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REL130EAIntroductiontoReligionsDePauwUniversity,Spring2012
TR2:20P.M.–3:50P.M.AH222
AimeeHamilton,[email protected]
ReligiousStudiesDepartmentEmison205
Officehours:10:15a.m.–11:45p.m.
CourseDescription:
Thiscourseisanintroductiontoworldreligions,withanemphasisonacomparativestudyoftraditionscommonlyassociatedwiththe“East”:Hinduism,Buddhism,Islam,andSikhism.Inthissurvey,studentswillgainanunderstandingoftheimportanceofthemajortextsandpractices,historicaltrajectories,andkeytermsandconceptsofthesetraditions.Wewillpaycloseattentiontohowthesereligionspresenttheirfoundationalconcepts,majorfigures,thehumancondition,andultimatereality.Sourcematerialsforthiscourseincludeprimaryandsecondarytexts,films,websites,podcasts,andlectures.Bymeansofthestudyofthesetraditions,studentswillconsiderthemeaningofthetermreligionasitmayapplytothevariousworldviewsencountered,aswellasfurtherthedevelopmentofwriting,analytical,interpretation,andcriticalthinkingskills.CourseObjectives:Itisexpectedthatbytheendofthecoursestudentswillhaveachievedthefollowing:
1.increasedreligiousliteracysoastohavegreaterknowledgeof,awarenessabout,andrespectforthesereligioustraditions;2.abilitytoexaminethecontextofthesetraditionsandlearnthevarioushumanfactorsthatinfluencedtheircreation/change;3.abilitytoread,analyze,anddiscusssourcematerialstoidentifyandevaluatemainpoints,supportingevidence,andperspectives.4.increasedfacilitytosuccessfullycommunicatecourseknowledgeinoralandwrittenform.
RequiredTexts:
• ReligionsofAsiaToday.JohnL.Esposito,DarrellJ.Fasching,ToddLewis.2ndedition,OxfordUniversityPress,2012.ISBN978‐0‐19‐975949‐1
o Listedonthesyllabusas“ROA.”
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• BhagavadGita:Krishna’sCounselinTimeofWar.BarabaraStollerMiller.BantamBooks[1986].ISBN0‐553‐21365‐2
• GuruNanak.AmarChitraKathacomicbook.IndiaBookHousePVTLTD,1973.ISBN81‐7508‐153‐8
• OtherrequiredcoursereadingsareavailableonMoodleandarelistedinitalicsintheschedule.
Coursegradeisbasedonthefollowing:
Participation:35%oftotalgrade(Twoareas)1.Classengagement:yourconsistentandalertpresenceintheclassroom;preparationofthecoursereadingsanddiscussiontopics;activeandthoughtfulverbalandwrittenreflections;andthoroughpreparationofanyassignments.Youwillbringtherequiredreadingstoeachclasssession,andyouwillbepreparedwithquestionsandcommentsinordertoengageininformeddiscussion.Youareexpectedtocometoclassontime,attendclass,andtoattendtheentireclass.(Fulfillscourseobjectives1,2,3,4).
• UnlessIprovideyouwithdirectedquestions,yourobjectiveinreadingistoanalyze:o whoisthespeaker/author?o whatisthepurposeofthereading(i.e.whydidtheauthorwritetheselection)?o whatarethemainpointsofthereading?o howarethosemainpointsproveninthetext?o howdoesthereadingenhancewhatyouknowaboutthesubject?o whatquestionsdoesthereadingpromptforyou?
2.One‐minutepapers:Attheendofsomeclasssessions,youwillbepresentedwithaquestionrelevanttoclasstopics.Ifyouhavepreparedtheassignedreadingsandpaidcloseattentioninclassyouwillhavenoproblemansweringthequestion.Yourpaperswillbegradedonaplus/minus/zeroscale.(Fulfillscourseobjectives1,2,3,4).Exams1,2and3(15%each)=45%oftotalgradeThein‐classexamswillcoverallthecoursematerialstothatdate.Examquestionsmaybemultiplechoice,T/F,matching,fillintheblank,shortanswerand/orbriefessay.Astudyguidewillbedistributedoneweekpriortotheexams.(Fulfillscourseobjectives3,4).FinalExam:20%Thefinalexaminationisacumulativeexamthatpertainstoallmaterialaddressedinthecourseduringthesemester.Thequestionsmaybemultiplechoice,T/F,shortanswer,fillintheblankand/orbriefessay.Astudyguidewillbedistributedpriortotheexam.(Fulfillscourseobjectives3,4).
ImportantCourseNotes:
E‐mailandcommunication:E‐mailisthebestwaytocommunicatewithmeoutsideofclass.Igenerallychecke‐mailandrespondtomessagesbetween8a.m.and8p.m.onmostdayshowever,pleaseallowupto24hoursforaresponse.MoodleisusedforthiscourseandIwillpostitemsofinteresttotheclass.YouareexpectedtocheckyourDePauwe‐mailregularly.Contactmewithquestionspertinenttoclasscontentandtopics,andtoseekclarificationoncoursecontent.
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Officehours:Makeuseofmyofficehours;thispracticewillbenefittheyourcourseparticipationgrade.Ihaveanopen‐doorpolicyforofficehours,sofeelfreetovisit.Absencesandlateness:Courseattendanceisamust.Youareresponsibleforobtainingclassnotesfromclassmatesifyoumissclass.Therearenomake‐upsformissedworkduetoillnessortardiness.
• Ifyouhaveanextendedillnessorifyouhaveaseriousemergencythatmayimpactyourperformanceinthecourse,contacttheDeanofStudentSupportandtheinstructorassoonaspossible.
• Apenaltyfortardinessiscountedagainstyourparticipationgrade,thereforehabituallateness
willadverselyyourgrade.Classroomconduct:Laptopsande‐readersarewelcomeinclassontheconditionthatthedeviceisusedtotakenotesandaccesscoursereadings.Allotherelectronicdevicesaretobeturnedoffandstowedforthedurationofclass.Thisisforthepurposeofprovidingmeandyourfellowstudentswithyourundividedattentionduringclass.If,atanytime,youarefoundtobetexting,e‐mailing,blogging,vlogging,Facebooking,Tweeting,e*Trading,orotherwiseengagedinactivitiesnotimmediatelyrelatedtocourseparticipation,youwillearnazeroparticipationgradeforthatday.Overthecourseofthesemesterwewilladdressavarietyoftopicsonreligionandsubjectsthatintersectwithreligion.Itisofutmostimportancethatstudentslistenandspeaktoeachotherwithrespectandspeakfromanopinionthatisfoundedoncoursepreparation.Disagreementoncoursetopicsisacceptableandwelcomeaslongasthatopinionisinformed,prepared,andrespectful.Gradescale:Myphilosophyregardinggradingisthatyouearnyourgrade;IdonotgivegradesandIdonotgradeonacurve.A:93‐100A‐:90‐92B+:87‐89B:83‐86
B‐:80‐82C+:77‐79C:73‐76C‐:70‐72
D+:67‐69D:63‐66D‐:60‐62F:59andbelow
AcademicHonestyYouareresponsibleforsubmittingworkofyourowncreationandthatusesapropercitationformat.YouareresponsibleforinformingyourselfabouttheDePauwstudentcoderegardingacademicintegrityandplagiarism,pertheDePauwUniversityStudentHandbook:http://www.depauw.edu/handbooks/student/Anyworksubmittedforthiscoursethatisfoundtocontainplagiarizedcontent(copied,notcited,orclaimingtheworkofanotherasayourown)orisfoundtobetheresultofcheatingwillearnagradeofzero,andyourstandinginthiscourseandintheUniversitywillbeinjeopardy.ClaimingignoranceoftheDePauwcodeisnotavalidexcuse.Ifyourequireadditionalhelpinrecognizingplagiarism,thelibraryprovidesadditionalhelp.
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DisabilityAccommodationIfyourequirecoursemodificationand/oraccommodation,youmustprovidemewithappropriatedocumentationwithinthefirsttwoweeksofthecourse.ContactStudentDisabilityServicesforfurtherinformationandinstruction.http://www.depauw.edu/academics/academic-resources/student-guidance/students-with-disabilities/
CourseScheduleReadings,assignmentsandexamsarelistedontheirduedate.
Theinstructorreservestherighttomakechangestothesyllabusatanytime.
Week Date Unit Topic Reading AssignmentT31Jan
CourseIntroduction
WhatIsReligion? 1
Th2Feb
PerformanceandExperience
ROA38‐61;Blackfoot,JapaneseandSiberianmyths
T7Feb
Ritual:SacredSpaceandTime
ROA13‐18; StartreadingtheBhagavadGita
2
R9Feb
Hinduism Foundationalconcepts:Karma,Dharma,Samsara
ROA75‐77,82‐87,90‐96
T14Feb
Sacredtext ROA96‐101;121‐124,145‐146;BhagavadGita;
3
R16Feb
Practice:DarshanandBhaktiFilm:Pūjā
ROA125‐144,148;PersonalWorship;
T21Feb
BodyandIdentity:Yoga
ROA87‐90,155‐156,157‐164
4
R23Feb
Film:yoga
T28Feb
Exam#15
R1Mar
Buddhism Foundationalconcepts:LifeoftheBuddha
FirstSermon;ROA169‐198
T6Mar
Foundationalconcepts:Mahayana
Bodhisattva’sVows;ROA199,201‐211;232
6
R8Mar
Practice:Monksandlaycommunity
BurningHouseParable;ROA211‐219;245‐246
T13Mar
Practice:TibetanBuddhism
ROA210‐211;240‐245 7
R15Mar
Film:UnmistakenChild
8 T20 Exam#2
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Mar
R22Mar
Islam IntroductiontoIslam;film
ROA349‐355
T27Mar
SPRINGBREAK9
R29Mar
SPRINGBREAK
T3Apr
Noclass10
R5Apr
Noclass
T10Apr
Foundationalconcepts:LifeofMuhammad
ROA355‐357 11
R12Apr
Practice:5Pillars ROA363‐366
T17Apr
Sacredtext Qur’anandHadith;ROA358,360‐361,366‐367
12
R19Apr
Bodyandidentity TBA;ROA374‐380
T24Apr
Exam#313
R26Apr
Sikhism Foundationalconcepts:BeginningsofSikhism
GuruNanak;Nanak’sDeath;ROA91
T1May
Sacredtextandpractice
GuruGranthSahib;ROA105‐110,136
14
R3May
Bodyandidentity ROA113‐115,116‐117,156‐157
T8May
Film:LocksofLove 15
R10May
Coursewrap‐up
Closingthoughts
FinalsWeek
T15May
ScheduledFinalExam1‐4pm
Haveagreatsemester!