SHA 501 Foundations of Shamanism
Instructor: Mark Perkins
Course Description:
This course studies shamanism from the perspective of anthropology, psychology, consciousness studies, and the physical sciences and gives the student a broad perspective on how shamanic studies relates to research-oriented arts and sciences plus it gives the student a broad historical perspective of shamanism.
Instructor Information:
Mark Perkins
- Published author, My Journey Back to Oneness
- Trained in basic and advanced Ho’oponopono as taught by Morna Simeona and Dr. Vince Wingo.
- Participated in advanced training workshops in shamanism and shamanic healing with anthropologist and author Hank Wesselman PhD and transpersonal medical practitioner Jill Kuykendall RPT
- Certified ARCH (Ancient Rainbow Conscious Healing, an energy healing technique based on Hawaiian Spirituality) teacher by Laurie Grant (re-discoverer of ARCH) after three year apprenticeship
- Conducts regular seminars on shamanism and energy healing.
Required Text and Learning Materials:
- An Encyclopedia of Shamanism by Christina Pratt
- Shamans Through Time: 500 years on the path to knowledge Edited by Jeremy Narby and Francis Huxley
Course Objectives:
By the end of this course, students will:
- Define the term shamanism
- Describe the three shamanic worlds
- Document the student’s research findings on the history of shamanism
Course Topics:
- What is the link between the anthropologist and the Shaman?
- How do the worlds of the Shaman relate to the view of psychology?
- How are new descriptions of the cosmos moving closer to the shamanic view?
- How does shamanic history vary from culture to culture?
Course Format:
The course is composed of audio/video presentations.
Assignments:
Students will conduct research into the history of a specific shamanic lineage, document the student’s findings and post these to the Chat Tool. Students will also use the Chat tool to communicate with other students and the faculty.
Assessments:
Students will write a brief paper describing the subjects in the Course Topics section of the Syllabus.
Course Calendar:
Self paced. Course must be completed within 12 weeks.






