What is Religion? Kool-Aid, Living Images, and Lightsabers
RELI 151
Spring 2024
| Section:
01
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This course will introduce students to the academic study of religion. It will not offer a survey of "world religions"; rather, it will call upon a set of case studies to help us explore various theoretical issues in the study of religion. These include theories of religious experience, the interpretation of religious texts, the relationship between thought and practice, and the intersections of religion with law, culture, race, gender, and national identity. Perhaps most importantly, we will examine some of the historical, social, and political processes that have produced "religion" as a category in the first place. Together, these discussions will offer us a set of descriptive and analytical tools for understanding the role of religion in social, economic, and political life in both premodern and contemporary settings. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS RELI |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (CBST-MN)(RELI-MN)(RELI)(STS) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 50% - 74% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Liz Bucar, STEALING MY RELIGION
David Chidester, SALVATION AND SUICIDE
Carole Cusack and Venetia Laura Delano Robertson, THE SACRED IN FANTASTIC FANDOM
Simon Coleman and John Elsner, "The Center in the Dessert: Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca"
Jennifer Cousineau, "The Urban Practice of Jewish Space"
Richard Davis, THE LIVES OF INDIAN IMAGES
Emile Durkehim, ELEMENTARY FORMS OF RELIGIOUS LIFE
John Eade and Michael Sallnow, CONTESTING THE SACRED: THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF CHRISTIAN PILGRIMAGE
Mayanthi Fernando, "Reconfiguring Freedom: Muslim Piety and the Limits of Secular Law and Public Discourse in France"
Kathryn Lofton, "Practicing Oprah: Or, The Prescriptive Compulsion of a Spiritual Capitalism"
Donald S. Lopez, Jr, "Belief"
Tomoko Masuzawa, THE INVENTION OF WORLD RELIGIONS
David Morgan, THE SACRED GAZE
Jonathan Z. Smith, "Religion, Religions, Religious"
Victor and Edith Turner, "Pilgrimage as a Liminoid Phenomenon"
Thomas Tweed, CROSSING AND DWELLING: A THEORY OF RELIGION
Tisa Wenger, "We Are Guaranteed Freedom: Pueblo Indians and the Category of Religion in the 1920s"
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Examinations and Assignments:
Active class participation
Three two-page papers
Midterm exam
8-10 page final paper
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Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Attendance and participation are required. Students considering majoring or minoring in Religion should register for a letter grade.
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| Instructor(s): Quintman,Andrew H Times: ..T.R.. 10:20AM-11:40AM; Location: FISK302; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 40 | | SR major: 0 | JR major: 4 | | |
| Seats Available: 7 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 4 | JR non-major: 4 | SO: 14 | FR: 14 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 5 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 5 |
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