Disclaimer: This is an indicative syllabus only and may be subject to changes. The final and official syllabus will be distributed by the Instructor during the first day of class. The American University of Rome Master s Program in Religious Studies Department or degree program mission statement, student learning objectives, as appropriate Course Title: Theories and Methods in Religious Studies Course Number: REL 503 Credits & hours: 3 credits Pre/Co Requisites: Enrolment in the MA Program in Religious Studies Course description The course explores both classical approaches to religion and contemporary theories in the field of Religious Studies. The course is interdisciplinary, and includes texts related to history, philosophy, sociology, psychology, cultural studies, political theory and theology. Apart from learning about diverse approaches to religion and various other phenomena that are related to religion and faith, students will also learn about the place of religious studies and related academic disciplines within the system of humanities. Required Textbook (subject to change Only selected chapters must be read) Capps, Walter H. Religious studies: The making of a discipline. Minneapolis: Fortress P, 1995. Durkheim, Émile. The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. New York: Free P, 1965. Eliade, Mircea. The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1959. Hinnells, John (Ed.). Routledge Companion to the Study of Religion. New York: Routledge, 2005. Lowe, Charles, Zemliansky Pavel (Eds.). Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Vol. 2, West Lafayette: Parlor Press, 2011. Lyotard, Jean François. The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota P, 1984. McNeely, Ian F., and Lisa Wolverton. Reinventing Knowledge: From Alexandria to the Internet. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008. Otto, Rudolf. The Idea of the Holy. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1959. Pals, Daniel L. Eight Theories of Religion. New York: Oxford UP, 2006. Raines, John C., ed. Marx on Religion. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 2002. Ricœur, Paul. Interpretation Theory: Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning. Fort Worth: Texas Christian UP, 1976. Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers. 8th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago P, 2007. Weber, Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. New York: Scribner, 1958. Žižek, Slavoj, and John Milbank. The Monstrosity of Christ: Paradox or Dialectic? Ed. Creston Davis. Cambridge, MA: MIT P, 2009.
Recommended Readings (subject to change) Asad, Talal. Genealogies of Religion: Discipline and Reasons of Power in Christianity and Islam. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1993. Burris, John P. Exhibiting Religion: Colonialism and Spectacle at International Expositions, 1851 1893. Charlottesville: University P of Virginia, 2001. Fitzgerald, Timothy. The Ideology of Religious Studies. New York: Oxford UP, 2000. Foucault, Michel, Alan Sheridan, and Michel Foucault. The Archaeology of Knowledge. New York: Pantheon Books, 1972. Freud, Sigmund. The Future of an Illusion. [New York]: H. Liveright, 1928. Foucault, Michel. Truth and Power, in: Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews & Other Writings, 1972 1977. New York: Pantheon Books, 1980. 109 133. Foucault, Michel. Objective and Method, in: The History of Sexuality: An Introduction Volume I. New York: Vintage Books, 1990. 81 102. Geertz, Clifford. Religion as a Cultural System, from The Interpretation of Culture. New York: Basic Books, 1973. Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2009. Gross, Rita M. Feminism and Religion: An Introduction. Boston: Beacon, 1996. Hackett, David G., ed. Religion and American Culture: A Reader. New York: Routledge, 1995. Hatch, Nathan O. The Democratization of American Christianity. New Haven: Yale UP, 1989. Hinnells, John, ed. The Routledge Companion to the Study of Religion. London: Routledge, 2010. James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study of Human Nature. New York: Collier Books, 1967. King, Richard. Orientalism and Religion: Postcolonial Theory, India and The Mystic East. London: Routledge, 1999. Lakatos, Imre, ed. Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes. In Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge, Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1997 Lincoln, Bruce Theses on Method, Method and Theory in Study of Religion (1996), 225 27. Malinowski, Bronislaw. Magic, Science and Religion: And Other Essays. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1954. Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1967. Masuzawa, Tomoko. The Invention of World Religions, or, How European Universalism Was Preserved in the Language of Pluralism. Chicago: University of Chicago P, 2005. Messer Davidow, Ellen, David R. Shumway, and David J. Sylvan, eds. Knowledges: Historical and Critical Studies in Disciplinarity. Charlottesville: University P of Virginia, 1993. Merkur, Dan. Ecstatic Reverie Phenomenological and Psychoanalytic Studies. Ottawa: National Library of Canada, 1983.
Olson, Carl. Theory and Method in the Study of Religion: A Selection of Critical Readings. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2003. Pals, Daniel L. Introducing Religion: Readings from the Classic Theorists. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Rappaport, Roy A. Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 1999 (its first edition) Smith, Jonathan Z. Relating Religion: Essays in the Study of Religion. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2004. Strenski, Ivan, Thinking About Religion, An Introduction to Theories of Religion. Blackwell Publishing, 2006 Taylor, Mark C. Critical Terms for Religious Studies. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1998. Weber, Max. The Sociology of Religion. Boston: Beacon Press: 1967 (originally published after his death in 1920). Course Learning Objectives At the end of the course, students will be able to: 1. demonstrate methods and research techniques in humanities necessary for graduate work 2. demonstrate knowledge of major theories and methods in the field of Religious Studies, and to teach them how to critically engage and analyze these theories and methods 3. demonstrate analytic methodology and critical thinking 4. develop a plan for their own MA research and thesis writing Course Learning Activities In class analysis and discussions: Each week students will read the scheduled texts in preparation for class discussion. Students will be asked to participate in class discussions and to present their responses to scheduled texts and particular topics during the class. They will be expected to answer orally to questions stemming from the assigned readings and the topic for that week. Oral presentation: Students will be asked to participate in class discussions and to present their responses to scheduled texts and particular topics during the class. They will be expected to answer orally to questions stemming from the assigned readings and the topic for that week. Final Project: Students will prepare a written assignment in form of a research proposal. The purpose of this is to help students define their potential topic for the MA thesis and determine possible approaches to that topic. This assignment also trains students to develop adequate methodology and envision the general structure of their research papers. Assessment tools Participation in class discussions 40% Oral presentation 30% Final Project 30%
COURSE SCHEDULE Week Topic Brief Description Readings I Introduction Introduction to course. Presentation of materials and topics. Specification of course policies and Capps, Religious Studies: The Making of a Discipline. 53 104. assignments. Humanities and the birth of the modern world. II The nature and goals of academic research. Knowledge and theory. Humanities as academic disciplines and their place in the University system. Humanities and Humanism. Modern universities and the production of Knowledge. Research in Humanities. McNeely, Reinventing Knowledge,163 250. Messer Davidow, Knowledges: Historical and Critical Studies in Disciplinarity. (selected chapters) III Knowledge and faith Rational inquiry and the framework of understanding. Belief and knowledge. Approaches to faith and religion from a theological point of view and from a non denominational perspective. Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. 3 8; 23 40; 53 59. Ricoeur, Interpretation Theory: Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning.1 37. IV The Discipline of the Religious Studies History of the study of religion. Place of Religious Studies in Humanities. Capps, Religious Studies: The Making of a Discipline. 1 52; 105 208. Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane. 216 233. V What is Religion? Main approaches in religious studies The problem of defining religion. Main classical theories in the study of religion. Pals, Eight Theories of Religion. (introduction) Durkheim, Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. 25 62; 183 220. VI Key concepts Understanding concepts of religion, faith, cult/culture, myth, ritual, holy, and sacred. Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane. 8 67. VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII Religion and Socio Economic Development Religion, society and ideology Religion and the subconscious Religious traditions and their influence on particular economic and social systems. Religious beliefs and practices and the socio economic development. Interpolations between religious beliefs and ideologies. Concepts of the religious, secular and post secular. Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis and religion. Belief and ideologies in the post secular age. Implementing How to implement various theories and theories and approaches to religion in students own study of methods religion and research? Writing graduate Learning how to formulate a research topic, how and academic to find right methodological approach, how to papers in religious organize and conduct a research. studies Making a Research and writing techniques. Formulating an research paper argument. draft Presentations of papers and discussion Otto, The Idea of the Holy. 1 7; 50 71. Weber. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. 13 50; 102 125. Raines, Marx on Religion. 182 186; 188 192. Hinnells, John (Ed.). Routledge Companion to the Study of Religion. Chapters 16 and 18. Freud, The Future of an Illusion. (selected chapters) Žižek, The Monstrosity of Christ. 24 60. Lowe, Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing (I, II). Selected chapters Lowe, Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing (I, II). Selected chapters Turabian, Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Selected chapters
ATTENDANCE POLICY AUR s attendance policy requires that students attend a minimum of 70% of required course meetings in order to receive a passing grade. Failure to attend 70% of the course will result in an F grade. In order to maintain the academic integrity of the Master s programs and to meet the learning objectives, students are expected to attend all classes, meet all deadlines and be present for examinations. Absences will undermine the focus of class discussions and student interaction. Absences may be excused in exceptional circumstances, on permission of the instructor. Socially accepted standards of civility are expected in class. Grades GRADE GPA A Excellent 4.00 94 100 points A 3.70 90 93.99 pts B+ Very Good 3.30 87 89.99 B Good 3.00 83 86.99 B 2.70 80 82.99 C+ 2.30 77 79.99 C Satisfactory 2.00 73 76.99 C Less than Satisfactory 1.70 70 72.99 D Poor 1.00 60 69.99 F Failing 0.00 59.99 0 AUDIT (AU) Only possible when the student registers for a course at the beginning of the semester as an audit student Students can obtain no more than 3 C grades (including C+, C and C ) on all courses. Students with four or more C grades will not qualify for submitting their M.A. thesis and completing the program. They will be allowed to repeat a course in order to qualify. Students must obtain at least B for their M.A. thesis in order to complete the M.A. program.