RELI 1003 (45-156) Spring 2008 University of Georgia
Introduction to Religious
Thought 3 hrs
201
Peabody Hall
Tuesdays and Thursdays
5:00 pm – 6:15 pm
Required
Text: Anatomy of the Sacred 5th ed James C.
Livingston
Wanda Wilcox
106 New
College
Franklin
College of Arts and Sciences
Office of
Academic Advising
(706)
542-1412
Office
Hours by referral – contact through email. Many walk-in hours are available each week.
The
purpose of this class is to promote clear thinking, meaningful articulation,
and thoughtful understanding of religion in a respectful atmosphere of
intellectual inquiry. The concepts
and ideas which make up a religious worldview will be explored, experienced and
examined through consideration of a wide range of religious expressions.
A website
sponsored by the American Academy of Religion: Why Study Religion?
UGAÕs
Religion Department
http://www.uga.edu/~religion/
Grading
First
Paper 10%
First
Exam 20%
Book
review 10%
Movie
Reflections 5%
2nd
Paper 15%
Final
Exam 20%
Attendance 20% (an
attendance grade will be derived by dividing the number of times
class
meets into the number of times you attend)
Details
regarding the two writing assignments (the first and second papers due 2/19 and
4/22) will be provided later. The
first will be concerning sacred ritual (2-4 pgs), the second concerning a
sacred site (4-8 pgs), and each must include an analysis guided by the concepts
covered in class. Later you will
have a list of movies to choose from and email me your reflections on one of
them.
You must
choose a book from the following, obtain a copy, read it, and bring it to class
to write a guided essay about on the last day of class.
ManÕs Search for Meaning Viktor Frankl
The Tao of Pooh Benjamin Hoff
Holy the Firm Annie Dillard
I, Thou Martin Buber
Meditations Marcus Aurelius (online at http://classics.mit.edu/Antoninus/meditations.html)
Each
examination will cover the chapters in the book studied during the weeks preceding
the exam, as well as the class discussion. Midterm examination on 2/26 will
cover chapters 1 – 6.
Final
examination on 5/1 will cover chapters 7 -13.
The days
you choose to miss are up to you, but you may wish to save an absence or two in
the event that you are ever ill.
With thirty class periods, you can attend 27 times and still earn a
grade of 90. The expectation is
that when you are present, you are really present, that is, engaged with and
respectful of each other, the material, and the process of working
together. I will recognize those
of you who are (engaged with the process and respectful of each other) by
adding a day attended to the formula.
For example, you may only attend 26 times out of 30, but if when you are
here, you are here,
it will be computed as 27/30 = 90.
Another example: you add
the class on the second day, miss 4 classes, and every day during the last 15
minutes of class you text message people to pick you up – that will be
25/29 = 86. And if you come every
time, and leave behind the cell phones and other tackiness or disrespect, you
can have a grade of 103 counting as 20% of your final grade.
Any
student who initiates a withdrawal before the University deadline of Monday, March
4, will receive a grade of ÒW.Ó
All examination
dates are provided here, therefore, there is no provision for making up a
missed exam. Any emergency
situation of personal hardship will be dealt with case by case, but requires
that you contact me as soon as possible after the missed exam.
Final
grades for the course are based on the following scale:
A 92.5 and
above C+
76.5 – 79.4
A- 89.5 –
92.4 C
72.5 – 76.4
B+ 86.5 – 89.4 C- 69.5
– 72.4
B
82.5 – 86.4
D
59.5 – 69.4
B- 79.5
– 82.4
F
59.4 or less
All academic work must meet
the standards contained in ÒA Culture of Honesty.Ó Students are responsible for
informing themselves about those standards before performing any academic work.
The link to more
detailed information about academic honesty can be found at:
http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/honesty/acadhon.htm
The course syllabus is a
general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the
instructor may be necessary.
Tues 1/8 Introduction
to the Course
Thurs 1/10 Chapter 1 - What is Religion?
Drop/Add
ends 1/10 at midnight
Tues 1/15
Thurs 1/17
Chapter 2 - The Sacred and the Holy
Tues 1/22
Thurs 1/24 Chapter 3 - Sacred Symbol, Myth, and
Doctrine
Tues 1/29
Thurs 1/31 Chapter 4 - Sacred Ritual
Tues 2/5
Thurs 2/7 Chapter 5 - Sacred
Scripture
Tues 2/12
Thurs 2/14 Chapter 6 - Society and the
Sacred
Tues 2/19 FIRST
PAPER DUE
Thurs 2/21 review
for midterm
Tues 2/26 MIDTERM
EXAMINATION
Thurs 2/28 Chapter 7 - Deity
Tues 3/4
3/4 Midpoint Withdrawal Deadline
Thurs 3/6 Chapter 8 -
Cosmogony
March
10 – 14 SPRING BREAK
Tues 3/18
Thurs 3/20 Chapter
9 - Anthropology
Tues 3/25
Thurs 3/27 Chapter 10 –
Theodicy
Tues 4/1
Thurs 4/3 Chapter 11 - Ethics
Tues 4/8
Thurs 4/10 Chapter 12 - Soteriology
Tues 4/15
Thurs 4/17 Chapter 13 – The Sacred
and the Secular in Modernity
Tues 4/22
Thurs 4/24 Book
Review Guided essay and reflections
on a book chosen from the list
Review
for the final
SECOND
PAPER DUE
Tues 5/1
FINAL EXAMINATION
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm