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-# ANTH 2667: The Anthropology of Religion #
-This page is a place for materials for The Anthropology of Religion, a unit offered at the University of Sydney. This unit will next be offered in Sem 1 of 2015, and is usually offered every year in Sem 1.
-## The unit outline ##
-//A PDF of the unit outline (syllabus) can be found here: http://rschram.org/media/anth2667.pdf. //
-## Unit description ##
-This Unit will examine various ways anthropologists have theorised
-religious belief and practice, and we will challenge these ideas by
-looking at the vast diversity of religious forms. Starting with the
-major theories of Durkheim, Weber and others, the Unit will focus on
-what anthropologists have identified as the key elements of religious
-forms cross-culturally. It will also look at debates around these
-ideas. Special emphasis will be put on the continuing salience of
-religious ideas and identities in modernity.
-## How this class works ##
-This class is based on a weekly cycle we will follow for the whole semester. The steps in the weekly cycle are:
-  *     //Read// the required readings (and, if you want to know more, read recommended readings)
-  *     //Think// about what they say and what you think of them.
-  *     //Write// something about what you’ve read.
-  *     //Eat some brain candy//. Explore the topic of the week through new media, and see how the week’s issues enter into contemporary cultures.
-  *     //Ask// questions, //discuss//, and //listen// in lecture and tutorial.
-  *     //Receive// feedback from me about your ideas.
-  *     //Research//, or keep seeking out new ideas and new information towards your main interests.
-  *     Lather, rinse, repeat…
-By completing this cycle each week, you can be sure that each week builds to the next, and by the end you will have constructed an edifice of knowledge rather than collected bits and pieces of information. Also, since this class has one major research project, keeping in sync with the class will also you plan and complete the project.
-In this class, there are not many required readings. Although I don’t expect you to spend much time on the required reading each week, I do expect everyone to **do something for this class every week** and **do something toward your own research goal every week** for the whole semester.
-## Exploring religion through dialogue ##
-In 2015, the class will center on a dialogue among students in a tutorial. Each week we will examine an open-ended question, a claim, or a topic, and we will all discuss our different interpretations, using the skills of dialogue to explore the differences of perspective within the group and to think more deeply about them.
-## Research skills and independent thinking ##
-Over the semester, students will be working on an independent research project. Each student will investigate a problematic issue arising within the social study of religion, read ethnographies on this topic, and develop an argument about it. This results in a 10-page research paper which argues for their explanation of the matter. At several points, students will submit elements of their research and get feedback from me. Over the course of the unit, we will discuss strategies and techniques for finding facts, asking questions, asserting a thesis which answers a question, developing arguments to explain the thesis, and using factual evidence and reasoning to make our arguments stronger.