production
Skip to Content

DR2575: THEORIES OF RELIGION (2016-2017)

Last modified: 28 Jun 2018 10:27


Course Overview

A survey of leading theories of religion from the fields of economics and psychology. The main issues to be considered will be: what aspects of religion is each theory trying to explain; what aspects does the theory succeed in explaining; and how does the theory reflect the discipline from which it comes?

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 2
Session Second Sub Session Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus None. Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Professor Robert Segal

Qualification Prerequisites

None.

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

  • Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)
  • Either Programme Level 1 or Programme Level 2

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

  • DR2075 Theories of Religion (Studied)

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

A survey of leading theories of religion from the fields of economics, psychology, sociology, and anthropology. The main issues to be considered will be: what aspects of religion is each theory trying to explain; what aspects does the theory succeed in explaining; and how does the theory reflect the discipline from which it comes?

By the end of the course, students should have become familiar with the range of modern social-scientific theories of religion, with ways of comparing theories, with ways of applying theories to specific religions, and with ways of evaluating theories.

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 2500-word essay (40%)
  • One 2-hour examination (40%)
  • One 1000-word book review (10%)
  • Participation (10%)
Resit
  • One 2-hour examination (100%)

Formative Assessment

Continuous informal assessment of performance in class, unmarked.

Feedback

Feedback for in course assessment will be provided in typed form on the School's grade report sheet. Such assessment will highlight in particular those things the student has done well, and those things which could be done to strengthen the essay for a higher grade.

Course Learning Outcomes

None.

Compatibility Mode

We have detected that you are have compatibility mode enabled or are using an old version of Internet Explorer. You either need to switch off compatibility mode for this site or upgrade your browser.