LFU:online

1.           Identify and explain key theoretical approaches anthropologists use to study religion, magic, witchcraft, and the supernatural across cultures

2.           Compare diverse religious and spiritual traditions—including Vodou, shamanism, spirit possession, Maya traditions, and entheogen use—using culturally relative frameworks

3.           Analyze the social functions of religious practices, rituals, and belief systems within their cultural and historical contexts

4.           Evaluate the relationship between religious movements, syncretism, and processes of cultural contact and change

5.           Apply anthropological concepts such as liminality, sacred symbols, and ritual to interpret specific ethnographic case studies

6.           Critically examine witchcraft accusations in relation to broader patterns of social conflict, scapegoating, and power dynamics

7.           Synthesize insights from ethnographic texts, documentaries, and class discussions to develop informed perspectives on the diversity of human spiritual experience

This course offers a cross-cultural comparative examination of religion through an anthropological approach that emphasizes holism and cultural relativity. Students will study myth, ritual, witchcraft, shamanism, and spirit possession, with attention to how religions function within the total cultural systems of which they form a part. This class provides a broad introduction to religions across the world, with particular emphasis on European and especially Central European traditions.

The University of New Orleans International Summer School program has a mandatory class attendance policy. All students are required to attend class for all morning classes and any required afternoon and/or weekend fields trips and lectures. No unexcused absences are allowed. However, LFU students who have to miss a UNO class due to LFU examinations in the first two weeks of our program, can receive one excused absence for this. Any further unexcused absences will result in an academic penalty. Each faculty member determines the penalty for missed classes. Most professors deduct a letter grade for each additional missed class day. For details, please refer to your course syllabi, which will be distributed on the first day of class. The listed ECTS credits are a recommendation by the University of New Orleans Innsbruck Summer School, based on contact hours, anticipated out-of-classroom requirements such as field trips, and projected workload for readings, assignments, and exam preparation. Mail: Center-New-Orleans@uibk.ac.at