ANTH 304 Anthropology of Religion
This course takes a cross-cultural approach to religion in relation to the individual life cycle, social order and relations, and culture change. Students examine theoretical constructs and methods and their relation to a variety of religious beliefs and practices in the United States and globally.
4 Undergraduate credits
Effective August 1, 1998 to May 6, 2025
Meets graduation requirements for
Learning outcomes
General
- Understands anthropological approaches to the study of religion and appreciates that changing political and economic relation around the world have influenced these approaches.
- Can analyze, evaluate, and write about religious beliefs with respect to the local and global contexts that help shape them.
- Can critically analyze, at an upper division level, the history and context of religious belief and practices, and can write about this to evaluate one's own lived experience.
- Understands the central role of religion in shaping social and individual identity.
- Understands the role of religious conviction in mediating or fostering conflict in the contemporary world.
Minnesota Transfer Curriculum
Goal 5: History and the Social and Behavioral Sciences
- Employ the methods and data that historians and social and behavioral scientists use to investigate the human condition.
- Examine social institutions and processes across a range of historical periods and cultures.
- Use and critique alternative explanatory systems or theories.
- Develop and communicate alternative explanations or solutions for contemporary social issues.
Goal 7: Human Diversity
- Understand the development of and the changing meanings of group identities in the United States' history and culture.
- Demonstrate an awareness of the individual and institutional dynamics of unequal power relations between groups in contemporary society.
- Analyze their own attitudes, behaviors, concepts and beliefs regarding diversity, racism, and bigotry.
- Describe and discuss the experience and contributions (political, social, economic, etc.) of the many groups that shape American society and culture, in particular those groups that have suffered discrimination and exclusion.
- Demonstrate communication skills necessary for living and working effectively in a society with great population diversity.
Goal 8: Global Perspective
- Describe and analyze political, economic, and cultural elements which influence relations of states and societies in their historical and contemporary dimensions.
- Demonstrate knowledge of cultural, social, religious and linguistic differences.
- Analyze specific international problems, illustrating the cultural, economic, and political differences that affect their solution.
- Understand the role of a world citizen and the responsibility world citizens share for their common global future.
Fall 2024
| Section | Title | Instructor | books | eservices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | Anthropology of Religion | Santos, Jose L. | Books for ANTH-304-50 Fall 2024 | Course details for ANTH-304-50 Fall 2024 |