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Program of Political Science and International Relations (English 30%)

PSIR350

MODERNITY, RELIGION AND POLITICS

Course Code
PSIR350
Semester
-
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
5
Course TypeElective Course
Course LevelBachelor's Degree
Year of Study-
Semester-
ECTS5
Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. Understand the relationship between religion and politics in pre-modern and modern times.
  2. Explain the effects of modernity on religion and politics.
  3. Discuss the different historical and cultural contexts of secularism and secularization processes.
  4. Compare the relationship between religion and politics in the Western and Islamic worlds.
  5. Evaluate current theoretical debates concerning modernity, religion, and politics.
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme ComponentsThere is no recommended optional programme component for this course.
Course DescriptionThe aim of this course is to examine the formation and evolution of the relationship between modernity, religion, and politics through theoretical and historical sources. The first part of the course discusses the relationship between religion and politics in sacred texts and civilizations in the pre-modern period and examines the transformation of this relationship with the emergence of modernity. The second part examines (i) the meanings of the concepts of modernity, religion, and secularism; (ii) the roles of religion and secular visions in modern public and political life. The third part focuses on how the meaning and political role of religion changed in the modern period after the 17th century. In this context, three fundamental historical periods will be examined from a broad theoretical perspective: (i) the Protestant Reformation and the birth of the modern state; (ii) the Enlightenment and the secularization of politics; and (iii) the emergence of theories of secularization that paved the way for the formation of Europe's civilizational identity. The fourth section thematically addresses secularism, religion, and the relationship between religion and power. In this context, the focus will be on (i) nationalism and nation-state building; (ii) post-colonial critiques; and (iii) violence and tolerance. The course will conclude with critical discussions on the present and future of religion, secularism, and politics in (global) modernity.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week Introduction to the Course and Course Syllabus Religion and Politics in the Pre-Modern Era
2nd Week Religion and Politics in Sacred Texts Selected Texts from the Quran, Torah, and Bible
3rd Week Religion and Politics in Eastern and Western Civilizations
4th Week Modern, Modernity, Modernization
5th Week Secular, Secularism, Secularization, and Religion
6th Week The Reform Process and the Birth of the Modern State
7th Week Midterm Exam
8th Week The Enlightenment and the Age of Reason
9th Week Tolerance, Secularization, and the Effects of European Identity
10th Week Secularism and Modern Power
11th Week Nation and Modern Identity
12th Week Modernity, Religion, and Politics in the (Post-) Colonial World
13th Week Religion, Politics, and Violence
14th Week De-secularization and Multiple Secularisms
Recommended or Required ReadingBooks
Bryan S. Turner, Religion and Social Theory: A materialist Perspective (Heinman Educational Books: London, 1983).
Talal Asad, Genealogies of Religion: Discipline and Reasons of Power in Chistianity and Islam (The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, 1993).
James Beckford, Religion and Advanced Industrial Society, (Unwin Hyman, 1989).
Ali Yaşar Sarıbay, Türkiye'de Modernleşme ve Din Politikası: MSP Örnek Olayı (Alan Yayıncılık: İstanbul, 1985).
Edward W. Said, Şarkiyatçılık: Batı'nın Şark Anlayışları (Metis: İstanbul, 1995).
Maurice Barbier, Modern Bati Dusuncesinde Din ve Siyaset, (Kaknus, 1999).
Nur Vergin, Din, Toplum ve Siyasal Sistem (Bağlam Yayınları: İstanbul, 2000).
Jose Casanova, Public Religions in the Modern World (The Chicago University press, 1994).
Papers
Swatos &Christiano, "Sekülerleşme Teorisi: Bir Kavramın Serüveni," in Sekülerizm Sorgulanıyor, ed., Ali Köse, (Ufuk Kitapları, 2002): 95-123
Nikki R. Keddie, Secularism and the State: Towards Clarity and Global Comparison,' New Left Review, 226(Nov/Dec, 1997): 21-40.
Nuray Mert, 'Laiklik Tartismasi ve Siyasal Islam', Cogito, 1 (Yaz, 1994): 89-102.
Nikki R. Keddie, "The New Religious Politics: Where, When and Why do 'Fundamentalisms' Appear?" Comparative Studies in Society and History, 40, 4 (October, 1998): 696-723.
Peter Beyer, Religion and Globalization, (Sage, 1994), pp. 70-95.
Bryan Turner, Oryantalism, Postmodernizm, ve Din', in Postmodernizm ve Islam, Kuresellesme ve Oryantalizm, A. Topcuoglu and Y. Aktay, eds. (Vadi, 1999), pp. 36-57.
Ali Yaşar Sarıbay, Postmodernite, Sivil Toplum ve İslam, (İletisim veya Alfa): Giriş, 1 ve 4. bölümler
Ali Yasar Sarıbay, 'Turkiye'de Siyasal Modernlesme ve Islam,' Toplum ve Bilim, 29/30, (Yaz, 1985): 45-64.
Daniel Pipes,"Islam and Islamism: Faith and Ideology," The National Interest, (Spring, 2000): 87-93.
Martin Kramer, "Ballots or Bullets," Harvard International Review, 19, 2 (Spring 1997): 16-22.
Khursid Ahmad, "Islam and Democracy: Some Conceptual and Contemporary Dimensions," The Muslim World, 90, 1&2, (Spring, 2000): 1-21.
Menderes Çınar, "From Shadow-Boxing to Critical Understanding: Some Theoretical Notes on Islamism as a 'Political' Question," Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions, 3, 1(Summer 2002): 35-57
Alfred Stephan, "Religion, Democracy and the 'Twin Tolerations'" Journal of Democracy, 11, 4 (October, 2000): 37-57.
Horst Mewes, "Religion and Politics in American Democracy," in The Secular and the Sacred, William Safran ed., (Frank Cass: London, 2003), pp. 13-31.
Corwin Smidt et al, "Religion and Politics in the United States," in The Secular and the Sacred, William Safran ed., (Frank Cass: London, 2003), pp. 31-53.
William Safran, "Religion and Laicite in a Jacobin Republic: The Case of France," in The Secular and the Sacred, ed. Idem, (Frank Cass: London, 2003), pp. 54-81.
Adamantia Pollis, "Greece: A Problematic Secular State," in The Secular and the Sacred, William Safran ed., (Frank Cass: London, 2003), pp. 155-168.
Jean Bauberot, "Fransa: 'Laik Cumhuriyet'," in Avrupa Birliği Ülkelerinde Dinler ve Laiklik, Idem, ed., (Ufuk Kitapları: 2003), pp. 93-106.
Vasilos N. Makrides, "Yunanistan'da Gelenek ile Modernite Arasında Gerilim," in Avrupa Birliği Ülkelerinde Dinler ve Laiklik, Jean Bauberot, ed., (Ufuk Kitapları: 2003), pp. 113-122.
Hakan Yılmaz, "Islam, Sovereignty, and Democracy: A Turkish Democracy," Middle East Journal, 61, 3 (2007), pp. 477-493.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
  • Discussion
  • Other
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Mid-term 1 30
Other 1 30
Total(%) 60
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) 60
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) 40
Total(%) 100
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration (Hour) Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam 1 1 1
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work 14 4 56
Preparation for Final exam 1 20 20
Course hours 14 3 42
Preparation for Midterm exam 1 17 17
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam 1 1 1
Homework 1 10 10
Project 1 7 7
Total Work Load154
Total Work Load / 30 (h)5.13
ECTS Credit of the Course5
Language of InstructionTurkish
Work Placement(s)No

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5
K1 X X X
K2
K3
K4
K5
K6 X X X
K7 X X
K8
K9 X X X
K10
K11 X X
K12 X
K13