Sacrifice: Theory and Praxis I
RELIGION 1032A
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
A comparative examination of the paradoxical ritual of sacrifice in a range of religious traditions where it is featured, rejected, or sublimated.
We will consider types of sacrifice, blood and bloodless offerings, and recurrent religious concepts: e.g., cosmogony, consecration, thanksgiving, communion, reciprocity, substitution, efficacy, violence, transgression, expiation, catharsis, human and divine hierarchy, gendered and racialized dimensions, and sacerdotal authority. We will also consider leading theories of sacrifice. In the first semester, cases will be drawn from Mesoamerican, Incan, Vedic and Hindu, Celtic, West African and diasporic traditions. Students will be encouraged to develop their own research and understanding. Jointly offered by Harvard Divinity School as HDS 3254A.
Available for Harvard Cross Registration
