RLB515 Religious Aspects of Metal Music and Subculture

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2017
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Ing. Mgr. et Mgr. Miroslav Vrzal, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. David Zbíral, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Šárka Londa Vondráčková
Supplier department: Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each even Tuesday 17:30–19:05 U35
Prerequisites (in Czech)
RLA01 Introduction to Religion || RLKA01 Introduction to Religion
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 50 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/50, only registered: 0/50
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Metal is a style of music which explicitly works with a number of various religious themes and therefore this cultural phenomenon also deserves the attention of academic study of religions. The course will focus on metal primarily from the perspective of sociological study of subcultures and sociological study of religious elements in popular culture (in this respect, the key concept will be the concept of “occulture”). After the introduction to the theories and concepts associated with the study of subcultures and occulture, the first part of the course will pay attention mainly to the role and meaning of occult elements (concepts of western demonology) in heavy metal and extreme metal. Secondly, the course will focus on the presence of selected alternative spiritual/religious streams in metal subculture and on the relationship of metal music and Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
After having finished the course the student will be:
• familiar with selected subcultural theories
• acquainted with the development of metal subculture
• familiar with the occulture concept
• further familiar with selected spiritual/religious streams/movements in terms of metal music and subculture
• able to analyse and interpret individual religious aspects in metal music and subculture in relation to the study of current late modern pop culture and music subcultures
Syllabus
  • 1. Culture, subcultures and music scene 2. Development of metal subculture 3. Pop culture, Occulture 4. Metal, dark occulture and alternative spirituality 5. Meaning and the role of occult elements in heavy metal 6. Meaning and role of occult elements in extreme metal 7. “Antimetal panics” 8. Satanism in metal 9. Paganism in metal 10. Metal and Christianity 11. Metal and Judaism 12. Metal and Islam 13. Metal, religion and globalization
Literature
  • KOLÁŘOVÁ, Marta and Anna ORAVCOVÁ. Revolta stylem : hudební subkultury mládeže v České republice. Vyd. 1. Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství (SLON), 2011, 264 s. ISBN 9788073301941. info
  • SMOLÍK, Josef. Subkultury mládeže. Uvedení do problematiky (Youth subcultures. Introduction). 1st ed. Praha: Grada Publishing a. s., 2010, 288 pp. Politologie. ISBN 978-80-247-2907-7. info
  • The lure of the dark side : Satan and western demonology in popular culture. Edited by Christopher H. Partridge - Eric S. Christianson. 1st pub. London: Equinox, 2009, x, 215. ISBN 9781845533106. info
  • PARTRIDGE, Christopher H. The re-enchantment of the West : alternative spiritualities, sacralization, popular culture, and occulture. New York: T&T Clark, 2005, xii, 468. ISBN 0567041239. info
  • PARTRIDGE, Christopher H. The re-enchantment of the West : Alternative spiritualities, sacralization, popular culture, and occulture. London: T & T Clark International, 2004, x, 265. ISBN 0567084086. info
  • WALSER, Robert. Running with the Devil : power, gender, and madness in heavy metal music. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 1993, xviii, 222. ISBN 0819552526. info
  • WEINSTEIN, Deena. Heavy metal. A cultural sociology. New York: Lexington Books, 1991. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, readings, discussions.
Assessment methods
Requirements: final paper
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujícího.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2017, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2017/RLB515