Fall 2021, CairoShort Course
Healing, Rituals, and Spirituality – An introduction to the Anthropology of Religion
Course details
- Cycle
- Fall 2021, Cairo
- Starts
- Tuesday, Sep 21
- Meets
- Tuesday, 18:30–21:00
- Length
- 8 sessions
- Format
- Online
- Taught in
- English
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About the course
Anthropology is the study of people, cultures, and the human condition. This course introduces the concepts of religion and spirituality with an anthropological, social, and cultural lens that focuses on rituals and healing. Our question does not focus on the synopsis of different religions in the world, it is rather an exploration and investigation of key facets of religio-spiritual practices. This includes rituals, magic and witchcraft, myth, history of religion, and spiritual healing. Our aim is to investigate how all of these concepts were created and recreated to form the spiritual beliefs and practices that are popular today.
This course will help students: - Analyze and interpret beliefs, practices, and social structures in religious traditions from an anthropological perspective. Cover sufficient conceptual and background material on the selected topic. - Reflect on the literature directly related to the history and theories of anthropology of religion and magic and the debate over the mystical and the modern mind/mentality. - Compare and contrast popular spiritual healing practices from around the globe with those prevalent in Egypt. - Conduct ethnographic fieldwork on a topic of the student’s choice.
Who teaches it
Sohayla is a PhD student, social researcher, medical anthropologist, and sexual and reproductive health and rights specialist, based in Cairo, Egypt. She worked as a research consultant at the American University of Beirut, and she is also a founding member of the East Mediterranean Federation of Sexual Health (EMFeSH). With her advocacy roles, she is focused on intersectionality, structural violence, and gender justice. Throughout her career, she worked on producing journal articles, technical reports, proposals, case studies, evaluation reports, and training manuals. Her research style merges theoretical and fieldwork approaches. She holds an M.A in Social Anthropology and a B.A in Political Science from the American University in Cairo.
Course flow
September 2021
Date: September 21st.
- Shane the Lone Ethnographer: A Beginner’s Guide to EthnographyCampbell Galman, Sally. 2007.
Date: September 28th.
Assignment: Fieldnote about an encounter with signs, healing, and/or fate. (Due Saturday, October 2nd or before class on the 5th)
- Theories and ControversiesBowie, Fiona (2002). Chapter 1. The Anthropology of Religion. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers (Blackboard).
- Introduction in Magic, Witchcraft, and the Otherworld: An AnthropologyGreenwood, S. (2000). Alternative to the reading above (OR).
- Living with the invisiblesRecommended film.
- Seance reflectionsRecommended film.
- 30 must-watch videos in cultural anthropology & religionRecommended films list (Medium article, as linked in the flow).
October 2021
Date: October 5th.
- The Elementary Forms of the Religious LifeDurkheim.
- Religion as a Cultural SystemGeertz. Alternative (OR).
- Religion and RitualEriksen, Thomas H. 2010. (Chapter 14) Small Places, Large Issues: An Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology. Pluto Press. Alternative (OR).
Date: October 12th.
Assignment: 500-words reflection on a tradition that is not your own (Due before class on the 12th).
- Modern Psychology and Ancient Wisdom: Psychological Healing Practices from the World’s Religious TraditionsMijares, S. (2002). Routledge. (Buddhism – Christianity – Goddess Spirituality – Judaism – Native American Psychspirituality – Sufism – Taoism – Yoga and Hinduism)
- Saheb El MaqamRecommended film.
- Gods and SatansRecommended film.
- The Man Who Made WitchcraftRecommended film.
Date: October 19th.
Assignment: Watch and write a film review for either of the below documentaries or a reflection on a healing encounter. (Due Saturday, October 23rd)
- Introduction in Sickness and Healing: An Anthropological PerspectiveHahn, R. (1995). Yale. P. 1-10. Read with the next item (AND).
- Recovering the Invisible: Methods for the Historical Study of the EmotionsSusan J Matt. Doing Emotions History, p. 41-53.
- When the Body Says ‘No’: The Cost of Hidden StressMate, G. (2003). NY and Toronto: A.Knopf., Ltd. Alternative (OR).
- (Un)WellRecommended film for the assignment.
- HealRecommended film for the assignment.
Date: October 26th.
- Spiritual Healing: What Is It? Does It Work and Does It Have A Place In Modern Healthcare?Mason, S. (2010). Read with the next item (AND).
- Is the Body the Temple of the Soul? Modern Yoga Practice as a Psychosocial PhenomenonKoniecki, K. (2016). Introduction. Alternative (OR) to the readings above and below.
- A Sociology of TarotSosteric, M. (2014). The Canadian Journal of Sociology. Alternative (OR).
- Crystal Healing Practices in the Western World and BeyondCarlos, K. (2018). Honors Undergraduate Theses. Alternative (OR).
In class
- PresentationIn class activity: Mini presentation or essay on a spiritual ritual or the history of a practice.
November 2021
Date: November 2nd (Might reschedule to 6th).
- Consuming the Self: New Age Spirituality as “Social Product” in Consumer SocietyRindfleish, J. (2005). Consumption Markets and Culture. Read with the next item (AND).
- Alternative Healing as Magical Self-Care in Alternative ModernityKoch, A. (2015). Brill. Read with the item above (AND).
- MindfulnessBateman, A. (2018). Cambridge University Press. Alternative (OR).
Date: November 9th.
In class
- ActivityCreative project on a spiritual practice.
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