Sociology of Religion Grad seminar Fall 2016

Transcription

1 Please note that this syllabus should be regarded as only a general guide to the course. The instructor may have changed specific course content and requirements subsequent to posting this syllabus. Last Modified: 11:06:29 06/13/2016 Tues McGuinn Sociology of Religion Grad seminar Fall 2016 Prof. Gustavo Morello SJ morellog@bc.edu Office hours by appointment Inscriptions by department permission Description This is a grad seminar designed for students in Sociology or related fields (like Theology, Social Work, Political Sciences, and History). Students will gain knowledge on the classics of the Sociology of religion, the main theoretical discussions, and the contemporary trends in the field. It will cover some theoretical and methodological perspectives as well as research literature, and will include three geographical areas: U.S., Europe and Latin America. We will start exploring the current discussions in the field. Then we will devote time to read the classics; What have the Founding Fathers of sociology (Marx, Durkheim, and Weber) said about religion? After that we proceed to study the main theoretical frameworks to understand religion from a sociological perspective: Secularization and Rational Choice theories. We will also look at other alternative analyzes, like cultural theories, popular religiosity and lived religion. The course is designed to be a complement and be enriched by a research project about the transformation of Latin America religious experience. We will work as a group on a collective project on The lived religious experience of Latinos and Latin Americans immigrants. Finally, the course is designed to include many (but not all!) core readings in the field that you will need if you are preparing a specialty area exam on Sociology of Religion. Goals By the end of the semester you will be able to: 1. Recognize the central discussions of the Sociology of Religion 2. Describe the main theoretical concepts of the field 3. Recognize the current debates in the sub-discipline, and take a position. 1

2 4. Participate in a collaborative research project on the lived experience of religion among Latinos and immigrants from Latin America. Requirements 1. Discussion papers a. For 10 of the classes, students will be required to read materials and discuss them in class. Each student will read the material (approximately 150 pages per class) and come prepared to discuss it in class. The student will come prepared to intervene in each session. b. The student will submit 8 critical reading summaries and discussion questions to the course website. (No paper will be graded if the student isn t in class) Read well, think hard and creatively, and show all of that in your response. Pose discussion questions. For some readings I will provide some questions that might guide you in the process of writing the response. c. For each of these 10 discussion-based classes, one student will present a summary of the responses, and present to the class the main points, problems and questions. 2. Final paper/collaborative research project a. A major paper will be required. The remaining 4 classes will be devoted to work on it. b. The paper will be a collaborative research project that will explore Latinos/Latin American migrants religiosity. c. The paper must be based on three in-depth interviews with Latino or immigrants from Latin America on the person s religious practices. d. The students will pursue the IRB certification (if they haven t do so before), set the interviews, transcribe and analyze them using appropriate software for qualitative research, applying the theoretical categories we have discussed in class. e. Finally, the paper will be presented to the rest of the class. Grading 1. Discussion papers a. Interventions in class 5% b. Reading summaries 40 % (5 points each) c. Summary of responses 5% 2. Final paper a. IRB on time (5%) b. Interviews and transcriptions on time (5%) c. Coding and analyze on time (5%) d. Presentation (5%) 2

3 e. Paper (30%) Syllabus 1. Presentation Explanation on the syllabus and the dynamics of the class. The collaborative research project, the IRB process, and the final product. Conversation about students expectations. 2. The current situation Bender, Courtney, Wendy Cadge, Peggy Levitt and David Smilde Religion on the Edge: De-centering and Re-Centering. In Religion on the Edge: Decentering and Re-centering the Sociology of Religion. New York: Oxford University Press, p Edgell, Penny A Cultural Sociology of Religion: New Directions. Annual Review of Sociology, 38: Sherkat, Darren E. and Christopher Ellison Recent Developments and Current Controversies in the Sociology of Religion. Annual Review of Sociology 25: Smith, Christian Future Directions in the Sociology of Religion. Social Forces 98(4): Smith, C; Vaidyanathan, B; et alii (2013) Roundtable on the Sociology of Religion: Twenty-Three Theses on the Status of Religion in American Sociology A Mellon Working-Group Reflection Journal of the American Academy of Religion, December 2013, Vol. 81, No. 4, pp Stark, Rodney and Roger Finke (1994). Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion, Introduction; pp What are some of the core debates within the modern sociology of religion? What are some of the core agreements within the sociology of religion? Which approaches are most appealing to you as a junior scholar? How might you utilize some of this material in your own work? 3. Classical theories 3

4 Durkheim, Emile The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life -- Introduction (note, before Book 1); Book 1, Chapter 1 ( Definition of Religious Phenomena and of Religion ); Conclusion (note, after Book 3) Weber, Max The protestant ethics and the spirit of Capitalism, Ch. 1, 2, 5. (55p) Marx, Karl, Marx on Religion "Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right," (pp ) "Theses on Feurbach," (pp ) "German Ideology" (pp ) How do Marx, Weber and Durkheim differ in their approaches to religion? What is each of them responding to in their approach of religion? Who do you personally agree with more and why? How would you see each being useful in your own approach to scholarship? 4. The interview on religious practices I will present the project The Transformation of Lived Religion in Urban Latin America: a study of contemporary Latin Americans experience of the transcendent, explain the aim of the research, and the research protocols. We will work on in-depth interviews on religious practices and object elicitation meetings. Students have to schedule and start to do the interviews in the next 15 days Readings: Rubin, H & Rubin, I (1995) Qualitative interviewing. The art of hearing data, Ch 6 (p ) Ammerman, Nancy. Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes. Finding Religion in Everyday Life. New York: Oxford University Press, Ch. 1 (1-22) 5. Secularization Berger, P (1990) The Sacred Canopy. Elements of a sociological theory of religion. New York: Anchor Books, Ch. 1, 2, 5 (pp. 3-51; ) Bruce, Steve. Secularization. In Defence of an Unfashionable Theory. Oxford: Oxford Univerity Press, Ch. 1-2 (pp. 1-56) Casanova, J (2009) The Secular and Secularism, in Social Research; 76, 4;pp

5 Gorski, P and Altinordu, A (2008) After Secularization?, in Annu. Rev. Sociol : The IRB process. Students have to submit their certificate before the next class. 6. Secularization Berger, P (2014). The many altars of Modernity. Toward a paradigm for religion in a pluralist age. Boston: De Gruyter, Preface and chapter 4 (9-13; 51-67) Casanova, J (1994). Public Religions in the Modern World. Chicago, Il: The University of Chicago Press. Ch. 1, 2, 8 (pp ; ) Chaves, Mark. "Secularization as Declining Religious Authority." Social Forces 72, no. 3 (1994): Davie, G (2002). Europe: The Exceptional Case. Parameters of Faith in the Modern World. London: Darton, Longman and Todd. Ch. 1 (1-26) 7. Rational choice Stark, R and Finke, R (1994) Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion, Berkeley, University of California Press, Part 1 and Part 4. (27-41; ) Warner, Stephen. "Work in Progress toward a New Paradigm for the Sociological Study of Religion in the United States." American Journal of Sociology (The Univerity of Chicago) 98, no. 5 (March 1993): Chestnut, A (2003) Competitive spirits. Latin America s new religious economy; New York, Oxford University Press. Intro + Ch. 5 (pp. 3-16; ) Cleary, E (2011) The rise of Charismatic Catholicism in Latin America, Gainsville, University Press of florida. Intro (pp.1-29) How do sociologists of religion engage with economistic approaches to understanding religion in society and individual lives? What kind of methodological and theoretical leverage does this approach provide? 8. Cultural Geertz, Clifford. The Interpretation of Cultures Ch. 4: Religion as a Cultural System. Pp

6 idx?c=acls;cc=acls;rgn=full%20text;idno=heb ;didno=heb ;view=image;seq= ;node=heb %3A6.1 Wuthnow, Robert Rediscovering the Sacred: Perspectives on Religion in Contemporary Society. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans (Selections) (37-58) Ecklund, Elaine Howard, Jerry Z. Park, and Katherine L. Sorrell. Creating and Crossing Boundaries: How Scientists View the Relationship between Religion and Science. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 50(3): Knott, K (2005) The location of Religion. A Spatial Analysis. Equinox, London. Ch. 4, 5 (94-130) What is a cultural approach to studying sociology of religion? What kinds of factors does a cultural approach deal with? How does studying religion contribute to sociology of culture? 9. Popular religiosity Possamai, Adam. "Popular and lived religions." Current Sociology Review 63, no. 6 (2015): Levine, D (1992) Popular Voices in Latin American Catholicism. Princeton, Princeton University Press. Ch. 9, 10 ( ) Parker G, Cristián. "Identity and Diversity in Urban Popular Catholicism." In Popular Catholicism in a World Church, by T Bamat and J Weist, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, Parker G, Cristián. "'Magico-popular religion' in contemporary society: Towards a Post-Western Sociology of Religion." In Theorising Religion. Classical and Contemporary Debates, by James and Wallis, John Beckford, Aldershot: Ashgate, Interviews should be done 10. Lived Religion Ammerman, N (2014). Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes. Finding Religion in Everyday Life. New York: Oxford University Press, Ch. 2,3,9 (pp ; ) 6

7 McGuire, M (2008). Lived Religion. Faith and Practice in Everyday Life. New York: Oxford University Press, Ch. 1, 2 (pp. 3-44) Martín, Eloísa. "From Popular Religion to Practices of Sacralization: Approaches for a Conceptual Discussion." Social Compass 56, no. 2 (2009): Sent at least one transcribed interview 11. Analysis We are all going to work with one transcript and do the coding using the software (Nvivo, Dedoose, or Hyper-research). Before the class, do a light coding in advance. Look for categories that emerge, topics that keep appearing. Rubin, H & Rubin, I (1995) Qualitative interviewing. The art of hearing data, Ch 10, pp Strauss, A & Corbin, J (1990) Basics of Qualitative Research. Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques, Newbury Park, Sage. Ch. 5, 7. (pp ; ) 12. Embodiment and materiality McDannell, C (1995) Material Christianity. Religion and popular culture in America. New Heaven & London: Yale University Press, Ch. 1, 2 (Pp. 1-66) Engelke, M (2011) "Material Religion." In The Cambridge Companion to Religious Studies, by Robert Orsi, NY: Cambridge Univerity Press. Hughes, Jennifer Scheper. Biography of a Mexican Crucifix: Lied Religion and Local Faith from the Conquest to the Present. NY: Oxford Univeristy Press, Ch. 13 Day, Katie. Faith on the Avenue. Religion on a City Street. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Ch., 2,7 (Pp , ) 13. Migration Orsi, R (1985) The Madonna of 115th Street. Faith and Community in Italian Harlem, New Haven: Yale University Press. Ch. 4, 5 (pp ) 7

8 Levitt, P (2001) The Transnational Villagers, Berkeley, University of California Press, Ch. 6, & Conclusion (Pp ; ) Williams, Philip, Manuel Vásquez, and Timothy Steigenga. "Introduction: Understanding Transnationalism, Collective Movilization, and Lived Religion in New Immigrant Destinations." In A Place to Be. Brazilian, Guatemalan, and Mexican Immigrants in Florida's New Destinations, by Philip Williams and Timothy, and Vásquez, Manuel Steigenga, New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers Univerity Press, Presentations 8