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Anthropological Definition Of Magic Essay

572 Words3 Pages

What do Americans commonly think of when they hear the term magic? How is this different than the anthropological definition of magic?

As an American, I associate the term magic to films from Disney about sorcerers and the franchise Harry Potter; I view it as more of something secretive and done solely. Personally, I know a few people who believe in the magic that comes with wearing the same jersey for every game in order for their team to win--there are many different ways magic can be interrupted in everyday life. In the textbook, it discusses that Americans, 'most likely picture a rabbit being pulled out of a hat' (Stein.17:136) and the conceptualization of what we know as illusions. However, the text further discusses the notion of our 'magic' being a manipulation of the human realm--not the supernatural realm. Subsequently, Anthropologists use magic as sort of a blanket term for cultures that partake in ritualistic activities that actively try to manipulate the supernatural realm in order to obtain the desired outcome.

Do Americans do anything that would be classified as magic by anthropologists? Would the people who perform these behaviors classify this as magic themselves? Why or why not? How does this illustrate the issues of …show more content…

So, someone rubbing on a rabbit's foot for good luck while standing at a casino table, gabbling their money away in hopes of altering their odds is using a form of "magic" termed, Contagious Magic by anthropologists. Whereas, the people actively using these aspects of 'magic' will just consider it a 'good luck charm' and not necessarily look at it as a representation of magic. However, it's hard for me to look at this with an emic or etic perspective because it is regarding the society in which I have lived in the majority of my life, it isn't utilizing an outside

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