Religion and its "Other": Secular and Post-Secular Formations

Undergraduate / Graduate

How do we locate religion? What is a secular space? Are we somehow beyond secularism? This course provides an introduction to the relationship between religion and the secular as it has been conceived in the modern West. It is intended to provide students with a basic historical and theoretical framework for thinking about how these categories relate, how they have evolved, and the work they do in our contemporary society. Readings will include works by Hermann Cohen, Louis Dupré, Charles Taylor, Michel Foucault, Bruno Latour, Judith Butler, Talal Asad, and Saba Mahmood.