Spring 2018  |  RELS 5001 Section 001: Theory and Method in the Study of Religion: Critical Approaches to the Study of Religion (51378)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Discussion
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Meets With:
RELS 3001W Section 001
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/16/2018 - 05/04/2018
Mon, Wed 04:00PM - 05:15PM
UMTC, East Bank
Lind Hall 325
Enrollment Status:
Open (3 of 5 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Theoretical/methodological issues in academic study of religion. Theories of origin, character, and function of religion as a human phenomenon. Psychological, sociological, anthropological, and phenomenological perspectives. prereq: Sr or grad student or instr consent
Class Description:
While even a quick glance at any newspaper these days impresses upon us the importance of religion, just how we are to understand and/or learn about religion, given the vast array of ideas, practices, institutions, and communities that lay claim to the category, is anything but straightforward. Scholars from many disciplines study religion, adding another layer of diversity, or even confusion, to the question of how one might go about learning about religion. This course will sort through a number of theories of religion and methods for studying it that have developed since the 19th century. Along the way we will examine theoretical work by Frederich Schleiermacher, Emile Durkheim, E. B. Taylor, Rudolph Otto, Mircea Eiiade, Evans Evans-Pritchard, Clifford Geertz, Jonathan Z. Smith, Robert Orsi, Thomas Tweed, Talal Asad, Tomoko Masuzawa, and others. Embedded in all of these theories are ideas about religious power and about the "religious other" and the ethics of studying those "others." A special focus of discussion this semester will be on how religious ideas are currently deployed in contemporary movements including the alt-right and Black Lives Matter.
Who Should Take This Class?:
Undergraduate students with an interest in the academic study of religions, including those focused on cultural theory, anthropology, history, sociology, biblical and textual studies, and literature.
Class Format:
30% Lecture
10% Film/Video
60% Discussion
Workload:
120 Pages Reading Per Week
3 short papers
1 research paper Weekly online reading responses
Weekly online responses to readings
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/51378/1183
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
20 December 2017

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