Material Religion
Religion 303a, Fall 2008
Monday, 1:30-4pm
Gest 103
Ken Koltun-Fromm
Gest 201
kkoltunf@haverford.edu
Office hours: Monday 4:00-5:00 pm
Summary
The seminar will focus upon methodological issues in the study of
material religion, but also seek to investigate these theoretical
concerns in and through focused research inquiries. We will begin
with readings in material and visual culture, turn to studies of
material religion, and conclude with research projects intermixed
with field trips to local sites.
Requirements
Class attendance for the seminar is, of course, mandatory and
necessary to insure continuity from week to week. Missing one class
is equivalent to missing an entire week's worth of classes. You
should also come prepared to discuss strenuously the readings for
that week. I will ask 1-2 students each week to prepare the class
for the readings for that Monday. This may include asking students
(before the Monday class) to focus on particular sections of the
readings, or to provide a close reading of a portion of the text.
The students will take the first 10-15 minutes of each class to
introduce the particular issues to be worked out for the rest of
that day, and they should be prepared to engage the group
throughout the class. Their introductory remarks should not be a
general review of the reading, but a focused analysis of some text,
topic, or theme that they would like all of us to explore in more
detail. These remarks may come in the form of questions to pose for
the class, a lengthy critique, or a well-constructed argument for
or against claims made in the text. Please feel free to be creative
in your remarks, and use whatever visual or other materials to
better introduce your material.
Each student will also produce a typed 20 page, double-spaced final
paper due December 16th at 12 noon. This final paper could include
visual materials or objects as part of the final "text". By
mid-semester you should begin work on this project, and you will
offer a class presentation of your final project toward the end of
the semester. I suggest scheduling an appointment with me so we can
discuss your final paper. If you require an extension for your
final paper, you must speak to your dean before requesting an
extension from me. In most cases, a complaint of too much work is
not sufficient to grant an extension.
Students who think they may need accommodations in this course
because of the impact of a disability are encouraged to meet with
me privately early in the semester. Students should also contact
Rick Webb, Coordinator, Office of Disabilities Services
(rwebb@haverford.edu, 610-896-1290) to verify their eligibility for
reasonable accommodations as soon as possible. Early contact will
help to avoid unnecessary inconvenience and delays.
Grading will be based on class participation, your class
presentations, and your final paper.
Texts to
Purchase:
Roland Barthes, Camera
Lucida
Michel Foucault, This is
Not a Pipe
Colleen McDannell, Material
Christianity
Jenna
Weissman Joselit, The
Wonders of America
Robert Orsi, Madonna on 115th
Street
Bruno
Latour, We Have Never Been
Modern
Sept. 4 (Thursday)
Introduction - Images, Texts, Material Objects
Is an Image a
Text?
Sept. 8
Roland Barthes, Camera
Lucida
Sept. 15
Roland Barthes, "The Photographic Message," and "Rhetoric of the
Image"
Mieke Bal and Norman Bryson, "Semiotics and Art History,"
Art Bulletin
73/2 (June 1991), 174-208
W. J. T. Mitchell, "Metapictures," in Picture Theory, 35-82
Sept. 22
Michel Foucault, This is
Not a Pipe
Michel
Foucault, "Las Meninas" in The Order of Things
Joel Snyder, "Las Meninas and the Mirror of the Prince,"
Critical Inquiry
11/4 (June 1985), 539-572
Studies in
Material Religion
Sept. 29
Colleen McDannell, Material
Christianity
Oct. 6
Jenna Weissman Joselit, The
Wonders of America
Oct. 13
Fall Break - No class
Oct. 20
Robert Orsi, Madonna on
115th Street
Oct. 27
Bruno Latour, We Have Never
Been Modern
Material
Sites
Nov. 3
Virtual Tours Internet Project (see here for list of websites)
Nov. 10
Laural Hill Cemetery (see website here)
Nov. 17
Murals in
Philadelphia (see Philly website here)
(see here for list of websites around the world)
Final
Projects
Nov. 24
Final Projects Presentations
Dec. 1
Final Projects Presentations
Dec. 8
Final Projects Presentations
Final
Paper: Due Friday, Dec. 19 at 5
pm