Module description
This module examines the body in relation to religion and identity. The course will offer opportunities to examine historical, religious and philosophical conceptions of the body in relation to broader frameworks of culture and society. It will examine how societal norms intersect with embodiment, and may engage critical perspectives such as gender, sexuality, race, power and/or identity formation. This module may include opportunities for formative and reflective writing.
Assessment details
2,500 word essay (100%)
Educational aims & objectives
This module will introduce students to critical and cultural theories concerned with the body, gender, sexuality, race, ethics and identity, and also examine particular religious traditions through the lens of embodiment. Students will gain competency in these areas.
Learning outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Describe and discuss key developments in the history of the body
- Compare and evaluate bodily disciplines in theory and practice within specific cultural traditions
- Recognise and engage with contemporary critical issues that impact embodiment, ethics and identity in religion, such as gender or race
- Evaluate insider and outsider understandings of the body through a range of sources, for example religious and philosophical texts, historical medical manuals, science-based research articles, lived experience and media reports
Teaching pattern
One-hour lecture and one-hour seminar weekly