12. Comentario

(Commentary)

Having read over my opus of Method & Theory blog entries in an attempt formulate a response to this week’s entry, I can safely say that I am more educated in the varied theoretical approaches to the study of Religion.  Interestingly, I view this course now as more of an “Introduction to Religion” course than I ever thought I would!

Instead of approaching religion topically – that is, broken down by ‘religion’ itself, this course forced us to view religion from a position outside of religion proper.  By using lenses such as ‘gender’, ‘myth’, ‘performance’ and ‘ritual’, I’ve been forced to answer what importance these aspects of religion bear on the actual existence of religion itself.  Does (or can) religion exist outside of these?  Or is it the coming together of these semantics that makes religion what it is essentially?  I think this course helped me determine that while these features can be independently dissected, they are intrinsically tied to the nature of religion as we know it. 

In the class where we discussed ‘The Invention of World Religions’ by Tomoko Wasuzawa, we were asked to consider how an Introduction to World Religions course might be alternatively taught.  In retrospect of this course, I feel that the way in which this course has been taught, would be an ideal alternate to the religion-by-religion approach that has traditionally been adopted for introductory courses.

I enjoyed especially that we didn’t look at texts, but rather gained the tools on how to read texts for ourselves, regardless of our avenue of scholarship.

This course was especially helpful in allowing me to gain a fuller lexicon for my chosen realm of study.  Reading scholars in areas such as ‘ritual’ and ‘myth’ have allowed me to develop a vocabulary specific to my academic and also, to explore the field from different methodological angles.  For instance, I was forced to question what was the difference between studying religion from a feminist perspective versus studying religion from a historical perspective.  Furthermore, the question of ‘proper’ methodology has also arisen – for instance, is there such a thing as a feminist methodology? 

Having said this, I would have written my initial SSHRC proposal very differently today than I did in week three of the course!

In terms of the course’s structure, I found the blogging ritual quite fulfilling – it allowed me to flesh out my own thoughts prior to coming to the class.  This preparedness allowed for a richer in-class discussion.  The in-class discussions were often engaging and always entertaining – I was able to grapple with concepts from the perspective of my colleagues that I hadn’t even thought about previously.  As well, having the focus put on our thoughts as opposed to the thoughts of the scholars before us, helped me understand that I am now planted firmly in academia, proper – no longer an undergraduate with no opinion, but rather someone who can contribute ideas to existing conversations in scholarship.  This sense of autonomy over my academic endeavors was reinforced repeatedly throughout this course.

Much of what was discussed in the classroom has found its way sneaking its way into my out-of-classroom experience.  This course has made me critical of loaded terms like ‘tradition’ – I find myself questioning texts and dissecting meaning, where once I took it for granted.  The authority of the author is no longer something I take as a given – this course engaged us in active questioning of the layers of bias that one brings to a written work.

I think the best part of this class was that it was a surprise at the end of the semester to realize of the value of the previously seemingly directionless discussions.  At the onset of this course, I could never have predicted how studying religion through these lenses would contribute to my knowledge base and to the conversations I would engage in with my peers.

That was also one of the great benefits of this course – the engagement with my peers that allowed me form strong bonds based on similar and differing opinions, varying areas of study, and sharing my research with others while learning about theirs in return.  I’m excited to see, in the coming year, what type of research my peers and I will produce.  The direction we take with our individual research and the voices we adopt to conduct that work, will no doubt have been influenced by the conversations that we’ve begun in this course.