RELS 195 Shamanism and Spirit Possession

This course provides an introduction to Shamanism and Spirit Possession. We will use case studies from Native American and African traditions-in their homeland and in the diaspora-to investigate the historical use and scholarly conceptions of these categories. We will also explore how the use of these terms relates to the construction of Otherness and new forms of religious innovation paying particular attention to why one term (shamanism) has been used to refer to indigenous peoples of Asia and the Western hemisphere while another term (spirit possession) has been used to refer to those of African descent.