EMP 753    M. Gutierrez   3 credits
Introduction to Shamanism: Practices and Beliefs

Description

Shamanism is the oldest healing practice known on the planet. Petroglyphs found in France may prove that shamanism was practiced as far back as paleolithic times. But what is shamanism? This course gives the student a thorough overview, as well as in depth study of the ancient to modern day traditional shaman.

This course will invite students to consider controversial topics such as the survival of shamanic traditions through incorporating christianity, modern culture’s bias towards male shamans, and spiritual consumerism’s co-opting of shamanism. Students will be asked to consider their own calling to follow the path of the healer and how their journey compares and contrasts to a traditional native shaman’s life experience.

Objectives

• Students will have a broader knowledge of shamanic cultures, traditions and practices from around the world.
• Students will also have acquired a thorough knowledge of the history of shamanism, how shamanism is the ancestor of modern healing arts, and they will have formed their own opinion on shamanism’s relevance today.

Topics

• Shamans Past and Present
• The Life of a Traditional Shaman
• Shamanic Cultures Clash and Assimilation with Christianity
• Women and Shamanism
• False Shamans
• The Value of Shamanism in Our Modern World.

Texts

• Reader by Vine Deloria Spirit & Reason: The Vine Deloria, Jr.
• Edited by Jeremy Narby and Francis Huxley Shamans Through Time: 500 Years on the Path to Knowledge
• Robert F. Ryan The Strong Eye of Shamanism: A Journey Into the Caves of Consciousness
• Barbara Tedlock The Woman in the Shaman’s Body
• Hank Wesselman The Bowl of Light: Ancestral Wisdom from a Hawaiian Shaman

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