Аnthropology of Religion

2023/2024

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

3

ECTS credits

Delivered at:

Department of History

Course type:

Elective course

When:

1 year, 3 module

Instructor

Pinto de Abreu, Cleto J.

Course Syllabus

Abstract

Questions of religion have been central to anthropology from its beginnings and remain so today when religion (re)emerges as a global force. While the early scholarship perceived religious phenomena through the skeptical lens of secular science, recent critiques brought up anthropology’s own orthodoxies and the need for theoretical and methodological renewal. Every new paradigm took up the challenge to explain religion and its pervasiveness in human culture and society. The anthropology of religion emerged out of such creative tensions as a vibrant field of theoretical inquiry and impressive scholarship. The course is structured around major themes that shaped the study of religion, exploring topics such as discipline, agency, gender, mediation, secular and secularism, and ethnography of religion, aiming for a deep and critical understanding of religion in various cultures and societies.