ClassInfo

This course will provide a general introduction to methods used in studying religion (including anthropological, historical, sociological, and textual methods). The focus for Fall 2022 will be on three issue areas: (1) religious pluralism, (2) religion and gender, and (3) religion and the environment.

Course Description:

Even a quick glance at a newspaper these days impresses upon us the importance of religion in any number of contemporary debates and issues. Whether it is the relationship between religion and the state, the presence of religious discourses or practices in the public square, or the role of religious ideas/practices in areas such as health and fitness, education, or the natural environment, everyone bumps up against religion in innumerable contexts - whether or not one is a religious practitioner.

The goal of this course is to provide students with some general contextual knowledge about religions and some critical tools for analyzing religious ideas and practices that can be taken beyond the classroom and employed (and built upon) throughout one's academic and post-academic careers. An understanding of how religions function and the acquisition of a vocabulary to use in discussing religions are, in themselves, valuable tools to have in one's critical, analytical toolkit.

Through examination of three contemporary situations or issues in which religious groups are embroiled-- religious diversity, gender, and the environment-- this course introduces students to the complex ways in which religion functions in everyday life situations and how scholars go about studying it. It will emphasize the importance of perspective or "positionality" when engaging religion in the public sphere. It will also familiarize you with social, cultural, and personal contexts that influence religious representation in public. The course will draw upon the practices, texts, communities, and institutions of several religious traditions to familiarize students with interdisciplinary, humanistic methods for studying religion.

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An important note:

Keep in mind that the study of religions at the University of Minnesota is empirical study "about" religions and is not intended to advance (or malign) any religion. Students and scholars who study religions empirically come from all types of backgrounds. They may or may not have personal religious commitments. Students who enter this class need not have any prior knowledge of religion(s).

This is NOT a course designed to teach you about the beliefs and practices of individual religious traditions (i.e., this is NOT a "world religions" course). We will touch on some of these along the way, but our focus is not on becoming well-versed in the practices of individual traditions. Instead, this course focuses on ways to think about how religions work in the world, from the experiential perspectives of insiders within traditions and from that of outsiders to traditions.

To gain knowledge about religions in general and the role of religious knowledge and commitments in contemporary issues, particularly issues concerning multiculturalism, gender practices and identities, and the environment.

To learn to recognize the significance of the context of religious diversity for issues these issues

To apply critical analytical vocabulary in posing questions about religions and religious activities related to gender, diversity, and the environment

To understand the value and limitations of the ethnographic study of religions

To learn to identify insider and outsider perspectives in commentaries on religion and evaluate the consequences of these perspectives with respect to the commentaries.

To learn to frame ethical issues related to religious practices and ideas from both insider and outsider perspectives.