REL 120 Magic

Wizards and Wicca, angels and demons, entertainers and con-artists – the words and the worlds of magic beckon to us from television sets and new-age stores, speak in the language of children’s books and church sermons. But what is magic? And, more importantly, whose traditions and practices get called “magic”? This course examines the debates over magic in historic and contemporary contexts, examining traditions from Vodou to Islam. As we pay particular attention to the lines between the rational and the irrational, the authentic and the fake, and between commitment and entertainment, our investigations will ultimately lead us to ask: what is religion?

Credits

4 sh

Course Types

IGS Elective; Interreligious Studies Elective; African/African-American Studies Elective

Course Outcomes

1. Students will demonstrate their ability to think critically about the socially constructed nature of that which can be categorized as “religious.”
2. Students will recognize and describe breadth and diversity within particular constructions of religion.
3. Students will recognize and explain ways in which “religion” has cultural, political, and economic significance and/or ways in which cultural, political, and economic phenomena have religious significance.
4. Students will produce nuanced reflections on ways that religious traditions and religious communities have interacted with other religious traditions and communities throughout history.