Admission requirements
Tools and Theories is a mandatory course in the MA Religious Studies.
The course is also open to MA students from other programmes who have a good BA level knowledge of the study of religion (for example, students who have followed the minor Religion in a Changing World).
The course also usually attracts a few PhD students from across the humanities.
Students who are interested in following the course but have little prior knowledge of the study of religion, should contact the instructor. In some cases, students can be admitted upon working through extra readings over the summer.
Description
In this course we scrutinize theories of religion and practice the art of theorizing in the study of religion. To do so, we work with two kinds of material. On the one hand, students are introduced to a range of influential theories about aspects of religion, i.e. religious narratives and text use, religious beliefs and cognition, religious practices, religious traditions, and religious fields. On the other hand, literature on how to theorise well make students aware of such theorising steps as conceptual model building, comparison, and explanation, both in the work of others and in their own work. As the course moves on, students first use the shared meta-language on theorising to analyse and evaluate other people’s theories, before moving on to flesh out a small theory of their own in dialogue with existing theories and empirical material. The theories drawn on in the course, both those on religion and those on how to theorize well, are drawn from a wide range of humanistic and social-scientific disciplines, including literary studies, cognitive science, sociology, and history.
Course objectives
Knowledge, insight, and content-bound skills
After successfully completing this course,
students can reflect on the fundamental epistemological assumptions of the study of religion and on broad strokes of the discipline’s research history;
students can identify the ‘theorising logic’ in theories on (aspects of) religion and reflect on the usefulness of theories;
students can craft their own theories on aspects of religion in dialogue with existing theories and empirical material.
Transferable skills
After successfully completing this course,
students have refined their research skills, in particular their skills at carefully analyzing theoretical arguments and at working creatively with theory;
students have refined their cooperation skills, including their skills at giving and receiving good quality peer feedback;
students have refined their skills at writing well-argued, academic papers; and
students have refined their skills at oral discussion and oral presentation in English.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Attendance and participation are mandatory. Absence is possible only in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the instructor and only with prior notice. Students who miss more than two classes cannot complete the course.
Assessment method
Assessment
The course includes five constituent exams:
1. Oral contributions in class. This constituent exam is graded and counts 10 % towards the final mark of the course.
2. Written and oral peer feedback on draft versions of the Theorising Paper. This constituent exam is graded passed/failed.
3. Theory Paper. This constituent exam is graded and counts 35 % towards the final mark of the course.
4. Theorising Paper. This constituent exam is graded and counts 40 % towards the final mark of the course.
5. Presentation at mini-conference. This constituent exam is graded and counts 15 % towards the final mark of the course.
To be entitled to hand in the Theorising Paper, students must:
1. have been present and active in class, and have provided peer feedback on draft versions of the Theorising Paper,
2. have handed in the Theory Paper on time.
To be entitled to give a presentation at the mini-conference, student must have handed in the Theorising Paper.
Weighing
Please take note of the following: The final mark is determined as the weighted average of the oral contributions in class (10 %), the Theory Paper (35 %), the Theorising Paper (40%), and the presentation at the mini-conference (15 %). To pass the course, students must obtain at a sufficient mark (5.5 or higher) as the weighted average of the three marks.
Resit
Students who score an insufficient mark for the Theory Paper and an insufficient mark for the overall course, may retake the assignment by submitting a new version.
Students who score an insufficient mark for the Theorising Paper and an insufficient mark for the overall course, may retake the assignment by submitting a new version.
In the rare case that students score an insufficient mark for the oral contributions in class and/or the presentation at the mini-conference which they cannot sufficiently compensate by the marks for other constituent exams, they will be given a substitute assignment.
Inspection and feedback
Students receive individual, written feedback from the course instructor on the Theory Paper and the Theorising Paper.
Reading list
We will primarily read research articles that are accessible online via the university library. Students are responsible for downloading, printing, and reading these article before class. We will also read a number of book chapters and articles from journals that are not available online from the UB. Where copyright rules allow, this material will be made available via Brightspace.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory. General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Exchange students having questions regarding registration, may contact the Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office Herta Mohr
Remarks
None.