Associate Professor
B.A. (Concordia), M.A., Ph.D. (McGill)
Specialization
Philosophy of Religion, methodology, relationship of philosophy and theology, Continental thought, Bernard Lonergan
Biography
A native of Montreal, Jim Kanaris gained a B.A. in theology and philosophy from Concordia University in 1993. He continued his studies in philosophy of religion at McGill (M.A. 1995, Ph.D. (Hon) 2000). Since 2000, Professor Kanaris teaches classes in the areas of theory and method, and philosophy of religion at McGill.
Courses
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RELG 207
Intro to Study of Religions
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Religious Studies: This course is an introduction to classic and contemporary approaches to the academic study of religions. This includes perspectives from philosophy, theology, anthropology, sociology, psychology, phenomenology, and feminism. Students are also exposed to applications of these perspectives from visiting scholars who treat some aspect of a religious tradition in light of current-day interests and events. The primary objective is to introduce students to the principal theories and methods that have shaped our understanding of religion, its various meanings as well as its roles and functions in society.
Offered by: Religious Studies
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken RELG 255.
- Winter
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RELG 456
Theories of Religion
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Religious Studies: The history of the academic study of religion from its beginnings in the 19th century until the present. Key texts by figures such as Max Muller, Sigmund Freud, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Mircea Eliade, Claude Levi-Strauss and Clifford Geertz will be studied.
Offered by: Religious Studies
- Fall and Winter
- Restriction: For Religious Studies Majors and Honours students or with permission of the Instructor.
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RELG 535
Currents in Philosophy of Relg
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Religious Studies: This seminar brings to bear work of theorists of religion on the philosophy of religion and on theology. It features issues of method that overlap with stages in the study of religion common to both the social sciences and humanities.
Offered by: Religious Studies
- Prerequisite: RELG 456 or RELG 555 or permission of instructor
- Restrictions: Open to graduate students, final year honours undergraduates, and final year undergraduates with instructor permission.
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RELG 555
Honours Seminar
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Religious Studies: Current trends in the study of religion, including the approaches of critical theory, feminism, post-modernism, and post-colonialism.
Offered by: Religious Studies
- Winter
- Restriction: For Religious Studies Honours students or with permission of the Chair of the Religious Studies B.A. Committee
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
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RELG 745
Understanding Relig Studies
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Religious Studies: Interdisciplinary seminar on the concept of religious studies.
Offered by: Religious Studies
- Restriction: This course is available only to students in Ph.D. 2 or higher
Research areas
Philosophy of Religious Studies
Methods in theology and religious studies
Philosophical and theological hermeneutics
Modernity/Postmodernity
Research interests and current work in progress
Professor Kanaris’s area of specialty is the thought of Canadian philosopher-theologian Bernard Lonergan (1904-84). He has published numerous books and articles on the topic, including the co-edited volume entitled In Deference to the Other: Lonergan and Contemporary Continental Thought (2004). He has also edited volumes of philosophy of religion such as Polyphonic Thinking and the Divine (2013) and Reconfigurations of Philosophy of Religion: A Possible Future (2018), both based on symposia held at the School of Religious Studies.
His research interests center on broaching problematic methodological and epistemological issues that intersect with the study of “religion”. In the area of religious studies per se, this translates into the interface of religion and the sciences, social and natural. In philosophy of religion the topic converges on an analysis of different thinking styles, analytic and continental.
Professor Kanaris mitigates these issues through a differentiated appreciation of knowledge acquisition located in self-critical reflexivity, which he calls “enecstasis”. While facilitated by protracted study of Lonergan, this programmatic interest has evolved in conversation with the work of poststructuralist philosophers. A book-length treatment is available entitled Toward A Philosophy of Religious Studies: Enecstatic Explorations.