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Altered States of Consciousness_Psychedelics.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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Altered States of Consciousness_slides.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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De Colonial Theory.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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Intro.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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Intro_Presentation.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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Lived Religion.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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Myth.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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Myth_Presentation.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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Religion and Materiality.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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Religion and Media.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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Ritual_L1.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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Ritual_L2.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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Ritual_L2_Presentation.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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RitualsI_Presentation.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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Symbolic Thinking_Presentation.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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Symbols.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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Systematics of General Anthropology.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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Witchcraft_FINAL.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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Witchcraft_Presentation.pdf | Mgr. Martin Pehal, Ph.D. | |
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This introductory course offers a guided entry into the anthropological study of religion, designed for undergraduate beginners (regardless of their primary specialisation) with no prior background in anthropology. We approach “religion” not as a fixed essence or isolated belief-system, but as a dynamic set of practices, experiences, material forms, narratives, institutions, and media technologies that shape (and are shaped by) social life. Students will learn how anthropologists have defined and debated religion, how ethnography changes what counts as “religious,” and why questions of power, colonial history, and representation are central to the field.
The course combines foundational theory with ethnographic case studies from different regions and traditions. We move from classical perspectives (e.g., religion as social glue, symbol system, or practice) toward contemporary debates on lived religion, materiality, gender, media, shamanism, magic/witchcraft, and altered states of consciousness (including psychedelic research and its ethical/political contexts). Along the way, students practice core anthropological skills: close reading, concept mapping, and comparing cases. Poslední úprava: Pehal Martin, Mgr., Ph.D. (04.02.2026)
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The course is completed by an oral examination. Religious Studies students are examined individually and must register under ARL100414. The oral exam covers the assigned readings (approx. 50 pages/lesson) and the lecture content. Lectures will be recorded and made available to students who are registered for the course. A seminar (ARL100423) accompanies the lecture, but enrollment is limited to 20 students. Seminar attendance is not required to earn course credit. Poslední úprava: Pehal Martin, Mgr., Ph.D. (04.02.2026)
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Physical presence at lectures is preferable, but all lectures will be streamed. Poslední úprava: Pehal Martin, Mgr., Ph.D. (19.02.2026)
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19.2.: Intro I: Anthropological Perspectives on Religion What makes an approach “anthropological”? We introduce ethnography, cultural comparison, and the study of religion as social practice. Key debates: definition problems, “belief vs. practice,” insider/outsider perspectives, and reflexivity. 26.2.: Intro II: Systematics of General Anthropology A compact map of anthropology: culture, social structure, kinship, economy, politics, symbolism, and power—showing where religion intersects each domain. Students learn core analytic habits: emic/etic, description vs. explanation, and comparison without ranking. 5.3.: Religion and Materiality Religion is made and felt through things: bodies, objects, food, clothing, sacred spaces, images, and sensory experience. We examine how material forms mediate presence, authority, memory, and devotion. 12.3.: Post/De-Colonial Critique How did colonialism shape the category “religion” and the study of non-European lifeworlds? We discuss critique of “world religions” templates, the politics of translation, and decolonial methods for reading archives and doing fieldwork. 19.3.: Lived Religion From official doctrine to everyday life: how people practice, improvise, and negotiate religion in homes, streets, workplaces, and online. We focus on ambiguity, syncretism, routine, emotion, and moral striving. 26.3.: Religion and Media Religions travel through writing, print, film, radio, television, and platforms. We analyze mediation (how media shape what religion becomes), authority in digital spaces, and the aesthetics of persuasion. 2.4.: class cancelled (Spring reading Week) 9.4.: Symbols Myths as stories that do social work: explaining origins, legitimizing order, and offering moral maps. Symbols as condensed meaning in action—how they organize experience, identity, and political claims. 16.4.: Myths 23.4.: Rituals I Ritual as performance, repetition, and transformation: what rituals do (create communities, mark boundaries, reorder time, handle crisis). Students learn classic tools for ritual analysis (sequence, roles, setting, efficacy). 30.4.: Cancelled 7.5.: Rituals II Advanced ritual debates: power and discipline, habit and embodiment, emotion and affect, failure and improvisation, and the politics of public ritual. We compare small-scale and mass-mediated ritual forms. 14.5.: Magic and Witchcraft Classic anthropological questions: rationality, uncertainty, misfortune, and social conflict. We compare “magic” as technique and “witchcraft” as accusation, including modern moral panics, occult economies, and contemporary enchantments. 21.5.: Changed States of Consciousness: Psychedelics An anthropological lens on altered states (dreams, trance, possession, fasting, psychedelics) as cultural practices with ethical and political stakes. We discuss ritualized use, healing/therapy, knowledge claims, and the tensions between Indigenous traditions, scientific research, and commercialization. Poslední úprava: Pehal Martin, Mgr., Ph.D. (04.05.2026)
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Recordings: 19.2. – The Anthropologicla Perspective on Religion: Introduction I (Anthropology of Religion I-20260219_123015-Meeting Recording.mp4) Poslední úprava: Pehal Martin, Mgr., Ph.D. (19.02.2026)
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Learning outcomes (by the end of the course, students can):
Poslední úprava: Pehal Martin, Mgr., Ph.D. (04.02.2026)
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