PHL 202: Introduction to Religious Studies. Credits: 4. Instructor: David Scott Arnold, Ph.D.

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1 PHL 202: Introduction to Religious Studies Credits: 4 Instructor: David Scott Arnold, Ph.D. arnoldd@onid.orst.edu I. COURSE DESCRIPTION Introduction to the methods employed in the study of human encounter with the sacred, exploring the many forms and styles of religious behavior and thought throughout history, with special attention given to the significance of myths, beliefs and the rise of science. II. EXTENDED COURSE DESCRIPTION In this class, the student will be introduced to the academic field(s) of religion, particularly through the methods of interpretation refined by the disciplines of religion and literature, the history of religion, and the comparative study of religion. The objective of the course is to explore how scholars have gone about studying homo religiosus, the creature who encounters the Sacred, and how this encounter has been known throughout history, and altered, forgotten or dismissed through the challenges of late modernity. The root of the word religion probably comes from religio, relegare,meaning to knit or bind together. So at a water-table level, this class will study the resources refined by scholars of religion for exploring ways of connecting the profane and the sacred, myth and history, then and now, brokenness and wholeness, wasteland and paradise, despair and hope, time and timelessness, and us with each other (individual and community). Students will be challenged to understand the ways in which religious traditions came into existence, developed throughout history, formulated belief systems, and engaged in worship rituals to connect with the sacred, in order that reality s worth might be known and trusted on a regular basis. The texts and essays selected for required reading will offer resources for exploring the purpose, need and significance of the academic study of religion.. III. Texts and Essays and one Online Site The following paperback texts are required for the course; the three essays are available on Blackboard; the online site. A brief blurb is here provided on each: Three books to purchase: Michael Barnes, In the Presence of Mystern: An Introduction to the Story of Human Religiousness (Third edition, Revised and Expanded, 2003) A favorite through the years in many universities, this college text has served well the beginning student s need to understand the active role humankind has played in th development of religion from primitive times to the present. 1

2 Iris Murdoch, The Bell (a novel) Of Murdoch s quest for the Good, Elizabeth Dipple says, finally, that Murdoch s is a theurgic universe. In her twenty-six novels, we rarely find saints, but almost always pilgrims on the way to an apprehension of the good life. A reading of The Bell will reveal the degree to which we all are "entissued" in webs of moral significance that cannot finally be separated from the nature and potential quality of life lived. Karen Armstrong, A Short History of Myth A small, accessible book exploring the significance of myth for the history of human consciousness, authored by one who is able to bridge from the specialized academic to the inquiring undergraduate student the merit of religious studies. Silko s Ceremony will render this mythic dimension meaningfully for our course (see below) Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony (a novel) While at Yale, I remember the day I was taken by a friend to the Beinecke Rare Book Library to view one of the surviving Gutenberg Bibles. Just ninety degrees to one side of that huge, two volume Bible under glass was another display. Not recognizing the brown paper manuscript, I asked my friend, What s this? She replied, almost in a reverential whisper, It s the manuscript of Ceremony. Keep the contrast in mind: one text famous for putting stories into print, the other famous for portraying in the form of a novel the story-making capacities of the human spirit. Herself a breed like her hero Tayo (part Mexican-American, part Caucasian, part Laguna Pueblo), Silko writes with astonishing power about the significance of mother earth and our common need to feel connected to what matters most through stories and ceremonies. Our study of this novel will put flesh and blood into the skeletal structure layed out by Armstrong s argument (see above) that the history of myth is the history of humanity. Three EXTRA CREDIT essays (not to purchase: they are available on our Blackboard site) Diana L. Eck, What is Pluralism (a three paragraph statement of purpose) for The Pluralism Project From Diversity to Pluralism Both of Eck s writings may be found on the Home Page of The Pluralism Project found at: togethere with the following introductory statement: In the past forty years, immigration has dramatically changed the religious landscape of the United States. Today, the encounter between people of different religious traditions takes place in our own cities and neighborhoods. In 1991, the Pluralism Project at Harvard University began a pioneering study of America's changing religious landscape. Through an expanding network of affiliates, we document the contours of our multireligious society, explore new forms of interfaith engagement, and study the impact of religious diversity in civic life. In 2000, we expanded our study of pluralism to other multi-religious societies. 2

3 Lynn Ross-Bryant, Human Experience and the Sacred This essay lays out luminary scholars, including Paul Tillich, Gerardus van der Leeuw, Mircea Eliade and Rudolph Otto, who have contributed useful definitions for religion and the Sacred, definitions that will inform our study throughout the course. The recent film phenomenon, Avatar, may present an immediate illustration of these definitions, and we may choose to discuss the movie in this course if there is expressed interest. Wendy Doniger (O Flaherty), Inside and Outside the Mouth of God Doniger, one of the foremost scholars in myth studies (and a central expert of Hinduism) holds the Eliade Chair in the History of Religions at The University of Chicago Divinity School. This essay brings tradition, myth, ritual and the secular West to bear on current issues in religious studies. ***Exams are proctored*** Be sure to send in your proctoring form at the beginning of the term! For information about and setting up your proctor, please go to the Extended Campus website: or IV. LEARNING OUTCOMES 1. Define more clearly one s own position on theology, spirituality and morality. 2. Understand and explain the history and methods used in the academic study of religion. (Barnes is a most inviting course textbook surveying such history and methods) 3. Examine the practices and values in the spiritualities of some of the major Western and Eastern religious traditions, noting the merit of Diana Eck s scholarship embodied in The Pluralism Project at Harvard University. 4. Experience practices of some wisdom traditions such as community rituals, personal reflective prayer, contemplation and meditation. 5. Appreciate the diversity and richness that exists in wisdom traditions other than one s own. Let me say this another way: my goal is to help us interpret forms of exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism (Diana Eck s schema) in written work, media encounters (this is the class where we can talk about religious and mythic meanings in Avatar!), and online classroom discussion. This means that the course will study comparative methods of interpretation used by the academy to understand religious diversity. 3

4 V. Assessment and Evaluation 1. Discussion Board. Be involved in our online class environment. For this class, guiding questions for each week s readings will initiate discussion for weekly postings in the Discussion Board. All students will commit to thoughtful reflection of the assigned readings, the initial questions, and the issues raised by one another in discussion of the week s material. It is important, to say this another way, for all students to participate in the critical discourse necessary for the life of a class through willingness to dialogue, to interpret and reinterpret the texts, and the growing body of discussion over the life of this class. This is why the Discussion Board dimension for an Ecampus course is so vital... Blackboard participation is worth 20% of the overall grade. 2. Examinations. There will be two, a midterm and a final. Both will include short answer, matching, true/false, short essay, covering material (lectures, readings, films, Blackboard discussion) of the course. There will be significant time given over for review of the exams prior to each exam. Indeed, I will try to provide sample questions in various formats to help all prepare adequately. The midterm is worth 25% of your overall grade, the final 40%. The final is not cumulative, but covers only the material since the midterm. The Essay Question Options will be posted days before the Final to help with preparation. You will receive 5 points (5% of your overall grade) simply by securing a proctor for the midterm exam (see information above). These exams are proctored. No proctor, no exam, no pass. Please see the schedule below to note when the exam window is open for each test. 3. Written Assignments. There will be five basic written single-page assignments, all of which will be announced a week before each is due, to be submitted no later than the following Thursday; each is worth 3 % of the overall grade (15% in all). These written assignments MUST be submitted in rtf. or word.doc or docx format.. Grading profile: 20 % Discussion Board participation 15 % Written Assignments 25 % Midterm exam 40 % Final exam 100 Course Total VI. TEACHING PHILOSOPHY AND METHODOLOGY Students will look at the values, history, beliefs, practices, and drawbacks of the world's great religions. The methods will include posted lecture notes, Blackboard discussions, writing, reading of texts, viewings of films, engaging in current news events, hopefully 4

5 listening to believers of different spiritual traditions. The material of this class invites each person to analyze from her or his own experience of encounter with those of other religious traditions. It may surprise you to hear that we shall be as much about the asking of the right questions as about the possibility of satisfactory answers. The heart of the course: to develop an empathy and understanding for religious traditions similar to and different from one s own. Students will need to listen critically, ask questions, evaluate their own thinking and that of others. Films and images from eastern and western traditions will be made available throughout the term (the films are listed on the syllabus below). The course is so designed that the texts will profoundly inform week-to-week involvement in our Discussion Board postings, so read each slowly and well. VII. University Standards and Requirements for Class: 1. Writing Standards: All academic papers written should be presented in an organized, coherent form that reflects critical thinking and fosters the creation of understanding. All academic papers should reflect a careful observance of conventional standards of grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation. Any portions of your paper that are not your original thoughts should be documented using the appropriate format. XIII. Course Syllabus: Quarterly as of Spring 2010 Dr. David Scott Arnold Week 1 Introduction of Instructor, Students, Goals and Overview Starting out in Religious Studies: Lynn Ross-Bryant, Human Experience and the Sacred (Blackboard) The Numinous in Primitive and Archaic Religions (Barnes, Ch 1) Religion and Literature:Introductory thoughts on Silko s Ceremony Homework Assignment One: Why the buzz about the film Avatar? Week 2 The Origin and Function of Belief in the Numinous (Barnes, Ch 2) Armstrong, A Short History of Myth God and Other Ultimates in Historic Religions (Barnes, Ch 3) Homework Assignment Two Week 3 Film: Heritage: Civilization and the Jews (narrator is Abba Eban) The Human Basis of Belief in an Ultimate (Barnes, Ch 4) Paul Tillich, Religion as a Dimension of Man s Spiritual Life Week 4 Perspectives on Religion: Reality as It Should Be (Barnes, Ch 5) Psychological and Religious Signicance of Belonging (Barnes, Ch 6) Identity: A True and Worthy Selfhood (Barnes, Ch 7) Homework Assignment Three 5

6 Proctored Midterm Exam (exam will be available from Thursday morning at 8:00 a.m. of Week Four through Monday evening at 10:00 p.m. of Week Five check with your proctor to set up a time) Week 5 Armstrong, A Short History of Myth Religion and Morality (Barnes, Ch 8) Homework Assignment Four Week 6 Tradition: Leaders, Texts, Interpretations (Barnes, Ch 9) Film: There Is No God but God (this is a good film on Islam) Crucial Lecture on Historical background of Western monotheisms Week 7 Living Images: Ritual and Symbol (Barnes, Ch 10) Silko, Ceremony Armstrong, A Short History of Myth Week 8 Interrelations of Faith and Reason (Barnes, Ch 11) Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony Week 9 Science and Secularity (Barnes, Ch 12) Armstrong, A Short History of Myth, conclusion Twentieth Century Skeptical Humanisms (Barnes, Ch 13) Week 10 Modern Religion: In the Presence of Mystery (Barnes, Ch 14) Silko, Ceremony, last third; Course Conclusions, Review Amanda Porterfield, wrapping our course with her view of the current state of religion in America: neotraditionalism, liberalism, and postmodernism Homework Assignment Five: Now What May Be Seen in Avatar? Week 11 Final Exam Proctored Final Exam (exam will be available for five days--from Sunday noon [beginning of Week Eleven] through Wednesday evening of Finals Week--check with your proctor to set up a time) PLAGIARISM You are expected to submit your own work in all your assignments, postings to the discussion board, and other communications, and to clearly give credit to the work of others when you use it. Academic dishonesty will result in a grade of F. Link to Statement of Expectations for Student Conduct: 6

7 DISABILITIES If you have a documented disability and need accommodations, please consult with your instructor at the beginning of the term. Course content will be made available to you in an accessible format upon your request. Accommodations are collaborative efforts between students, faculty and Disability and Access Services (DAS). Students with accommodations approved through DAS are responsible for contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or during the first week of the term to discuss accommodations. Students who believe they are eligible for accommodations but who have not yet obtained approval through DAS should contact DAS immediately at COURSE EVALUATION We encourage you to engage in the course evaluation process each term online, of course. The evaluation form will be available toward the end of each term, and you will be sent instructions by Ecampus. You will login to Student Online Services to respond to the online questionnaire. The results on the form are anonymous and are not tabulated until after grades are posted. 7