Course Details in 2024/25 Session

Module Title	LI Representations of the Divine
School	Phil, Theology and Religion
Department	Theology and Religion
Module Code	09 38203
Module Lead	Carissa Sharp
Level	Intermediate Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-20 hours Seminar-10 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	This module examines how people mentally represent God, or the “Divine,” as well as the personal and social outcomes of these representations. Topics will include questions of “why do people believe in God?”, looking at cognitive universals across religions and cultures. They will also include questions of “how do people believe in God?”, which will examine factors such as the importance of social context, individual differences in how people describe God, features of people’s relationships with God, the complexity of how people think about God, and cross-religious differences or similarities. Students will examine and reflect on the extent to which representations of God or the Divine have implications for people, on both individual (e.g., how people cope with negative life events) and social (e.g., how people relate to other people) levels.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Demonstrate understanding of cognitive universals in representations of the Divine Demonstrate understanding of differences in people’s representations of the Divine Critically and creatively engage with these concepts in order to develop new “God” concept Demonstrate attention and sensitivity to cultural contexts and meaning
Assessment
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: 1500 word preparatory assignment for creative project (50%) 1500 word explanatory commentary of creative project (50%) Reassessment: Resit failed component if it results in failure of the module as a whole
Other
Reading List