Themes in Comparative Religion (482-0-20)

Topic

Religion & the More Than Human

Instructors

Sarah Jacoby
8474671304
Department of Religious Studies, Crowe Hall 4-134, 1860 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208
Office Hours: Wed 1-3pm, Crowe 4-149

Meeting Info

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

Overview of class

Religion and the More Than Human

Interdependence, relatedness, entanglement, co-presence, symbiosis, hybridity, dependent origination—these are some of the vocabularies for describing the ways in which humans are inextricably connected to the more-than-human in all its varieties, including plants, other animals, non-organic matter, and spiritual presences/unseen beings. These myriad ways of describing interrelationship weave through domains as divergent as botany, life sciences, philosophy, and religious studies. This course takes a broad look at this vibrant theme, dwelling on the study of religion as a discipline and the tools it provides for considering the more than human. Course readings will include everything from Indigenous religions to Buddhism and Islam, tailored to the interests of graduate students in the course.

Registration Requirements

permission number for undergraduates.

Learning Objectives

• Develop a deeper and broader understanding of contemporary work within religious studies and beyond on the more than human
• Consider the intersections between Indigenous worldviews in the Global North and South, new materialism, relational ontologies, and religious studies
• Reflect on climate catastrophe and religious/religious studies responses to it
• Reverse engineer recent monographs on aspects of religion and the more than human, considering the arguments, sources, and scope of the books we read together, with an eye to building our own research projects

Teaching Method