RLB33 Anthropology of Religion

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2008
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Barbora Polifková (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Dušan Lužný, Dr.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Lucie Čelková
Timetable
Mon 18:20–19:55 B32
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 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 9 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This course is an introduction into the social anthropological inquiry of religions both in the context of "primitive cultures" as well as in the context of modernity. At the end of this course, students should be able to understand and be able to explain: the basics of the social anthropological perspective on religion; discursive transformations of recent social anthropology of religion; classical approaches to the anthropological study of religious ideas, practices and institutions; critical perspective on key themes and debates in the social anthropological discourse on recent religions.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introductory information to the course
  • 2. The perspective of social anthropology and its object of study
  • 3. Discourse transformations in social anthropology and the challenge of colonialism
  • 4. Social anthropology as praxis
  • 5. The main theoretical perspectives in social anthropology - an overview
  • 6. The mystical world of the "primitive man" (Lucien Lévy-Bruhl)
  • 7. Savage mind (Claude Lévi-Strauss)
  • 8. Midterm exam - test
  • 9. Maintenance and transformation of boundaries (Mary Douglas)
  • 10. Interpretation of symbols and of religious worlds (Clifford Geertz)
  • 11. Social anthropology of religion in modern societies I.
  • 12. Social anthropology of religion in modern societies II.
  • 13. Final exam - test
Literature
  • Úvod do kulturní a sociální antropologie. Edited by Robert Francis Murphy - Hana Červinková. 1. vyd. Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství, 1998, 267 s. ISBN 80-85850-53-2. info
  • KANOVSKÝ, Martin. Kultúrna a sociálna antropológia : osobnosti a teórie. Vyd. 1. Bratislava: Chronos, 2004, 249 s. ISBN 8089027105. info
  • SOUKUP, Václav. Dějiny antropologie : (encyklopedický přehled dějin fyzické antropologie, paleoantropologie, sociální a kulturní antropologie). Praha: Karolinum, 2004, 667 s. ISBN 8024603373. info
  • SOUKUP, Václav. Přehled antropologických teorií kultury. Vyd. 2. Praha: Portál, 2004, 229 s. ISBN 8071789291. info
  • KOTTAK, Conrad Phillip. Mirror for humanity : a concise introduction to cultural anthropology. 2nd ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill College, 1999, xxi, 314. ISBN 0072901713. info
  • BOWIE, Fiona. The anthropology of religion : an introduction. 2nd ed. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Pub., 2006, x, 332. ISBN 140512105X. info
Assessment methods
Teaching: lectures; seminars. Requirements: active participation in seminar discussions; presentation; written exam.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujícího.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2004, Spring 2005, Spring 2006, Spring 2008, Spring 2011, Spring 2012.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2008, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2008/RLB33