ANTH 3310 Religion and Culture Spring Term, Academic Year

Transcription

1 ANTH 3310 Religion and Culture Spring Term, Academic Year Lecture Time: Thursday 12:30 to 14:15 MMW 705 Tutorial Thursday 16:30 to 17:15 MMW 706 Lecturer: Dr. Paul O'Connor Course Outline This course aims to introduce students to some anthropological approaches to the study of religions. Students will learn to appreciate the diversity of religions as well as their functions in human societies. In addition, students will learn about the major world religions, and learn religion in contemporary Hong Kong. The course explores the connections religion has to magic, superstition, politics and gender relations, and closes with a reflection on the future of religion. 1. (Jan 8) Introduction: Definitions and Anthropological Perspectives 2. (Jan 15) Animism, Witchcraft, and Magic 3. (Jan 22) The Body, Symbols, and Iconography 4. (Jan 29) Religion and Society 5. (Feb 5) Mythology and Cosmology 6. (Feb 12) Religion and Gender 7. (Feb 26) Judaism, Christianity, Islam 8. (March 5) Pilgrimage 9. (March 12) Buddhism 10. (March 19) Chinese Religious Traditions 11. (March 26) Religion in Hong Kong 12. (April 2) Wicca, Scientology, & Slender Man 13. (April 9) Globalization, and Secularization Learning Outcome 1. To become familiar and conversant with the major anthropological theories of religion. 2. Learn about the major religions and some indigenous peoples beliefs and practices. 3. Learn about religious tolerance and the diversity of religious beliefs. 4. Develop a greater understanding of religions and human societies. Course Assessment Assessment Class/Tutorial Participation & Oral Presentation Mark Percentage 20% Word length/ duration 10 minutes Due Date On-going Chosen tutorial week Take-home Exam 1 30% 2,000 words February 12 Quiz 20% 15 Minutes March 19 Take-home Exam 2 30% 2,000 words April 16

2 Class Tutorial Participation and Oral Presentation (20%) This is an ongoing weekly assessment and is based on the involvement of students in class discussion and tutorial. Each week different students will be asked to lead tutorial discussion. This involves highlighting themes, responding to questions about the texts and posing questions to peers. There will be 10 graded tutorials from week 3 to week 13. Students will receive marks for their summaries of the reading, and for their participation in discussion. The purpose of these tutorials is to equip students with relevant understanding to approach the Take Home Exams, and class Quiz. Take Home Exams (2 both 30% Each) For each exam you will have 1 week to complete 2 questions that draw on the lecture and readings from weeks 1-8. Both take home exams should be 2,000 words in length. The first exam will be given out on 5 th of February (week 5) and will be due February 12 th. The second exam will be given out on the 9 th of April (Week 13) and will be due on April 16 th. Both exams will draw on weekly readings, lecture content, and tutorial discussions. Quiz (20%) A short quiz will be given out in class on the 19 th of March (Week 10). It will consist of 10 short questions covering content from readings and weekly lectures. Plagiarism Students are required by university policy to submit all papers to VeriGuide. Please check the website for more information on how to submit papers through VeriGuide. Texts There is no set text for the class. Readings will be from many sources, but the following text is of central use. Bowie, Fiona, The Anthropology of Religion, Oxford, Blackwell Readings Required readings have are marked by an * The required readings will be discussed in weekly tutorial meetings, and provide a basis of understanding for the weekly lectures. They also provide much of the information on which students will be tested in the form of Take Home Exams and class Quiz. All other readings are optional, but helpful. Week 1 - Jan 8 Introduction: Definitions and Anthropological Perspectives Chapter 1 Theories and Controversies, pp Winzeler, Robert L., Anthropology and Religion: What we Know, Think, and Question. Lanham: Altamira Press, Ch. 1: Anthropology and Religion. pp

3 Week 2- Jan 15 Animism, Witchcraft, and Magic *Pals, Daniel, Eight Theories of Religion, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 1 Animism and Magic: E. B. Tylor rand J. G. Frazer, pp Frazer, Sympathetic Magic, in William A. Lessa and Evon Z. Vogt, eds, Reader in Comparative Religion: An Anthropological Approach. NY: Harper & Row, 1979 (4th ed.). pp Tylor, Animism, in William A. Lessa and Evon Z. Vogt, eds, Reader in Comparative Religion: An Anthropological Approach. NY: Harper & Row, 1979 (4th ed.). pp Week 3- January 22 The Body, Symbols, and Iconography Chapter 2 The Body as Symbol, pp *Winzeler, Robert L., Anthropology and Religion: What we Know, Think, and Question. Lanham: Altamira Press, Ch. 5: Natural Symbols, The Head and its Parts. pp Murphy, Robert, An Overture to Social Anthropology. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Ch. 8: Religion. Week 4- Jan 29 Religion and Society *Pals, Daniel, Eight Theories of Religion, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 3 Society as Sacred: Emile Durkheim, pp Pals, Daniel, Eight Theories of Religion, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 5 - Chapter 5 A Source of Social Action: Max Weber, pp Week 5- Feb 5 Mythology and Cosmology Chapter 5 Religion, Culture, and Environment, pp Raglan, Fitzroy, The Hero: A Study in Tradition, Myth, and Drama, New York: Dover Publications. Aragon, Lorraine V., Reorganizing the Cosmology: The Reinterpretation of Deities and Religious Practice by Protestants in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 27, 2 (1996): pp

4 Week 6 - Feb 12 Religion and Gender Chapter 4, pp Crandall, Barabara, Gender and Religion: The Darkside of Scritpure, New York: Continuum, Ch 6, Ancient Cultures and Tribal Religion. pp Week 7 - Feb 26 Judaism, Christianity, and Islam *Cao, Nanlai Constructing China s Jerusalem: Christians, Power, and Place in Contemporary Wenzhou. Stanford University Press, Ch. 5, Gendered Agency, Gender Hierarchy, and religious Identity Making. pp Eickelman, Dale F The Middle East and Central Asia: An Anthropological Approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, (3rd ed., first published in 1981). Ch. 10, Islam and the Religions of the Book. pp Fader, Ayala Mitzvah Girls: Bringing up the Next Generation of Hasidic Jews, Princeton, Princeton University Press, Ch 7, Becoming Hasidic Wives., pp Week 8 - March 5 Pilgrimage *Scuppin, Raymond The Social Significance of Hajj for Thai Muslims, in The Anthropology of Islam Reader, ed. by Jens Kreinath, London: Routledge, pp O Connor, Paul Hong Kong Muslims on Hajj: Rhythms of the Pilgrimage 2.0 and Experiences of Piety among 21st Century Global, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 34. No. 3. pp *X, Malcolm Malcom X: United States 1964, in Michael Wolfe, One Thousand Road to Mecca: Ten Centuries of Travelers Writing about the Muslim Pilgrimage, New York: Grove Press, pp Week 9 March 12 Buddhism *Ch en, Kenneth Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey. Princeton University Press, Ch. 1, Background. pp Keyes, Charles F The Golden Peninsula: Culture and Adaptation in

5 Mainland Southeast Asia. NY: Macmillan. Ch. 3, Rural Life in the Theravada Buddhist Societies (Read the section Cultural Knowledge of Theravada Villagers). pp Week 10 March 19 Chinese Religious Traditions (Quiz Week) *Wolf. Arthur P Religion and Ritual in Chinese Society, Stanford: Stanford University Press, Yang, C. K., Religion in Chinese Society. Berkeley: University of California Press. -Ch. 4, Communal Aspects of Popular Cults, pp & -Ch. 12, Diffused and Institutional Religion in Chinese Society pp Week 11 March 26 Religion in Hong Kong *Bosco, Joseph, Chinese Popular Religion and Hong Kong Identity - Available on Blackboard. Choi, Chi Cheung Reinforcing Ethnicity: The Jiao Festical in Cheung Chau. In Hong Kong: A Reader in Social History, ed. David Faure, Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp O Connor, Paul, Islam and Everyday Life in China s World City. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, Ch. 6, Daily Practice. pp Week 12 April 2 Wicca, Scientology, & Slender Man *Jensen, Gary, and Ashley Thompson Out of the Broom Closet: The Social Ecology of American Wicca. Journal of the Scientific Study of Religion. Vol 47. No. 4. pp Cusack, Carole Celebrity, the Popular Media, and Scientology, in Scientology, Oxford. Oxford University Press. pp Week 13 Apr. 9 Globalization and Secularization *Asad, Talal, Formations of the Secular, Stanford: Stanford University P, Chapter 1 What Might an Anthropology of the Secular Look Like?, pp Armstrong, Karen A History of God. NY: Ballantine Books, Ch. 11, Does God Have a Future. pp Winzeler, Robert L Anthropology and Religion: What we Know, Think, and Question. Lanham: Altamira Press. Ch. 11, Anthropology and Religion in a Global Context. pp