Religion & Technology

Catalog description

This course explores the intimate and ancient role of the cultural construction of the human body and its environment to perform sacred work. Technology is taken to mean the production of instruments that interface with the body, but it is also understood to mean the body itself as it is shaped and disciplined by religious practices and authority into selves and social bodies. Readings will range from the philosophy of technology to the literature on embodiment, religious practice, and material culture of religion. The history of religious technology in devotional culture and divination will be paired with the study of modern media technologies and the practices of religion. Instructor consent required.