Magic, Science & Religion Anthropology 5

1. Magic, Science & ReligionAnthropology 5 Winter 2012 Katherine Schaefers, Instructor Office: Middlefield B3 (here) OH: 5:30-6:00pm M/W before class

2. The Anthropological Study of ReligionChapter 1 • Film: “Inventing Reality” • We use Religion/Science/Spirituality for the same goal: • The attempt to comprehend and control our circumstances and our world • The study of humanity • Greek: Anthropos (“Man”) logy (“study of”) • Also, an integrated study of humanity • Holism: Integrating as many different aspects of human society (like psychology, politics, religion, customs, institutions like marriage, funerary rituals, gender, subsistence economy, etc.) to create the most complete picture possible. • Goal of Anthropology? • Why do we study other people? What can be gained?

3. “To make the strangefamiliar, and the familiarstrange” • Strangeness, the unfamiliar is scary and can lead to misguided feelings of anger and hate, which may eventually lead to warfare and death. • Most interpersonal or inter-group conflicts are caused by a lack of understanding. • Discovering similarities between one’s own culture and that of others leads to more harmonious relationships.

4. Anthropology’sTraditional Fields • Physical • Human Biology and Evolution • Genetics, DNA studies, evolutionary theory, primate behavior, paleontology, fossil record. • Evolutionary origins & the neurobiology of religious experience • Archaeology • Physical and Cultural remains • Religion in remains of temples, art, ritual, artifacts, ancient texts. • Linguistics • Origins and distribution of language • Many religious beliefs are passed down orally in the form of myths or other narratives. • Cultural • Social organization, economics, technology, political organization, marriage, family life. • The study of Magic, Science and Religion falls under this sub-category. • These 4 fields are rarely mutually exclusive & today’s anthropology scene is very fluid, often incorporating techniques from outside disciplines like psychology (study of the human psyche/mind) and sociology (study of human society).

5. Terms and techniques used by Cultural Anthropologists • Participant Observation: To truly understand a culture, an anthropologist will usually study a culture for an extended period of time, sometimes taking many years. Oftentimes, the anthropologist will live within the community and partake in daily life and activities. • Ethnography: A Cultural Anthropologist’s work usually culminates into something called an Ethnography, or a written description of the studied society. These are usually published in books and journals.

6. Terms and techniques used by Cultural Anthropologists cont. • Culture Area: This class will make use of ethnographic material from around the world from locations that are termed “Culture Areas” or geographical areas where societies tend to share many traits, either because of similar responses to the environment or because of cultural diffusion (sharing of culture) between these groups. • Chart: pgs. 4-6 in book. Look through and make sure you can identify the different culture areas and which groups inhabit them. • Ethnographic present: Cultures which may no longer exist (like some Native American groups) will still be referred to in the present tense by Cultural Anthropologists.

7. A question of perspective:The Fore of New Guinea • Problem: The Fore are a group of ~14,000 horticulturalists (cultivators of domesticated plants without the use of modern agricultural techniques) from the Melanesia Culture Area who have had about 200 of their members die from mysterious causes each year. The locals call it Kuruor “to tremble with fear.” Jerking/shaking/unable to coordinate are the main symptoms. After 9 months, the individual is no longer able to eat or drink and soon dies. Women and children are mainly afflicted. • Solution? If you were asked to look into this case, what would your first hypothesis be as to the cause of the affliction? • Think back to our film “Inventing Reality” and the interplay between modern western medicine and traditional beliefs.

8. Holism solves it • We must look to all aspects of the Fore’s society for the answer, specifically, their religious and funerary practices… • Kuru is caused by an infectious agent that is ingested by family members when they consume the remains of their dead loved ones. To the Fore, the holiest, most sacred resting place for the deceased is within the bodies of their loved ones. The deceased’s remains would be cooked and distributed amongst family as a form of utmost respect. Women and children, having lower social status, were more likely to ingest the brain (the seat of the infectious agent).

9. Etic/EmicAnalysis • Etic Analysis: Viewing and labeling a culture with our own words and terms. • Advantages: Finding patterns that the studied group may be unaware of. Applying an Etic Analysis to all cultures that you study makes it easier to identify Human Universals. Terms and categories can be made for new information to be nicely organized. Etic Analysis is mainly used in Anthropological studies. • Etic Analysis: Kuru is caused by a virus in the afflicted’s bloodstream that is later ingested by family members. • But what are bacteria, germs, diseases, a virus to the Fore? These are not only foreign words, but also foreign ideas. • Emic Analysis: Viewing a culture through the eyes of the people being studied. • Advantages: Better understanding of the studied culture, but much, much harder to attain. Argument: is it even possible to see through the eyes of another culture? To undo and place aside one’s own worldview and wholly adopt another? (HW question). • Emic Analysis:Kuru is caused by Sorcery. The Sorcerer will obtain a personal belonging of the individual’s, combine it in a bundle with leaves, bark and stones and bury it in the cold muddy earth. The Sorcerer will then recite a spell and let the bundle rot. The individual then develops Kuru.

10. Cultural Relativism • Cannibalism. Right/Wrong? Does context matter? Who gets to make up the rules?

11. Cultural Relativism cont. • The norms and values we grow up with seem right and correct • We use our own society as a base for judging others • Thinking of others as simple, primitive, immoral, less-than-human or somehow fundamentally “wrong” is how wars start and propaganda is spread. Have you ever been in a situation where you found yourself in the role of “the other”. Have you ever been stereotyped or judged based on another group’s values?