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Thomas Hobbes counts as one of the great philosophers of early modern Europe, and as perhaps the greatest English political philosopher. His masterwork, Leviathan (1651), attempted to derive the principles of politics from first philosophy and natural reason, and then to demonstrate the compatibility of these principles with Christian scripture. Hobbes is credited with inventing the idea of the social contract as the foundation of government, as well as with championing a theory of the modern absolute state. Yet his central concern with the relationship between religion and politics, or church and state, has received less critical attention, and is presently being reevaluated. Hobbes’s arguments for the state’s control of the church were made in the context of the English Reformation and Civil War, and are reflected in the second half of Leviathan, where he performed a radical reinterpretation of the Bible and Christian tradition. As Hobbes was one of the founding figures of both secularism and the modern, liberal constitution, we cannot afford to ignore him. Yet we remain at a disadvantage in reading him unless we add in a knowledge of his historical context and of Reformation theology. This course will offer a close and careful reading of Hobbes that adds back in elements of this context that present-day readers might not be familiar with, including a number of his textual sources, both classical and early modern. The goal is to restore the radical edge to Hobbes’s argument, including especially his critique of religion, that inspired and appalled many of his contemporaries. Doing so will also reveal the relevance of Hobbes for present debates. Students are encouraged to acquire a copy of Edwin Curley’s edition of Leviathan. Class discussion and readings will be mainly in English. Written work may be submitted in German or English.

This course will examine several topics that are of primary importance to the contemporary practice of the study of religion:

  • The history of development of the study of religion during and after the Protestant Reformation and subsequent Enlightenment
  • Secularization and modernization as the historical context for the social location and cultural understanding of religion
  • Basic categories (e.g., ritual and the sacred) and key approaches in the study of religion such as structuralism, genealogy, political theology, and the economics of religion
  • Debates over the definition of religion, including recent arguments asserting the impossibility of defining religion given the constructed and historically circumscribed nature of the category

The class will be conducted primarily in English. Written coursework may be submitted in German or English. The tutorial provides an opportunity to review and discuss the material presented in class.

This course will offer students the basic methodological tools needed to analyze mantras, spells, and related forms of magic and ritual. We will cover theories from anthropology, linguistics, and semiotics, as well as more general writings on magic, and examine specific magical traditions, with an emphasis on Asian mantras as well as similar forms in classical and more recent European traditions. Some of the more stable constants in magic and spells, such as repetition and the use of poetry in order to augment the efficacy of ritual speech, are found across many traditions and therefore lend themselves well to a cross-cultural analysis. We will also examine the critique of magic in early modern Europe and contemporary debates over the propriety of the use of the category of magic for scholarly analysis. Traditions covered include Sanskrit mantras, Buddhist dharanis, the Greek Magical Papyri, medieval Christian spells, and folk magic. Class discussion and readings will be mainly in English. Written work may be submitted in German or English.

Sacrifice is arguably one of the oldest and most widely distributed practices across religious traditions. Ranging from gift offerings and shared meals to blood sacrifices, burnt offerings, and even human sacrifices, the sheer diversity of practices encompassed under the category of sacrifice poses a complex problem of definition, while affording the ideal basis for an investigation of the history and anthropology of religions. We will consider a wide range of primary and secondary sources to illustrate how the struggle with the problem and meaning of sacrifice has motivated historical traditions, while also serving in recent centuries as the starting point for several important theories of religion. Some of the issues covered are the debate over the origins of sacrifice; the foundation sacrifice (Bauopfer); the scapegoat (Sündenbock); the theory of sacrifice as gift exchange (do ut des); the role of sacrificial violence; and the impact of Protestant theology on the idea that sacrifice originated as a communal meal. Theorists covered include Joseph de Maistre, Julius Wellhausen, William Robertson Smith, Marcel Mauss, Walter Burkert, René Girard, and Nancy Jay. The lecture will be conducted in English. Coursework may be submitted in German or English.