Material Religion

3 units

This seminar examines contemporary theories and approaches to materiality in the study of religion. Particular attention is given to how scholars envision the relationship between bodies, rituals, religious objects, and the human ability to think, know, and act in the world. By attending to a variety of things -- prints, icons, ritual clothes, food, incense -- and to the history of their use within such traditions as Islam, Buddhism, Candomble, Lucumi, and Christianity, this course seeks to provide students with an opportunity to familiarize themselves with contemporary studies that take seriously the power of material objects to make and sustain religion. This course is simultaneously designed to allow students to practice utilizing material culture as a method in their own research.