Unit details
ASS333 - Myth and Ritual
| Offered at: | (G, X) |
|---|---|
| Credit point(s): | 1 |
| Offerings: | Trimester 1 |
| EFTSL value: | 0.125 |
| Unit chair: | R Sutcliffe |
| Note: Online teaching methods require internet access. Please refer to the most current computer specifications. | |
Content
This course is an introduction to the anthropological study of religion. It surveys the anthropology of religion with an emphasis on the comparative study of cosmology, myth and ritual/ceremonial systems, while also relating these to their socio-cultural milieux.
The course will focus predominantly (though not exclusively) on various forms of ritual and modes of symbolic communication (language, myth, symbolic action), religious specialists (e.g. the shaman, the singer of tales), embodiment, cosmology and mythopoeic imagination, and the theme of religion and socio-cultural transformation in the context of globalization. These topics will be explored through a range of theoretical orientations including hermeneutics, phenomenology, symbolic anthropology, structuralism and post-structuralism, but always with an emphasis on examples drawn from concrete socio-cultural life-worlds in order to attune students to the plethoric diversity of human experiences of world-making. Students will also be encouraged to reflect on the issue of the place(s) of religion in the transformative socio-cultural formations of the contemporary world.
This unit should be of interest to all students with an interest in the comparative study of myth and religion, as well as students interested in contemporary debates about religion and civil society in the global context.
Assessment
Tutorial participation and presentation (on campus) or DSO discussion participation (20%) Short essay (20%) Online quizzes (20%) Essay (40%)
Unit Fee Information
| Student Contribution Rate* | Student Contribution Rate** | Student Contribution Rate*** | Fee rate - Domestic Students | Fee rate - International students |
| $706 | $706 | $706 | $2087 | $2268 |
* Student contribution rate for Commonwealth Supported students who commenced studies from 2010
** Student contribution rate for Commonwealth Supported students who commenced studies from 2009
*** Student contribution rate for Commonwealth Supported students who commenced studies from 2008
Please note: Unit fees listed do not apply to Deakin Prime students.
