Prerequisites: upper-division standing or consent of instructor

Description: A cross-cultural inquiry into ideas of tabu and the sacred in traditional and con- temporary religions, such as ancient Hawai’ian reli- gion, Puritanism, Krishna devotionalism, and Roman Catholicism. Readings are from Durkheim, Eliade, and Otto. Applies theory to field observation and discusses the sacred in everyday life in music, cinema, literature of transgression, and politics.