History and Religion

Course description

If you really want to get a handle on the modern world, it is essential to understand the past. How did America become a superpower? Would women have got the right to vote without struggle? Why do people empower authoritarian leaders? How does climate shape society? History at Stirling allows you to explore these and many other pressing questions, guided by a committed team of historians passionate about their subjects. You will develop your knowledge of the world while acquiring intellectual and personal skills much in demand in the labour market. Stirling is different: in the context of a friendly department with approachable staff, we offer a unique breadth and chronological depth of options at honours level. We offer a range of courses on American, African, European, British and Scottish history that only few other (and much larger) institutions can match. You will explore reform and revolution, war, ideas, social movements, historical figures, race, gender, religion, democracy, the environment. In addition, thanks to the flexibility of Stirling’s academic programmes, you can study history in combination with other subjects, such as education, politics, languages, media studies and many more.
Understanding religion in different contexts and developing the transferable skills of critical thinking, communication, research and analysis, make Religion graduates an invaluable resource for today’s employers. At Stirling we are committed to approaching ‘religion’ in a critical manner, in two broad senses: Firstly: We question the fundamental category of ‘religion’. It is sometimes assumed to be a ‘thing’ that simply exists, and this is where, in part, the idea that we can study ‘religions’ as entities in any society or context comes from. This, of course, implies that what ‘religion’ actually is stands as common knowledge and applies to all contexts. But where does religion begin, end or move into other areas? This is just one of the intellectually challenging questions we ask during this course. Secondly: Rather than hold religion to suspicion, or blame, or discredit, or incredulity – a growing tendency amongst certain public intellectuals, even if against the tide of global demographics – we examine religion from a positive critical standpoint. What this means is that in our studies we consider how open to re-interpretation or re-conceptualisation the term ‘religion’ is today in our intellectual, social, and cultural spheres. In coming to Stirling to study Religion, every student is thus exposed to a broad and interdisciplinary vision that can be life-changing in many rich and unexpected ways. Please note that Religion is studied as a Combined degree. You will take Religion plus two other subjects in Year 1.

Subjects

• Religious studies
• History