This course pairs ethnographic material related to the role of Armenian Christianity in the lives of contemporary Armenians as a point of entry into three bodies of literature in anthropology and the social sciences. The first section pairs the literature on ritual with alternative attention to the category of liturgy and to Armenian and other Orthodox Christian reflections on the role of liturgy for Christian living. In the second section of the course, recent anthropological work on sound, soundscapes and voice is read through the detailed hymn system of the Armenian Apostolic Church and includes visits to liturgical services in Detroit. Finally, the third section rereads the literature on community with an eye to Armenian reflections on church and community. Each section will also involve activities and embodied practices related to the set of texts. Through these textual and embodied encounters with a little-known Christian religious tradition, students will become conversant with contemporary social scientific debates about affect and belonging, religion and ritual, and urban soundscapes.