REL
120 Exploring World Religions
Summer Session MTWR 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM CC 344
Dr. Timothy Hoare, CC 342, ext. 4526
Homepage:
http://staff.jccc.edu/thoare
E-mail: thoare@jccc.edu
Office hours: 9:00 AM - 10:00AM MTWR
COURSE
DESCRIPTION
This course is a comparative study of
the world's major religious traditions. The basic beliefs of
primal/indigenous traditions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism,
Taoism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam will be explored.
A comparative framework for religious studies will be provided,
and essential differences between Eastern and Western religions
will be noted. Literary texts and iconographic images will be
studied as appropriate. Prerequisites and/or corequisites: None.
Credit hours: 3. Contact hours: 3. Lecture: 3. Lab: 0. Course
type: Transfer. Most recent date revised: Fall 2003.
Fees/supplies: None.
REQUIRED
TEXT
Novak, Philip. The World's Wisdom, San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1994.
Additional readings may be distributed periodically as supplements to primary text. Videotapes will be used in conjunction with the text and lecture (documentary and feature film selections).
COURSE
OBJECTIVES
After completing this course, the student should be able to:
1. Define "religion" and describe the diversity of religious experience.
2. Identify the major texts, central religious figures and ideas of the world's great religions.
3. Recognize concepts and issues basic to the study of religions in a comparative framework.
4. Identify the iconic and artistic traditions of the world's religions.
5. Apply critical methodologies for determining truths that permit correction and dialogue, and that subject the student's cultural beliefs and values to critical reflective thought.
6. Describe the historical context and
development of the world's major religions and their systems of
value.
GRADING
AND EVALUATION
1. All assigned readings are to be read, which implies critical reflection, analysis and preparation for discussion. This further implies that your in-class participation can well make the difference between one grade and another.
2. The necessity for regular attendance should go without saying. As Woody Allen put it, "Eighty percent of success is showing up." More details about this below.
3. Four quarterly examinations (every two weeks) will be both objective and subjective in content.
4. A critical analysis paper of three-to-five pages on a visitation to a church, synagogue, temple or mosque in the Kansas City area. Specific criteria and guidelines for this paper will be distributed by the end of the first week, but are also available online at this website.
5. Grading will be based upon the following point distributions:
TENTATIVE
SCHEDULE
(page numbers refer to
required text for this course)
WEEK 1 (): Introduction to course; "religious" import; ways of approaching religious studies; the nature of ritual, myth and symbolic expression; the religious import of the mask; Primal religious traditions (text, p. 333-379, esp. #s 1, 5, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 21, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 32, 36, 42); video: primal religion in Indonesia
WEEK 2 (): Primal religious traditions, cont.; review; THURSDAY: FIRST QUARTER EXAM
WEEK 3 (): Hinduism (text, 1-48, esp. #s 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26); video: Ravi Shankar, sitar, from The Concert for Bangladesh ; Buddhism (text, 49-109, esp. #s 4, 7, 11, 12, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 28, 29, 35, 36, 38, 39, 45, 46, 47, 51, 55, 59, 61); video: Buddhism in Thailand
WEEK 4 (): Buddhism, cont.; review; THURSDAY: SECOND QUARTER EXAM
WEEK 5 (): NO CLASS TUESDAY 7/4; Chinese religion: Confucianism (text, p. 111-144, esp. 1c, 2b, 4g, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 23, 25ae, 26); Taoism (text, p. 145-174, esp. #s 1.1, 1.7, 2.56, 3.2, 3.9, 3.22, 3.24, 3.27, 4.57, 4.60, 5.8, 5.78, 6.2, 6.11, 13a, 14, 17, 18e); video on Chinese religious traditions
WEEK 6 (): Islam (text, p. 281-332, esp. #s 1de, 2a, 3, 5acd, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10del, 11, 12, 36a, 37c, 41c, 45); review; THURSDAY: THIRD QUARTER EXAM
WEEK 7 (): Judaism (text, 175-226, esp. #s 1-11, 15-18, 19abcd, 21, 23, 26, 28, 35-40); video on Judaism in America; Christianity (text, p. 227-279, esp. #s 2, 3, 5, 7b, 9, 13, 18, 19, 20fk, 22b/hijk, 30, 31, 32bghkl, 35a, 44b, 45d, 55, 56); THURSDAY: VISITATION ANALYSIS PAPER DUE
WEEK 8 (): Christianity, cont.; review; THURSDAY: FOURTH
QUARTER EXAM
SOME
ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES
1. All JCCC students are issued a college e-mail account that is accessed through MyJCCC. This account is used by the college to communicate course, grade, financial aid, enrollment and other important college information. It is your responsibility to check your JCCC e-mail account regularly for important information.
2. I am a strong proponent of the liberal arts. I approach material in a holistic and interdisciplinary manner. In this Humanities course, religion, philosophy, ethics, art, literature, theatre, psychology, the media, history, political science, et al. will inevitably come into conversation with one another. Education is about gaining proficiency with the tools to discern and explore these interrelationships, to interpret and evaluate them critically, and to continue to do so throughout your lives. In short, there's a world of people, places, ideas and books out there; after you graduate, you have to be able to go to a dinner party and talk competently about something besides your job!
3. I am not simply a lecturer who loves the sound of his own voice. Expect me to ask questions of you and to generate discussion with you. While I most certainly want you to understand my ideas and opinions on the material, I value your efforts, your opinions, your input and your reflections as well.
4. I am a gracious host who likes gracious guests. It's not enough simply to arrive, sign the register and then sit in an out-of-the-way corner. Be prepared to take part in the class.
5. We all have doctor appointments, childcare concerns, or "just one of those things" that come up now and again. If you have to leave a session early, please inform me before the class begins. It is simply the courteous thing to do.
6. I care about the ambience in which I teach and in which students learn. I expect you to be attentive, to turn off your cell phones, and to treat one another with respect while you are here, and to pick up after yourselves when you depart (papers, soft drink cans, etc.).
7. Last but not least, academic dishonesty, i.e., cheating on exams, intentional plagiarism on written assignments, will not be tolerated. A first offense will result in an "F" on the exam, paper, etc. concerned. A second offense will result in an "F" for the course.
LINKS TO STUDY AIDS and GUIDES
Intro Concepts | Primal Religions | Hinduism | Buddhism | Confucianism | Taoism | Shinto | Judaism | Christianity | Islam