Sacred Space: Archaeological and Religious Studies Perspectives

Innumerable cultures, past and present, have singled out specific locales and even whole landscapes as powerful vectors for communicating with the divine. This course will analyze such spaces for their ability to transform body, escape the material plane, and reconstitute social relations and bodily practice. Case studies will largely be drawn from the Mediterranean world and will employ an archaeological attention to the materiality of these sacred spaces. Key concepts will include: ritual practice, landscape production, memory and agency. Prerequisites: three upper-level courses in Archaeology and the Ancient World, Religious Studies, or Anthropology.