REL440.001
Theories of Religion

What role has this man played in the formation of your psychic structure?

Professor
Dr. Tim Murphy
tmurphy@bama.ua.edu

Office: 209 Manly Hall
Office Phone: 348-8513
Course: W 3:00-5:30
Course Number: 47993
Location: 210 Manly Hall

About Online Readings

Some course readings are placed in a "secure" folder; you can only access these PDF files (Portable Document Format, that can be opened with the free Adobe Reader) by clicking each link and then entering your Bama User Name and Password. If you have difficulty accessing these readings, contact the instructor by email.

If you have forgotten your Bama ID, but know your Campus Wide ID (CWID), then go here.

Description

What is religion? How does it function? What causes it? What does it mean for those who practice it? How is it related to other areas of life, such as politics, ideology, economics, or culture? What are the best methods for studying it? This course will survey classic and contemporary theories of religion which attempt to answer such questions as these. Specific themes and texts may vary with each offering.

Syllabus

Fall 2008 Syllabus (PDF)

Dr. Tim's Guide to Expository Writing (PDF)

Books (required)

Berger, Peter
The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion
Anchor: 9/90
ISBN: 0385073054

Nietzsche, Friedrich, Kaufmann, Walter Editor
On the Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo
Vintage: reissue ed 12/89
ISBN: 97806797245629

Murphy, Tim
Representing Religion Essays in History, Theory and Crisis
Equinox
ISBN: 1845530926

Foucault, Michael
The History of Sexuality, Vol 1
Vintage, 1990
ISBN: 0679724699

Barry, Peter
Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory, 2nd ed, paperback edition
ISBN: 9780719062681

Walzer, Michael
The Revolution of the Saints A Study in the Origins of Radical Politics
paperback edition 1965
ISBN: 0674767861

Readings

To be announced.