RELIGION OF CONTEMPORARY SOUTHEAST ASIA

Mandatory course for the B.A. program in Languages, Cultures and Societies of Asia and North Africa with Southeast Asia.

Learning goals within the area of culture and humanities.

Knowledge and understanding:

- The religious panorama of contemporary Southeast Asia
- Key approaches to the study of religion in contemporary Southeast Asia

Applying knowledge and understanding:

- Enhance one’s knowledge of the societies and cultures of contemporary Southeast Asia via the study of religion
- Improve one’s analytical and logical skills via the study of religious phenomena
- Familiarize with the conventions and methodologies of academic debating and writing
- Articulate one’s opinions critically and with reference to the relevant scholarship

An interest in the religions, societies and cultures of Southeast Asia.

Good knowledge of English, both spoken and written.

This course introduces students to the study of religion in contemporary Southeast Asia. It privileges anthropological over scriptural approaches.

The course is mainly based on ethnographies from the region, complemented by multimedia materials. It covers topics including the relationship between religion and politics, religion and economy, as well as booming phenomena such as divination and spirit mediumship. The course presents religion as a key lens for exploring the complex and dynamic socio-cultural realities of Southeast Asia.

The teacher will provide all readings (academic articles and chapters from edited volumes) on a weekly basis via Moodle.

The assessment is a take-home short essay (1,000 words, including the bibliography).

In the final class, the teacher will provide essay topics that are related to themes covered by the course. Students will be able to choose one topic to develop in the essay.

The evaluation will pay particular attention to how well the essay responds to the essay topic, the strength of the argument and the appropriate use of bibliographic sources. Students who do not pass the exam in the first instance will be able to resubmit the same essay during the next exam session, modifying it on the basis of the teacher’s feedback.

Frontal teaching and debates.

English

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development