• Secretary:
  • +30 22510 36300
  • secr-sa@aegean.gr
Home
W/S-101 Contemporary Religious Movements

W/S-101 Contemporary Religious Movements

COURSE INFORMATION

The popularity of contemporary religious movements, the so-called ‘contemporary’, ‘new’, ‘alternative’ or ‘New Age’ spirituality and the therapeutic practices that accompany it has been increasing, especially in Europe in recent decades. However, their anthropological study is still largely limited. This seminar focuses on a thorough discussion of the theoretical, analytical and ethnographic approaches to contemporary religious movements and examines their social, cultural, political dimensions, in the context of globalization, transnationalism and the socio-economic, political and healthcare crises of recent decades. More specifically, we will explore their cultural fluidity, their complex relationship with Christianity and other organized religions, with the individualization of contemporary religiosity and religious identity, as well as what popular expressions such as ‘spiritual but not religious, ‘spiritual revolution’, ‘esotericism’, ‘mysticism’, ‘sacred self’ mean. We will examine, among other issues, the connection of the New Age movement with neoliberalism and that of contemporary forms of spirituality with the gendered construction of the self. We will discuss the concerns about cultural appropriation for which the contemporary religious movements have been accused, but also what kind of critiques these phenomena exercise on the so-called ‘Western’ world and the ‘official’ religious and health institutions, and what is ultimately considered – or if it is – ‘new’ and ‘contemporary’ in the New Age movement and contemporary religious movements in general.

Course Structure:

  1. Introduction to Contemporary Religious Movements
  2. Western Esotericism: redefining religious knowledge and identity
  3. The ‘New Age’ Movement: spirituality, commercialization and alternative therapies
  4. Feminist Spirituality, Sacred Topography, and Ecology: the case of Paganism
  5. Contemporary Religious Movements in Southern Europe: syncretism and creativity
  6. Mysticism, Experience, and Transcendence
  7. From Falun Gong to ISCKON: Contemporary Religious Movements in Asia
  8. Globalization and Cultural Appropriation: the example of Shamanism
  9. Gurus, Charismatic Authority, and Spiritual Community
  10. Contemporary Religious Movements “Through the Keyhole”: Visual Representations and Gender Identity
  11. Politics, Conspirituality and Conspiracy Theories
  12. Digitality, Cyberspace and Social Media: the new era of Contemporary Religious Movements?
  13. What is “contemporary” in Contemporary Religious Movements?

School:

Social Sciences

Academic Unit:

Social Anthropology and History

Level of studies:

Undergraduate

Course code:

W/S-101

Semester:

Independent teaching activities

Lectures:

Weekly teaching hours

3

Credits

6

Course type:

Prerequisite courses:

None

Language of instruction and examinations:

Greek

Teacher:

Roussou Εugenia

Is the course offered to erasmus students:

Yes

Course website (URL):

ΔΙΔΑΚΤΙΚΕΣ και ΜΑΘΗΣΙΑΚΕΣ ΜΕΘΟΔΟΙ – ΑΞΙΟΛΟΓΗΣΗ

Τρόπος Παράδοσης:

Πρόσωπο με πρόσωπο

Χρήση Τεχνολογιών, Πληροφορίας & Επικοινωνιών:

Παρουσιάσεις σε Power Point, προβολή σύντομων βίντεο μέσω διαδικτύου, επικοινωνία μέσω eclass

Οργάνωση Διδασκαλίας: 

Δραστηριότητα Φόρτος Εργασίας Εξαμήνου
Σύνολο Μαθήματος 140
Διαλέξεις 40
Ασκήσεις στην τάξη 15
Εκπαιδευτική εκδρομή 10
Αυτόνομη μελέτη στην διάρκεια του εξαμήνου 45
Μελέτη προετοιμασίας για τις εξετάσεις 30

Αξιολόγηση Φοιτητών:

Η αξιολόγηση των φοιτητών/ριών γίνεται μέσω εξετάσεων με ερωτήσεις ανάπτυξης και αποκλειστικά στην ελληνική γλώσσα. Τα κριτήρια είναι προσβάσιμα για τους φοιτητές/ριες στην ηλεκτρονική πλατφόρμα του μαθήματος (e-class).