Secularisation and Society: the decline of religion in the west since 1800 HIST5110
- Academic Session: 2022-23
- School: School of Humanities
- Credits: 20
- Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
- Typically Offered: Either Semester 1 or Semester 2
- Available to Visiting Students: Yes
- Available to Erasmus Students: No
Short Description
This course studies the history of, and historical and sociological theories about, secularisation in the western world (mainly Britain, Europe, North America and Australasia).The course is designed to be sufficiently flexible to meet the interests of individual students in relation to countries and approaches upon which they wish to focus.
Timetable
10 weekly 2 - hour seminars
Requirements of Entry
Standard entry to Masters at College level
Excluded Courses
none
Co-requisites
none
Assessment
Assessment
Written work will amount to 5,000 words, in the form of one essay of 3,500 words (70%) and one shorter seminar presentation report of 1,500 words (30%).
Course Aims
This courses aims to:
■ study secularisation, or the decline of religion, in Britain, Europe, America and Australasia, mainly over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries;
■ explore the theories and approaches to the subject of historians and sociologists, and to apply the critical benchmark of evidence-based scholarship;
■ critically examine the types of evidence used by scholars in their arguments, including statistics of religious decline, and to bring students to an understanding of the opportunities and pitfalls of different forms of evidence;
■ develop analytical skills that will permit the development of argument concerning secularisation, including comparative (transnational) measures of secularisation;
■ apply analytical skills in the coursework.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
■ identify the main theories and approaches to secularisation amongst historians and sociologists of religion;
■ evaluate the pace, forms and outcomes of religious decline in at least two nations
■ access and use sources that provide evidence of secularisation, including statistics of religious decline
■ apply oral skills and written analysis in discussing the impact of secularisation and religious decline
■ evidence sufficient advance in skills and knowledge to proceed to further study, including to a masters dissertation.
Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits
Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.