Course level

Undergraduate

Faculty

Humanities and Social Sciences

School

Historical & Philosophical Inq

Units

2

Duration

One Semester

Class hours

Lecture 2 Hours/ Week
Tutorial 1 Hour/ Week

Incompatible

RELN3003

Recommended prerequisite

Assessment methods

Essays 90%, Reading Summaries 5%, Tutorial Participation 5%

Course enquiries

A/Prof Neil Pembroke

Study Abroad

This course is pre-approved for Study Abroad and Exchange students.

This course is not currently offered, please contact the school.

Course description

All the major religious traditions have texts, places or occasions that have been invested with 'sacrality'. Why should this be so? How did the Bible, the Buddhist canonical material, the Koran or the Veda become the sacred canons of their traditions? Why are Easter, the Kumbh Mela, Thaipusam or Hanukkah so significant for their participants? What compels pilgrims to travel great distances to have religious experiences? What does it mean when we call something 'sacred'? How does something - a text, a place, an event, or even a person - become sacred? This unit will explore these and related questions from the perspective of a variety of religious traditions.

Archived offerings

Course offerings Location Mode Course Profile
Semester 1, 2020 (24/02/2020 - 11/07/2020) St Lucia Internal Course Profile
Semester 1, 2019 (25/02/2019 - 22/06/2019) St Lucia Internal Course Profile
Semester 1, 2018 (19/02/2018 - 23/06/2018) St Lucia Internal Course Profile
Semester 1, 2017 (27/02/2017 - 24/06/2017) St Lucia Internal Course Profile
Semester 1, 2016 (29/02/2016 - 25/06/2016) St Lucia Internal Course Profile
Semester 1, 2015 (02/03/2015 - 27/06/2015) St Lucia Internal Course Profile