Materiality and Corporeality of Lived Religion

FaculteitFaculty of Humanities

NiveauMaster

Studiejaar2026-2027

Beschrijving

Course goals

The course aims to:

1. Introduce theories and concepts that highlight the central role of material objects and the body in everyday lived experience.

2. Explore the strengths and limitations of a material approach to the study of religion.

3. Equip students to apply these insights to analyze religious phenomena in the world around them.

Career Orientation:

Develop advanced skills in academic thinking, speaking, and writing.

Content

Throughout the course, we will focus on 3 partly overlapping dimensions. Firstly, we will address the complex relation of "Religion and Materiality" in a historical perspective. This involves studying literature about a) the rise of the material turn across the humanities and social sciences, b) the implications of a de-materialized, "Protestant" understanding of religion, and c) a first encounter with new approaches to religion as a material and corporeal phenomenon. Secondly, we will focus on the theme "Corporeality: body and senses", looking at the phenomenology of religion and other approaches devoted to grasping the cultivation of religious sensations. Thirdly, we will investigate recent research on religious matters such as religious topographies, sites and buildings; sacred objects; new and old media; images; food; dress; and sound and music. In so doing, we will zoom in on how religion is lived in plural societies. Throughout the class, the readings will be related to the divergent ways in which religion manifests itself in society. Special emphasis will be placed on current conflicts triggered by clashes about the material and bodily manifestations of religion in plural societies in Europe and elsewhere, involving debates about religious pluralism, legal implications of the freedom of religion, and aesthetics and ethics of diversity. The overall idea which the course seeks to convey is that a material and corporeal approach to religion brings into the picture aspects of religion that are often overlooked if a conventional take on religion as belief is taken as a starting point.

Additional information

For more information see the course page on BS.

Please note: the time slot shown here is not yet final and may still be modified until the 3rd Wednesday in September.

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