ATH 260 - Vodou in Haiti & the Diaspora

1 course unit

This course employs an anthropological approach in examining the symbols and rituals of Haitian Vodou as well as their relationship to larger economic, political, and cultural issues of peasant life. Students will draw on ethnographic sources in order to gain an understanding of the construction of the Vodou cosmology and humanity’s unique place within it amid the spirits and specters of the invisible world. Attention will be paid in particular to rites of zombification and other acts of sorcery and their instrumental role in effecting social control in the Haitian countryside. The course will also address the diffusion of Vodou cults into the Haitian diaspora communities of North America.
Prerequisite(s): ATH 112 Cultural Anthropology or permission of the instructor.
Meets general academic requirement D or R and effective Fall 2013 DE and HU.