Anthropology 409/609
Anthropology of Religion
Fall
Semester 2007
David
Koester
Eielson
312c, x7133
The
aim of this course is to introduce both the comparative and interpretive study
of religion and religious social phenomena. The goal will be to gain a sense of the nature of religious
experience in various places and various cultures around the world. In some cases the course will deal with
major global religions; in other cases we will examine localized practices,
concepts and experiences. An
important aspect of the course will be to consider the nature of the
information sources that we have about religion and religious experience. The course will not teach you
about religious experience; you will be learning to investigate the topic.
Introduction
September
6 - No reading assignment
September
11 - Contemporary Issue – Islam in the Post-9/11 World
Mamdani,
"Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: Post-Apartheid Perspectives on America and
Israel" and "A Rejoinder to Critics"
Aronoff,
"Good Political Anthropology, Bad Political Anthropology: A Response to
Professor Mamdani"
Religions
– the plurality
September
13
Warms
et al., "Buddhism," "Hinduism"
Umasvarti,
That Which Is (Tattvārtha Sūtra), selection
September
18
Warms
et al., "Islam," "Christianity," "Judaism"
Weber,
"The Prophet," and "The Congregation between Prophet and
Priest"
Religion
– the singular
September
20
Geertz,
"Religion as a Cultural System"
September
25
Bowen,
"Social Theory in the Anthropology of Religion"
Durkheim,
Elementary Forms of Religious Life, excerpt
Cultural
Dynamics in Religious traditions
September
27 – October 2
Geertz,
Islam Observed
Religion
and Political Economy
October
4-11
Taussig,
The Devil and Commodity Fetishism in South America
Spread
of Religion
October
16-23
Comaroffs,
"The Colonization of Consciousness"
Elliott
and Deyneka, "Protestant Missionaries in the Former Soviet Union"
James,
"Uduk Faith in a Five-Note Scale:
Mission Music and the Spread of the Gospel"
Belief
in the Study of Religion
October
25-30
Ruel, "Christians as Believers"
Kirsch,
"Restaging the Will to Believe:
Religious Pluralism, Anti-Syncretism, and the Problem of Belief"
Ritual,
Sacrifice and other Forms of Connection with the Divine
November
1-6
Hagan,
"Divinity and Experience: The
Trance and Christianity in Southern Ghana"
Firth,
"Offering and Sacrifice:
Problems of Organization"
Daugherty,
"Serpent-Handling as a Sacrament"
Spirits
and Other Worlds
November
8-15
Brown,
Mama Lola
Schmoll,
"Black Stomachs, Beautiful Stones:
Soul-Eating among Hausa in Niger."
Church,
Temple, Mosque – The Structures of Religious Practice
November
20
Turner,
From temple to meeting house: the phenomenology and theology of places of
worship. pp. 178-200.
Humphrey
and Vitebsky, Sacred architecture, selection
Week
12: Witchcraft and Magic –
Sacred, Serious, Spurious
November
27-29
Bowie,
"Witchcraft and healing among the Bangwa of Cameroon"
Evans-Pritchard,
"Witchcraft Explains Unfortunate Events"
Death
and the Dead
December
4-13
Bowen, "Death Ritual and the Social Order"
Anderson, "Ghosts Past and
present"
King, "Koryak Necromantic Landscapes, or How to Walk Your Dog to the Next Life"
Assignments
and Grading
Undergraduates
Class
discussion assignments and class participation 20%
Mid-Term
Exam 20%
Short
research paper 20%
Final
take-home exam 40%
Graduate
students
Class discussion assignment and class participation 20%
Extensive, 20-page research paper on a topic of your
choosing, in consultation with the instructor. It must utilize ethnography or theory from the course readings. 80%
Use of computers in class: Computers may be used for
taking notes only. Absolutely NO
web surfing or email during class time.
Numerous students have complained to me about the distraction of other
students' on their computers.
Please turn off cell phones before class.
No eating
is permitted during class time.