Midterm Review

1
Midterm Review

• Power Point presentations
• Online at www.soc.umn.edu/hull/powerpoint
• Paper version outside my office 1131 Social
  Sciences (copy and return)
• Review sheet
• Review session

2
Todays Class

• The Elementary Forms of Religious Life
• Durkheim wrap-up
• The Big Three Compared
• In-Class Writing
• Film clips discussion of Schwartz

3
The Elementary Forms of Religious Life

• Study of primitive religions
• Totemism (Australian aborigines, some Native
  American tribes)
• What is religion? Where does it come from?
• Common feature division between sacred and
  profane

4
Sacred and Profane

• Anything can be sacred varies by religion
• Mutually exclusive categories, separate and
  different
• Sacred is special, profane is everyday
• Hostile opposition mingling is repugnant,
  forbidden

5
Totemism

• Totem is sacred
• Specific animals various proscriptions and
  rituals
• Totem represents the clan

6
Source of Religion

• Sense of meanings and forces outside the self
• Obligations, sense of duty
• Energy and uplift
• Collective effervescence
• Society as sui generis

7
Nature of Religion

• Religion not mere superstition
• Religion as collective representation of society
• Functionalist account role of rites

8
Durkheims Approach

• Importance of meaning (culture)
• Importance of emotions
• Collective representations
• Religion as collective creation
• Religion as representative of social experience

9
Durkheims Legacy

• Critiques
• Neglect of power, conflict, inequality
• Functionalism oversimplifies and distorts social
  reality
• Contributions founding of sociology
  methodology attention to culture, including
  emotions

10
Comparing The Big Three

• History
• Power
• Structure/Agency
• Conflict/Consensus
• Role of Theory/Sociology
• Pet Issues

11
In-Class Writing

• What is Schwartzs explanation for the intense
  mourning rites in the wake of Lincolns
  assassination? How does Schwartzs argument
  revise Durkheims theory of ritual?

12
Discussion of Schwartz

• Why reaction to Lincolns death requires
  explanation
• How Schwartzs argument relates to Durkheims
  theory of ritual
• How Schwartz explains the reaction to Kennedys
  death
• How these arguments might apply to the aftermath
  of 9/11