ANTHRO 250

World-view and Religion


Please note: this is archived course information from 2019 for ANTHRO 250.

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.

By the end of the course, you should: 

  • Broadly understand a range of anthropological perspectives and theories
  • Understand religion and world-views as social and cultural phenomena 
  • Be able to place religious topics in comparative perspective
  • Recognise the relationship of religious phenomena to wider social issues

View the course syllabus.

Availability 2019

Semester 1

Lecturer(s)

Lecturer(s) Dr Christine Dureau

Reading/Texts

TBA

Assessment

Coursework only

Points

ANTHRO 250: 15 points

Prerequisites

ANTHRO 100 or 30 points in Anthropology or Theological and Religious Studies or Sociology

Restrictions

ANTHRO 319