Course Details in 2024/25 Session

Module Title	LH Religion and Ritual
School	History and Cultures
Department	African Studies & Anthropology
Module Code	09 28072
Module Lead	Dr Juliet Gilbert
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 2
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	Module cannot be taken with LI Religion and Ritual module
Contact Hours	Lecture-22 hours Tutorial-2 hours Guided independent study-176 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	This module compares different anthropological approaches to religion and explores a number of key case studies of divination, spirit possession, witchcraft and rites of passage from diverse places across the world. Paying particular attention to religious experience, this course explores how religion goes beyond being a complex of ideas to become a form of social action. Religious movements can be a medium of political resistance, the focus of artistic activity, and a site in which ideas about the self, the person, place, the past and future are crystallised. Examining how religion moulds people’s social worlds and lived experiences, this course discusses the survival of local esoteric knowledge in a globalising world, and the juxtaposition of tradition and modernity.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Critically analyse and compare the main anthropological approaches to religion and ritual Show in depth knowledge and critical engagement with key ethnographies, being able to evaluate their importance in the history of the anthropology of religion Evaluate differences and similarities of global and local religions in their regional settings, comparing the ways in which religious transformations occur in changing historical, social and political contexts
Assessment	28072-01 : 2000 word essay - Essay 1 : Coursework (50%) 28072-03 : 2000 word essay - Essay 2 : Coursework (50%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: 1 x 1500 word written assignment (40%)
Other	None
Reading List