GEE Courses offered by the Anthropology Department

ANT 2340/UGC 296U Magic, Myth and Supernatural 魔法、神話與超自然

Related Websites

General:

• http://www.csicop.org/articles/april_fools_1998/index.html Don't Be Fooled: Strange Hoaxes That Endure, by Joe Nickell and Matt Nisbet [A top ten list]
• "The Coming of the Fairies: An alternative view of the episode of The Cottingley Fairies" by Barbara Roden; explains why Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fell for one of the most famous hoaxes of the century http://www.ash-tree.bc.ca/ACDFAIRIES.html
• http://www.fairytalemovie.com/ Movie on the Cottingley Fairies incident that does not let facts get in the way of a good story: "Enjoy the facts, but don't be afraid to take a chance on fantasy."
• To "debunkers" of paranormal http://www.csicop.org/si/
• http://www.csicop.org/si/2000-05/delusions.html Mass Delusions and Hysterias: Highlights from the Past Millennium.  Over the past millennium, mass delusions and hysterical outbreaks have taken many forms. Sociologists Robert Bartholomew and Erich Goode survey some of the more colorful cases.
• Computer virus myths http://kumite.com/myths
• Doomsday Asteroid http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/spacewatch/
• The Beast of Loch Ness http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lochness/
• The Secrets of Easter Island http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/easter/

Witchcraft:

• Salem Witch Trial http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/salem/
• Salem Witchcraft Trials 1692 http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/salem.htm
• Witchcraft: The Facts http://www.blast.net/norm3vog/fact.html
• Witchcraft Basics http://www.witchvox.com/xbasics.html

Evil Eye:

• http://www.luckymojo.com/evileye.html "The Evil Eye" by Catherine Yronwode
• http://skepdic.com/evileye.html "The Evil Eye" entry in The Skeptic's Dictionary by Robert Todd Carroll

Divination:

• http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/ERA/Divination/  Anthropological Studies of Divination

Health and curing:

• Discover Magazine article on Andrew Weil, best-selling M.D. author and alternative medicine guru for the USA http://www.britannica.com/bcom/magazine/article/0,5744,201260,00.html
• Scathing critique of Weil's books by Arnold Relman, former editor of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine http://www.tnr.com/archive/1298/121498/relman121498.html

Shamanism:

• Annotated bibliography on shamanism in Chinese culture by Barend ter Haar, University of Heidelberg, Germany http://sun.sino.uni-heidelberg.de/staff/bth/shamanism.htm
• http://www.shamanism.org/ Michael Harner's online shop.

UFOs and Alien Abduction:

• Kidnapped by UFOs? http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/aliens/
• Hunt for Alien Worlds http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worlds/

Myths:

• http://www.starwars.com/episode-i/features/legends/
• For Leach's article on "Genesis as Myth" can see Genesis bible myth in modern American English http://worldenglishbible.org/bible/web/Genesis.htm or, King James version http://www.genesis.net.au/~bible/kjv/genesis/
• Also see Mesopotamian Origins of Genesis--comparing Biblical stories in Genesis to the more ancient Mesopotamian texts http://members.aol.com/jimb3d/myth/genesis.html
• The AFU & Urban Legends Archive http://www.urbanlegends.com/
• http://www.csicop.org/articles/19990527-starwars/index.html Interesting criticism of fantasies on TV and in movies, claiming it undermines science.
• http://www.csicop.org/articles/19990527-starwars/response.html Good reply showing how creativity and fantasy do not necessarily undermine science.
• http://www.pathwaytodarkness.com/faq.html Site about vampires in history and fiction.

 

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