THEOREL 319
Theory and Method in Religious Studies
Please note: this is archived course information from 2021 for THEOREL 319.
Description
This course examines some key theories and methods that are used in the multidisciplinary study of religion and will demonstrate the range of possibilities as practiced by staff (textual, historical, social-scientific, feminist/queer, psychological).
How do scholars determine what constitutes religion? What counts as data in the study of religion? How are these data collected, analysed, and interpreted? What is religious experience and how does one study it? How do institutional expressions of religion change over time? How does the understanding of “religion” vary from culture to culture or even between individuals and groups within one society? Is religion in decline today or simply changing form? How does one study the role of religion in popular culture? What role does religion play in shaping the values and political culture of a society, including issues relating to gender, race, sexuality, and other markers of identity?
These fundamental questions and others will be addressed through lectures, readings, and discussion of some classical and contemporary theories, as well as key debates that have shaped the discipline of religious studies. The semester will be divided into modules that focus on specific theories and approaches to the study of religion.
Module 1: Introduction (week 1)
Definitions and demarcation of the field of study; framing the field of religious studies; boundaries, dimensions, levels of analysis; cross-cultural issues.
Module 2: Classical Theories (weeks 2-4)
This module will involve some close reading of selections from important classic texts, including William James, The Variety of Religious Experience (1902), Emile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (1912), and Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905).
Module 3: Methods in the study of religion (weeks 5-8)
This module will consider the range of approaches used in the study of religion, including historical approaches (primary and secondary sources, archive research); textual studies (both sacred scriptures and their representation in popular culture, including literature and the visual arts); sociological and anthropological approaches (qualitative methods/ethnography); and psychological approaches (quantitative methods).
4) Module 4: Contemporary theory and issues (weeks 9-12)
This module will cover feminist theories and methods, covering the works of Mieke Bal, J. Cheryl Exum, and Katie B. Edwards; Queer theories and methods, including discussion of work by Judith Butler, Jack Halberstam, and Deryn Guest; debates surrounding secularization and sacralization (Peter Berger, José Cassanova, Grace Davie, N.J. Demerath); and the shift in the sociology of religion from the study of religious collectivities to the study of religion in everyday life (Meredith McGuire, Nancy Ammerman).
The aim is to provide students with a critical understanding of the diversity of methods and theories used in the field, and to raise student awareness about the possibilities for framing their own studies, which will help prepare them for independent research in the BA Hons and postgraduate research programmes. It will serve as a capstone course for THEOREL majors and as a useful elective for other students considering postgraduate studies, including those in the disciplines of Sociology, Anthropology, History, Psychology, and Gender Studies.
Course learning aims:
1. To introduce students to foundational methodological and theoretical approaches to the study of religion and to think critically and comparatively about them.
2. To foster student knowledge of some key debates surrounding these theories and methods and to be able to communicate their significance.
3. To equip students with the methodological and analytical skills necessary to undertake scholarly work in the study of religion.
4. To cultivate excellent writing skills by promoting clear, well-structured, critical and creative writing.
