| Time | Days | Location | Instructor | GER | Credit | OPUS Class Number | Syllabus (Tentative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2:30pm-5:30pm | Tu | Candler Library 101 | Laurie Patton. Michael Berger. | WRT. | 4 | 13200 | TBA. |
For Religion Majors only. Permission required. Contact department at 404-727-7596.
Content: This capstone course will look at a central dilemma in the study of religion: the question of religious identity and insider/ outsider status.
What constitutes authentic knowledge of a religious tradition? Are insiders more privileged because they have "lived" the tradition from childhood? Are outsiders more privileged because they have "objective" knowledge of a tradition? What about those who are both scholars and practitioners, insiders and outsiders? What about scholars who have intellectual practices but not ritual practices within a tradition? What about those who see themselves as fellow travelers who are not necessarily "insiders"? What about those members of a tradition who do not wish to be studied? Or members of a tradition who do wish to be studied? How do we define authenticity in these cases?
All of these configurations of scholarly and religious identity, and many more, will be explored and discussed. We will begin by reading several collections of essays and monographs that address this topic. Students will work on a "case study" throughout the course that wrestles with this issue. They will be required to draw upon their knowledge base and their writing skills as religion majors at Emory to think through these questions. They will complete a major research paper on their case study by the end of the semester and present their findings to their fellow students in a research colloquium.
Selected Texts and Readings:
- Cabezon and Davaney, Eds. Identity and the Politics of Scholarship in the Study of Religion
- McCutcheon, Critics not Caretakers
- McCutcheon, The Insider/Outsider Problem in the Study of Religion: A Reader
- Cady and Brown, Eds., Religious Studies, Theology, and the University: Conflicting Maps, Changing Terrain
- Arwick and Stringer, Eds. The Insider/Outsider Problem in the Study of Ritual
- Patton, Laurie, "The Scholar and the Fool" (white paper)
- Bell, Catherine. Ritual: Perspectives and Dimensions
- Cady and Brown, Eds. Converging on Culture
- Smith, W.C. Meaning and End of Religion
The schedule of courses on O.P.U.S. is the official listing of courses, including days and times they meet and the General Education Requirements they satisfy. Students should use course descriptions as general guidelines. Course requirements, grading details, book lists, and syllabi are subject to change.