Anthropology of the supernatural and new religions

Pre-requisites: There are no preconditions

Course objectives: a) Acquiring fundamental knowledge of the discussed issues, mastering conceptual and categorial apparatus b) Introduction to research techniques and theoretical approaches to dealing with' supernatural phenomena and new religious movements c) Understanding the meaning and role of different conceptualization of beyond and different social groups and their functioning, as well as the different motives of assembly and association, thoughts and behavior in relation to the concepts of existence, the

Course description: The subject includes the following topics: 1. Introduction 2. Anthropological approach to the supernatural 3. New religions and religious concepts 4. Supernatural phenomena - case studies 5. The religious and ritual practices theory and the new religions

Learning Outcomes: Training students for independent research, understanding and interpreting of religious phenomena positioning the so-called supernatural phenomena, in the factual social context, the development of critical thinking, different religious ideas and religious pluralism

Literature/Reading:

• Lajl Votson, Iza super prirode: novi naučni pogled na natprirodno, Beograd, 1996.
• J. Gordon Melton, New Age Encyclopedia, Detroit, 1990.
• Enciklopedija novih religija – Nove religije, sekte i alternativni duhovni pokreti, uredio Kristofer Partridž, Zagreb, 2005.
• D. Sinani, Priviđenja i sablasti u Srbiji, Knjaževac, 2005.
• D. Sinani, Opsednutost i egzorcizam u Srbiji, Beograd, 2007.
• M. E. Spiro, R. D’ Andrade, A Cross-Cultural Study of Some Supernatural Beliefs, American Anthropologist, N.S., Vol. 60, No. 3, 1958, 456-466.
• M. Winkelman, Magic – A Theoretical Reassessment, Current Anthropology, Vol. 23, No. 1, 1982, 37-66.
• Elejn Pejgls, S one strane vere, Beograd, 2005
• R. Kevendiš, Istorija magije, Beograd, 1979.
• P. Singer, ’’Psychic Surgery’’: Close Observation of a Popular Healing Practise, Medical Anthropology Quarterly, N. S., Vol. 4, No.4, 1990, 443-451.
• B. Saler, Supernatural as a Western Category, Ethos, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1977, 31-53.
• T. E Bullard, UFO Abduction Reports: The Supernatural Kidnap Narrative Returns in Technological Guise, The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 102, No. 404, 1989,147-170.
• P. Boyer, Functional Origins of Religious Concepts: Ontological and Strategic Selection in Evolved Minds, The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2000, 195 -214.
• D. J. Hughes, Blending with an other: An Analysis of Trance Channeling in the United States, Ethos, Vol. 19, No. 2, 1991, 161-184.