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Prof. Mary Suydam |
Merriam Webster Online Dictionary |
| The Bible Unbound | |
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Class: MWF 1:10 - 2 PM |
LBIS Consort: Course Reserves and E-RES |
| The Bible on the Web | |
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Phone PBX 5067 |
McGraw-Hill Power Web |
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Ten Commandments for Essay Writing |
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Office: Ascension 309 |
Twenty Rules Not to Follow |
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Film Viewing Guidelines |
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Office Hours: T- W - TH 10 - 12 |
The Academic Study of Religion |
| Defining Religion | |
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Email: suydam@kenyon.edu |
The Seven Dimensions of Religion |
| Symbolism | |
| Myth |
Timelines and Glossaries
The aim of this course is to enable you to think clearly and critically, from an academic rather than a devotional perspective, about the various human phenomena that we call "religious". The academic study of religion takes a global and pluralistic approach, looking at religion critically while attempting to understand religious phenomena from the perspectives of participants. Learning the ways in which scholars attempt this "double stance" - critical yet empathetic - is a major goal of this course.
A second major goal of this course is to introduce you to some of the basic concepts and categories that are used by scholars in the academic study of religion. The major categories that we will study this semester are: IDENTITY, , MYTH, MORALITY (or ethics), in terms of both INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETY, RITUAL, and the SACRED.
These concepts do not exist in an abstract vacuum but were created as tools to understand specific religious phenomena. Therefore, a third major goal of the course is to introduce you to some of the major religious traditions and to see how these concepts help us to understand these traditions better. The traditions that we will survey this semester are Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism. In our study, we will learn 1) some of the basic worldviews of each tradition, 2) how the traditions have developed historically, and 3) how religion shapes and is shaped by cultures.
Course Requirements
This course is structured as a collaborative exchange of information between students and professor. The format of the class is a combination of lecture and discussion. Active discussion of the topics is a critical component of this class. Missing more than two classes or two weekly assignments will lower your final grade by one full point (B becomes C, for example). Grades will be based upon:
There will be weekly writing assignments each week to aid in preparing for discussions of the texts. Because critical reading of the texts is so important, you will be assigned a study partner for this class. Reading and assignments will be done as a partnership. Some writing will be in-class; some will be done outside of class and brought to the class. Assignments will be posted below. For Power Web codes, click here.
Refer to Guidelines for Short Papers
Texts
Required:
Margaret Huff and Ann K. Wetherilt, Religion: A Search for Meaning. Boston: McGraw Hill 2005.
Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X. NY: Ballantine Books.
Barbara Miller, trans., The Bhagavad Gita.
John S. Strong, The Experience of Buddhism. 2nd
Edition. (Belmont, California, Wadsworth Publishing: 2001
The Bible: New Advent Library (Note: You may use your own copy of the Bible, or download sections you need from
the Online Bible listed on the course website)
Course Outline
UNIT ONE: IDENTITY AND COMMUNITY
Week 1: Aug. 29, 31, Sept. 2: Intro to class; the academic study of religion.
Readings:
Huff, Religion: A Search for Meaning, chapter 1
The Autobiography of Malcolm X, selected chapters
Film: Inside Mecca
Power Web #10: E.S.C. Handy, Religion and Education in Ancient Hawaiian Civilization
Power Web #11: John Charlot, The Hula in Hawaiian Life and Thought
Week 2: Sept. 5, 7, 9: Identity and Community: Symbols
Readings:
The Autobiography of Malcolm X, selected chapters
Huff, Religion: A Search for Meaning, chapter 2
Film: Inside Mecca
Power Web: #9, Veve: The Sacred Symbol of Vodoun
Click here to see some Veve images
Week 3: Sept. 12, 14, 16: Identity and Community: Ritual
Readings:
Autobiography of Malcolm X, chapters 16-17
Huff, Religion: A Search for Meaning, chapter 3
Film: Malcolm X
Tom Driver, "Transformation: The Magic of Ritual" (E-Res)
Power Web #3: The Adaptive Value of Religious Ritual
Test 1: Islam
UNIT TWO: MYTH
Week 4: Sept. 19, 21, 23: Myth; Hinduism
Film: 330 Million Gods
Readings:
Huff, Religion: A Search for Meaning, chapter 7
Cunningham, "The Language of the Sacred", Sacred Quest, (E-Res)
Power Web #5: "Sun Mother Wakes the World"
Genesis, chapters 1-2
Week 5: Sept. 26, 28, 30: Myth in Hinduism
Readings:
Huff, Religion: A Search for Meaning, chapter 4
Bhagavad Gita, chapters 1-4, 5-9
Eliade, "The Structure of Myth" (E-Res)
The Parade of Ants (E-Res)
UNIT THREE: ETHICS
Week 6: Oct. 3, 5, 7: Hinduism
Readings:
Huff, Religion: A Search for Meaning, chapter 5
Bhagavad Gita, chapters 10-14
Film: Puja
Test 2: Hinduism
Class Insights: Myth and the Parade of Ants
----------- OCTOBER BREAK ------------
Week 7: October 12, 14: Buddhism
Film: Footprint of the Buddha-
Readings:
Strong, The Experience of Buddhism, chapter 1 and pages 88-102
Power Web #16: The Beginnings of Buddhism
Strong, The Experience of Buddhism, pages 76-83
Huff, Religion: A Search for Meaning, chapter 6
Paper Topics Due
Week 8: October 17, 19, 21: Mahayana Buddhism
Readings:
Huff, Religion: A Search for Meaning, chapter 9
Strong, The Experience of Buddhism, pages 146-151, 161-175
Power Web #17: The Sacred is Complete Emptiness
Test 3: Buddhism
UNIT FOUR: THE SACRED
Week 9: Oct. 24, 26, 28: Christianity
Readings:
Huff, Religion: A Search for Meaning, chapter 10
Otto, The Idea of the Holy, chapter 1, pages 1-40 (Course Reserve)
Matthew 1:18 - 2:23; chapters 5 - 7; 24:29-35; 25: 31-46; 27:11 - 28: 20 John, chapter 1; Mark 14-16
The Death of Joseph (E-Res)
Film: Protestant Spirit USA
Paper Bibliographies Due
Week 10: Oct. 31, Nov. 2, 4: Christianity and the Afterlife
Readings:
Huff, Religion: A Search for Meaning, chapter 12
Romans chapters 5-7; 1 Corinthians 15; 1 Thessalonians 4-5
Power Web #63: Resuscitating Passion
Martin Luther, The Three Walls of the Romanists (The Second Wall)
Irenaeus of Lyons on the Apostolic Tradition
Test 4: Christianity
Week 11: Nov. 7, 9, 11: The Sacred: Judaism
Readings:
Huff, Religion: A Search for Meaning: review pages 248-260, 267-8; chapter 11
Genesis 28: 10-22; Deuteronomy 28: 1-25; 30: 1-30
Papers Due Friday, November 11
UNIT FIVE: PUTTING IT TOGETHER: IDENTITY AND COMMUNITY, MYTH, ETHICS, THE SACRED
Week 12: Nov. 14, 16, 18: Putting it Together: Holiness, Community, and Society: Judaism and Islam
Readings:
Exodus 2-20
America the Beautiful Go Down Moses
For the Strength of the Hills
Go Down Moses, another version
Exodus clipWednesday:
The Stations of the Cross: Catholic Encyclopedia Online
Stations of the Cross: Some Observations
Friday:
Power Web #29: The Politics of Holiness in Jerusalem
Power Web #44: The Dome of the Rock: Jerusalem's Epicenter (use search engine to find)
Power Web #39: Politics at Prayer
Jerusalem: Where Heaven and Earth Meet
THANKSGIVING BREAK
Week 13: Nov. 28, 30, Dec. 2: Putting it Together: Holiness, Community, and Society: Hinduism
Monday: Film: Excerpts from the Mahabharata
Signup sheet to discuss papers
Readings:
Power Web #13: "Seeing the Sacred"
Power Web #15: "The Sacred is the One True Reality of Brahman"
What is Puja? Smithsonian Guide
Some Observations on Brook's film
For Friday: Assignment 9
Week 14: Dec. 5, 7, 9 12: Putting it Together: Holiness, Community and Society: Buddhism
Monday, Dec. 5: Film: Mandala: the Sacred Circle of Vajrabhairava
Readings: (Wednesday, December 7)
Strong, Experience of Buddhism, 251-266
Dalai Lama's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, 10 December 1989 Dalai Lama: Words of Truth Poem
Buddhist pilgrimage: the Bodhi Tree Mt. Kailasa, Tibet Reading: Strong, Experience of Buddhism, 219-223, 236-41 (Friday, Dec. 9) Friday, Dec. 9: Assignment 10 Final Exam handed out in class Monday, Dec. 12.. Take-home portion will be due at the beginning of the in-class exam, December 18 or 20.
Exam dates: Alternate exam: Sunday, December 18, 12-2 PM . Regularly scheduled exam: Tuesday, December 20, 9:00 AM. Both exams will be held in the regular classroom, Ascension 201.
