called “major” religions, and I believe it is among anthropology’s responsibilities to redress this imbalance. For another, the literature on local religions (a term I much prefer to the logical sequitur, “minor religions”) is extensive and rich, and it has much to offer. Third, the basic features, functions, and processes of religion, what Durkheim called its “elementary forms,” are perhaps more clearly revealed in local religions than in world religions, as are religion’s connections to other aspects of culture and to the development of a human way of life. At least we will be able to consider these claims. Lastly, it should not be forgotten that local religions are not by virtue of that simple; a great deal of profound reflection and spirituality can accumulate in a local religion over millennia, and we might be able to learn from them -- perhaps as much as representatives of the major religions have sought to teach them.
In accordance with its numbering, the course presupposes some familiarity with anthropological theory. Those needing to review the basics are referred to Jerry Moore’s Visions of Culture or any other recent history of anthropology. I have selected a diversity of books, including both classic and recent studies, representing various approaches and theories.
TEXTS (all are sold through the bookstore, and most are on reserve in Burling)
Bronislaw Malinowski, Magic, Science, and Religion and Other Essays. Waveland (1992)
E.E. Evans-Pritchard, Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande. Oxford (1976)
Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. Routledge (1984)
John Farella, The Main Stalk: A Synthesis of Navajo Philosophy. U. Arizona (1984)
Claude Levi-Strauss, The Jealous Potter. U. Chicago (1996)
Margaret Drewal, Yoruba Ritual: Performance, Play, Agency. Indiana U. (1992)
Roy A. Rappaport, Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity. Cambridge U. (1999)
REQUIREMENTS
1. several short oral and written “commentaries” on specific readings (5 points each)
2. three essays on general issues (approximately 5 pages) (15 points each), 9/17, 10/19, 11/28
3. major research paper on a topic involving local religion(s) and theory (30 points)
4. active participation in class discussion, exchanges, presentations (10 points)
SYNOPTIC SYLLABUS
In addition to the focus on local religions, the course will concentrate on important theoretical contributions by anthropologists to the study of religion. I have selected a combination of classic and recent books that are representative of various theoretical perspectives and parts of the world. The first descriptor given for each book conveys the text’s main emphasis, the second another important feature:
I. Introduction
II. For Consideration: Early and Recent Sketches of Local Religions
III. Early Theories (Tylor, Müller, Marett, Durkheim, Frazer, Lévy-Bruhl)
IV. Classic Anthropological Studies of Religion
A. Malinowski, Magic, Science, and Religion
[functional analysis; Oceania]
B. Evans-Pritchard, Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande
[case study - Africa; functional analysis]
C. Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger
[symbolic analysis; comparative]
V. Modern Anthropological Studies of Religion
A. John Farella, The Main Stalk: A Synthesis of Navajo Philosophy
[case study - native North America; ethnosemantic analysis]
B. Claude Lévi-Strauss, The Jealous Potter
[structural analysis; native South America]
C. Margaret Drewal, Yoruba Ritual: Performers, Play, Agency
[case study - Africa; performance study approach]
VI. The Role of Religion in Forming Humankind
Roy A. Rappaport, Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity
[systems analysis; comparative; Oceania]
ASSIGNMENTS
date topic and readings
I. INTRODUCTION
8/31 Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion
II. FOR CONSIDERATION: SKETCHES OF LOCAL RELIGIONS (on reserve)
9/3 A. Brave New Worlds - Some Early Accounts
_ Ferdinand Columbus, “Of Some Things That They Saw On the Island of Espanola, and of the Customs, Ceremonies, and Religion of the Indians” [ca1510]
_ Bishop William Ellis, “The Tabu,” Polynesian Researches [1839]
_ Henry Boller, “The Mandans Make Medicine, ” Among the Indians [1867]
_ Henry Callaway, “Divining By Familiar Spirits Among the Amazulu” [1870]
_ Bishop R.H. Codrington, “Mana,” The Melanesians [1891]
9/5 B. Salvage Ethnography, Cultural Persistence, and Ethnographic Style
_ Alice Fletcher, “The Hako: A Pawnee Ceremony (excerpt),” Twenty-second Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology [1904]
_ Ralph Linton, “The Sacrifice to the Morning Star By the Skidi Pawnee,” Field Museum of Natural History [1922]
_ Knud Rasmussen, “A Shaman’s Journey to the Sea Spirit,” Report of the Fifth Thule Expedition, Volume VII, No. 1, Intellectual Culture of the Iglulik Eskimos [1929]
_ Erna Fergusson, “The Bean-Planting Ceremony” and “Niman Katchina: The Going Away of the Gods,” Indian Ceremonies of New Mexico and Arizona [1931]
9/7 C. Issues of Perspective
_ Horace Miner, “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema,” American Anthropologist [1956]
_ Victor Uchendu, “Igbo Gods and Oracles,” The Igbo of Nigeria [1965]
_ William L. Merrill, “God’s Saviors in the Sierra Madre,” Natural History [1983]
_ Raymond Lee, “Amulets and Anthropology: A Paranormal Encounter With Malay Magic,” Anthropology and Humanism Quarterly [1987]
_ Michael Forbes Brown, “Dark Side of the Shaman,” Natural History [1989]
III. EARLY THEORIES OF RELIGION
9/10
_ E.B. Tylor, “Animism” (1871)
_ Max Müller, “The Infinite in Nature, in Man, and in the Self” (1889)
9/12
_ R.R. Marett, “The Conception of Mana” (1909)
_ Emile Durkheim, “The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life” (1912)
9/14
_ Sir James G. Frazer, Chapter 3 (“Sympathetic Magic”) - excerpt; Chapter 4 (“Magic and Religion”) of The Golden Bough (1912 edition)
-- Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, Introduction and Chapter 1 of How Natives Think (1910 [1926 Eng]
9/17 Essay on early views of religion due in class; class discussion
IV. CLASSIC ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDIES OF RELIGION
A. Bronislaw Malinowski,
9/19 Chapters I, II, and III of Magic, Science, and Religion (1925 [1954 ed.])
9/21 Chapters IV and V of Magic, Science, and Religion
9/24 Myth in Primitive Psychology [1925]
2. E.E. Evans-Pritchard, Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande (1937 [1976]
9/26 Introduction and Chapters I and II
9/28 Chapters III and IV (JA away at conference; class discussion anyway)
10/1 Chapters V and VIII ( we will OMIT Chapters VI and VII )
(submit ideas for research paper)
10/3 Chapters IX, XI, and XIII (we will OMIT Chapters X and XII)
C. Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger (1966)
10/5 Introduction, Chapters 1 and 2
10/8 Chapters 3, 4, and 5
10/10 Chapters 6, 7, and 8
10/12 Chapters 9 and 10
10/15 Essay due on Classic Approaches to Religion; in class discussion
V. MODERN ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDIES OF RELIGION
A. John Farella, The Main Stalk: A Synthesis of Navajo Philosophy (1984)
10/17 Preface, Chapter 1, Chapter 2 (through “First Man”)
10/19 Chapter 2 (finish), Chapter 3
10/20-
10/28 Fall Recess: begin work on research paper
A. John Farella, The Main Stalk (continued)
10/29 Chapter 4
10/31 Chapter 5 and 6
B. Claude Lévi-Strauss, The Jealous Potter (1996)
11/2 Introduction, Chapters 1, 2, and 3
11/5 Chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7
11/7 Chapters 8, 9, and 10
11/9 Chapters 11, 12, 13 , and 14
C. Margaret Drewal, Yoruba Ritual: Performance, Play, Agency (1992)
11/12 “Reader’s Road Map,” Chapters 1 and 2
11/14 Chapters 3 and 4
11/16 Chapters 5 and 6
11/19 Chapters 7 and 8
11/21 Chapters 9 and 10, Envoi
11/26 Essay due on Contemporary Approaches to Religion; in-class discussion
VI. CONCLUSION: THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN SHAPING HUMANKIND
Roy A. Rappaport, Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity (1999)
11/28 Chapters 1 and 2
11/30 Chapters 3 and 4
12/3 Chapters 5 and 6
12/5 Chapters 7 and 8
12/7 Chapters 9 and 10
12/10 Chapters 11 and 12
12/12 Chapters 13 and 14
12/14 Final Discussion and Assessment
12/17 Research Papers Due (day scheduled for final exam)
Commentaries
Every member of the class will be given responsibility for presenting oral commentaries on several assigned readings during the course of the semester. This component of the course has several purposes. First, it provides the class with a focus for discussing each reading. The commentator in effect sets the agenda of the discussion by offering an original assessment of or reaction to some aspect of the reading. Most of the readings contain numerous points that could become the focus for a commentary, and commentators will be able to select for general discussion what struck them most. A second purpose is to give commentators an opportunity to think through their commentaries in advance of class in order to present and defend an idea more cogently. A third purpose of the commentaries is to give students more practice with semi-formal oral presentations.
The topics of commentaries are given below in chronological order, keyed to the syllabus. I have offered some guiding suggestions for the kind of things commentators might want to address in different sections of the course. Commentaries will be assigned in essentially a random order. They should last about five minutes. Commentators should submit a written abstract of their commentary on the day they present, but should not read from these in class.
I. Introduction (no commentaries)
II. Sketches of Local Religions
(Commentators might address any of the following questions: 1. how does the report reflect or enlarge upon the Western view of religion? 2. what is especially noteworthy or problematic in the account? 3. how much confidence do you have in the author’s representation of an aspect of religion in the culture?)
1. on Columbus
2. on Ellis and Codrington
3. on Boller
4. on Callaway
5. on Fletcher
6. on Linton
7. on Rasmussen
8. on Ferguson
9. on Miner
10 on Uchendu
11. on Merrill
12. on Lee
13. on Brown
III. Early Theories
(Commentators might address any of the following questions: 1. how is the author trying to make sense of religion or religious phenomena? 2. What definition of religion is the author advocating, and what features is he or she emphasizing? How useful or persuasive do you find the author’s commentary? 4. How does this author’s views compare with those of other authors?)
14. on Tylor
15. on Müller
16. on Marett
17. on Durkheim
18. on Frazer
19. on Lévy-Bruhl
IV. Classic Anthropological Studies
The questions here can be similar to those listed under “early theories,” though the possibilities for comparing views and raising deeper questions get better.
A. Malinowski
20. M,S, and R: Chapters 1 and 2: M’s views
21. M and earlier descriptive authors
22. M, S and R: Chapters 3 and 4: M’s views
23. M and earlier theoretical authors
24. M, S and R: Chapter 5: M’s views
26. M and our understanding of religion
27. On Myth: Dedication and Chapters 1 and 2
28. On Myth: Chapters 3, 4, and 5
B. Evans-Pritchard
29. Chapter I
30. Chapter II
31. Chapter III
32. Chapter IV
33. Chapter V
34. E-P and Malinwoski compared
35. Chapter VIII
36. Chapter IX
37. Chapter XI
38. Chapter XIII and Overview of the book
39. Overview of the book