KOS4050 – Religion and Politics
Course description
Course content
This interdisciplinary course explores the dynamic relationship between religion and politics in our increasingly globalized world. Through various perspectives, it equips students with the tools to decipher current events and achieve a comprehensive understanding of how religion and politics intersect to shape our contemporary landscape.
The course focuses on the religious history of the last four decades, providing in-depth analyses of case studies while also offering broader reflections on different approaches to the religion-politics nexus. During the sessions, we will delve into events at the crossroads of religion and politics that have impacted both Western and global debates since the late 1970s.
Topics include the rise of the religious right in the United States, the Iranian Revolution, the Chinese cultural revolution, the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, the debate over mentioning God in the European Constitution, the development of religious social movements in the Meddle-East and the emergence of new market-driven forms of religion. Furthermore, we will explore how these events were perceived and interpreted within contemporary academic discourses and integrated into broader narratives that provided either an optimistic or pessimistic "diagnosis" of the present and a hopeful or alarming vision of the future.
Learning outcome
Train your analytical abilities! Upon successful completion of the course you will be able to:
- Students can explain selected religious events against the backdrop of political, economic, and technological changes since the 1970s.
- Students can contextualize selected religious events since the 1970s in their local and global contexts.
- Students can evaluate how the intersection of religion and politics shape current debates on both a local and a global scale.
- Students can critically reflect on the implications of selected events for the construction of theories in the study of religion and politics and in the elaboration of (normative) visions of the future.
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
The course is open to all students admitted to a master programme at the University of Oslo.
Formal prerequisite knowledge
In order to take the course you have to be registered as an MA student at the University of Oslo.
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with REL4020 – Religion and Politics (continued).
Teaching
The course is taught through an integrated combination of lectures and seminars of two hours duration. Students` activities and team work will be emphasized throughout. To ensure active learning and promote a nice student environment, the students will be organized in inter-disciplinary teams that cooperate on the compulsory tasks. Preparatory team work will take place during and in-between the sessions. Students will organize their work as they see fit.
The teaching consists of:
- 13 lectures/seminars
Compulsory activities:
- 3 compulsory assignments
All compulsory activities must be approved in order to qualify for the exam. It is the student’s responsibility to check whether or not the compulsory activities are approved. This is how you apply for valid absence from compulsory activities/compulsory attendance.
The compulsory activity is only valid for one semester.
Examination
Term paper.
Language of examination
You may write your examination paper in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.