| Kurzkommentar |
Seminar times/laboratory: 25.04., 02.05. (16-20 Uhr), 16.05., 23.05., 30.05., 13.06., 27.06.
Fieldwork times: 06.06., 20.06., 04.07.
Final presentations: 18.07. (16-20 Uhr) |
| Kommentar |
Recent studies in the anthropology of religion approve that consumerism and consumption as the driving forces of globalization have profound consequences on religious practices, beliefs, expressions, and institutions. While the vibrant global market of halal products bear witness to the commodification of Islam and Muslim faith, smartphone apps such as buddify.com create a virtual space for ‘doing religion’ and turn faith into a brand that can be shopped through lifestyle commodities and virtual journeys to a mindful inner self in line with neoliberalism and the spreading of management ideologies.
This course aims to introduce students in Global and Area Studies to the anthropology of religion in consumer society and to familiarize them with core ethnographic methods such as participant observation, visual and digital ethnography. Starting from the discussion of concepts such as ‘material religion’, ‘religious markets’, ‘post-/modern subjectivity’, and ‘branding’ students will be trained towards designing and conducting a small-scale field research that links religious phenomena with consumer practices. Teaching language will be English. |
