Syllabus for RELI 1001

Introduction to Judaism, Christianity, Islam

FALL 2008 Sections 09-681 and 89-680

Instructor: Matthew Thomas Hopper Email: mthopper@uga.edu

Office: Peabody, Rm. 2 (basement floor) Office Phone: (706) 583-8093

Office hours: Monday, Wednesday 11:10 – 12:10 in the SLC (2^nd floor) and by appointment

Note about Office Hours: If and when my office hours location (or time) changes,

I’ll let you know by email or announcement in class.

This syllabus is a general outline for the course and is subject to changes announced in lecture.

Always check your UGA email account for any announcements.

The Good News:

This class will have no attendance policy.
This class will have no final exam.
The last day of class for us will be Friday, December 5, a week before the week of finals even begins.
This class will have no major papers or essays.
This class will spend 6 days watching movies—not documentaries, but actual movies.
We will spend some time in most class periods listening to various samples of ancient and contemporary music performed by various practitioner artists for each religion.
The tests in this class are approximately half multiple choice and true/false questions.
This class should be an easy A for any student willing to come, pay attention, and learn.

Caution: With privilege comes responsibility. Do not take all this good news to mean you will not have to put forth some effort. This class should be an easy good grade, but only for students who are learning and doing the readings and assignments. I guarantee: students who do not come to lecture and take notes, and students who do not prepare well for the tests, will not even pass, much less make a good grade. Your final grade will be entirely in your own hands. Make my day, get an A!

Course Description:

RELI 1001 is an introduction to three of the world’s major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These religions are often grouped together for several reasons, including their origin in the Mediterranean world of late antiquity, their historical ties to the Abrahamic legend, their claim of divine revelation for the basis of their truth claims, their similar ethical worldviews, their enormous sizes (in terms of practitioners), their predominance in Western civilization, their shared monotheistic theological orientation, and their enormous impacts on modern culture, especially in the Western hemisphere.

Our discussions of these religions will seek to emphasize their variegated role and relevance in the world today. En route to this, we will continually ask and answer questions related to the various social, cultural and intellectual challenges that have been posed by modernity and post-modernity upon Jewish, Christian, and Muslim thought and practice, as well as the philosophy of religion, religious ethics, and the various ways these religious traditions have responded to those challenges. Such discussion will require us to delve into important issues such as (1) the clash between sacred tradition and Enlightenment rationalism and critical history, (2) scientific progress, (3) industrialization, (4) revolution, (5) imperialism, (6) Feminism, (7) civil rights, (8) globalization, (9) terrorism, and others.

Also, we will consciously emphasize some important topics of contemporary social relevance during our discussion of each religion. During our time on Judaism, we will constantly be discussing the implications of the Exodus story for modern views on slavery, civil rights, equality, bigotry, and imperialism. During our discussion of Christianity, we will be giving special attention to the implications of the gospel of Jesus for contemporary views of social justice, religious tyranny, forgiveness, and capital punishment. During our discussion of Islam, we will discuss the important current issues of women’s rights, human rights, violence, and peace.

Throughout the entire semester, we will constantly be discussing the Holocaust of World War II and its effects upon the world, Western religions, critical theory in religion, the practice of religion, skepticism of religion, and current affairs. We will also carry out ongoing discussions of the contemporary Arab-Israeli conflict. This conflict is currently the focus of many world leaders, and in recent months we have literally been watching history unfold, given the recent Battle of Gaza in June of 2007 and the historic Annapolis Conference in Maryland of November 27, 2007. Also, last semester, on Wednesday, January 9^th, President Bush made his first ever trip to Israel, in an extended visit to the Middle East that included stops in Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem in Israel, Ramallah in the West Bank, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, to discuss the hopeful creation of a Palestinian state. Most recently, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 that he would be resigning from his position in September, which will undoubtedly have large ramifications for the peace-process. These matters should give us much to talk about and create ample opportunities for us to learn together, not only about these religions, but through that, about our world, our place in history, ourselves, and perhaps God.

Course Structure:

You will find that I have structured this course so that we will cover each religion from three perspectives, one at a time: literary criticism, historical criticism, and theology/worldview. Please understand these three disciplines will necessarily intertwine at numerous points in lecture and in the reading. But I believe such an organized approach is the very best approach.

Course Objectives:

To learn about religion, the study of it, about the religions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and of their role and relevance in the modern/ postmodern world.

To develop critical thinking skills, whereby we can further educate ourselves for the rest of our lives and help improve the world.

To have FUN learning about religions, the world, and critical thinking!

Essential Course Details:

Students in Section 09-681 meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10:10 to 11:00 AM in Room 0404D of the Biological Sciences building (building no. 1000). Students in Section 89-680 meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 12:20 to 1:10 PM in Room 0501 in the Journalism building (building no. 0062).

Texts: Required texts for this course will be:

Ed. Willard G. Oxtoby. World Religions: Western Traditions. 2^nd ed. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Course packet at Bel-Jean’s. The course packet is essential. It contains excerpts from over 20 important textbooks on the subject of religion and various topics involved in the study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These readings will be vital for assignments and will no doubt prove to be of tremendous value to you for the rest of your life. Don’t throw away the Packet at the end of the semester!

WebCT: I have built a website for this course, wherein all students can find helpful material for studying and completing various assignments throughout the semester, especially the Journals. The website is built through WebCT, and the address is: https://webct.uga.edu. All you have to do is login with your UGA MyID and password. You’ll find links for all your courses this semester that are using a WebCT website. Simply click on ours (‘RELI 1001 Judaism, Christianity, Islam’), and you’ll find several links, etc.

Lecture Outlines Provided by Me: With hopefully few exceptions, I will make every effort to post lecture outlines for you on WebCT in the Course Content section every Saturday or Sunday before a given week. This way you can go in, click on the linked document, and print out an organized outline of that week’s upcoming lectures. You can bring it to class and fill in the gaps as I teach. This should hopefully facilitate your note-taking and you ability to receive my lectures in a way that is organized in your mind. My own experience as a student has been that note-taking in lectures can make it very difficult to actually pay attention with my ears (since I am so busy writing). These provided outlines will only be outlines, so you’ll still have to listen and write plenty, but I think you will greatly appreciate how much help they will provide. ALSO, please remember I am not a professor. I am a fulltime graduate student, and there may be some class periods for which I will not have time to post the outlines for you in WebCT, but I’ll try my best.

Important Classroom Policies:

Attendance Policy: I will not be taking attendance for this course. But if you do not wish to come to class, please drop this course. You will not pass if you are not present in class. The exam questions have been designed so that you cannot pass the exams without having been in class, and I will not allow any student to make up for missed lectures by flooding my email or asking me to re-lecture during office hours. Moreover, you will be responsible for submitting weekly journal writings, and I will not accept journals via email or late unless your absence is excused and your work is submitted on your first day back. (See the Late Work Policy below.) Moreover, I will not host ‘review sessions’ in the class meetings immediately prior to exam days. The good news is that the exams are also designed so that students who come to class and pay attention will have no trouble at all. I don’t believe in trick questions, but my questions will filter-out those who do from those who don’t know the material. Attendance will be mandatory on film days. See the Course Calendar below.

Seating Policy: I would prefer you sit close to the front, that way late arrivals can get a seat quietly in the back with ease (see Tardiness Policy below). Also, in my experience, students who automatically go for the back of the room do not learn as well or pay attention as well as those closer to the front.

Tardiness Policy: Please make sure you are on time to all lectures. I am mature enough to understand that lateness sometimes cannot possibly be avoided due to circumstances out of your control. I may even be late at some point—it’s happened before. But please make every effort to avoid this happening. I will amend the Tardiness Policy if people are coming in late every day. Moreover, I will close the door at around the beginning of class. I will allow you to open the door and come in after that, but I would strongly encourage you to be in class and seated by classtime. I will amend the Tardiness Policy if people are coming in late every day. (Such as I might start closing the door promptly at the start of class and not allowing anyone to come in at all.) If and when tardiness is unavoidable, you should come in through the back door (if applicable) and be sure to close the door behind you. Come in quietly and take one of the empty seats in the back. NOTE: On days when work is due, such as journals, you should definitely come, even if you will be late. See the Late Work policy below.

Late Work Policy: With two classes of 50 and the large number of assignments throughout the semester in the way of journals and exams, and given that I am not a fulltime professor but rather a fulltime student, there is no way I can allow late work, unless there is an excused absence. I have learned the hard way not to accept late work, so don’t try to change my mind. Given that, it is vitally important that you are in class on the days when work is due, which is usually always Fridays. Concerning excused absences, you will need to bring in the overdue work on your first day back. If your excused absence is one that you know of in advance, you will need to submit your assignment early rather than late. Otherwise I may not accept it. All assignments, including excused late work, will need to be submitted in hardcopy form. Unless it’s some kind of emergency or other very reasonable occasion, I DO NOT ACCEPT WORK VIA EMAIL. I have also learned this the hard way. If you absolutely cannot be in class on a day when there is work due, send it with a friend or turn it in prior to the due date.

Honesty Policy: The University of Georgia has an official honesty policy with regard to academic work. I will abide by this policy, and I expect the same from you. The policy is available to view online at: http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/honesty/culture_honesty.htm.

Courtesy Policy: Being a religion course, and especially one concerned with the most common religions practiced by Americans, I understand we will be discussing issues that are of tremendous personal importance to many students, and in these cases, emotions often run high, sometimes unfortunately at the cost of academic integrity and common courtesy. Therefore, I will be strictly enforcing a Courtesy Policy. No outbursts or disruptive behavior of any kind will be tolerated. No insensitive comments directed at other students will be tolerated. Please conduct yourselves with professionalism and dignity, showing respect for your classmates, teacher, and subject matter.

Cell Phone Policy: Please turn your cell-phones off for lecture. Don’t take text messages, or check your caller ID when you get a vibrating call, and unless you have some special emergency-related circumstances, DO NOT STEP OUTSIDE TO TAKE A CALL AND RE-ENTER THE ROOM. All these are distracting to teachers and students alike. But I will be reasonable. Sometimes we all forget to turn off our phones. I will never take away a student’s phone or embarrass a student who unexpectedly gets a phone call during class. Just be courteous please.

Grading Rubric:

I will be calculating students’ final grades based on a 500-point scale. Basically, all the assignments added together will be worth a total of 500 points, and at the end of the semester I’ll divide each student’s total accumulated points by 5 to get the final grade on the regular 100-point scale. Check the Syllabus Supplement for a helpful chart whereby you can keep up with your grades all semester to always know where you stand. Be sure to take advantage of this. I will be returning graded work to you throughout the semester. I will not calculate your grade for you before the final to let you know where you stand. That will be your responsibility.

100 – 93 = A = 4.0

92 – 90 = A- = 3.7

89 – 86 = B+ = 3.3

85 – 83 = B = 3.0

82-80 = B- = 2.7

79 – 76 = C+ = 2.3

75 – 73 = C = 2.0

72 – 70 = C- = 1.7

69 – 60 = D = 1.0

< 60 = F = 0

GRADED MATERIAL ON MY 500 POINT SCALE	TOTAL VALUE FOR THE FINAL GRADE
10 Journals at 15 points each	30% (3 Final-Grade-points each)
6 Film days at 8 points each, except the last, worth 10 points	10% (1⅔ Final-Grade-points each)
Judaism exam worth 100 points	20% (20 Final-Grade-points)
Christianity exam worth 100 points	20% (20 Final-Grade-points)
Islam exam worth 100 points	20% (20 Final-Grade-points)
500 TOTAL POINTS	100 TOTAL POINTS

Journals: Throughout the semester, you will be required to submit 10 journal writings. The journals are due on Fridays, but not every Friday. Check the Course Calendar below (or the Syllabus Supplement in WebCT) for the exact due dates. The journals should be an easy part of your grade. Basically, each journal will be comprised of your own thoughts in regard to an assigned reading from the Course Packet. The goal of the journal writing is to develop your critical thinking skills. The exact schedule for the Journals, including the corresponding reading assignments and topics for writing, are listed in the Syllabus Supplement (in WebCT). The journals will be graded on a 15 point scale and added to your cumulative points, of which there are 500 total possible. Therefore, each journal is worth 3 points of your final grade. The best journals will be those that follow proper formatting instructions (see the Journal Formatting section in the Syllabus Supplement in WebCT) and those that demonstrate that the assigned reading was carefully read and that the student put forth some effort to do critical thinking and creative writing. NOTE: Please see the Late Work Policy above. NOTE: Journals not properly formatted will not be accepted. For more on this, see the Journal Formatting section in the Syllabus Supplement in WebCT.

Films: Probably the easiest part of getting a good grade in this course will be to show up on film days. I will not even require you to write a film review during the viewing. All you have to do is show up and you get full credit! And guess what else: the films are not educational or documentaries. They are entertainment films. We will watch one film for each religion: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The films I have chosen are animated children’s films. Each of these is meant to portray these religions in a positive light to children, ideally capturing the beautiful spirit that lies at the heart of each of these sacred faiths. The goal of this activity is to give you a good sense of what is positive and inspirational about these religions, and hopefully to give you a new appreciation for them, as well as facilitate some class discussion of the potential of these films to make a positive impact on the next generation in terms of their exposure to these sacred faiths. It is on film days that your attendance will play a part in your grade. Each film day is worth 8 points (on my 500-point scale), except for the last film day, worth 10 points.

Exams: The exams should be the only challenging part of the course for you. But in fact, my exams are not overly hard (they are 40% multiple choice and true/false questions), as long as you are doing the readings, coming to class, paying attention, and taking notes. I have had numerous students make 100% on all 3 of my semester exams. But if you are not coming to class and paying attention and taking notes, you will not pass the exams. There will be three exams, one for each religion, and each comprises 20% of your final grade. There will not be a comprehensive final. I will briefly discuss the format—not the content—of the test in a lecture prior to exam day. I will probably also pass out a study guide around a week prior to each exam, but do not think you can skip lectures and then get the study guide and still do well on the test. The study guide at best would only have terms, names, concepts and questions (not answers) that you could use to study by using your lecture notes and knowledge gained from the reading. It will be your responsibility to be in class to receive a study guide. I will not leave my home to meet you somewhere on campus to give you a copy.

University Calendar:

Monday, Aug. 18 Classes begin

Monday - Thursday, Aug. 18 – 21 Drop/Add period for undergraduate level courses

Monday, Sept. 1 Labor Day, no school

Thursday, Oct. 9 Midpoint of semester

Thursday, Oct. 23 Midpoint withdrawal deadline

Friday, Oct. 31 Fall Break, no school

Monday – Friday, Nov. 24-28 Thanksgiving break, no school

Monday, Dec. 1 Classes resume

Tuesday, Dec. 9 Friday class schedule (all campus)

Tuesday, Dec. 9 Last day of class (but our last day will be Friday, Dec. 5)

Wednesday, Dec. 10 Reading day, no classes

Thursday - Wednesday, Dec. 11-17 Final Exams

Course Calendar:

(Course specifics are subject to changes announced in class.)

(University dates and course exams are in bold.)

WEEKS and DAYS	TOPICS for LECTURE			READING (before class) / WORK DUE
WEEK 1, AUG. 18 – 22	ACADEMIC STUDY OF RELIGION AND RELIGIONS
Monday, Aug. 18^th	First day of class; Greetings; Syllabus			None
Wednesday, Aug. 20^th	Introduction to the academic study of religion			READING: Oxtoby, pp. 33-36, 201-203, 341-342
Thursday, Aug. 21^st	Last day to drop			N/A
Friday, Aug. 22^nd	Theories and methods in the study of religion			READING: Course Packet, pp. 1-8 DUE: Journal #1
WEEK 2, AUG. 25-29	JUDAISM
Monday, Aug. 25^th	Introduction to Judaism; Sacred literature of Judaism		READING: Course Packet, pp. 9-17
Wednesday, Aug. 27^th	Sacred literature of Judaism continued		READING: Course Packet, pp. 19-30
Friday, Aug. 29^th	Sacred literature of Judaism continued		READING: Course Packet, pp. 31-42 DUE: Journal #2 due
WEEK 3, SEPT. 1 – 5	JUDAISM CONTINUED
Monday, Sept. 1^st	Labor Day, no class!		N/A
Wednesday, Sept. 3^rd	History of Judaism		READING: Oxtoby, pp. 36-45
Friday, Sept. 5^th	History of Judaism continued		READING: Oxtoby, pp. 45-53; Course Packet, pp. 43 DUE: Journal #3
WEEK 4, SEPT. 8 – 12	JUDAISM CONTINUED
Monday, Sept. 8^th	History of Judaism continued		READING: Oxtoby, pp. 53-71
Wednesday, Sept. 10^th	History of Judaism continued		READING: Oxtoby, pp. 71-111
Friday, Sept. 12^th	History of Judaism continued		READING: Oxtoby, pp. 130, 135-150; Course Packet, pp. 45-49 DUE: Journal #4
WEEK 5, SEPT. 15 – 19	JUDAISM CONTINUED
Monday, Sept. 15^th	Theology and Worldview of Judaism		READING: Oxtoby, pp. 111-130
Wednesday, Sept. 17^th	Theology and Worldview of Judaism continued		READING: Oxtoby, pp. 35-36, 130-135
Friday, Sept. 19^th	Judaism in practice		READING: Oxtoby, pp. 33-35
WEEK 6, SEPT. 22 – 26	JUDAISM CONTINUED
Monday, Sept. 22^nd	Film: ‘The Prince of Egypt’ (1999)	None
Wednesday, Sept. 24^th	Film continued	None
Friday, Sept. 26^th	Judaism Exam	None
WEEK 7, SEPT. 29 – OCT. 3	CHRISTIANITY
Monday, Sept. 29^th	Introduction to Christianity; Sacred literature of Christianity	READING: Course Packet, pp. 51-67, 2 handouts
Wednesday, Oct. 1^st	Sacred literature of Christianity continued	READING: Course Packet, pp. 69-73
Friday, Oct. 3^rd	Sacred literature of Christianity continued	READING: Course Packet, pp. 75-77, handout DUE: Journal #5
WEEK 8, OCT. 6 – 10	CHRISTIANITY CONTINUED
Monday, Oct. 6^th	Sacred literature of Christianity continued	READING: Course Packet, p. 79
Wednesday, Oct. 8^th	History of Christianity	READING: Oxtoby, pp. 203-214; Course Packet, pp. 81-82
Thursday, Oct. 9^th	Midpoint of the semester	N/A
Friday, Oct. 10^th	History of Christianity continued	READING: Oxtoby, pp. 214-240; Course Packet, pp. 83-85 DUE: Journal #6
WEEK 9, OCT. 13 – 17	CHRISTIANITY CONTINUED
Monday, Oct. 13^th	History of Christianity continued	READING: Oxtoby, pp. 240-242, 244-269; Course Packet, pp. 86-89
Wednesday, Oct. 15^th	History of Christianity continued	READING: Oxtoby, pp. 269-285; Course Packet, pp. 91-103
Friday, Oct. 17^th	History of Christianity continued	READING: Oxtoby, pp. 285-300, 305-331 DUE: Journal #7
WEEK 10, OCT. 20 – 24	CHRISTIANITY CONTINUED
Monday, Oct. 20^th	Theology and Worldview of Christianity	READING: Course Packet, pp. 4105-120
Wednesday, Oct. 22^nd	Theology and Worldview of Christianity continued	READING: Oxtoby, pp. 300-305
Thursday, Oct. 23^rd	Midpoint withdrawal deadline	N/A
Friday, Oct. 24^th	Film: ‘The Miracle Maker’ (2000)	READING: Course Packet, pp. 121-122 DUE: Journal #8
WEEK 11, OCT. 27 – 31	CHRISTIANITY CONTINUED
Monday, Oct. 27^th	Film: ‘The Miracle Maker’ (2000)	None
Wednesday, Oct. 29^th	Christianity Exam	None
Friday, Oct. 31^st	Fall Break, no class!	N/A
WEEK 12, NOV. 3 – 7	ISLAM
Monday, Nov. 3^rd	Introduction to Islam; Sacred literature of Islam	READING: Oxtoby, pp. 348-358; Course Packet, pp. 123-138
Wednesday, Nov. 5^th	Sacred literature of Islam continued	READING:
Friday, Nov. 7^th	Sacred literature of Islam continued	READING: Oxtoby, pp. 383-393; Course Packet, pp. 139-144; Online article: ‘The Coming Transformation of the Muslim World’ (linked on WebCT);
WEEK 13, NOV. 10 – 14	ISLAM CONTINUED
Monday, Nov. 10^th	History of Islam	READING: Oxtoby, pp. 342-347
Wednesday, Nov. 12^th	History of Islam continued	READING: Oxtoby, pp. 368-378, 420-437
Friday, Nov. 14^th	History of Islam continued	READING: Oxtoby, pp. 437-454; Online article: ‘Terrorism at Odds with Islamic Tradition’ (linked on WebCT) DUE: Journal #9
WEEK 14, NOV. 17 – 21	ISLAM CONTINUED
Monday, Nov. 17^th	Theology and worldview of Islam	READING: Oxtoby, pp. 358-368
Wednesday, Nov. 19^th	Theology and worldview of Islam continued	READING: Oxtoby, pp. 378-383
Friday, Nov. 21^st	Islam in practice	READING: Oxtoby, pp. 393-420; Online article: ‘Issues of Concern for Muslim Women’ (linked on WebCT) DUE: Journal #10
WEEK OF THANKSGIVING BREAK, NOV. 24 – 28
Monday, Nov. 24^th	Thanksgiving break, no class	N/A
Wednesday, Nov. 26^th	Thanksgiving break, no class	N/A
Friday, Nov. 28^th	Thanksgiving break, no class	N/A
WEEK 16, DEC. 1 – 5
Monday, Dec. 1^st	Classes resume; Film: ‘Muhammad: The Last Prophet’ (2004)	None
Wednesday, Dec. 3^rd