Undergraduate Courses

Requirements for a major in Religious Studies within a 3-year BA or BSocSc degree:

• one or two of the following: REL2040F, REL2048S (to register for these, either REL1002F or REL1006S or a suitable first year cognate course in the Faculty of Humanities needs to have been completed successfully)

• one of the following if both above options are taken, else two of the following: REL2044F, REL2045S, REL2047F, REL2049S, REL2050F, REL2051S

• on third year level: REL3039F and one of these: REL3035S, REL3037F

REL1002F RELIGIONS PAST AND PRESENT

Stucture: First-year, first-semester course, 4 lectures and 1 tutorial per week.
Convenor: Professor David Chidester
Entrance requirements: None

This course provides an introduction to the study of religion and religions, and also to the analysis of religious symbols, myths, rituals, ethics and traditions. Special attention is given to indigenous religious traditions (particularly in Africa), Asian religions (including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism) and New Religious Movements that have emerged as alternative sources of religious identity and meaning in the world.

REL1006S JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM

Stucture: First-year, second-semester course, 4 lectures and 1 tutorial per week.
Convenor: Professor David Chidester
Entrance requirements: None

This course begins by introducing the religions of the Ancient Near East (Egypt, Mesopotamia and Persia) followed by an exploration of the historical foundations of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. These religions are discussed while examining the formation and development of sacred texts, techniques of interpretation, and religious practices within these three important religious traditions. The course thus reflects on the continuity and diversity of historical traditions, social formations and religious identities in the world.

REL1012F/S THINKING IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

Stucture: First-year, first- or second-semester course, 2 lectures per week, 1 double-period tutorial per week and occasional computer lab sessions.
Convenor: Associate Professor Chuck Wanamaker/Dr Louis Blond.
Entrance requirements: Restricted to first-year students.

This course introduces students to key issues in the social sciences, such as identity, gender and globalisation, as well as to a range of concepts used across the social sciences, such as structure and agency, essentialism, socialisation, ideology, patriarchy and capitalism. Thus the course uses teaches critical thinking skills that will enable students to analyse, evaluate and construct  arguments and explanations. In addition, the course directs students towards learning internet and computer literacy skills.

REL1013H THINKING IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

Stucture: First-year, half-course taught throughout the year, 2 lectures and 1 tutorial per week, and occasional computer lab sessions.
Convenor: Associate Professor Chuck Wanamaker/Dr Louis Blond.
Entrance requirements: Restricted to students registered in either the Humanities Faculty Quantitative Extended Degree Programme or Non-Quantitative Extended Degree Programme

This course introduces extended degree curriculum students to key concepts and issues used across the Social Sciences, while using the content to teach critical thinking skills enabling the students to analyse, evaluate and construct academic arguments and explanations. The work is modulated through a carefully designed set of lectures, tutorials and workshops.

Second-year courses

REL2040F RELIGION AND SOCIETY

Stucture: Second-year, first-semester course, 2 double-period lectures per week.
Convenor: Dr Andrea Brigaglia
Entrance requirements: Completion of REL1002F or REL1006S; or completion of any cognate first-year course in the Humanities Faculty; or permission of Head of Department.

This course introduces and tests the usefulness of classic and contemporary theories of religion as a social reality. Drawing upon both South African and international case studies, the course develops descriptive, interpretative, and explanatory methods for analysing the role of religion in social relations, the formation of religious movements and the productions of popular culture. Using critical approaches from the sociology of religion, hermeneutic philosophy and religious anthropology, the course includes explorations of identity, knowledge/power, and religious pluralism. Films are used as one means of exploring the contemporary character of religious consciousness and practice.

REL2044F AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION

Stucture: Second-year, first-semester course, 2 double-period lectures per week.
Convenor: Dr Sibusiso Masondo
Entrance requirements: Completion of REL1002F or REL1006S; or completion of any cognate first-year course in the Humanities Faculty; or permission of Head of Department.

This course explores the religious heritage and history of Africa through specific case studies in African traditional religion. Special attention is given to continuities and changes in the indigenous religions of Africa through studies in religious beliefs, ritual practices, ways of knowing, techniques of healing, and the social formations of the household, polity and religious specialists.

REL2045S RELIGION IN AFRICA

Stucture: Second-year, second-semester course, 4 lectures per week.
Convenor: Dr Sibusiso Masondo
Entrance requirements: Completion of REL1002F or REL1006S; or completion of any cognate first-year course in the Humanities Faculty; or permission of Head of Department.

This course explores the dynamics of tradition, change, and religious diversity through case studies in African indigenous religion, African Christianity, African Islam, and other religions in Africa. Emphasis is placed on inter-religious contacts, encounters, and exchanges in colonial and post-colonial situations.

REL2047F RELIGION, SEXUALITY AND GENDER

Stucture: Second-year, first-semester course, 3 lectures and 1 tutorial per week.
Convenor: Dr Annie Leatt
Entrance requirements: Completion of REL1002F or REL1006S; or completion of any cognate first-year course in the Humanities Faculty; or permission of Head of Department.

This course explores ideologies of gender and sexuality in the history of religious traditions, with particular attention to the role of women in religion. Connections between sexuality, embodiment and spirituality will be addressed through case studies in African, Abrahamic and Asian religions.

REL2048S PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION

Stucture: Second-year, second-semester course, 4 lectures per week.
Convenor: Dr Andrea Brigaglia
Entrance requirements: Completion of REL1002F or REL1006S; or completion of any cognate first-year course in the Humanities Faculty; or permission of Head of Department.

This course pays special attention to issues of theory and method in the psychology of religion, in order to develop an understanding of personal identity and difference in religious contexts. While recognising the importance of gender, class, race, ethnicity and other social forms of identity, the course focuses on religious dynamics of personal identity through case studies in consciousness, embodiment and cultural resources for being human.

REL2051S SACRED TEXTS

Stucture: Second-year, second-semester course, 4 lectures per week.
Convenor: Dr Louis Blond
Entrance requirements: Completion of REL2040F or REL2047F; or completion of any cognate second-year course in the Humanities Faculty; or permission of Head of Department.

This course explores a selection of key sacred texts found in Asian (Buddhism and Hinduism) and Abrahamic religious traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). Students will gain interpretive and exegetical tools through the practical analysis of these texts. Issues surrounding the authority of texts, their use, their canonisation and proliferation, and how they authorise religious  practises will be explores. while there are significant differences between texts as diverse as the Vedas, Pali Canon, Torah, Bible and Qur'an, there are shared aspects to evaluating texts and their centrality in religious traditions. By studying these diverse texts and shared aspects, the course reflects on the continued reliance of religion on textual traditions and textual practises.

Third-year courses

REL3035S RELIGION, ETHICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Stucture: Third-year, second-semester course, 4 lectures per week.
Convenor: Dr Annie Leatt
Entrance requirements: Completion of REL3039F; or completion of any cognate third-year course in the Humanities Faculty; or permission of Head of Department.

This course examines the foundations of ethics and the formation of values from an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspective. With a special focus on the question of human rights in the public sphere, the course develops resources for understanding values, critically analysing ethical issues, and participating in ethical decision-making.

REL3037F RELIGION, CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE

Stucture: Third-year, first-semester course, 4 lectures per week.
Convenor: Professor David Chidester
Entrance requirements: Completion of any cognate second-year course in the Humanities Faculty, or permission of Head of Department.

This course examines the role of religion in social conflict and violence in local, national and international contexts. Against the background of theoretical definitions of violence as direct physical harm, the violation of humanity, or illegitimate force, the course develops case studies in religion and conflict.

REL3039F THE "DEATH OF GOD" AND MODERNITY

Stucture: Third-year, first-semester course, 4 lectures per week.
Convenor: Professor A Tayob.
Entrance requirements: Completion of REL2040F or REL2048S and any other REL 2000-level course; or completion of two cognate second-year courses in the Humanities Faculty; or permission of Head of Department.

This course will focus on examining and exploring the historicity of religious traditions and their responses to modernity. The following issues will be examined: the role of religion in social context, religion as an explanation of reality, religion as the source of modernity, the culture of modernity in South Africa, the meaning and consequences of the interrelationships between religion and modernity in South Africa.

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Department of Religious Studies, University of Cape Town