Theology and the Study of Religion (470-0-20)

Instructors

Robert Orsi
847 4675175
Crowe Hall, 1860 Campus Drive, 4-141

Christine Helmer
847/491-2616
Kresge Hall #3341
Office Hours: Wed 2-4 pm on zoom

Meeting Info

Crowe 4-130 Rel Studies Sem Rm: Mon 3:00PM - 5:30PM

Overview of class

If "we" have never been modern, then what have "we" been, and what does this have to do with "religion" (as object of inquiry) and "religions" (as lived practice) amid the multiple crises of the current moment? Topics will include the question of the secularity (or not) of critique; the resurgence of the supernatural across multiple fields of contemporary thought and practice; post-liberalism and the enduring power of anti-realism; and theologies of modernity. Readings comprise a mix of classic texts (Horkheimer, Barth, Schleiermacher, and others); recent scholarship and theory in religious studies and adjacent fields; and first-person accounts of contemporaries consumed with or by these questions.

Registration Requirements

Open to graduate students in all departments.
Upper-level undergraduate students with knowledge of the study of religion or philosophy.

Teaching Method

Seminar: Once a week
Writing assignments: 3 short papers