ANTH30M7: Religion and Contemporary Society

• ANTH2051 Politics and Economics OR ANTH2161 Kinship and Religion

• None.

• None.

• To provide students with an understanding of how socio-cultural anthropologists have examined the relationship between religion and contemporary society.
• To engage critically with current theoretical debates in anthropology of religion.
• To explore how socio-cultural anthropologists can contribute to the study of public debates pertaining to religion and society.
• To provide students with a set of critical tools to examine religion as a category of practice and as a category of analysis.

• Key theoretical frameworks in the current research in anthropology of religion and society.
• Anthropology of religion at the intersection with political anthropology.
• Religion and secularism in the UK and beyond.
• Religion and minority experience.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Demonstrate a strong understanding of key theoretical paradigms in anthropological study of religion and contemporary society.
• Deploy theoretical approaches to critique contemporary ethnographic research in anthropology of religion.
• Apply anthropological approaches to contemporary questions and contexts in students everyday lives and beyond.
• Be competent in accessing and assimilating specialised research literature.

Subject-specific Skills:

• By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Apply key skills (see below) to core concepts and debates in anthropological research on religion and contemporary society.
• Link anthropological theory on religion to contemporary events beyond the classroom.
• Re-evaluate ethnography and theory in light of contemporary events and dynamics.

Key Skills:

• By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Demonstrate competence in the preparation and effective communication of research methods, data, interpretation and arguments in written form.
• Access relevant library resources.

• Lectures will provide students with an outline of key knowledge, approaches and debates in anthropological study of religion and society, will discuss literature that students should explore, and will provide relevant examples of links to contemporary events and questions.
• Seminars will explore ideas introduced in lectures in further detail, examine their relevance to different ethnographic contexts, and consider how they might be applied to contemporary events and dynamics.
• Preparation for seminars and reading time will allow students to develop their understanding of material prior to seminars and written assignments.
• Summative assessment will be a 2500-word written piece where students will apply concepts and perspectives in social anthropology to relevant ethnographic and/or media material related to the study of religion and contemporary society.

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