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Midterm Review

Midterm Review. Power Point presentations Online at www.soc.umn.edu/~hull/powerpoint Paper version outside my office – 1131 Social Sciences (copy and return) Review sheet Review session. Today’s Class. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life Durkheim wrap-up The Big Three Compared

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Midterm Review

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  1. Midterm Review • Power Point presentations • Online at www.soc.umn.edu/~hull/powerpoint • Paper version outside my office – 1131 Social Sciences (copy and return) • Review sheet • Review session

  2. Today’s Class • The Elementary Forms of Religious Life • Durkheim wrap-up • The Big Three Compared • In-Class Writing • Film clips & discussion of Schwartz

  3. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life • Study of “primitive” religions • Totemism (Australian aborigines, some Native American tribes) • What is religion? Where does it come from? • Common feature: division between sacred and profane

  4. Sacred and Profane • Anything can be sacred; varies by religion • Mutually exclusive categories, separate and different • Sacred is special, profane is everyday • Hostile opposition – mingling is repugnant, forbidden

  5. Totemism • Totem is sacred • Specific animals – various proscriptions and rituals • Totem represents the clan

  6. Source of Religion • Sense of meanings and forces outside the self • Obligations, sense of duty • Energy and uplift • “Collective effervescence” • Society as sui generis

  7. Nature of Religion • Religion not mere superstition • Religion as collective representation of society • Functionalist account: role of rites

  8. Durkheim’s Approach • Importance of meaning (“culture”) • Importance of emotions • “Collective representations” • Religion as collective creation • Religion as representative of social experience

  9. Durkheim’s Legacy • Critiques • Neglect of power, conflict, inequality • Functionalism oversimplifies and distorts social reality • Contributions: founding of sociology; methodology; attention to culture, including emotions

  10. Comparing “The Big Three” • History • Power • Structure/Agency • Conflict/Consensus • Role of Theory/Sociology • “Pet Issues”

  11. In-Class Writing What is Schwartz’s explanation for the intense mourning rites in the wake of Lincoln’s assassination? How does Schwartz’s argument revise Durkheim’s theory of ritual?

  12. Discussion of Schwartz • Why reaction to Lincoln’s death requires explanation • How Schwartz’s argument relates to Durkheim’s theory of ritual • How Schwartz explains the reaction to Kennedy’s death • How these arguments might apply to the aftermath of 9/11

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