RELG 362 - Magic, Science, and Religion

Credits: (3)
College Curriculum: COLL 200
Domain (Anchored): CSI
Domain (Reaching Out): ALV, NQR

This interdisciplinary course explores different understandings of and interactions between the realms of “magic,” “science” and “religion” across a range of historical and cultural contexts. Drawing together materials from the fields of religious studies, anthropology, history of science, philosophy, science studies, and the natural sciences, the course will examine and problematize standard narratives of modernity by (a) interrogating modern understandings of religion, science, rationality, and disenchantment, (b) exploring the historical origins and development of our dominant (science-based) modern Western episteme, and (c) examining unconventional ways of knowing and alternative understandings of the sacred, rationality, and enchantment. Topics may also include: classic theories of magic, science, and religion; experiences of the extraordinary, uncanny, and non-rational; the roles of magic, science, and religion in practices and discourses of colonialism; the modern-day authority of science and the marginalization of other ways of knowing; debates regarding the nature and varieties of human consciousness; issues surrounding the method, practice, and ideology of science; and intersections of religion, magic, and science in neuroscience, quantum physics, paranormal phenomenon, and popular culture.