FIU Professor Returns from Retirement to Teach Hallucinogens Course

Danny Tarrau / Contributing Writer

An FIU course in psychedelics? Yes, you are not hallucinating. 

Dr. Jerry B. Brown, an anthropologist with 42 years of experience studying psychedelics, came out of seven years in retirement to teach ANT4461, Hallucinogens and Culture, a class at FIU on the history of hallucinogens. Students will also learn about new medical discoveries and career opportunities in the field. 

“I feel extremely grateful to have lived long enough to see psychedelics come out of the shadows and margins, into the limelight and moving into the mainstream of culture,” said Brown.

Since the early 2000’s, a resurgence in the study of hallucinogens, known as the  psychedelic renaissance, led to an explosion of interest and understanding of hallucinogens. 

Guillermo Gernier, department chair of the Department of Global and Sociocultural Studies (GSS) at FIU, invited Brown to return, noting the benefits of having an internationally recognized expert to teach the subject.

“There’s been such a resurgence of interest in the topic,” said Gernier. “I contacted him to see if he would be interested to retake his class and apparently it was a good choice, given that he’s going to have over a hundred students in the class.” 

Brown also helped found the FIU’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology at FIU in 1972, now known as the GSS. 

However, this is not the first time Brown teaches a psychedelics course at FIU.

In 1975, Brown created an original version of the course, Psychedelics in Shamanism and World Religions and taught the class until his retirement in 2014.

He now teaches an updated curriculum which not only focuses on Psychedelics in Shamanism and World Religions, but also the psychedelic renaissance and the future of this field.

The new course takes a modern approach on the benefits of the drugs.

“I now included a section on the psychedelic renaissance, which focuses on the breakthroughs in clinical research and neuroscience… and the studies that have taken place showing mental health benefits, addiction remission benefits,” he said. 

Brown’s interest in psychedelics sparked in 1973 when he tried lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).

“I was in a lot of turmoil and very unstable, and that’s not a good time to take psychedelics,” he said. “It frightened me. I realized how powerful these drugs were and as an anthropologist, I decided that I wanted to learn a lot more about psychedelics.”

During his 42 years of psychedelic research, Brown documented the use of rare psychedelic mushrooms in European and Middle-Eastern chapels, churches and cathedrals.

One of Brown’s main studies focused on hallucinogens’ influence on Christianity. In his 2016 book, The Psychedelic Gospels: The Secret History of Hallucinogens in Christianity, he hypothesized that Christianity has a psychedelic history.

Cover of professor Jerry B. Brown’s book, The Secret History of Hallucinogens in Christianity. Photo contributed by Jerry B. Brown.

Gernier noted the class has always been popular at FIU, yet it never drew as much interest as today.

“In general, of course, we never cancelled [the class] and it does have its share of students, but nothing like this,” said Gernier. “I don’t think it’s ever handed over one hundred students.”

Registration in the course is open to three hundred students. About 180 students have already enrolled, according to the class’ enrollment information on MyFIU. The course will also be offered next Spring.

Krystal Luciano, senior and english major, took the original course last semester. 

“[The class] changed my perspective of modern medicine and its practices,” said Luciano. “It might even make you want to change your major.”

Brown told PantherNOW that he is thrilled to return to his roots at FIU.

“It’s a pleasure to be able to come back and teach this expanded version,” said Brown.