Course unit details:
Anthropology of Religion

Course unit fact file
Unit code SOAN20811
Credit rating 20
Unit level Level 2
Teaching period(s) Semester 1
Offered by Anthropology
Available as a free choice unit? Yes

Overview

  • The Anthropology of Religion.
  • Definitions.
  • Religious knowledge and experience.
  • The making of religious subjects
  • The practice of religion
  • Debates in the anthropology of religion.

Aims

  1. To introduce students to the main anthropological approaches to the analysis of religion.
  2. To work with key anthropological texts on the topic of religion.
  3. To explore the production of religious subjects and subjectivities.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this course, successful students will be equipped with sufficient knowledge and skills to:

  1. Understand and engage with debates and literature in the anthropology of religion.
  2. Explore the place of religious practice and belief in social life.
  3. Undertake comparative analysis of ’religious’ phenomena, knowledge and practice.
  4. Engage critically with the ways in which religious subjects and subjectivities are produced and matter/are made to matter.

Teaching and learning methods

The course is ethnography-led with a strong focus on anthropological monographs to critically engage concepts and frameworks in the anthropology of religion - belief, ritual, practice, and materiality. There will be short lectures on the conceptual themes and discussions grounded in ethnographic texts.

Every student will be required to read two monographs in full. The first will be read by the whole class in the first half of the semester. Students will choose one monograph from 3 choices to read in the second half of the semester.

 

Assessment methods

  • Mid-term assessment (voice/live presentation based) - worth 30%;
  • 2,500 assessed essay at end of semester - worth 70%;

Feedback methods

Oral and/or written feedback is provided following the midterm. Written feedback is provided after the final essay. Feedback will be available on Blackboard/Canvas.

Recommended reading

These are general and introductory texts, which provide a good overview of the field:

Orsi, R A (ed). 2012. The Cambridge Companion to Religious Studies. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge

Lambek, Michael (ed.). 2002. A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion. Oxford: Blackwell

Morris, B. 2006. Religion and Anthropology: A Critical Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Eller, Jack. 2007. Introducing the Anthropology of Religion. London: Routledge

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Lectures 20
Tutorials 10
Independent study hours
Independent study 171

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Meghan Rose Donnelly Unit coordinator

Additional notes

Information
Length of course: 12 weeks

Fees and funding

Fees

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2027 will be £10,050 per annum. Tuition fees for international students will be £29,200 per annum.

For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

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As an international student you may be eligible for our Global Futures Scholarships . This is open to students starting their studies in September 2026.

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