Seminar : Methodology of the analysis of religious facts

lsrel2911  2019-2020  Louvain-la-Neuve

Seminar : Methodology of the analysis of religious facts
Note from June 29, 2020
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.
6 credits
30.0 h
Q1

This biannual learning unit is being organized in 2019-2020
Teacher(s)
Christians Louis-Léon; Leclercq Jean (coordinator); Saroglou Vassilis; Servais Olivier; Simon Saskia (compensates Servais Olivier);
Language
French
Main themes
In order to achieve these methodological aims, the seminar work will focus among other on
- (a) the case study under its multiple forms (e.g. participant observation, interview),
- (b) the quantitative approach (e.g. questionnaires and tests), and
- (c) the hermeneutics of texts and content analysis (e.g. historical-critical method, structural analysis). Exercises will provide the opportunity to understand in a practical way the logic proper to each method (passive understanding of all three types of methods and ability to use at least one of them).
For a thematical point of view,
- each seminar will address a fresh research issue - the various theories devised to study the contemporary transformations of religion (such as secularization or post-modernity) will be taken up
Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

1 - understand the different methodological approaches, qualitative as well as quantitative, required for the analysis of religious facts within the main disciplines of the sciences of religions
 
2 - identify the specific character of these approaches and their complementarity
 
3 - use at least one of these approaches, particularly in the preparation of the thesis required for the Master degree (see also "Other information")
 
4 - analyse a religious fact from interdisciplinary approaches
 
5 - grasp the contributions of the various disciplines and paradigms to the concrete analysis of a religious fact
 
6 - show the complexity of religious phenomena.
 

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.
Faculty or entity
CISR


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Master [120] in Sciences of Religions