Course Objectives
Through the weekly study of eight original research studies from the field of parapsychology, the students will develop a familiarity with research writing and understand the development of the methodologies and thought processes that produced the current theories in the field. The writings of important researchers will be studied in the context of the times to demonstrate the relevance and importance of the study to the advancement of the science of parapsychology.
Course Outcomes
Students will improve their ability to read and evaluate research articles and understand the significance of articles on multiple topics in parapsychology in the context of the original research work. Their understanding of research methodology and critical analysis will advance as they read and discuss their ideas on how to improve research studies with other students in the discussion forums in the courseroom.
Course Outline
Various articles selected by the instructor and provided for download throughout the course.
Course Activities
- Students will be expected to view the class broadcasts or the recordings of the classes each week.
- Students will be expected to participate in weekly discussion forums and activities. Each student will be expected to provide an original posting each week and to respond to at least one other student in the discussion forums. Greater participation in this area will be considered during class evaluations.
- One multiple choice or short answer evaluations will be assigned after the 4th or 5th week of class.
- The student will choose a study they believe is important to the field of parapsychology and crtically evaluate the published documentation. The evaluation will include a justification for selecting the study, an analysis of the methodology and analysis methods, a discussion of the criticisms, and original thoughts on how the study could be improved given our current knowledge of parapsychology. This will be a 4-10 page paper due at the conclusion of the class.
Evaluations and Grading
Students who are taking the course for a grade will be assessed using a letter grade based on the standard letter grade format.
A – 90 - 100
B – 80 – 89
C – 70 – 79
D – 60 – 69
F – Below 60
Participation in the forums is a large component of the grading, and substantive postings are necessary to get full credit for each discussion topic.
The following activities will be considered to contribute to the courses as follows:
Discussions (Total 40%)
- Week 1-2 (10%)
- Week 3-4 (10%)
- Week 5-6 (10%)
- Week 7-8 (10%)
Assessment #1 (30%)
Critical Research Evaluation (30%)
This eight week academic course explores the phenomena and scientific evidence for energy healing and psychokinesis. Some theories present these as different expressions of the same phenomena. This proposal will be explored in this course.
Energy healing encompasses many techniques including laying on hands, reiki, qigong, healing touch, esoteric healing, and many, many more. Research on healing includes an observation of the phenomena and measurements of the effectiveness of these techniques on people, animals, plants and other organic matter. What does the scientific evidence indicate related to energy healing?
Psychokinesis, PK, or Mind-Matter-Interaction all describe the same phenomena. Can people affect physical objects with only their thoughts or intentions? This course will explore examples of macro and micro psychokinesis and discuss the scientific research that has been done to understand how these phenomena might work and what psychological factors might cause people to demonstrate PK.
This course will commit 4 weeks to each topic and explore the research and theories that discuss the nature of and evidence for energy healing and PK.
Mind Over Matter by Loyd Auerbach
The PK Zone by Pamela Rae Heath
Experiments in Mental Suggestion by L.L. Vasiliev
Various articles and other media provided by the instructor through the courseroom.
Evaluations and Grading
Students who are taking the course for a grade will be assessed using a letter grade based on the standard letter grade format.
A – 90 - 100
B – 80 – 89
C – 70 – 79
D – 60 – 69
F – Below 60
Participation in the forums is a large component of the grading, and substantive postings are necessary to get full credit for each discussion topic.
The following activities will be considered to contribute to the courses as follows:
Discussions (Total 40%)
- Week 1-2 (10%)
- Week 3-4 (10%)
- Week 5-6 (10%)
- Week 7-8 (10%)
Assessment #1 (30%)
Research Summary (30%)
This is a seminar course. The instructor will provide an introductory presentation of the topic each week, and students will then be expected to participate in a live discussion about the topic with the remainder of the class. To participate in these discussions, you will need to have a microphone, and you can also use a webcam if you want to be seen in the discussions. Students are strongly encouraged to participate in the live discussions.
How do native cultures view psi phenomena?
How do culture-based beliefs and folklore around healing and psychokinesis differ between places like China, Mexico, and the Australian Outback? Why are seers and clairvoyants accepted in some cultures but shunned by others, modern culture included? How are culture-bound/religion-bound magic, witchcraft, and sorcery beliefs related to psychic abilities and experiences?
This 8-week academic course will be a high level overview of the ideas and beliefs of psychic experiences, the human mind and spirit, and related areas (life after death, reincarnation, etc.) as those beliefs have been “seen” by anthropologists and parapsychologists around the world. We will look at the possible instances of psi phenomena best reported in studies of divination, witchcraft and sorcery beliefs and practices, various cross cultural studies, modern beliefs in the occult and supernatural, and the application of psychic functioning in archaeology and anthropology. From the parapsychological side, we will examine the ways culture affects belief, which in turn affects the psychic experience.
There will be weekly discussion questions, a midterm and a final quiz.
An Anthropological Study of Magic and Religion
An overview of Anthropology and how belief in magic and religion play a part in what a culture is and does. Witchcraft, sorcery, and magical beliefs and practices and how psi might be seen in them. A discussion of the roles of mythology, ritualistic behavior, symbolism and taboos in relation to magical beliefs and to psi. The place of the medicine man, shaman, sorcerer, and magic-giver will be discussed.
Divination and Prophets
A survey of divination techniques from fortunetelling to contacting the dead for information, ancient and modern, including forms of channeling and culturally dependent stereotypes of the “fortuneteller.”9 Also covering the part of drugs and other altered states-producing substances.
Psi and Archaeology
Taking a break from beliefs and practices, this week’s class will review the use of psychics and psi abilities in archaeology.
Ethnomedicine, Religion and Healing and the Opposites
What is the place of non-medical healing (folk medicine, psychic, spiritual and faith healing, etc.) in human culture? Who and what are the healers? A discussion of Hex Death and Psychic Attack
Modern "Primitive" Beliefs in the Psychic
A discussion/survey of pre-literate and indigenous peoples around the world who still have heavy magical belief systems and how they compare with “modern” cultures. What is the place of psi in these societies? What is the place of psychic fraud in these same societies? Discussion will include the Australian Aborigines.
Spirits, Good and Bad, Through the Ages: The Power of the Dead
A survey of beliefs around spirits from ancient peoples (i.e. Neanderthals, Cro Magnons, Sumerians, Egyptians…) through the Middle Ages. Also, a discussion of the issue of Good and Evil in relation to such spirits and how they manifest as ghosts, vampires, zombies, guardian “angels” and the like and their relation to the societies in which they appear. We’ll also look at ideas of spirit/demonic possession and exorcism. Finally, a look at beliefs in Death and how they shape the life-styles of people around the world.
Mind, Consciousness, and Spirit in the 20th/21st Centuries
A discussion of ideas and beliefs dealing with the existence of psi and its relation to consciousness and human spirit in industrialized cultures around the world and how popular beliefs of the supernatural, occult and New Age show we are not far from other “magical thinking” cultures.
Psi Relevance
Psychic experience in the context of the information provided by anthropologists and sociologists, with respect to parapsychology. We will look at the importance of belief factors in psi experience and how such cultural beliefs can affect what types of psi experiences occur in a given culture, as well as how such factors may affect frequency and magnitude of psi.
Students who are taking the course for a grade will be assessed using a letter grade based on the standard letter grade format.
Participation in the forums is a large component of the grading, and substantive postings are necessary to get full credit for each discussion topic.
The following activities will be considered to contribute to the courses as follows:
Is the truth really out there?
Movies and TV shows like the Exorcist, Ghost, Stranger Things, The OA, and the X-Files all represent psychic phenomena and the paranormal with great insight and often engaging stories. Of course, many of the events in these shows are completely fictional, but some of the stories actually reflect real events or results that have been observed by parapsychologists! On the other hand, paranormal reality shows claim to present events and phenomena truthfully, but actually reflect a “reality” created by uninformed television producers.
This fun, 4-week course will explore movies, TV (fictional and reality), and literature and separate the truth from fiction. It will explore how popular culture is influenced by psi experiences, beliefs, and misconceptions about the phenomena. More importantly, it will explore how media representations of psi influence the public's beliefs in and about psi, even to the point of affecting how people experience psi events when they happen.
Introduction and Overview
Introductory lecture covering the various pop culture and media sources we’ll be considering, as well as some of the themes (with examples) to be covered. Included will be:
Specific Themes of the week:
A Review of Pop Culture and Portrayals of Consciousness
Specific Themes of the Week:
Consciousness Survives Death of the Brain/Body
Presentations of the following phenomena in Film, TV, Literature, and Comics:
Psi and the Media Today: Where are we?
Summing Up: The Impact of Popular Culture on the Study and Understanding of Consciousness (Pop Culture Influence…Good or Bad?)
Qualitative research methods typically gather information through interviews, questionnaires, observation, or a review of literature and art. Analysis methods vary for qualitative research, but there are extremely well-defined processes that will help the researcher to learn more about the event or phenomena being studied.
This course will describe some common methods of qualitative research and analysis techniques to gather information about psi phenomena outside of the laboratory environment. Through the review of articles and psi reports, the students will learn how qualitative research is performed and reported for paranormal and psi phenomena.
This academic course is designed for the serious student and qualifies for many certificate programs.
Qualitative vs Quantitative Research
Design Strategies & Design Document
Five Approaches to Qualitative Research
Phenomenology
Grounded Theory & Ethnography
Case Study & Mixed Methods
Reporting Qualitative Results
Validity, Reliability, and Evaluation
Students who are taking the course for a grade will be assessed using a letter grade based on the standard letter grade format.
Participation in the forums is a large component of the grading, and substantive postings are necessary to get full credit for each discussion topic.
The following activities will be considered to contribute to the courses as follows:
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