Magic School: Anthropology, Paranormal and Culture

Goldsmiths University is running a course this autumn called Anthropology, The Paranormal, and Popular Culture. Here are the details from the website:

On this course, we explore what is meant by ‘the paranormal’, and examine the claim that the intersection between paranormal beliefs with popular culture – both online and within televisual media (including films, TV dramas and reality shows such as the ‘Paranormal Activity’ franchise, ‘Supernatural’ and ‘Most Haunted’’) – constitutes an alternative to ‘traditional’ forms of religiosity in contemporary Euro-American societies. Specifically, we will examine what the proliferation of beliefs in ghosts, ufos, psychic powers, and Bigfoot in popular culture can tell us about modern society. Drawing on a multidisciplinary academic perspectives – including anthropology, folklore studies, psychology, sociology, and cultural and media studies – we will investigate the psychological mechanisms and socio-cultural contexts that shape our interest in and fascination with the paranormal.

This is a ten-week short course with weekly sessions from 6.30pm-8.30pm at Goldsmiths, University of London.

It runs from Thursday, 6 October 2016 – Thursday, 15 December 2016. The cost for the course is £260.

You can book here: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/anthropology-the-paranormal-and-popular-culture-goldsmiths-university-tickets-25511189655

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