ANTHRO 250 : World-view and Religion

Arts

2022 Semester One (1223) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Anthropological approaches to religion and world-view. Includes cross-cultural approaches to meaning, belief, religious experience, ritual and myth. Issues of religion, ideology, syncretism, symbolism in social conflict and change. Considers local and world religions.

Course Overview

This course covers some of the key topics in the field of religion. It is cross-cultural and historical in scope, ranging from the colonial era to late-20th century “secular religion”, from the indigenous religions of small-scale societies to world religions, such as Christianity. The focus is on understanding religion as a social, cultural and political phenomenon and, accordingly takes a culturally and religiously relativist position. 

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: ANTHRO 100 or 30 points in Anthropology or Theological and Religious Studies or Sociology Restriction: ANTHRO 319

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Capability 3: Solution Seeking
Capability 4: Communication and Engagement
Capability 5: Independence and Integrity
Capability 6: Social and Environmental Responsibilities
Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Arts

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Understand religion and worldviews as social and cultural phenomena (Capability 1.1, 2.3, 3.2 and 4.1)
  2. Recognize relationships between religious phenomena and wider social structures and issues (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 4.1, 4.2, 5.2 and 6.3)
  3. Understand and explain a range of anthropological perspectives and theories (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 4.1, 4.2 and 5.2)
  4. Locate religious topics in comparative perspective (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2 and 6.3)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Coursework 100% Individual Coursework
There is no DNC (Did Not Complete) grade for this course: that is there is no requirement to complete all coursework components in order to pass the course. There is no plussage. 

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 2 hours of lectures, a 1 hour tutorial, 2 - 4 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 3 - 5 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including tutorials will be not be available as recordings.
The course will not include live online events.
Attendance on campus is required for the test 
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable

This course is not available for delivery to students studying remotely outside NZ in 2022.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

A required textbook will be provided electronically via the course Canvas page. This is intended to provide a broader view on weekly topics than can be covered in a lecture. In addition, the course has one required article or video/week and one recommended reading or video. Most of these materials are intended to provide in-depth examples relevant to the weekly lectures and, in many cases, form the basis for addressing tutorial discussion questions. 

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

For example, on the basis of previous student feedback, the course:

* focuses on cross-cultural and historical material and fewer, more closely examined, ethnographic examples 

* includes more discussion of audiovisual material in tutorials and lectures

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

All coursework is submitted via Turnitin, a plagiarism checking service. Students are encouraged to check their own Turnitin report as a means of ongoing learning about academic integrity.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894, which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

It is a good idea to contact the course convenor early in the course if you have any disabilities or constraints that can affect your learning--tell us how we can help you. 

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

Published on 01/11/2021 03:00 p.m.