Religion and Violence Course (Fall 2018)

Course Syllabus
Violence and Religion. RELIGST 2VR3.
Fall 2018. McMaster University, Religious Studies Department
Tuesday & Friday, 11:30 AM – 12:20 PM; September 4 – December 4, 2018.
Instructor: Max Kennel (kennem12@mcmaster.ca)
Office Hours: University Hall (basement), by appointment.

The popular belief that religion is the cause of the world’s bloodiest conflicts is central to our modern conviction that faith and politics should never mix. But the messy history of their separation suggests it was never so simple. – Karen Armstrong

Course Description
Religion and violence are often linked together in popular culture, news media, and academic discourse, frequently with the implication that religion necessarily leads to violence. This course provides critical resources for understanding both religion and violence by addressing major intersections of the two terms. By examining texts from the disciplines of religious studies, critical theory, and philosophy this course provides a broad overview of major contemporary theories and examples that both explain and critique religion and violence.

Course Schedule

Week 1. Introduction to the Course: Approaching our Topic with Suspicion and Sympathy

• September 4^th Karen Armstrong, “The Myth of Religious Violence” The Guardian.
• September 7^th John D. Carlson, “Religion and Violence: Coming to Terms with Terms,” in The Blackwell Companion to Religion and Violence (7-20).

Week 2. What is Religion? What is Violence?

• September 11^th J.Z. Smith, “Religion, Religions, Religious” (269-284) and Boyarin & Barton, Imagine No Religion: How Modern Abstractions Hide Ancient Realities (1-10)
• September 14^th Lawrence and Karim, “Introduction” in On Violence: A Reader (1-15).

Week 3. Is Religion Violent? (For and Against the Category of “Religious Violence”)

• September 18^th and 21st Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God (1-15).

Week 4. Is Religion Violent? (For and Against the Category of “Religious Violence”)

• September 25^th and 28th William Cavanaugh, The Myth of Religious Violence (3-14). Alternate audio link.

Week 5. What are the Origins of Violence? (Secular and Religious Responses)

• October 2^nd George Bataille, Theory of Religion (9-25, 109-111).
• October 5^th René Girard, “Generative Scapegoating” (73-105). Alternate audio summary link.

Week 6. Reading Week. October 8-14. First Assignment Due / Mid-Term Quiz Available.

Week 7. Against the Question: Is Religion Violent? A Social-Philosophical Approach

• October 16^th Grace M. Jantzen, Foundations of Violence (3-11).
• October 19^th Martin Saar, “What is Social Philosophy?” (1-20)

Week 8. Case Studies in Religion and Violence #1. Terrorism

• October 23^rd and 26^th  James & Brenda Lutz, “What is Terrorism?” in Terrorism: The Basics (1-14).

Week 9. Case Studies in Religion and Violence #2. War (Iraq and Afghanistan)

• October 30^th and November 2^nd Caroline Holmqvist, Policing Wars (1-16) and “Doesn’t religion cause most of the conflict in the world?” The Guardian.

Week 10. Case Studies in Religion and Violence #3. Social Alienation

• November 6^th and 9^th Rahel Jaeggi, “Rethinking Alienation” (audio) and/or Alienation (1-10).

Week 11. Case Studies in Religion and Violence #4. Economic Inequality

• November 13^th and 16^th Göran Therborn, “The Killing Fields of Inequality” (48-67). Summary article link.

Week 12. Case Studies in Religion and Violence #5. Violence Against Women

• November 20^th and 23^rd Audre Lorde “The Master’s Tools will never dismantle the Master’s House” (110-113), and Marie Fortune and Cindy Enger, “Violence Against Women and the Role of Religion.”

Week 13. Course Summary and Essay Workshop Class

• November 27th. Margo Kitts, “Elements of Ritual and Violence” (1-20, 84-92)
• November 30th. Essay Workshop Session.