Spring 2022  |  RELS 5001 Section 001: Theory and Method in the Study of Religion: Critical Approaches to the Study of Religion (54648)

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
 
01/18/2022 - 05/02/2022
Mon, Wed 02:30PM - 03:45PM
UMTC, East Bank
Nicholson Hall 135
Enrollment Status:
Open (0 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:
How can one study religion empirically? That is, how can we study religion from an academic perspective rather than an insider/believer/practitioner perspective? While even a quick glance at any newspaper these days impresses upon us the importance of religion in personal, social, and political contexts, how we are to understand or learn about religion is anything but straightforward. A vast array of ideas, practices, institutions, and communities fall into the category of "religion." And scholars from many disciplines study religion --- sociologists, anthropologists, historians, literary scholars, art historians, political scientists, and others --- 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 religion that have developed since the 19th century. Along the way we will examine theoretical work by Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Rudolph Otto, Mircea Eiiade, Clifford Geertz, Jonathan Z. Smith, Robert Orsi, Talal Asad, Charles H. Long, Caroline Walker Bynum, Saba Mahmood, Ann Taves and others. Embedded in all of these theories and approaches to the study of religion are ideas about religious power and about the "religious other" as well as implicit and explicit ethical perspectives regarding those "others." Thus, this course will take students deeply into the history and methods (past and present) of the field of religious studies, and it will raise questions about the ethical implications embedded therein.
Who Should Take This Class?:
Undergraduate and graduate 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:
75-80 Pages of reading per week and one weekly online reading response
3 short (3-4 page) papers
1 research paper (7-8 page) paper

Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/54648/1223
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
18 December 2019

ClassInfo Links - Spring 2022 Religious Studies Classes

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