Religion, Ritual & Global Transformation (L6072)

15 credits, Level 5

Autumn teaching

On this module, you’ll learn about anthropological approaches to the understanding of religion and ritual, and its transformations in the modern world.

You’ll be introduced to the main theoretical debates in the field of anthropology of religion and ritual. You’ll gain historical awareness of how religion and ritual have affected global economic, political and socio-cultural transformations. You’ll also confront broad assumptions made about modern life, progress, rationality and even science through ethnographic texts and discussion. We ask ‘what is religion?’ and ‘what is the secular?’.

You’ll explore topics such as:

  • cultural taboos on clothing
  • totemism in contemporary politics
  • elements of belief in science
  • witchcraft in economics
  • magic in daily practice
  • animism in environmental contexts

Teaching

55%: Lecture
45%: Seminar

Assessment

100%: Written assessment (Essay)

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 20 hours of contact time and about 130 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We鈥檙e planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We鈥檒l make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses: