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SEMESTER 1, 2019

15 points

World-view and Religion

 

Teacher: 

Christine Dureau - cm.dureau@auckland.ac.nz

Office Hours: Monday & Thursday 2 - 3 pm

Course delivery format:

 Lectures, videos, tutorials, discussions. 

(Timetable and room details can be viewed on Student Services Online)

Summary of Course Description:     

This course covers some of the many anthropological approaches to “religion” and a few of the myriad aspects of the field. It is cross-cultural and historical in scope, ranging from ancient Greek myth to late twentieth-century “secular religion”, from the indigenous religions of small-scale societies to world religions, such as Christianity. Themes studied include cross-cultural approaches to meaning, belief, religious experience, ritual and myth, and issues of religion, ideology, syncretism and symbolism in social conflict and change.

 Course outcomes:

By the end of the course, you should:

  • Understand religion and worldviews as social and cultural phenomena
  • Recognize relationships between religious phenomena and wider social structures and issues
  • Broadly understand a range of anthropological perspectives and theories
  • Be able to place religious topics in comparative perspective
  • Be able to draw upon relevant theoretical and comparative material to analyze religious phenomena.

 Assessment Summary:

Topic Analysis (30%)
(drawing on lecture and course readings)

Book Review (30%).

Either (your choice):

Frey, Nancy Louise, 1998. Pilgrim Stories: On and Off the Road to Santiago. Berkeley: University of California Press.

OR

Kwon, Heonik, 2006. After the Massacre: Commemoration and Consolation in Ha My and My Lai. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Essay (40%)

     Essay Proposal 10%
     Essay Proper 30%

 Weekly Topics:

 See Course Outline: 319 Outline 2019 .pdf

Required Texts:

 Eller, Jack David, 2015. Introducing Anthropology of Religion, 2nd ed. NY: Routledge.

 Workload and deadlines for submission of coursework:           

The University of Auckland's expectation is that students spend 10 hours per week on a 15-point course, including time in class and personal study. Students should manage their academic workload and other commitments accordingly. Deadlines for coursework are set by course convenors and will be advertised in course material. You should submit your work on time. In extreme circumstances, such as illness, you may seek an extension but you may be required to provide supporting information before the assignment is due. Late assignments without a pre-approved extension may be penalised by loss of marks – check course information for details.

Course summary:

Date Details Due