Unit name | Belief in Contemporary Society |
---|---|
Unit code | SOCI30078 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Dr. Dan Whillis |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
none |
Co-requisites |
none |
School/department | School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
According to postmodernism we are no longer credulous; we no longer believe in big stories. Incorporating elements of the sociology of religion, critical theory, theorisations of late/postmodernity, and the burgeoning field of ‘non-religious spirituality’, this course will ask whether that is true today. Has there been a ‘return of religion’ or, perhaps, an ‘Easternization of the West’? Or are people looking for something like ‘religion without religion’? But, then, why do some think belief is inherently dangerous? And what about the role of bodily practices and emotions in shaping worldviews? Perhaps capitalism is a kind of religion – with money as God and the market as source of divine wisdom? And what role does belief play in resisting capitalism? These are the kinds of questions addressed in this unit. Underpinning it all is a key sociological – and existential – concern with how we believe after postmodernism.
Unit aims:
On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
One hour lecture and two hour seminar per week
Formative assessment
1500 word essay
Summative assessment
3000 word essay
Summative assessment assesses all learning outcomes; formative assessment for student development
Colin Campbell (2007) The Easternization of the West: A Thematic Account of Cultural Change in the Modern Era, Paradigm
John D. Caputo (2001) On Religion, Routledge
Richard Flory & Donald E. Miller (2008) Finding Faith: The Spiritual Quest of the Post-Boomer Generation, Rutgers UP
Philip Goodchild (2002) Capitalism and Religion: The Price of Piety, Routledge
Philip Mellor & Chris Shilling (2014) Sociology of the Sacred: Religion, Embodiment and Social Change, SAGE
Charles Taylor (2007) A Secular Age, Harvard UP