Topic: Culture and Religion

Catalog description

In classic ethnographies chapters on religion consistently appear along with chapters on kinship, social structure, and forms of subsistence. While the latter subject matters in various forms have all remained rather consistent in ethnographic research, religion has had a more contentious presence as anthropology has responded to and reflected society's views on the role and value of religion. This course focuses on anthropology's myriad understandings of religion as it has been approached through the various cannons ranging from functionalism and structuralism to symbolism and socio-cultural linguistics. From ethnographic research on the process of 'witnessing' to essays questioning the appropriateness of using religion as a category, this course explores the potential of the study of religion within an anthropological framework.