Myth/Religion, Theology, and Science in the "Academy"

This course will trace what one might call the "back history" to the emergence of the study of religion as a modern scientific enterprise as it emerged in the latter part of the nineteenth century as preparation for understanding the conditions that underlie a proper study of religious thought and behaviour in the context of the modern research university. This will include a review of the cognitive capacities that made the emergence of science as a cultural value possible, as well as a review of the prehistory and historical development of the scientific enterprise that essentially defines the nature of the modern research university.