Religion and Modernity

Leela Prasad, convener

This field comprises study of the constructions and roles of religions and religious traditions in cultures determined or affected by modernity and postmodernity. It foregrounds debates concerning the tensions and the imbrications between religion and modernity and various manifestations of postmodernity and globalization. It is assumed that scrutiny of these complex dynamics and relations can occur at many sites and will be inherently interdisciplinary.

The field draws on critical studies in the humanities and social sciences, and it brings to the study of religion diverse languages, studies of literary, visual, and performing arts, material culture, popular movements, and theory.

Requirements for the Major

Field Requirements

Students in the field are asked to identify with or adopt at least one option in each of the following categories:

  1. Religions/Traditions (e.g., Islamic, Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, Taoist, Hindu, etc., including derivative or counter movements)
  2. Methods (e.g., historical, philosophical, cultural studies, performance studies, literary studies, theological studies, political theory, etc.)
  3. Issues (authority, gender, race, communications, class, poverty, etc.)
  4. Locations/Cultures (e.g., the Americas, Muslim societies, various "empires," South Asian cultures, etc.)

Students who focus on only one option in categories "a" and "b" are expected to take at least two courses in which they are exposed to additional options. All students are expected to be familiar with debates that have shaped the academic study of religion during the 19th and, particularly, the 20th centuries. Students who pursue comparative studies will have to work with specialists in the areas that are brought together, and they will have to develop theoretical justifications for the comparative work undertaken.

Minor Fields

Students will pursue minors in two areas outside the field. Normally, one of these minors will be in the Graduate Program in Religion and one will be in some other department or program in the university, such as the Literature Program, Political Science, Philosophy, Cultural Anthropology, History, and Asian and African Languages and Literatures. In most cases a minor consists of two courses, but what constitutes a minor within a field of the Graduate Program in Religion will be determined by the field in which the minor is undertaken.

Courses

Students are expected to register for four courses a semester for at least two years. It is expected that these courses will be selected so that a student is not required to complete more than two major research papers in a single semester.

Languages

Reading knowledge of two languages other than the student's native language must be demonstrated by examination. The choice of these languages will depend on the focus of the student's work. Otherwise, students will demonstrate reading competence in French and German.

Preliminary Examination

The prelim is administered by a committee of four-five faculty members chosen by the student in consultation with an advisor, and it normally is taken in the third year of graduate study. It marks the end of course work and the completion of language requirements. The exam consists of five parts. Each of the exams is based on a bibliography containing an average of 30-40 books and articles. Students are encouraged to begin formulating their reading lists for the prelim exams no later then the second term of their second year in the program, so that they will be ready to take the exams by the end of their third year.

  1. a major field exam, four hours. A portion of the readings on this exam will be drawn from a general bibliography in religion and modernity.
  2. a dissertation-area exam, three hours
  3. an internal minor exam, three hours
  4. an external minor exam, three hours
  5. an oral exam, two hours

Dissertation

After successful completion of the preliminary examination, the student, now a candidate for the Ph.D., will submit a formal proposal for a dissertation topic to the dissertation committee, a committee of five faculty, including the director of the dissertation, chosen by the student in consultation with the director and approved by the Director of the Graduate Program in Religion. This should be completed within six months of finishing the prelim exams. The committee will meet with the student to discuss the proposal and to agree that it describes in adequate detail a feasible and appropriate project and the means by which it will be prosecuted. When the dissertation is completed, the candidate will defend it orally before the dissertation committee. Defenses, while conducted by the dissertation committee, are open to the university community.

Requirements for a Minor

Students in other fields within the Graduate Program in Religion who wish to minor in Religion and Modernity are expected to take at least two courses and to be familiar with a representative selection of texts drawn from the list provided students for the general field portion of the preliminary examination.