SNRSCH1216 - REL 2007 - Religion in Film

Course Description

This course will approach the features and problems of Religion in Eastern and Western societies through the medium of film and/or film as a medium for performing religion. The course, depending on who teaches, will ask students to consider the relationships among and between film, ritual, belief, myth, and communal engagement even as it looks at how specific traditions are depicted on screen. Students will view works by filmmakers representing a global spectrum and examine how these films provide insights into these larger issues regarding popular culture, art, performance and specific religious traditions and societies. Students will be required to watch one film per week (on their own time; films will be made available via DVD on reserve or through special internet streaming resources); this will be accompanied by two regular class sessions where the film, assigned readings and the range of critical issues regarding the film’s connection to world religious traditions will be discussed. The goal of the course is to provide students with the intellectual tools to "read" films as vehicles for social and religious expressions, and to come to a more thorough understanding of how experiences and perceptions cross various cultural and religious boundaries.