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Texas A&M ANTH 3305 Summer 2019

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Texas A&M ANTH 3305 Summer 2019 Texas A&M ANTH 3305 UNIVERSITY Central Texas WICCA & NEO-PAGANISM Summer 2019 Class Location: FH 210 Class Hours: TR 2:30-5:15 Instructor: Christine Jones, PhD Office: HH 204 C Office Hours: T/Th 1:00-2:30 (please make an appointment) Email: [email protected] or Canvas message NOTE: If contacting instructor outside of Canvas, students must use their official TAMUCT emails. 1.0 Course Description A critical eXamination of Wicca and Neo-pagan groups in the US. EXplores the history of such groups and eXposes the student to academic research in this area. 2.0 Accessing Canvas This is a lecture course with online components in Canvas. The student accesses Canvas on the TAMUCT website (“MY CT”), or at https://tamuct.onecampus.com/. 3.0 Course Objectives 1. Students will be able to recognize the functions that religion serves in society. 2. Students will become acquainted with theories and research on religious beliefs and practices. 3. Students will be able to identify the social and environmental factors related to neo- pagan groups. 4. Students will acquire basic literacy in Wicca and neo-pagan traditions. 5. Students will be able to assess the impact of neo-pagan traditions on the daily lives of groups and their impact on society. 6. Students will gain an appreciation for the multidimensional nature of religiosity and other ways of practicing religion. 7. Students will develop a degree of objectivity about the subjective reality of religion. 8. Students will submit prose reactions to material and topics covered in class discussions. 9. Students will submit acceptable essays for mid-term and final eXams. To be accepted, the student shall discuss all aspects of an essay question, using standard English prose and grammatical construction. Syllabus for ANTH 3305: Wicca & Neo-Paganism 2 4.0 Textbooks 4.1 Required for Course Berger, H. A. (1999). A community of witches: Contemporary neo-paganism and witchcraft in the United States. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina. Greer, J. M. (2006). The druidry handbook: Spiritual practice rooted in the living earth. San Francisco: Weiser. Harner, M. (1990). The way of the shaman (3rd ed.). New York: HarperOne. Starhawk. (1999). The spiral dance: A rebirth of the ancient religion of the great Goddess (3rd ed.). New York: HarperOne. 4.2 Recommended but Not Required Adler, M. (2006). Drawing down the moon: Witches, druids, Goddess-worshippers, and other pagans in America (4th ed.). New York: Penguin. Beckett, J. (2017). The path of paganism: An experience-based guide to modern pagan practice. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn. Berger, H. A. (Ed.). (2005). Witchcraft and magic: Contemporary North America. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania. Berger, H. A., Leach, E. A., & Shaffer, L. S. (2003). Voices from the pagan census: A national survey of witches and neo-pagans in the United States. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina. Briggs, R. (1996). Witches and neighbors: The social and cultural context of European witchcraft. New York: Penguin. Buckland, R. (1986/1997). Buckland’s complete book of witchcraft. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn. Calabrese, J. D. (2013). A different medicine: Postcolonial healing in the Native American Church. New York: Oxford. Castaneda, C. (1968). The teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui way of knowledge. New York: Pocket. Castaneda, C. (1971). A separate reality: Further conversations with Don Juan. New York: Pocket. Castaneda, C. (1972). Journey to Ixtlan: The lessons of Don Juan. New York: Pocket. Campbell, J. (2008). The hero with a thousand faces (3rd ed.). Novato: CA: New World Library. Cunningham, S. (1989). Wicca: A guide for the solitary practitioner. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn. Eliade, M. (1964). Shamanism: Archaic techniques of ecstasy (W. R. Trask, Trans.). Princeton. Ellison, R. (2013). The solitary druid: Walking the path of wisdom and spirit (2nd ed.). Tucson, AZ: Ár nDraiocht Féin. Gardner, G. (1950/2008). The Gardnerian book of shadows. N.p.: Forgotten Books. Gardner, G. (1954/2004). Witchcraft today. New York: Citadel. Gardner, G. (1959/2004). The meaning of witchcraft. Boston: Weiser. Graves, R. (1948/1966). The white Goddess: A historical grammar of poetic myth. New York: Noonday. Syllabus for ANTH 3305: Wicca & Neo-Paganism 3 Hammerschlag, C. A. (1988). The dancing healers: A doctor’s journey of healing with Native Americans. San Francisco: Harper and Row. Harner, M. (2013). Cave and cosmos: Shamanic encounters with another reality. Berkeley: North Atlantic. Hutton, R. (1991). The pagan religions of the ancient British Isles: Their nature and legacy. OXford: Blackwell. Hutton, R. (1999). The triumph of the moon: A history of modern pagan witchcraft. Oxford. Hutton, R. (2001). Shamans: Siberian spirituality and the Western imagination. London: Hambledon. Hutton, R. (2007). The druids. London: Hambledon. Hutton, R. (2009). Blood and mistletoe: The history of the druids in Britain. New Haven, CT: Yale. Hutton, R. (2013). Pagan Britain. New Haven, CT: Yale. Hutton, R. (2017). The witch: A history of fear, from ancient times to the present. New Haven, CT: Yale. Markale, J. (1985/1999). The druids: Celtic priests of nature (J. Graham, Trans.). Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions. Neihardt, J. G. (1932). Black Elk speaks: Being the life story of a holy man of the Ogalala Sioux. New York: MJF. Pearson, J. L. (2002). Shamanism and the ancient mind: A cognitive approach to archaeology. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira. Piggott, S. (1968). The druids. New York: Thames and Hudson. Price, N. (Ed.). (2001). The archaeology of shamanism. London: Routledge. Valiente, D. (1978). Witchcraft for tomorrow. N.p.: Robert Hale. 5.0 Course Requirements 5.1 EXams (400 pts) The student will take two eXams, a mid-term and a final. The eXams are not “open-book,” nor may the student use any notes or messages from cell phones. The eXams are essays, written in a blue book. Work not done in a blue book will not be graded. Blue books are available from the bookstore. Each eXam is valued at 200 points. The student has a maximum of two hours to take the eXam, given immediately after roll call. The eXam window closes, however, when two hours have elapsed. The mid-term eXam will receive comments from the instructor and will be returned to the student. Students are encouraged to review their work before submission. The following rubric will guide the instructor: Syllabus for ANTH 3305: Wicca & Neo-Paganism 4 Qualities & Criteria Poor Good Excellent Content Not objective and poorly Mostly objective and Objective and • Elements of topics addresses the issues. addresses most of the addresses all the to be addressed Information is unnecessary issues. Information is issues. Information is • Information is or insufficient to discuss mostly necessary and necessary and correct the issues. sufficient to discuss sufficient to discuss • Coherency the issues. the issues. (0-109 pts) (110-131 pts) (132-140 pts) (Weight: 70%) Quality of Writing Poorly written and Mostly well-written, Well-written, without • Clarity contains flagrant spelling without egregious egregious spelling or • Grammar and and grammatical errors. spelling or grammatical errors. English usage Poorly organized, lacks grammatical errors. Well organized, clear, • Organization and clarity, and is incoherent. Organized, clear, and and ideas are coherence ideas are presented in presented in coherent coherent ways. ways. (Weight: 30%) (0-40 pts) (41-55 pts) (56-60 pts) A week before each eXam, the instructor will provide students with two eXam questions. This practice provides the student with a week’s worth of preparation. It is highly recommended that students compose some outline of how they will write their essays and commit those outlines to memory. Blue books must be blank before students begin their eXams. After beginning the eXam, however, students may wish to write working outlines on the eXam questions page or on the inside cover of the blue book. A simple outline provides coherency and organization for one’s essay. NOTE: Upper-level undergraduate students are eXpected to have adequate knowledge of the essentials of grammar, writing style, and essay organization in accordance with writing manuals. If the student does not have adequate knowledge in these areas, then the purchase and use of additional books are highly recommended. The University Writing Center is also available to students. Failure to provide written work in accordance with the essentials of acceptable, English writing style will result in poor grades. EXamples of non-standard English usage include, among other things, sentence fragments, run-ons, dangling modifiers, lack of agreement between pronouns and their antecedents or subjects and verbs, bulleted items, slashes, flagrant misuse of punctuation, slang or abbreviated eXpressions, “etc.,” and eXcessive use of metaphorical language. In Modules, there is a Power Point on “Typical Problems with Essay EXams.” 5.2 Class Participation (300 pts) Students are eXpected to participate in class discussions, indicating an understanding of the reading material and how to apply it. Students are to read Syllabus for ANTH 3305: Wicca & Neo-Paganism 5 assigned material before class. Students earn a point for full attendance on a specific day (appear on time and do not leave early). Students earn an additional point for participating in class discussions. (No points are awarded on eXam days.) Thus, the student earns 0-2 points on each class day (total of 12 days), which correspond to the following grade: Points Grade Points Grade 24 300 10-11 139 22-23 277 8-9 116 20-21 254 6-7 93 18-19 231 4-5 70 16-17 208 2-3 48 14-15 185 1 23 12-13 162 NOTE: If students are tardy (appear in class after roll is called), it is their responsibility to notify the instructor at the conclusion of class (before leaving the classroom that day), that they arrived in class and would like to receive some credit for class participation.
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