(3 semester hours)
Location: Peabody Hall
219A
Office Location: 21 Peabody
Hall.
Email (preferred
method of communication): rouslane@uga.edu
Course Description:
In this introductory course,
we will explore the origins, history, scriptures, beliefs, rituals, ethical
teachings, and cultural impacts of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, as well as of
background traditions, such as those of Mesopotamia,
Egypt, Greece, and Rome, which profoundly influenced Western
civilization. The classes will consist of lectures, discussions, active
learning exercises, and audio-visual presentations.
Prerequisites: permission of the Honors program. Not open to students with a credit in RELI 1001
Expected Learning
Outcomes:
1. Greater understanding of Western religions
2. Understanding of the basic principles of the academic
study of religions
3. Increased ability to comprehend and analyze complex
material
4. Increased ability for critical and comparative
analysis
5. Enhanced skills in collaborative learning
Students’ Own Objectives
(here you are
encouraged to formulate your own aims that are either different from the above
or more specific. Make sure to communicate these to the instructor, and, if
appropriate, he will do his best to help you meet your individual objectives):
Required Text
1) Theodore M. Ludwig, The
Sacred Paths of the West, 3rd ed. (Prentice Hall, 2006). No other
editions of this text are acceptable! Abbreviation: L
Available at the university
bookstore. Important: Bring the
book to every class!
2) James Fieser & John
Powers, Scriptures of the West, 2nd ed. (McGraw-Hill, 2004) Abbreviation:
FP
Available at the university
bookstore. Important: Bring the
book to every class!
3) Additional material
(lecture notes and study guides) in the form of PowerPoint and Word documents
will be sent via listserv throughout the semester
Required technical base:
1) You should have access to
and have the ability to open and navigate Microsoft Word and PowerPoint
documents
2) You should have an
operational UGA e-mail account for the duration of this course. Keep your
e-mail storage space uncluttered so that you could receive Word and PowerPoint
documents from me without glitches.
Course Requirements:
1. Three exams (each
worth 100 points; 300 pts total; graded on the absolute scale = no curves)
There
will be an exam roughly every five weeks at the conclusion of each major
section of the course, covering key terms, concepts, facts, theories, and
issues from the readings, lectures, PowerPoint presentations, and class
discussions. Exam study guides will be e-mailed to you in the form of Word
files. The exams will consist of identification, fill-in-the-blank,
multiple-choice, “true-false,” and short answer types of questions. Each test
will have approximately 40 questions and take about 45 minutes to complete.
Review sessions will be held at the end of the class preceding the test date. The final exam will not be
comprehensive and will only cover the final section of the course (Islam).
Make-up
exam policy: If you should miss an
exam for a serious reason, such as a medical and family emergency
(documentation may be required), you may take a make-up (during the office
hours or by appointment), but you must contact the instructor (via e-mail)
either before or within 24 hours of the missed exam. No exceptions.
2.
Class participation and attendance (100 points total; 25% of the final grade): This
class is not lecture-only. Research shows that students learn best when they
engage in active learning. Furthermore,
it is expected that in Honors classes an emphasis be made on the discussion of
primary texts. Therefore your active involvement is important and will include
the following components.
1) Starting the first week of classes,
weekly pass-fail home writing assignments (12 assignments per semester, 5 pts
per assignment, 60 points total). Note
that although there are 15 weeks of classes, only 12 papers will be required.
This means that you can take 3 weeks off from home writing at any time during
the semester!
For
each week, you are asked to write
a 1.5-2 page double-spaced paper (font 12) on the textbook material or/and
PowerPoint presentations (if applicable) assigned for either of three classes
on that particular week. For example, if you decide to write a paper for a
Wednesday class, you should write about the readings assigned for that day and
submit it on that day. This will take care of your writing assignment for that
week (that is, there is no need to write anything for the Monday and Friday
class during that week).
All
students who have written a paper for a given class should be prepared to share
their insights in class!
The
paper will contain two parts:
Part
I. Your thoughts on one of the following questions of
your choice:
1)
What stood out for you in today’s readings? In particular, what things struck
you as interesting, important, surprising, controversial, disturbing,
inspiring, puzzling, enlightening, particularly useful, or the opposite. Why?
2) What are some key facts, ideas, insights that you identified in the
readings?
Part
II. Formulate a question or comment of your own to contribute to the class
discussion (which means that you must be ready to share that question or
comment in class). This does not have to deal directly with the readings (although
it should be relevant to the topic).
This is your opportunity to connect with the subject on a more personal
level by bringing up what is really important to you.
Papers are pass/fail. This
means that you will either get 5 points (pass) or no points at all (fail).
Definition of a failed
paper: you either didn’t write it or
failed to submit it on time or wrote it very poorly in terms of style and
grammar; or your paper shows that you did not really study the material.
What
information to include in your paper: a)
your name, b) the course title,
c)
times class meets, d) the date and the day of the week for which you are
writing (for ex., Friday, Feb.2 ), e) the paper’s sequential number (for ex.,
Paper # 3 if this is your third paper in the semester, so you would have to
keep track of this). IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO KEEP TRACK OF YOUR
PAPERS. MAKE SURE TO SAVE THEM ON
YOUR HARD DRIVE AND DISK UNTIL THE END OF THE SEMESTER.
Papers
are due at the class for which you have chosen to write. Late papers will not
be accepted, except when you missed a class for a documentable serious medical
or family reason. In those cases, you can submit the paper at the next class
following the absence.
2) Attendance (40 points)
Occasionally,
I will pass around an attendance sheet (of that day and hour no one knows
except Dr. E!)
With
every missed class for any reason other than documented severe or infectious
illness, medical emergency or UGA-required athletic trips or job/grad school
interviews, you will lose 4 out of your 40 participation points until all 40
points are used up. No exceptions. Note, however, that you are entitled to 3
free absences per semester without penalty, for whatever reason (yes, even if
you simply decide that you need a day off).
General
preparedness for the class: Even if
you are not writing a paper, you are still responsible for doing all the
assigned readings.
Other reasons to attend: Poor attendance may affect your ability to write
quality exams, as the missed discussions and lectures can prevent you from
grasping the issues adequately.
Secondly, you will miss out on the invaluable experience of exploring
important human questions with your peers. Finally, good education always
involves “moments of transformative insight” – moments when you suddenly
realize the material’s relevance to you, or discover some new connection, or find an illuminating piece of
information, or have an “aha!” experience, or learn a new way of looking at
things. These moments are often stimulated by mutual interaction with other
students and the teacher. Therefore, your asking questions, responding to the
material in class, and participating in discussions are crucial for effective
learning.
IMPORTANT: All academic work
must meet the standards contained in "A Culture of Honesty." All
students are responsible to inform themselves about those standards before
performing any academic work. See
http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/honesty/culture_honesty.htm
Grading Scale (100% = 400
pts)
92-100% A 90-91.9 A-
88-89.9 B+ 82-87.9 B 80-81.9 B-
78-79.9 C+ 72-77.9 C 70-71.9 C-
60-69.9 D
0-59.9 F
Consultation: I welcome the opportunity to talk with you about your
academic interests, the course
assignments, and your experience in this class, or just to chat about religion
during my office hours or by appointment. Half-way through the semester, you
also will have a chance to suggest ways of making the course a more enriching
experience for you through an anonymous midterm course evaluation. This way, I will be able to make the
needed changes during the semester. Your suggestions and feedback are always
welcome and will be taken seriously!
to the class
by the instructor may be necessary. Note that in
addition to textbook readings, you will also be receiving additional material
in the form of PowerPoint and Word files via listserv throughout the semester.
The following reading schedule does not reflect those readings.
Jan 7 Definition
of Religion; Structure of Religion, Principles of the Academic Study of
Religions. Readings: L 3 - 5 (up
to “Grouping the Religious Traditions”)
Jan 9 Religions Arising in the Mediterranean World: L 70-71; 2) Ancient
Mesopotamian religion: pp. L 76-79 (up to “Religion in Ancient Greece”)
Jan 11 Judaism: Introductory lecture FP 36-38 + handout
Week 2
Jan 14 Beginnings, Abraham, L 95-97; (up to “Exodus from Egypt”); FP 39; Video “Abraham”
Jan 16 Video “Abraham” and discussion continued;
Moses and Exodus L 97-98; FP 40-42
(up to “Mosaic Covenant”)
Jan 18 Ancient Egyptian religion; Mosaic Covenant L
73-75; FP 42-46 (up to “Conquest and United Kingdom”).
Week 3
Jan 21 MLK DAY. NO CLASS !
Jan 23 The
Promised Land and the Kingdom L
99-101; FP 46-53
Jan 25 The Prophets, Divided Kingdom, the Babylonian Exile,
and the Founding of Judaism: L 99-104
(up to “The Maccabean Revolt”), FP 60-66 (up to “Esther”)
Week 4
Jan 28 Post-exilic Judaism, Greek influences, The Maccabean
Revolt and Roman Domination; L 104-105 (up to “The Development of Rabbinic Judaism”; FP 68-75
Jan 30 The First-century
Jewish factions; the Development of Rabbinic Judaism; L 105-106 (up to “The
Making of the Talmud”); FP 75-77
(up to “Wisdom of the Fathers)
Feb 1 The Making of the Talmud, the Challenge of the
Karajaites; L 106-107 (up to
“Jewish philosophy”) FP 77-84 (up
to Medieval Judaism)
Week 5
Feb 4 Jewish Philosophy and Mysticism L 107-109 (up to Tragedy and Response in Christian Medieval
Europe); Handout
Feb 6 Anti-Semitism, Zionism, the Holocaust; L 109-111 (up to “Reform, Orthodox, Conservative,
Reconstructionist), L 113-114; K 91-92 (Zionism)
Feb 8 Modern Judaism, Branches of Judaism, Jewish Practices;
L 111-112 (from “Reform, Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist); FP 89-91 (Reform Judaism)
Week 6
Feb 11 Contemporary Jewish Thought L CHAPTER 7
Feb 13 Jewish Ethics and
Good life L CHAPTER 8
Feb 15 EXAM
I
Week 7
Feb 18 Christianity:
Its Jewish Roots; Life and Teachings of Jesus: L 143- 150 (up to “Beginnings of the Christian Church”); FP
98-101 (from “The Bible” up to Jesus’
Birth and Ministry”)
Feb 20 Video “Jesus”; FP 102-106 (up to “Sermon on the Mount”)
Feb 22 Discussion of Video and PowerPoint
material and FP 106-113 (up to
“Peter Receives the Keys”)
Week 8
Feb 25 Life
and teachings of Jesus concluded FP 113-123 (up to “New Testament Church”);
Feb 27 Early Church and Paul L 150-152; FP 123-129 (up to “Non-Canonical Gospels”)
Feb 29 Christianity in the Roman World; the Challenge of
Gnosticism L 153-154 (up to “Emperor
Constantine and Imperial Christianity”); FP 132- 141 (“from Infancy Gospel of Thomas”)
MIDPOINT WITHDRAWAL
DEADLINE TUESDAY MARCH 4
Week 9
March 3 Persecutions,
Martyrs, and Greco-Roman Heroic Ideal; FP 145-148 (up to “Jerome’s Preface to the Vulgate”)
March 5 Constantine and Imperial Christianity, Theological
Controversies and Church Councils, Monasticism L 154-156 (up to “Augustine, Bishop of Hippo”); FP 143-145
March 7 Augustine L 156-157 (up to “Medieval Christianity”); FP 149-151
MARCH 10-14 SPRING
BREAK! NO CLASS!
Week 10
March 17 Medieval Christianity: Papacy, the Great Schism,
Eastern Orthodoxy, the Crusades, Thomas Aquinas L 157-159 up to
(“Reformers, Scholastics, and Mystics”)
March 19 Medieval
Christian Mysticism and the
Beginnings of the Protestant Reformation L 159-160; FP 151(bottom)-153
March 21 Protestantism vs Catholicism; The spread of
Protestantism: L 162-164 (up to
“Struggles with Modernity”; FP 153 (bottom)-154
Week 11
March 24 Varieties of Protestantism; Struggles with Modernity; L
164-166; FP 155-160 (up to “Recent
Sectarian Movements”)
March 26 Christianity today; Christian Ritual Practices and the
Good life L Chapter 11; FP
160-168
March 28 Christian
theology L Chapter 10
Week 12
March 31 EXAM II
April 2 Islam:
Introductory lecture; No new
readings
April 4 Muslim
Beliefs L 220-224; FP 180-183
(up to “Early Prophets)
Week 13
April 7 Muslim Beliefs (cont’d) L 224-229; FP 183-187 (up to “Revealed Qur’an”); FP 193-196 (from “Jesus the Prophet” up to “Five Pillars of
Islam”)
April 9 Muslim Practices: L 230-233 (up
to “The Pilgrimage”); FP 196-199
(“Pillars of Islam and Jihad”);
April 11 Video “Mosque”; Home internet research assignment
(details TBA)
Week 14
April 14 Pilgrimage (Hajj) L 233-235 (up to “Rituals of the Passages of Life”); Video
“Hajj”.
April 16 Muslim Moral Teachings and Rituals cont’d. L
235-245; FP 188 (bottom)-191 (up to “Treatment of Women”)
April 18 Muhammad
and the Origins of Islam; L 196-200; FP 204-206 (up to “Jihad”) 188-190 (from “Hadith” to “Reciting the Qur’an”)
Week 15
April 21 Establishing Ummah in Medina; The Spread of Islam; the
Classical and Medieval Periods of Islam L 204-211 (up to “Islamic Mysticism”); L 212-214 (from “Medieval Empires” to “Reform Movements and the
Modern World”); FP 210-213
April 22 Sufism L
209-211 (up to “Religious Ideas of
Shi’ites”); FP 221 (bottom)—227; video
April 25 Islam in
the Modern Times L
214-219;
Week 16
April 27 Branches of Islam; Women in Islam FP 191-193; 214-221
FINAL EXAM (EXAM III) IS DURING THE WEEK OF
FINALS
DATE TBA