RLM4120

Social theory, belief and history

(ART)

Offered subject to final approval

Roland Boer

12 points + Two-hour seminar per week + First semester + Clayton

Synopsis: Through the writings of social theorists such as Theodor Adorno, Louis Althusser, Walter Benjamin, Ernst Bloch, Gilles Deleuze, Terry Eagleton, Antonio Gramsci, Fredric Jameson and Georgy Lukacs the subject seeks to investigate the ways they consider issues of the construction of meaning and knowledge in history and religious belief. Key questions will include the influence of religious belief on their thought, their contribution to the understanding of belief, how the various models of social theory used shape questions of meaning and history, whether their writings are instances of these models, and the influence of their thought on current work in religion, history and social theory.

Assessment: Sminar presentation (3000 words): 30% + Seminar preparation and participation: 10% + Essay (5000 words): 60%