Course Exam
240515 VO MM3 Anthropologies of religious belief and identity (2025S)
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WHEN?
Achtung! Die Prüfung beginnt um 15:00 Uhr und dauert 60 Minuten.
Registration/Deregistration
Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
- Registration is open from Tu 01.04.2025 00:01 to Tu 10.06.2025 23:59
- Deregistration possible until We 11.06.2025 23:59
Examiners
Information
Examination topics
A.) Ethnographies of religious identity to be reviewed by students as preparation for the exam (only one title will be randomly assigned for review on the day of the exam):1)Bubandt N. 2014. The empty seashell: witchcraft and doubt on an Indonesian island.
2)Clark-Deces I. 2000. Religion against the self: an ethnography of Tamil rituals.
3)Fernando M.L. 2015. The republic unsettled: Muslim French and the contradictions of secularism.
4)Feuchtwang S. 2010. The anthropology of religion charisma and ghosts: Chinese lessons for adequate theory.
5)Heilman S. 1983. The people of the book: Drama, fellowship and religion.
6)Luhrmann T. 2013. When god talks back: Understanding the American evangelical relationship with god.
7)Werbner R. P. 2015. Divination's grasp: African encounters with the almost said.The reviews should focus on two selected chapters of each title, summarize the ethnography and discuss the implications for a theory of religion, as well as belief and identity. The seven reviews must be submitted prior to the written exam but will not be assessed separately.B.) A sample of 4 (out of 12) open-ended questions will be assigned on the day of exam. Students will not be informed in advance which 4 questions will be tested but instead ought to memorize in advance and demonstrate a sufficient command of the entire course materials.
Below is the full list of 11 open-ended questions concerning religious beliefs (one topic for each lecture starting from unit 3 to 11) students ought to study for and learn to answer in preparation for the written exam:False or incommensurable beliefs
-->>belief content is either asserted, brought about by declaration, or tacitly presupposed by other statements and shielded from contrary evidence that might challenge it.
3) explaining the world (intellectualism),
4) motivating actions meant to bring about desired states of affairs (performativity)
5) being blocked from falsifiability by secondary elaborations (literalism).Symbolic beliefs
--->>the religious symbol's (real) referent is known to the observer but misunderstood (not known) by the religious believer, or the (apparent) referent is known to be symbolic (conventional metaphor) by believer and observer alike, or the symbol's referent is indeterminate (absent , inexistent) and without meaning.
6) hidden meaning (speaker is mystified, symbol's referent misunderstood)
7) metaphorical meaning (speaker knows the symbolism, referent understood)
8) absent or indeterminate meaning (symbol has no referent).Intuitive or emotionally salient beliefs
--> certain cultural representations (such as religious beliefs) are capable of colonizing the minds of a population whereas other representations fail to be selected and transmitted.
9) beliefs that express minimally counterintuitive ideas
10) beliefs that represent plain facts (perceptual beliefs) or that represent other beliefs (reflective or representational beliefs)
11) beliefs with semi-propositional content (whose meaning is indeterminate because they are not fully interpreted).Ritualized & normative beliefs
--> belief is normative and identity-based. religious symbols and acts have determinate meanings irrespective of what individual subjects understand or know because people jointly
12) defer to authoritative opinions assumed to be true without necessarily understanding them.
13) accept responsibility for ultimate postulates (and entailments thereof) as indicated in public performances no matter what they believe privately.
2)Clark-Deces I. 2000. Religion against the self: an ethnography of Tamil rituals.
3)Fernando M.L. 2015. The republic unsettled: Muslim French and the contradictions of secularism.
4)Feuchtwang S. 2010. The anthropology of religion charisma and ghosts: Chinese lessons for adequate theory.
5)Heilman S. 1983. The people of the book: Drama, fellowship and religion.
6)Luhrmann T. 2013. When god talks back: Understanding the American evangelical relationship with god.
7)Werbner R. P. 2015. Divination's grasp: African encounters with the almost said.The reviews should focus on two selected chapters of each title, summarize the ethnography and discuss the implications for a theory of religion, as well as belief and identity. The seven reviews must be submitted prior to the written exam but will not be assessed separately.B.) A sample of 4 (out of 12) open-ended questions will be assigned on the day of exam. Students will not be informed in advance which 4 questions will be tested but instead ought to memorize in advance and demonstrate a sufficient command of the entire course materials.
Below is the full list of 11 open-ended questions concerning religious beliefs (one topic for each lecture starting from unit 3 to 11) students ought to study for and learn to answer in preparation for the written exam:False or incommensurable beliefs
-->>belief content is either asserted, brought about by declaration, or tacitly presupposed by other statements and shielded from contrary evidence that might challenge it.
3) explaining the world (intellectualism),
4) motivating actions meant to bring about desired states of affairs (performativity)
5) being blocked from falsifiability by secondary elaborations (literalism).Symbolic beliefs
--->>the religious symbol's (real) referent is known to the observer but misunderstood (not known) by the religious believer, or the (apparent) referent is known to be symbolic (conventional metaphor) by believer and observer alike, or the symbol's referent is indeterminate (absent , inexistent) and without meaning.
6) hidden meaning (speaker is mystified, symbol's referent misunderstood)
7) metaphorical meaning (speaker knows the symbolism, referent understood)
8) absent or indeterminate meaning (symbol has no referent).Intuitive or emotionally salient beliefs
--> certain cultural representations (such as religious beliefs) are capable of colonizing the minds of a population whereas other representations fail to be selected and transmitted.
9) beliefs that express minimally counterintuitive ideas
10) beliefs that represent plain facts (perceptual beliefs) or that represent other beliefs (reflective or representational beliefs)
11) beliefs with semi-propositional content (whose meaning is indeterminate because they are not fully interpreted).Ritualized & normative beliefs
--> belief is normative and identity-based. religious symbols and acts have determinate meanings irrespective of what individual subjects understand or know because people jointly
12) defer to authoritative opinions assumed to be true without necessarily understanding them.
13) accept responsibility for ultimate postulates (and entailments thereof) as indicated in public performances no matter what they believe privately.
Assessment and permitted materials
There will be a single written examination in presence mode. Students will be offered 4 possible dates to take the exam. The first exam will be at the end of the lecture period, and the other three at the beginning, middle, and end of the following semester.
The single written examination will consist of two parts:A.) writing a review of one (1) ethnography of religion assigned by the lecturer on the day of the exam from the following 7 titles (50%):1)Bubandt N. 2014. The empty seashell: witchcraft and doubt on an Indonesian island.
2)Clark-Deces I. 2000. Religion against the self: an ethnography of Tamil rituals.
3)Fernando M.L. 2015. The republic unsettled: Muslim French and the contradictions of secularism.
4)Feuchtwang S. 2010. The anthropology of religion charisma and ghosts: Chinese lessons for adequate theory.
5)Heilman S. 1983. The people of the book: Drama, fellowship and religion.
6)Luhrmann T. 2013. When god talks back: Understanding the American evangelical relationship with god.
7)Werbner R. P. 2015. Divination's grasp: African encounters with the almost said.Students will have to hand in their seven written reviews prior to and as a condition for taking the exam (but the submissions will not be separately assessed).B.) answering four (4) open-ended theory questions on the contents of the lectures (units). The four exam questions will be randomly chosen from the list of 12 theory questions the students will have rehearsed for the exam (50%).
Both parts of the exam will have to be completed from memory and in handwriting within 90 minutes in a classroom setting. No aids (written notes, phones, or laptops) will be allowed during the written examination.
The single written examination will consist of two parts:A.) writing a review of one (1) ethnography of religion assigned by the lecturer on the day of the exam from the following 7 titles (50%):1)Bubandt N. 2014. The empty seashell: witchcraft and doubt on an Indonesian island.
2)Clark-Deces I. 2000. Religion against the self: an ethnography of Tamil rituals.
3)Fernando M.L. 2015. The republic unsettled: Muslim French and the contradictions of secularism.
4)Feuchtwang S. 2010. The anthropology of religion charisma and ghosts: Chinese lessons for adequate theory.
5)Heilman S. 1983. The people of the book: Drama, fellowship and religion.
6)Luhrmann T. 2013. When god talks back: Understanding the American evangelical relationship with god.
7)Werbner R. P. 2015. Divination's grasp: African encounters with the almost said.Students will have to hand in their seven written reviews prior to and as a condition for taking the exam (but the submissions will not be separately assessed).B.) answering four (4) open-ended theory questions on the contents of the lectures (units). The four exam questions will be randomly chosen from the list of 12 theory questions the students will have rehearsed for the exam (50%).
Both parts of the exam will have to be completed from memory and in handwriting within 90 minutes in a classroom setting. No aids (written notes, phones, or laptops) will be allowed during the written examination.
Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
The overall grade results from the single written examination in presence mode. A positive evaluation requires the completion of each part of the exam (one book review, each of the four content questions) and the minimum score of 30 points for each part.The exam consists of two parts. For each part students must attain at least 30 points in order to complete the exam successfully. In total a maximum of 100 points can be attained. The maximum number of points for each open question is 12.5 points (x 4 questions = 50 points) and the maximum number for the book review is also 50 points.
The book review should
1)contain a statement of the book author's *ethnographic methods and descriptions of how religious belief is expressed in people's doings and sayings*, based on two book chapters selected for review by students (20 points)
2)assess the work's theory contribution to *an interpretation of the meaning* of, or worldview behind, the described religious doings and sayings (15 points)
3)assess the book's contribution to *an explanation of religious ethos or identity* among the people studied (15 points).
Students will not be told in advance which one out of the 7 ethnographic books they will have to review for the exam.
The same holds for the 4 open questions which will only be communicated once the exam starts. Students will be required to prepare for the total of 12 open-ended questions although they will only have to answer four of them at the exam.
The open-ended questions (12.4 points x 4 questions = 50 points) should be answered in full sentences (no lists) and present the essential aspects of the four theories of religious belief referred to in the unit lectures and demonstrate a knowledge of the analytical concepts involved.
The weighting of the overall grade is as follows:
91-100 points = 1 (very good)
81-90 points = 2 (good)
71-80 points = 3 (satisfactory)
61-70 points = 4 (sufficient)
0-60 points = 5 (not enough)
The book review should
1)contain a statement of the book author's *ethnographic methods and descriptions of how religious belief is expressed in people's doings and sayings*, based on two book chapters selected for review by students (20 points)
2)assess the work's theory contribution to *an interpretation of the meaning* of, or worldview behind, the described religious doings and sayings (15 points)
3)assess the book's contribution to *an explanation of religious ethos or identity* among the people studied (15 points).
Students will not be told in advance which one out of the 7 ethnographic books they will have to review for the exam.
The same holds for the 4 open questions which will only be communicated once the exam starts. Students will be required to prepare for the total of 12 open-ended questions although they will only have to answer four of them at the exam.
The open-ended questions (12.4 points x 4 questions = 50 points) should be answered in full sentences (no lists) and present the essential aspects of the four theories of religious belief referred to in the unit lectures and demonstrate a knowledge of the analytical concepts involved.
The weighting of the overall grade is as follows:
91-100 points = 1 (very good)
81-90 points = 2 (good)
71-80 points = 3 (satisfactory)
61-70 points = 4 (sufficient)
0-60 points = 5 (not enough)
Last modified: Sa 19.04.2025 12:26