Instructor: Prof. Jordan A. Rothacker
jordanr@uga.edu
Department of Religion-
UGA
Office #20 Peabody Hall
Office Hours: 11:30am to
12:30pm Monday or by appointment
Place: 105 (Caldwell Hall)
Times: 12:30-3:15am Monday thru Friday
Description:
The purpose of this course is to provide a greater
understanding of the world in which we live by understanding a historical and
religious context of the worldÕs three most influential religions. This course
shall include lessons on:
a) the broader meaning of religion
b) methods for the study of religion
c) the historical-theological development of Judaism
d) the historical-theological development of Christianity
e) the historical-theological development of Islam
f) the place of religion in contemporary society
Required Text:
A Bible is a useful tool for
the course along with a QuÕran. If you choose not to buy one, there are
complete Bibles in different translations online at www.searchgodsword.org or
just the New Revised Standard Version at www.devotions.net. A complete QuÕran
is available at www.hti.umich.edu/k/koran/
Policies and Grades: There will be one test per religion covered and one cumulative
final exam. The three pre-final
exams will count 60% of your grade while the final will count 40%.
Attendance and classroom
participation are required for this course. No leaving class before officially
dismissed. Class roll will be taken 5 minutes after time for class to begin.
Those late will be marked so and three tardies equal one absence. Excused
absences must have written documentation or be discussed with me. Attendance
and participation will be taken into consideration at grading as a way of
swaying borderline grades in a positive direction. You are allowed 5
unexcused absences, each absence
over that will count one point off your final grade. Make-up exams will be given for excused absences and
must be discussed with me prior to exam unless in emergency.
Extra Credit: Students will have the opportunity to write a three
page reaction paper about an extra reading, piece of music, or movie that
corresponds to one of the three faiths covered in the course. One reaction
paper can be turned in per test, before the test date and can be added, one
point per page, to the test.
Honesty: I expect you to know the UniversityÕs Student Honor
Code, ÒI will be academically honest in all of my academic work and will not
tolerate academic dishonesty of others.Ó All academic work submitted in this course must be your own unless you
have received my permission to collaborate and have properly acknowledged
receiving assistance. It is my responsibility to uphold the UniversityÕs
academic honesty policy and report my suspicions of dishonesty to the Office of
the Vice President for Instruction.
All academic work must meet the standards contained in "A Culture of
Honesty." Each student is responsible to inform themselves about those
standards before performing academic work.
Remember this is an Academic Study of
Religion and everyone will respect the
beliefs of others as we discuss these three faiths with an intention of
learning and understanding.
*The course
syllabus is a general plan for the course. Deviations announced to the class by
the instructor may be necessary. The instructor reserves the right to alter the
format or content of this course outline as his professional discretion
dictates.
Important Dates:
Judaism Exam—May 19th
Christianity Exam—May 27th
Islam Exam—June 2nd
Last Day of Class—June
3rd
Final Exam— June 4th
Hopefully, all of this material will be covered in a timely manner. There is a great deal of information so if it is not all covered by each test time the exam will be moved back a day to accommodate. This is just an outline and deviations might be made where necessary.
1st: Introduction; Defining Religion, the study of;
2nd: About the academic study; Biblical criticism;
Beginning of Judaism
3rd: Patriarchal/Matriarchal Period; Exodus; Covenants;
Laws
4th: Monarchy; Prophetic Writings; Exilic/Post Exilic
Periods;
5th: The Hellenistic Period; The Roman Period; Canonization
of the Talmud
6th: Judaism from the Middle Ages to Modern Times
7th: Judaism Wrap-up; Birth of Christianity; Life of Jesus
8th: Early Christian Communities; Spread of Faith; Roman
Empire
9th: Canonization of Scripture; Roman Papacy; Middle Ages
10th: Protestant Reformation; Branches of Christianity;
American Christianity
11th: Christianity Wrap-up; About Islam; Life of Muhammad
12th: More Life of Muhammad; Quran; Five Pillars of Islam
13th: First Eight Centuries of Islam
14th: Developments of Islam since 1400
15th:
Wrap-up all Three Faiths and
Relevance to Contemporary Society