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  6. RS4506: CRITICAL THEORIES OF RELIGION: THE FRANKFURT SCHOOL

RS4506: CRITICAL THEORIES OF RELIGION: THE FRANKFURT SCHOOL (2014-2015)

Last modified: 28 Jun 2018 10:27


Course Overview

We will explore what the authors of the so-called Frankfurt School have had to say about religion: Starting with Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno at the centre of the Institute for Social Research, extending to the likes of Walter Benjamin and Erich Fromm and later on – arguably – Jürgen Habermas. We shall ask in what ways critical theory is different from traditional theory, what the socio-cultural contexts were in which this re-definition of intellectual work took place, its re-interpretations of Freud and Marx, and how it can inform the academic study of religion today.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Session Second Sub Session Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus None. Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Ms Anja Finger

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

None.

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

None.

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

In this course we will explore what the authors of the so-called Frankfurt School with Theodor W Adorno and Max Horkheimer most prominently at the centre of the Institute for Social Research but also extending to eg Walter Benjamin, Erich Fromm and possibly to J'rgen Habermas have had to say about religion. We shall ask in what ways critical theory is different from traditional theory and what the socio-cultural contexts were in which this re-definition of intellectual work took place. In the process, we will discover a type of thought that is sensitive for suffering and unwilling to simply abandon Utopian and Messianic hopes, but one that is also radical in its diagnosis of contemporary capitalist society and those religious phenomena conforming to and even expressive of it. Differences between authors and discontinuities within individual lifeworks will be assessed. Finally, we will discuss which of the intuitions of this way or these ways of theorising should and can be preserved in the academic study of religion.

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 31 August 2023 for 1st half-session courses and 22 December 2023 for 2nd half-session courses.

Summative Assessments

1st Attempt: One oral presentation (10%); one essay of 3,000 words (45%); 1 two-hour written examination (45%)

Resit: Not available at level 4.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their presentations and essays as well as their exams if requested.

Course Learning Outcomes

None.
 

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