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Culture Myth and Symbolism - ANTH307

All our social practices have a cultural dimension that is as profound as anything we would usually consider to be an imperative such as earning a livelihood. In the twentieth century anthropologists concerned with the study of culture came to focus on systems of symbols and meaning. In this course we will ground the study of symbols and meaning in three dimensions of human existence: our understanding of the world around us as specific kinds of meaningful places rather than as a neutral backdrop to meaning; our own bodies and sensory bodily practices as the vehicle and means for this capacity to make the world meaningful; our capacity to experience ourselves as creatures who inhabit time, but in quite varied and distinctive ways. Throughout the emphasis will be on allowing us as students of culture with our own experiences of place, of embodiment, of ritual, of symbol and myth, of death, and of happier experiences such as music and song. While as is usual in anthropology we will read broadly from rich ethnographies of other places and people, we will create spaces to explore our own experiences as cultural beings through story telling. Where possible we will create a degree of shared experiences even of other cultures, for example, by visiting a Hindu temple.

Credit Points: 3
When Offered:

S1 Day - Session 1, North Ryde, Day

Staff Contact(s): Dr Deborah Van Heekeren
Prerequisites:

(39cp at 100 level or above) or admission to GDipArts  Prerequisite Information

Corequisites:

NCCW(s): ANTH201, ANTH276
Unit Designation(s):

Science

Unit Type:
Assessed As: Graded
Offered By:

Department of Anthropology

Faculty of Arts

Course structures, including unit offerings, are subject to change.
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