RS316U - History of Religion in the U.S. 25% Persuasive Essay Peer Editors:

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1 Tuesday/Thursday: 2:00pm-3:15pm Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 2:00pm to 3:00pm and by appointment Course Description This course explores religious creativity in the United States as a contact zone in the American hemisphere. We will look at how Americans made sense of different religious traditions that they came into contact with over the course of Greater America s five-hundred-year history of cultural cross-pollination. From a broad reading of these contact points, we will develop an understanding of how the systems of U.S. secularism and denominationalism structured contact between religious groups and how new religious movements emerged in response to that contact. With a focus on religious practices, we will consider the traditions of Buddhism, indigenous American religions, charismatic Protestant and Catholic Christianity, African diasporic religion, American folk spiritualties, and Islam. Course Objectives By the end of the course, students should be able to do the following. Recognize the major historical forces that contributed to the structure of religious diversity in the Americas. Describe key sacred narratives and practices of various American religious traditions. Assess the conditions for religious freedom in the contemporary United States. Evaluate the role that religion plays in American national identities. Texts You must purchase these books. Any edition is acceptable. Esquivel, Laura. Malinche. New York: Atria Books, Fire, John. Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions. New York: Simon and Schuster, Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. New York: Viking Press, Porterfield, Amanda. The Power of Religion: A Comparative Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, Assignments 25% Persuasive Essay You will write a 1000-word persuasive essay. All students will write an essay for the first round, due February 14th. If you earn an A, you receive full credit for this portion of your grade and are not required to write any additional essays. If you earn less than an A, you must write an essay in the second round. There will be four rounds total. If at any point you earn an A, you are excused from writing additional essays and will receive full credit. If you do not earn an A by the final round, your grade will be the average score of your combined essays. Peer Editors: Any student who earns full credit can, in future rounds, serve as a peer editor for other students. Peer editors will ask other students if they would like their help. If they agree, the peer editor helps the other student improve their essays according to instructions that will be provided to you. Peer editors receive one percentage point of extra credit for reviewing a paper draft and an additional point if the paper receives a higher grade than essays from previous rounds from the same student. Each student can review or be reviewed by only one peer editor per round.

2 25% Choose Your Own Assignment In the second week, you will choose one of the following roles to play throughout the semester. Each role has its own set of assignments, all of which amount to roughly the same amount of total work time. You cannot switch roles after your decision in the second week. Critic Write 500 word reviews for the two novels we will read as well as one additional novel or movie selected in consultation with the instructor. Investigative Reporter Conduct research and write an investigative report (as would appear in a newspaper) on a local or national topic relevant to American religion. Final project will be the report. Archival Researcher Conduct archival research on a topic relevant to American religion at a local archive. Final project will be a report on your findings. Ethnographer Conduct participant observation at a religious site and interview two to three practitioners. Final project will be an ethnographic narrative that describes your informants religious lives. Lawyer You will be given a choice of three hypothetical cases to take involving American religious freedom. Research the relevant laws, summarize rulings in previous cases, and recommend a strategy. Final project will be a closing argument. 10% Reading Responses This course requires that you spend up to six hours reading per week. Throughout the semester you will be asked to write responses to the readings in class followed by discussion. Credit will be earned based first on your comprehension of the readings and then on your contribution to the discussion. 15% Midterm 25% Final Exam Each exam will be designed to measure your comprehension of the material. The final will focus on the second half of the course but also be partially cumulative. Policies Attendance is required. Each unexcused absence reduces a student s final grade by one full percentage point. Requests for excused absences must arrive before the end of the class period; absences cannot be retroactively excused. Laptops, tablets, and cell phones are not permitted in class. If a student uses one of these items during class, they will be marked absent for that day.

3 Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Any form of dishonesty will result in a zero for that assignment. Your case will also be submitted to the university for disciplinary review. Flag for Cultural Diversity in the United States This course carries the flag for Cultural Diversity in the United States. Cultural Diversity courses are designed to increase your familiarity with the variety and richness of the American cultural experience. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from assignments covering the practices, beliefs, and histories of at least one U.S. cultural group that has experienced persistent marginalization. Religious Holy Days By UT-Austin policy, you must notify me of your pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss a class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project in order to observe a religious holy day, I will give you an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence. University of Texas Honor Code The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the university is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community. Each student in this course is expected to abide by the University of Texas Honor Code. Any work submitted by a student in this course for academic credit will be the student's own work. Documented Disability Statement Any student with a documented disability who requires academic accommodations should contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at (512) (voice) or (video phone). Faculty are not required to provide accommodations without an official accommodation letter from SSD. Please notify me as quickly as possible if the material being presented in class is not accessible (e.g., instructional videos need captioning, course packets are not readable for proper alternative text conversion, etc.). Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL) If you are worried about someone who is acting differently, you may use the Behavior Concerns Advice Line to discuss by phone your concerns about another individual s behavior. This service is provided through a partnership among the Office of the Dean of Students, the Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC), the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and The University of Texas Police Department (UTPD). Call or visit Schedule Week 1: Introductions January 17 Course Overview and Expectations January 19 Religious History of the Greater Americas

4 Part 1: Contact Zones Week 2: Spanish Colonial Contact January 24 Moctezuma and the Aztecah. Reading: Malinche; The Power of Religion, pp. ix-xii, 3-4, 83. January 26 Spanish Catholicism. Reading: Malinche. Week 3: British Colonial Contact January 31 Metacomet and the Wampanoah. February 2 The Church of England. Week 4: Atlantic Slave Trade February 7 Christian attitudes toward chattel slavery. February 9 Slave Religion. Part 2: Enduring Structures Week 5: Secularism and Liberal Democracy Persuasive Essay, Round 1 (Due: February 14) February 14 Secularization in American Democracy. February 16 The French Revolution and Laïcité. Week 6: Denominationalism February 21 The peculiar arrangement of U.S. religions. February 23 Protestantization. Week 7: 19 th Century Capitalism February 28 From Wealth to Capital to Capitalism. March 2 The Making of American Christmas. Week 8: 20 th Century Capitalism March 7 Religion and Economy in the American Century. March 9 Midterm. Midterm (In class, March 9) Week 9 Spring Break (Read The Dharma Bums) Part 3: Diversity, Pluralism, and Creativity Week 10: Buddhism Persuasive Essay, Round 2 (Due: March 21) March 21 The World s Parliament of Religions. Reading: The Dharma Bums; The Power of Religion, chs. 6 & 12. March 23 American Dharma. Reading: No reading. In class discussion of The Dharma Bums.

5 Week 11: Lakota Religion March 28 Ghost Dance. Reading: Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions, chs. 2 and 5; The Power of Religion, ch. 7 March 30 American Indian Religion. Reading: Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions, chs Week 12: Remade in America: Christian Traditions April 4 Mormonism. April 6 Roman Catholicism. Reading: The Power of Religion, ch. 2 Week 13: Remade in America: Christian Practices April 11 Marjoe. April 13 Prosperity Gospels. Persuasive Essay, Round 3 (Due: April 11) Week 14: Africa-Inspired Religions April 18 Garveyism. April 20 Vodou and Santería. Week 15: Metaphysical and American Folk Religion April 25 Spiritualism. April 27 Vampires, Wiccans, Goddesses, and the New Age. Week 16: Islam May 2 Sunni, Shia, and the Nation. Reading: The Power of Religion, chs. 4 & 10. May 4 New Muslim Cool. Reading: The Power of Religion, pp Persuasive Essay, Round 4 (Due: May 4) Final Exam: May 12 (Friday) 9:00am 12:00pm