Course description

In this course students will grapple with some big questions about religion and how anthropologists approach these questions. The class will examine some of the pitfalls of studying other people's beliefs and how anthropologists overcome these kinds of problems. We will encounter and engage with some of the Abrahamic faiths in detail and look at some New Religious Movements. We will learn about the rich history of the study of religion in anthropology and cognate fields, how anthropologists used to think about religion and religions and how they think about it today. The course covers both classical and founding concepts employed by anthropologists, such as ritual, symbolism, witchcraft and shamanism and the way religions have adapted, changed or remained the same. We examine how religious systems encounter modernity, the modern nation state and the diversity of religious adherents today. Students are encouraged to be independent learners, taking ownership of the learning processes and will be expected to work in groups and individually. Students will have the chance to research and learn about a variety of religious lifeworlds, as well as how such religious lifeworlds are performed and have social, political, emotional, moral and physical effects on people.

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