RELI 321 - Cult Archaeology, Fantastic Frauds, and Pseudoscientific Beliefs About the Past

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

Why do archaeology and the idea of ancient religion inspire so many theories about aliens, lost civilizations, dark conspiracies, apocalyptic predictions, and mysterious technologies? This course engages this question and the growing critical literature about cult archaeology and popular contemporary myths about ancient religions and cultures. We investigate the origins of so-called alternative archaeological theories, look at the types of ‘evidence’ used to create them, and examine the reasons and rationales that lead people to invent, disseminate, and believe them, and explore the effect of these theories on the general understanding of history, religion and science.Ms. LiDonnici.

Prerequisite: at least one 200-level course in Religion, or permission of the instructor.

One 2-hour period.