BA (Hons) Religion

What you'll study You will learn through weekly lectures, smaller seminars and individual tutorials. A fortnightly two-hour workshop, led by the Course Convenor, is an opportunity for you to discuss in more detail the theories and case studies presented in the lectures. We will map the key debates and the impact through and on ‘religion’. There will also be field trips to, for example, places of worship and of politics (House of Commons/Lords) to see both small-scale religious practice and religion's intersection with the wider public sphere. Year 1 (credit level 4) You will study the following compulsory modules: Year 1 modules Module title Credits. Modern Knowledge, Modern Power Modern Knowledge, Modern Power 30 credits This module aims to introduce you to the ‘sociological imagination’. What is distinctive about Sociology? With a focus on knowledge and power, the module looks at how Sociology has developed, with an emphasis on the study of relations between individuals and groups in modern industrial societies.... 30 credits. Culture and Society Culture and Society 30 credits This module is primarily concerned with the relations between culture and social processes, and approaches these in a number of ways: by outlining various sociological uses of ‘culture’, by identifying the role of culture in examples of macrosocial phenomena (eg education, consumption, the city), and by discussing microsociological analyses of the role of culture in social interaction. 30 credits. Believing and Belonging in London and the World Believing and Belonging in London and the World 30 credits This module looks at the presence of religion in London, the UK’s most religious region. You will examine the links between London’s complex vibrant, urban, religious and secular landscape and how this relates to the world as a whole, by following growth and changes in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Paganism, Sikhism, Spirituality and New Religions. You will explore the crisis and controversies shaping behaviours and attitudes to, for example, young people, gender, sexuality, law, politics, violence and money through lectures, seminars, practical exercises and field trips. This module helps you understand contemporary globalised issues and their historical roots through a firm practical and theoretical framework. 30 credits. The Politics of Other Cultures The Politics of Other Cultures 30 credits This module aims to provide students with an understanding of the importance of colonialism and imperialism, and resistance to these, in the shaping of our world. It treats culture, including forms of art, as central to politics. It begins by considering non-Western forms of politics, civilization and culture prior to colonial domination. The rest of the module explores the forms of political, cultural, aesthetic and ideological interaction, and change, engendered in the module of the colonial encounter. A related aim of the module is to introduce students to a range of types of reading material and sources, beyond the conventional first year text book. 30 credits. Year 2 (credit level 5) You will study the following compulsory modules: Year 2 modules Module title Credits. Anthropology of Religion Anthropology of Religion 15 or 30 credits This module is worth 15 credits if you study it at Level 6 and 30 credits if you study it at Level 7. Questioning the category of religion, this module will introduce you to the sociological thought which has informed the anthropology of religious phenomena and will highlight the specificity of anthropological approaches which combine comparative, historical and ethnographic methodologies and concerns. Focussing on both ‘world religions’ and more localised cosmologies and practices, you will learn about different anthropological approaches (structuralist, Marxist, phenomenological, symbolic and cognitive) which emphasise different dimensions of religious practice and experience. You will also be encouraged to think about the relevance of these approaches for understanding the continued persistence, salience and transformation of religious ideas and practices in the contemporary world. 15 or 30 credits. Philosophy and Methodology of the Social Sciences Philosophy and Methodology of the Social Sciences 15 credits All sociologists have had to deal with some conflict between the idea of sociological knowledge as scientific, guided by reason, and human subjectivity, which gives us differing conceptions of what is real or true. This module looks at some problems in finding out about the social world, dealing with values, and interpreting social reality or realities. 15 credits. Sociology of Religion in the Modern World Sociology of Religion in the Modern World 15 credits This module critically reviews the role of religion in the modern world by examining how religion is being re-asserted in the public sphere. Ten lectures will explore contemporary issues analysed through classic and modern sociological theory. Themes will include: the role of religion in politics; religion and nationalism; communicating and crafting a religious imaginary through mediatisation and digitalisation; beliefs and boundary-making; claiming cultural identity through politics, violence and territory; intersections of ethnicity, age, gender and class; religion and power; migration and religious identity; religion, gender and sexuality; researching the ‘other’. 15 credits. The Making of the Modern World The Making of the Modern World 15 credits Exploring the sub-discipline of historical sociology, the module focuses on the formation of the modern state out of earlier types of political organisation, and different ways of understanding state power. It examines processes such as: revolution; the development of nationalism; the nature of imperialism; post-socialism; and the rise of fascism... 15 credits. You will then be encouraged to take two optional modules from Sociology and two from Politics and International Relations. The options offered may be different each year, but current options include: Africa in the Global Political Economy. Politics, Ideology and Culture. Migration, Globalisation and Citizenship. Year 2 option modules Module title Credits. Life: A User's Manual Life: A User's Manual 15 credits This module sets out to analyse, critique and experiment with the politics of everyday life. It starts from the position that the study of daily life (or what the French call le quotidian) provides a necessary concrete specificity with which to address, engage with, or resist a range of important issues. In the module of our investigations, the insights of de Certeau, the Situationists, the Trapese Collective, CrimethInc and many others are extended into detailed investigations of the structures and mythologies of ‘everyday life’. 15 credits. The Body: Social Theory and Social Practice The Body: Social Theory and Social Practice 15 credits This module explores a selection of approaches to the sociological study of the body, as well as substantive problem-areas where the body has become an important focus of research. You address the contrast between traditions that approach the body as an object (the body we have), those that approach the body as a subject (the body we are), and those that address the body in terms of performativity (the body we become). 15 credits. Crimes Against Humanity Crimes Against Humanity 15 credits This module considers crimes against humanity. In terms of social theory, it asks what it might mean to say that something is a crime against humanity as a whole, or against the human condition, rather than simply a crime against a paticular state or a particular national law. You will consider the meaning of key concepts such as humanity, state, universal jurisdiction, and individual responsibility. The introduction to this module will also look at sociological theories of nationalism and the distiction between civic and ethnic nationalism. It will go on to consider totalitarianism, comparing Bauman's analysis of totalitarianism as a prototype of 'modernity' with Arendt's understanding of totalitarianism as a revolt against modern forms. You will study what kinds of behaviour consititute crimes against humanity; how, why and by whom such crimes are committed, and consider what kinds of international legal instruments and institutions have arisen to designate crimes against humanity as such and to try to prevent or punish them. The module will also explore the difficulties of cultural representation of crimes against humanity, through movies including Shoah, Schindler's List, Ararat, Hotel Rwanda and The Act of Killing. Throughout this module you will develop a materialist sociological methodology: using concepts to understand case studies and case studies to shed light on concepts. 15 credits. An(other) Japan: Politics, Ideology and Culture An(other) Japan: Politics, Ideology and Culture 15 credits This module treats culture as central to an understanding of politics and ideology and focuses on contemporary popular culture in Japan as a particularly significant site for understanding current political concerns. Focusing on literature, cinema, anime, manga, and other cultural forms in times of momentous political changes, the course seeks to chart how political anxieties and passions come to be articulated in different periods in Japan’s history. These forms often provide insights of a kind unavailable through standard historical documents and conventional discourse. How did Japan set about creating a modern nation along western lines in the 19th century, and what did this mean in terms of creating new forms of knowing and inhabiting the world? What were the affective intensities that fuelled ultranationalism in Japan? How were the Japanese able to turn themselves into war victims in the post-war period? How has Japan figured in the western imagination and how can we rethink Said’s Orientalism in light of Japan’s own strategic self-orientalisation? It is by examining the close inter-connections between politics, ideology, and culture that the module seeks to address these questions. 15 credits. Migration in Context Migration in Context 15 credits With migration frequently presented as a situation of ‘crisis’, this module considers broader contexts and longer histories of migration to and within Europe, and will consider the academic field migration as an inter-disciplinary field of study. Exploring contemporary literature from writers and theorists working in a European context, the module will present students with starting points from which to consider migration using core sociological concepts, particularly of place, ‘race’ and power. The module will follow a migration pathway, with focus points considered through lenses of leaving, moving, arriving and staying: Leaving - We will examine those legal frameworks and international agreements relevant to migration, and will explore the uneasy distinction between so-called forced migration and economic migration.. Moving - We will consider borders and immigration controls, border theories, and the differentiated legal statutes of migrating people as linked to colonial and postcolonial relationships.. Arriving - We will reflect on notions of displacement, exile, integration strategies and policies, representations of migrants and racism, and examples of activism with and by migrants. Staying – We will look at migration and cities, and focus on experiences of young migrants in particular.. 15 credits. Year 3 (credit level 6) You will write a dissertation (30 credits), which should be an empirically based extended case study on a key religious issue/place/person/problem. This may include, for example, study of a particular ethnic group, advocacy for refugee or disability rights, or work in the field of visual cultures. You will also study a selection of compulsory and optional modules to the value of 90 credits. Teaching style This programme is mainly taught through scheduled learning - a mixture of lectures, seminars and workshops. You’ll also be expected to undertake a significant amount of independent study. This includes carrying out required and additional reading, preparing topics for discussion, and producing essays or project work. The following information gives an indication of the typical proportions of learning and teaching for each year of this programme*: Year 1 - 15% scheduled learning, 85% independent learning. Year 2 - 14% scheduled learning, 86% independent learning. Year 3 - 11% scheduled learning, 89% independent learning. How you’ll be assessed You’ll be assessed by a variety of methods, depending on your module choices. These include coursework, examinations, group work and projects. The following information gives an indication of how you can typically expect to be assessed on each year of this programme*: Year 1 - 38% coursework, 62% written exam. Year 2 - 75% coursework, 25% written exam. Year 3 - 75% coursework, 25% written exam. *Please note that these are averages are based on enrolments for 2016/17. Each student’s time in teaching, learning and assessment activities will differ based on individual module choices. Credits and levels of learning An undergraduate honours degree is made up of 360 credits – 120 at Level 4, 120 at Level 5 and 120 at Level 6. If you are a full-time student, you will usually take Level 4 modules in the first year, Level 5 in the second, and Level 6 modules in your final year. A standard module is worth 30 credits. Some programmes also contain 15-credit half modules or can be made up of higher-value parts, such as a dissertation or a Major Project. Download the programme specification , for the 2018-19 intake. If you would like an earlier version of the programme specification, please contact the Quality Office. Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.