REL 468: Sociology of Religion, Section No: 60123
Theme for Maymester Course: Religion in Los Angeles
May 20-June 16, 2015
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 1-5:10 pm
Location:
Conference Room, Center for Religion and Civic Culture
Northwest Corner of 29th Street and Flower (second floor)
ABM Building: MC 0520
509 West 29th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90007
Professor Donald Miller
Office (ABM, Suite 210), Phone (213-743-1613), Office Hours (by appointment)
Course Description
Los Angeles is a world-class laboratory for the study of religion. This Maymester course will enable a small group of students to have a hands-on experience studying religion under the mentorship of Professor Miller and his staff at the Center for Religion and Civic Culture (CRCC). During the four weeks of the course, students will visit three different neighborhoods that CRCC has been studying with a grant from the John Templeton Foundation: 1) Downtown LA, 2) Wilshire Blvd Corridor, and 3) Los Feliz. Within these three neighborhoods there are numerous faith traditions, including Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and various “new religious” movements. We will visit a number of congregations and groups, interacting with clergy, staff, and members. We will also observe many different styles of worship and meditation during the four weeks of the course.
Visits to the three neighborhoods will typically be done on Tuesday of each week, and will include debriefing and reflection time at the end of the class period. Over the weekend, students in small teams will have an opportunity to do further research on a congregation or group of their choosing. Together, the entire class will build a website on “Religion in LA” that will include photographs, video interviews, and substantive reflections on the diverse ecology of religion in Los Angeles.
The Wednesday class period will focus on developing methodological skills related to interviewing, site observation, and writing field notes. These skills will be applied to actual fieldwork that students will do during the course of the class. The Thursday class sessions will engage theoretical issues related to the study of religion and will involve short readings from sociologists and anthropologists of religion.
While Professor Miller will be the lead instructor for this course, there will also be opportunities for students to interact with staff from the Center for Religion and Civic Culture who are doing research in the three neighborhoods that we are visiting.
One special feature of this course is that students who perform well during the four weeks will be offered the opportunity of summer employment during the months of June and July. They will be part of the research team being funded by the John Templeton Foundation. Dr. Richard Flory, Research Director for the Center for Religion and Civic Culture, will supervise students who are employed during the summer, which will give them the opportunity for continued mentored research.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the semester, the following objectives will have been accomplished:
· Students will have a broad knowledge of different religious groups and movements in Los Angeles, as well as some historical understanding of how they evolved and the civic role that they play.
· Students will have developed methodological skills in studying religion.
· Students will have been exposed to some of the major sociological theories related to religious change and its development.
· Students will have a greater knowledge of the role that religion plays in civil society.
Course Requirements and Grades
Students must attend all class sessions and, in addition, do some team-related fieldwork over the weekends. Thursday class sessions will operate in a seminar style, requiring full participation by each student, including presentations on the readings. There will be no quizzes or final examination. However, there will be a well developed website that will contain photographs, video interviews, data about religion in LA, and reflections on specific congregations. Students will have the opportunity to confidentially assess the contribution of each other to this final project. Grades will be determined by Professor Miller based on each student’s engagement with the course, participation in the seminar, and contribution to the website.
Course Schedule
Wednesday, May 20
· Introduction to goals and procedures of the course
· Overview of major theoretical perspectives on religion
· Ethnographic methods for studying religion
· Introduction of staff at CRCC that will be working with the course
· Film produced by CRCC research associate, Andrew Johnson, based on his research on religion in prisons in Brazil
Thursday, May 21
· The Classical Tradition in the Sociology of Religion: Karl Marx and Max Weber
· Readings: Selections from Marx, Capital and Weber, Protestant Ethic
Tuesday, May 26
· Visit to the Los Feliz neighborhood in Los Angeles
· Overview of the neighborhood by CRCC staff who has been studying the neighborhood
· Interact with clergy/staff at 4-5 different congregations/groups
· Debriefing conversation
Wednesday, May 27
· Research Methods:
o Observing religious rituals, services, sites
o Writing fieldnotes and the “do’s and don’ts” of field research
· Video selections from DVD in Donald Miller’s book, Global Pentecostalism
Thursday, May 28
· Discussion of anthropological approaches to the study of religion, led by CRCC research associate, Nalika Gajaweera
· Readings: Clifford Geertz, “Religion as a Cultural System,” and Talal Asad, “The Construction of Religion as an Anthropological Category” (Chapters 4 and 9 in A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion edited by Michael Lambek
Tuesday, June 2
· Visit to religious sites in Downtown Los Angeles, including the Catholic Cathedral, Buddhist Temples in Little Tokyo, and several new start-up congregations
· Overview talk by CRCC staff member who has been studying Downtown LA
· Debriefing conversation
Wednesday, June 3
· Research Methods:
o Interviewing religious leaders
o Transcribing and coding interviews
· Practicum: Students interview each other about their religious history, practice, and theological views (including reasons that one does not practice or have religious commitments)
Thursday, June 4
· Discussion of contemporary sociological theories of religion
· Selected readings from Peter Berger, Robert Wuthnow, Rodney Stark and Roger Finke
Tuesday, June 9
· Visit to Wilshire Blvd Corridor of historic congregations, including Wilshire Blvd Temple, Catholic Church with mass in multiple languages, Immanuel Presbyterian (a big steeple church that is now primarily an immigrant Latino congregation)
· Overview of Wilshire Blvd by CRCC staff member who has been studying the neighborhood
· Debriefing conversation
Wednesday, June 10
· Research Methods:
o Analyzing Data
o Constructing a provocative argument
· Examples from research done at CRCC:
o Richard Flory, Brie Loskota, Donald Miller, Nick Street, Nalika Gajaweera, Andrew Johnson
Thursday, June 11
· Recent debates in the sociology of religion
· Reading for this seminar:
o Edgell, Penny. 2012. “A Cultural Sociology of Religion: New Directions.” Annual Review of Sociology 38:247-65.
o Smith, Christian. 2008. “Future Directions in the Sociology of Religion.” Social Forces 86:4 1561-1589.
Tuesday, June 16
· Overview wrap-up of student experience studying religion in LA
· Presentation of student research projects
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