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Informatie over Ma Programme Theology and Religious Studies (Research)
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| » Jaar 1 | |||||||
| Periode | Type | Code | Naam | Taal | ECTS | Uren | |
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| hele jaar | keuzegroep A | THMMENTOR | MA mentorship | Engels | |||
| semester I a | verplicht | THRMTRCE10 | Theories of Religion | Engels | 10 | 3 | |
| keuzegroep B | THM-GDRH5 | Gender, Diversity and Religious Heritage | Engels | 5 | variabel | ||
| keuzegroep B | THM-HIR5 | Heritage, Identity, Religion | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep B | THM-ME | Ethiek in de zorg | Engels | 5 | variabel | ||
| keuzegroep B | THMMRE5 | Materiële Religie | Engels | 5 | variabel | ||
| keuzegroep B | THM-NHGP5 | Nature, Humanity, and Global Perspective | Engels | 5 | variabel | ||
| keuzegroep B | THM-PRHW | Perspectives on RHW | Engels | 5 | 2 | ||
| keuzegroep B | THM-RCGI5 | Religion, Conflict and Globalization | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep B | THM-RDGW10 | Religious Diversity Graeco-Roman World | Engels | 10 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep B | THM-RGS5 | Religion, Gender and Sexuality | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep B | THM-RH5 | Regional Heritage | Engels | 5 | |||
| keuzegroep B | THM-RVCT5 | Religion, Violence and Conflict Transf. | Engels | 5 | 2 | ||
| keuzegroep B | THMTHPMCE5 | Theological Heritages | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep B | THMTTE5 | Texts of Terror | Engels | 5 | variabel | ||
| semester I b | keuzegroep C | THM-EMH5 | Ethics and Medical Humanities | Engels | 5 | variabel | |
| keuzegroep C | THM-GRSN5 | Gender, Religion and Sexual Nationalism | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep C | THM-HOD | Heritage of Death | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep C | THMHRME5 | Historical Methods in Early Christianity | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep C | THM-MR5 | Museums and Religion | Engels | 5 | |||
| keuzegroep C | THM-NSR5 | National Socialism and Religion | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep C | THM-OEI5 | 'Othering' in Early Islam | Engels | 5 | |||
| keuzegroep C | THM-RMRHW | Conducting Research on RHW | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep C | THMRMSE5 | Research Methods | Engels | 5 | variabel | ||
| keuzegroep C | THMRRATE5 | Reception and Re-Use of Aut. Texts | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep C | THM-SSRM5 | Social Scientific Research Methods | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep C | THRMEERTT1 | Electives (RT, tutorial, course unit) | Engels en Nederlands | 5 | |||
| semester I b en semester II a | verplicht | THRMGASE5 | Generic Academic Skills | Engels | 5 | variabel | |
| semester II | verplicht | THRMEERTT1 | Electives (RT, tutorial, course unit) | Engels en Nederlands | 5 | ||
| keuze | THMDSRSE10 | Dirk Smilde Research Seminar | Engels | 10 | |||
| semester II a | verplicht | THRMPHSS10 | Philosophy of Science | Engels | 10 | variabel | |
| semester II b | verplicht | THRMRT5 | Research Traineeship | Engels | 5 | variabel | |
| verplicht | THRMT5-1 | Tutorial | Engels | 5 | variabel | ||
| Opmerkingen | Due to the large number of electives, not every combination can be guaranteed regarding the schedule. | ||||||
| » Jaar 2 | |||||||
| Periode | Type | Code | Naam | Taal | ECTS | Uren | |
| semester I | verplicht | THRMEERTT2 | Electives (RT, tutorial, course unit) | Engels en Nederlands | 5 | ||
| verplicht | THRMRT5 | Research Traineeship | Engels | 5 | variabel | ||
| verplicht | THRMRT5 | Research Traineeship | Engels | 5 | variabel | ||
| verplicht | THRMRT5 | Research Traineeship | Engels | 5 | variabel | ||
| verplicht | THRMT5-2 | Tutorial | Engels | 5 | variabel | ||
| semester I a | keuzegroep D | THM-GDRH5 | Gender, Diversity and Religious Heritage | Engels | 5 | variabel | |
| keuzegroep D | THM-HIR5 | Heritage, Identity, Religion | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep D | THM-ME | Ethiek in de zorg | Engels | 5 | variabel | ||
| keuzegroep D | THMMRE5 | Materiële Religie | Engels | 5 | variabel | ||
| keuzegroep D | THM-NHGP5 | Nature, Humanity, and Global Perspective | Engels | 5 | variabel | ||
| keuzegroep D | THM-PRHW | Perspectives on RHW | Engels | 5 | 2 | ||
| keuzegroep D | THM-RCGI5 | Religion, Conflict and Globalization | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep D | THM-RDGW10 | Religious Diversity Graeco-Roman World | Engels | 10 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep D | THM-RGS5 | Religion, Gender and Sexuality | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep D | THM-RH5 | Regional Heritage | Engels | 5 | |||
| keuzegroep D | THM-RVCT5 | Religion, Violence and Conflict Transf. | Engels | 5 | 2 | ||
| keuzegroep D | THMTHPMCE5 | Theological Heritages | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep D | THMTTE5 | Texts of Terror | Engels | 5 | variabel | ||
| semester I b | keuzegroep E | THM-EMH5 | Ethics and Medical Humanities | Engels | 5 | variabel | |
| keuzegroep E | THM-GRSN5 | Gender, Religion and Sexual Nationalism | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep E | THM-HOD | Heritage of Death | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep E | THM-MR5 | Museums and Religion | Engels | 5 | |||
| keuzegroep E | THM-NSR5 | National Socialism and Religion | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| keuzegroep E | THM-OEI5 | 'Othering' in Early Islam | Engels | 5 | |||
| keuzegroep E | THMRRATE5 | Reception and Re-Use of Aut. Texts | Engels | 5 | 3 | ||
| semester II | verplicht | Thesis Research Master | Nederlands | 25 | variabel | ||
| verplicht | THRM-WRP | Writing a Research proposal | Engels | 5 | variabel | ||
| Opmerkingen | Writing a Research Proposal will have kick-off sessions at the first semester. Due to the large number of electives, not every combination can be guaranteed regarding the schedule. | ||||||
| 1 | Conducting Research on RHW | THM-RMRHW | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In deze module treffen de studenten voorbereidingen voor het onderzoek voor hun scriptie. In de eerste helft van de module maak je kennis met de onderzoekscyclus en je richt je op de deelcyclus van het onderzoeksontwerp. Je ontwerpt stap-voor-stap je eigen onderzoek, samen met de docent en mede-studenten. In de tweede helft van de module leer je verschillende sociaal wetenschappelijke en/of geesteswetenschappelijke onderzoeksbenaderingen kennen die kunnen passen bij je onderzoeksvraag. Daarbij wordt in het bijzonder aandacht besteed aan ethische implicaties van je onderzoek. Je moet deze module succesvol afsluiten om het scriptieonderzoek te mogen uitvoeren. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2 | Dirk Smilde Research Seminar | THMDSRSE10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ritual studies has emerged as its own discipline from the 1960s onwards. In the two-volume Theorizing Rituals, the editors distinguish between “study of rituals,” which often includes descriptive, emic approaches, from “ritual studies,” which seeks a comparative, etic approach but which has remained undertheorized. The time of grand theories is over and scholars will do better in explaining some aspect of ritual or human behavior. Similarly, in her Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice, Catherine Bell criticized previous studies for seeking to identify rituals as some sort of fundamental element in human history or universal structure underlying religion. As a cure, Bell introduced the study of “ritualization,” that is, of the very processes by which social dynamics become differentiated and actions become to be recognized as distinct. Recently, Ronald Grimes talks of theorizing of ritual with the metaphor of craft, art-like practice where human imagination is strongly and openly employed. While some metaphors of ritual have fallen out of fashion (e.g., “structure,” implying something static), others have become more appealing (e.g., “web,” implying something interconnected). In this seminar, ritual studies will be explored to analyze and bring new questions on the Dead Sea Scrolls evidence. Relevant evidence in this abundant collection are not only the most obvious texts, such as prayers and exorcistic texts, but any text that may help us imagine how actions became ritualized or to pose hypotheses on the ritual life and significance of rituals during the Late Second Temple era. Rituals are not fixed, defined entities but may be approached from several perspectives. The aim is to focus on several perspectives: cooperation, conflict, communication, and change. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 3 | Electives (RT, tutorial, course unit) | THRMEERTT1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 4 | Electives (RT, tutorial, course unit) | THRMEERTT2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 5 | Ethics and Medical Humanities | THM-EMH5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 6 | Ethiek in de zorg | THM-ME | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ethiek gaat niet alleen over ethische dilemma's op de werkplek, maar ook over hoe zorgaspecten tot uitdrukking komen in het beleid van een organisatie en hoe de relatie tussen zorgverlener en zorgontvanger gestalte krijgt. De module Ethiek en Gezondheidszorg brengt twee gebieden van de ethiek samen: 1. Ethische theorie met de nadruk op Zorgethiek; en 2. Toegepaste zorgethiek als een interdisciplinair gebied met aandacht voor concrete casestudy’s en specifieke contexten. In het theoretische gedeelte ligt de nadruk op de uitdaging die zorgethiek als unieke en relatief recente benadering in de ethische theorie en praktijk vormt voor de traditionele ethische theorieën, zoals deontologische (Kantiaanse), utilitaire en deugdethiek. Deze theorieën zullen worden onderzocht in relatie tot de context van zorgrelaties. Ook aan concepten die doorgaans niet centraal staan in de theorie van de ethiek, zoals emoties, kwetsbaarheid, erkenning en afhankelijkheid, zal aandacht worden besteed. In het toegepaste deel worden geselecteerde culturele contexten geanalyseerd waarin de zorg voor ouderen en andere kwetsbare leden van de samenleving is georganiseerd, met speciale aandacht voor de Nederlandse context. Er wordt aandacht besteed aan het mondiale (gemondialiseerde) karakter van de hedendaagse bio-ethiek. Tot de geselecteerde onderwerpen behoren euthanasie en het gebruik van nieuwe technologieën in de ouderenzorg. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 7 | Gender, Diversity and Religious Heritage | THM-GDRH5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 8 | Gender, Religion and Sexual Nationalism | THM-GRSN5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gender and sexuality are highly politicized in today’s globalized world. Across the world, we see nation states linking their national identity with a particular position to homosexuality. Often they oppose LGBTQI rights as in the case of Uganda, Russia and many other countries, or, as in the case of the Netherlands, the national identity is linked with a championing of gay rights. Religious actors and transnational religious networks (e.g. evangelical, Catholic) are very influential in these processes. How can we understand processes such as these? How are these processes related to local understandings of gender and sexuality? These are the kinds of question central to this course. In the event of emergency situations and force majeur, such as societal lockdown, changes may need to be made to class schedules and assessment. Your lecturer will inform you of these changes as soon as possible, should such a situation arise. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 9 | Generic Academic Skills | THRMGASE5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 10 | Heritage, Identity, Religion | THM-HIR5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Omdat het de Notre Dame is!" Dit is de slogan van een reusachtige nationale en internationale fondsenwervingscampagne voor de wederopbouw van de Notre Dame te Parijs na een brand in april 2019. Voor de verwoesting was dit gotisch erfgoedmonument een van de best bezochte attracties in Frankrijk. De selfies op de verschillende fondsenwervingssite getuigen van de betrokkenheid van mensen van allerlei pluimage: Parijzenaars, toeristen, pelgrims. Wat betekent het om een religieus monument, een gebruik, een persoon of een concept als 'erfgoed' te claimen? Wie heeft er baat bij, en wie niet? Hoe wordt 'erfgoed' gebruikt in debatten en conflicten over nationale, etnische en religieuze identiteiten? Wat is de relatie tussen erfgoed en veranderingen in sociale, culturele en religieuze identiteiten? In dit werkcollege verkennen we de oorsprong en ontwikkeling van het begrip 'erfgoed'. Samen zullen we cruciale theoretici en wetenschappers lezen en bespreken, die het vakgebied van erfgoedstudies gevormd hebben, en leren hoe deze benaderingen in eigen onderzoek toe te passen. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 11 | Heritage of Death | THM-HOD | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 12 | Historical Methods in Early Christianity | THMHRME5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 13 | MA mentorship | THMMENTOR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MA mentors support the first year MA students in their studies by arranging mentor meetings. The meetings are not mandatory, but we do encourage all MA students to attend these meetings. During the mentor meetings you can ask all your questions regarding studying at our faculty and living in Groningen. Also, every mentor meeting has its own theme/topic. Check the planning below to see when which theme is discussed in the mentor meetings. Check the schedule of your master’s degree track to see when exactly the mentor meetings are scheduled. › September This meeting in September will focus on the start of your study. Did you have a good start of their study? Do you have a clear overview of your course programme and the of the upcoming exams. If you have any other study related problem, feel free to ask your peers and the mentors. › October The meeting in October will focus on the placement. Have you already started searching for one? Where can you find suitable placements and what does the process of searching for a placement and finding a placement look like? If you have any other study related problem, feel free to ask your peers and the mentors. › November The meeting in November will focus on the thesis. If you have questions about how to start writing your thesis, finding the right assessor, setting up a thesis contract you can ask them during this meeting. If you have any other study related problem, feel free to ask your peers and the mentors. › January During the mentor meeting of January you will take a look ahead to the next semester. Have you found a placement and maybe already made a start with writing your thesis? Again, if you have any other study related problem, feel free to ask your peers and the mentors | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 14 | Materiële Religie | THMMRE5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| “Materiality mediates belief … material objects and practices both enable it and enact it.” (Morgan 2010) Wat kunnen dingen en hun gebruik ons leren over religie? Dit vak richt zich op religieuze voorwerpen – en dan niet slechts als ‘rekwisieten van een religieuze levenswijze’ maar als belangwekkende voorwerpen op zich. Door ook materiaal uit Zuid-Azië te gebruiken stelt de module ter discussie de Westerse aanname dat geloof (beschouwd als een innerlijke instemming met bepaalde fundamentele stellingen) voorafgaat aan de voorwerpen, ruimten en gebruiken die gelovigen maken, gebruiken en aanpassen. In dit vak wordt de vraag gesteld hoe gelovigen en hun objecten verwikkeld zijn in dialectische afhankelijkheidsrelaties en wordt onderzocht wat deze verstrengeling betekent voor het begrip van religie en de huidige stand van zaken van religieus erfgoed. Dit vak bestaat uit 1) het kritisch lezen van diverse theoretische uiteenzettingen over de relatie tussen mensen en dingen, 2) grondige bestudering tijdens de colleges en in individuele onderzoeksprojecten van een aantal illustratieve religieuze voorwerpen, ruimten en gebruiken, 4) grondige lezing van en reflectie op illustratieve middeleeuwse theologische teksten waarin religieuze voorwerpen, gebaren en ruimten geïnterpreteerd worden en waarin getracht wordt de rol van materie bij de verlossing van de mens te begrijpen, 5) een excursie en 6) de voorbereiding van een gezamenlijke virtuele tentoonstelling. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 15 | Museums and Religion | THM-MR5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Musea en religie hebben een complexe relatie. Aan de ene kant werden enkele van 's werelds belangrijkste museumcollecties gecreëerd door de revolutionaire vernietiging of koloniale plundering van heilige plaatsen en religieuze gemeenschappen. Aan de andere kant zijn religieuze groepen zelf zowel in het verleden als vandaag actief in het tonen van hun heilige, historische en artistieke schatten om aspecten van hun identiteit uit te drukken en om bezoekers aan te trekken. Musea zijn opzettelijk gebouwt als "tempels" van lokale, nationale of wereldculturen; tegelijkertijd zijn tempels gemusealiseerd. Deze cursus biedt een inleiding tot de geschiedenis van de ambigue relatie tussen musea en religie. We zullen fundamentele concepten en benaderingen leren op het gebied van museumstudies, in het bijzonder voor zover deze van toepassing zijn op religieuze objecten, ruimtes en praktijken. In een groepproject zullen we deze theorieën creatief toepassen op een concrete lokale casestudy, waarvoor we een displayvoorstel zullen doen. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 16 | National Socialism and Religion | THM-NSR5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 17 | Nature, Humanity, and Global Perspective | THM-NHGP5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contemporary thinking consists of a pluralism of perspectives, but mainstream perspectives have strong roots in the Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment periods and the ideas that emerged in those contexts regarding 'nature,' 'human nature,' 'ethics,' and the history of the planet. The world has since the 18th–19th centuries undergone rapid changes with significant developments in terms of industrialization, modernization, science and technology, and globalization, but new problems have equally emerged in relation to nature, such as sustainability, climate disruption, and mass extinction; in relation to humanity in connection with capitalism, individualism, new forms of nationalism, and the crisis of meaning; and on a global scale with cultural differences and processes of globalization. Alongside conventional thought, new perspectives continue to emerge in the field of spirituality and esotericism. Sometimes these come up as a countercurrent to mainstream thought and more established religions, thus creating tensions and potential conflicts; sometimes they become mainstream in themselves. This course will critically introduce and analyze a number of lesser known perspectives and claimed solutions to problems that humanity and the world have been facing over the past 200 years by focusing on a range of spiritual and esoteric groups and movements. These approaches and concepts will be studied in connection with contemporary problems. The course is designed as a collaboration between Tim Rudbøg and Bjarke Stanley Nielsen (University of Copenhagen) and Kocku von Stuckrad (University of Groningen) with online streaming options available. The Groningen part (5ECTS) will focus on nature, ecology, sustainability, and animistic spiritualities. Movements and perspectives discussed include those associated with Romantic philosophers, occultism, theosophy, paganism, (neo-)shamanism, the new age movement, countercultural movements, and contemporary spiritual philosophers. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 18 | 'Othering' in Early Islam | THM-OEI5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Narrative sources on the beginning of Mohammad’s ministry and the establishment of his state at the oasis of Yathrib in West Arabia are filled with detailed images religious, ethnic, and sexual minorities. These characters give us insight into how identities were constructed and how the boundaries of belonging were formed. This course will focus on the construction of in-group out-group identity in four genres of early literature: the Quran, samples of prophetic Hadith (oral traditions), the prophetic sīrah (biography) of Ibn Isḥāq of Ibn Isḥāq, and ibn al-Kablī’s kitāb al-ʾaṣnām (book of idols), treating issues like: the construction of mušrik ‘pagan’ identity and that of other religious minorities, race, genealogy, and chromo-identity , and the representation of sexual minoritie and their role in establishing normative gender roles. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 19 | Perspectives on RHW | THM-PRHW | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In deze module werken we toe naar theoretische en interdisciplinaire sensitiviteit, die een basishouding vormt voor de rest van het masterprogramma Religion, Health and Well-being. Door middel van literatuur en groepsdiscussies onderzoeken we diverse perspectieven op vragen gerelateerd aan religie, gezondheid en welzijn en hun consequenties voor gezondheid- en welzijnsgerelateerde praktijken en beleid. We oefenen onze reflectieve en onderzoeksvaardigheden door probleemanalyse en een onderzoeksvraag te ontwikkelen op basis van een casus uit de media. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 20 | Philosophy of Science | THRMPHSS10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Against the background of philosophical discussions in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this course offers a critical understanding of what today is called ‘science’ and ‘scientific method.’ Students will familiarize themselves with the major themes and traditions connected to the philosophy of science and discuss critical concepts such as ‘knowledge,’ ‘truth,’ ‘conceptual frames,’ and ‘science’ in connection with epistemological, ontological, and methodological issues. Questions to be engaged include “What is science?”; “When did our understanding of 'science' emerge?”; “Is there a unified method of science, and how would that look like?”; “What are scientific theories, and how are they linked?”; “What are the limits of scientific explanations?” In addition, the course will focus on important debates that have shaped recent developments in the study of religion, as well as in cultural studies more broadly. These include the discussion about realism versus constructivism, about science as a social practice, about challenging the borders between subject and object in the emerging field of ‘new materialism,’ and about alternative scientific systems such as represented in Indigenous knowledge traditions. Relevant texts from philosophy, cultural studies, the anthropology of science, science studies, and religious studies will be discussed and applied to the students’ own research. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 21 | Reception and Re-Use of Aut. Texts | THMRRATE5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This module explores the reception history of the Bible and other authoritative texts. Major themes include the processes through which ancient stories and concepts were incorporated into scripture, as well as their interpretations in varying historical, political, and sociocultural conditions. In the introductory sessions we reflect on basic questions regarding reception history. Then we look at the reception and interpretation of texts and traditions in a range of sources, especially in the Bible itself, and in early Jewish literature of the Second Temple period. Using specific examples drawn from themes (e.g. creation, the flood, eschatology) and figures (e.g. Abraham, Moses) found in these sources, we compare interpretations of authoritative texts in these individual traditions. How have religious or political authorities used these authoritative texts? What challenges arise when a narrative found in one source is re-used in another source, or by another tradition? The sessions conclude with a general hermeneutical reflection on the reception of authoritative texts in ancient times, preparing students for critical engagement with the contemporary use of authoritative texts in religious or political circles. Assessment: Self-study, assignments, presentations, paper. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 22 | Regional Heritage | THM-RH5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 23 | Religion, Conflict and Globalization | THM-RCGI5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 24 | Religion, Gender and Sexuality | THM-RGS5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Many conflicts in which religion is involved focus on gender and sexuality. Religious traditions often work on the body, through gendered practices of dressing, gesture, posture, ritual and more materially, such as cutting (e.g. male and female circumcision), scarring, and tattooing. So how can we conceptualize the relationship between religion, gender and sexuality both on the level of politicized societal debates and the level of individual subjectivities? This course will focus on learning to recognize and conceptualize the links between religion, gender and sexuality. We will first discuss some of the classic authors on these topics. The second part of the course is focused on discussing ethnographic research detailing how sexuality and gender are shaped culturally and religiously. Students will be asked to go deeply into one ethnographic context and communicate their insights to their fellow students and via an essay. This course will make use of literature from anthropology, gender studies, critical theory and philosophy. In the event of emergency situations and force majeur, such as societal lockdown, changes may need to be made to class schedules and assessment. Your lecturer will inform you of these changes as soon as possible, should such a situation arise. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 25 | Religion, Violence and Conflict Transf. | THM-RVCT5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This course deals with fundamental questions at the intersection of the discourse and practice of religion, violence and conflict transformation. It will examine how these concepts interrelate and will investigate assumptions that lie behind their use, as well as how they are put into practice. The following elements will be interrogated: the discourse and practice of peacebuilding and conflict transformation; the history and development of religious violence and religious peacebuilding/conflict transformation; religion and reconciliation; transitional justice and religion; religion and conflict; fundamentalism and religious violence; women, religion and peacebuilding; religion, ritual and peacebuilding. The course shall be interdisciplinary, that is using analytical tools from disciplines such as religious studies, sociology, history, theology, anthropology, politics, law, peacebuilding and reconciliation studies etc. Students are invited to participate actively by going beyond describing issues to critically analyzing and interrogating theoretical underpinnings of religion, violence and conflict transformation. Case studies such as South Africa, Israel/Palestine, Zimbabwe, and Northern Ireland inter alia against the backdrop of globalization shall be deployed to facilitate analysis. Various religious traditions including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and African Religions shall be referred to whenever relevant. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 26 | Religious Diversity Graeco-Roman World | THM-RDGW10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This foundational seminar explores the root belonging-categories of ethnos (notional kin-group) and polis from the classical period through the conquests of Alexander and the Romans. How diverse was this constantly changing world and what criteria permitted or constrained what we might call pluralism: tolerance or even support of difference? How did such tolerated variety manifest itself in areas connected with ‘religion’, such as polis calendars, deities, and holy days, translocal sacrificial cults, philosophical schools, and voluntary associations? What limits did the Hellenistic kingdoms and Roman Empire impose on diversity? Why did Antiochus IV move against Jerusalem, or the Roman senate against the Bacchants? What did Hasmonean expansion mean for Judaea’s neighbours? How did Jews/ Judaeans fare in their homeland under foreign rule and as minorities abroad, before and after Jerusalem’s destruction (70 CE)? How did Christianity relate to polis life and to expatriate Jewish communities, in its first generations and as it gained strength in the third and fourth centuries? Through the period of Christianity’s expansion, what possibilities for pluralism existed among Roman leaders (Constantine, Julian, Theodosius I and II), philosophers (Celsus, Porphyry), Jews, and Christian leaders? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 27 | Research Methods | THMRMSE5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The module will provide students with methods and skills, both theoretical and practical, to address heritage from a multidisciplinary perspective. Different clinics will be devoted to advance historic methods, theories of aesthetics, studies in material culture, digital humanities, discourse analysis and interview techniques; clinics will be led by different lecturers, experts who will speak on the base of their experiences as researchers, and of the challenges they met in the research process. This course aims to guide students as they prepare for their individual projects in the second semester (i.e. the thesis and the internship). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 28 | Research Traineeship | THRMRT5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Before the start of the traineeship, students must draw up a plan of action in consultation with their mentor. The plan should be handed in to the Graduate School Office (Ms De Boer) before the start of the traineeship and should state clearly at least the following:
The research activities should be tailored to the academic interests and preferred specialization of the student. They may range from:
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| 29 | Social Scientific Research Methods | THM-SSRM5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This course will prepare students for researching and writing their thesis. It will introduce the notion of the research cycle, and will focus on the sub-cycle of the research design. The course is designed in such a way that it will take students through the steps of designing their own research, in consultation with their supervisors. Furthermore, the course will include training in specific social scientific research methods for data gathering and analysis, such as interviewing, discourse analysis, ethnographic research and mixed methods. Finally, research ethics will be discussed and students will have to write an ethical statement before their research design can be graded and approved. Students have to pass this course in order to qualify for the final phase of research and writing for their thesis. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 30 | Texts of Terror | THMTTE5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Religiously motivated fanaticism and violence constitute a threat to human civilization. All religious traditions seem to have a violent potential. Often, however, the monotheism of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religion is particularly suspected of an aggressive and intolerant potential. Leading figures in all three traditions have turned, at various times, to the exclusion and even violent persecution of people and ideas deemed alien. Sacred texts and ideas drawn from them can play a major role in motivating and justifying the actions of group members. Violent or intolerant behaviour can, from both insider and outside-observer perspectives, reduce the great tradition to a single essence, for which a few selected elements of the tradition are brought forward while many others are ignored. In this course we study selected texts from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and contexts in which violence, power, and politics have exploited them. We focus on texts that have been used to justify violent actions in order to understand them better in their original contexts, as a basis for tracking later interpretations and exploring how appeals to these texts functioned in relation to political aims. Ultimately we ask whether monotheism necessarily has violent consequences, and how adherents handle the dangerous potentialities of claims to revealed truth. Historical and cultural factors other than monotheistic thought are given their full weight in this investigation. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 31 | Theological Heritages | THMTHPMCE5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| It is an intriguing fact that one of the world’s oldest institutions is the church – though the church exists and always has existed in manifold forms and ways. This simple statement contains the two basic elements which we will explore in this course. First: what kind of narratives are used to guarantee the temporal unity (continuity) of this heritage: this institution and its traditions? (Or: What do people call “church”?) Secondly: does handing over this heritage also mean: handing over the institute’s societal shape? What kind of narratives are there being told concerning this societal shape – or: concerning these societal shapes? (Or: How do people care for the church’s structure?) In this course, those questions will be explored through a theological lens: i.e., theological texts on the topic, from different ages, will be read and discussed – both with regard to their expressiveness in their own age and with regard to their theological or philosophical power in our own era. What light do they shed on theological heritage in our time? What kind of critically theological questions concerning ecclesial heritages need there to be asked (and/or answered) in our postmodern times? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 32 | Theories of Religion | THRMTRCE10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Today, most scholars conceptualize ‘religion’ primarily as a cultural phenomenon, using insights, methods, and theories that are also applied in cultural studies. This course unit explores some of the key issues and texts of the academic study of religion. Students will encounter important ideas that have influenced the development of the study of religion, become acquainted with the key figures who shaped these ideas, analyze influential texts, and discuss issues posed by the introduction of new concepts and methods. Among the topics to be explored are (1) the influence of a Romantic concept of religion as a response to Enlightenment philosophy; (2) the importance of sociological and anthropological approaches to the study of religion; (3) recent developments in theorizing religion and culture in religious studies, cultural studies, and historiography. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 33 | Tutorial | THRMT5-1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Before the start of the traineeship, students must draw up a plan of action in consultation with their mentor. The plan should be handed in to the Graduate School Office (Ms De Boer) before the start of the traineeship and should state clearly at least the following:
The research activities should be tailored to the academic interests and preferred specialization of the student. They may range from:
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| 34 | Tutorial | THRMT5-2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Before the start of the traineeship, students must draw up a plan of action in consultation with their mentor. The plan should be handed in to the Graduate School Office (Ms De Boer) before the start of the traineeship and should state clearly at least the following:
The research activities should be tailored to the academic interests and preferred specialization of the student. They may range from:
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| 35 | Writing a Research proposal | THRM-WRP | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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