Department of Cultural and Religious Studies Chinese University of Hong Kong CURE The Study of Religion 08-9 Second Term Instructor: Dr. Chow Wai Yin ( 周惠賢博士 ) Office: KKL 306 ( 梁銶琚樓 306) Office Phone no.: 3943 45 Email: wychow@cuhk.edu.hk Lecture Time: Mon 3:30PM - 5:5PM (Lecture Time); Mon 5:30PM - 6:5PM (Tutorial Class) Venue: T.C. Cheng Bldg C4. Course Description Religion is an essential part of human culture. The study of religion is increasingly important where religious belief is a driving force behind social and political events. This course is designed to provide students an overview of the key concepts and study questions pressing in the academic study of religion (religious studies). Students are encouraged to engage these approaches in analyzing specific religious beliefs or practices during class discussions and adopt one or more of them in a term paper At the end of the course, students are expected to use the knowledge and skills acquired in the course to interpret, analyse or critique the role religion has played and continues to play in the world.. Learning outcomes After completion of the course, students are able to: Knowledge: develop familiarity with basic methods and concepts in religious studies; understand the key concepts, issues and debates in the field of academic studies of religion; Skills: discuss and reflect the roles of religion in today s world in an informed, intelligent and sensitive manner apply knowledge and skills to constructively address contemporary issues related to religion in our world today and prepare for global citizenship Attitudes: develop comparative perspective in understanding and appreciating both the similarities and the differences of worlds that humans inhabit. 3. Learning activities Lecture Interactive tutorial in /out class Lab in /out class Discussion of case 0.5 (O) Field-trip Projects Web-based teaching Other (Reflection Paper) M,O, NA M,O, NA M,O, NA M,O, NA M,O, NA M,O, NA M,O, NA M,O, NA M: Mandatory activity in the course O: Optional activity NA: Not applicable
4. Assessment Attendance and Discussion Short Quiz (MC) Presentation Reflection Paper (%) (%) (%) (%) 5 30 5 30 Attendance and Discussion (5%) You are a member of a research university, and a member of an academic learning community. You are expected to attend every class. You are allowed two unexcused absence without penalty. Missing five classes will lower your final course grade by 5% (approximately a half letter grade). Participation includes active sharing of the knowledge and skills acquired from reading materials. The sharing aims at facilitating you to reflect your own understandings of theories and skills. Open-book Short Quiz (MC) (5%) Students are asked to do 3 open-book online MC tests in the class as scheduled in the course outline. Presentation (5%) Study Focus: A critical review of chosen theories by studying the religious phenomenon of today. -3 students in a group to undertake a small research to evaluate those theories learnt in the course in terms of their usefulness for the study of religious phenomenon today. You can collect data on the topic in multiple forms such as photos, articles, leaflets, web materials, your observation notes and interviews. Start early because you cannot do this project successfully in a hurry. Each group is required to give a 0-minute in-class presentation of their study on an assigned date later in the semester. Your presentation will be assessed according to the following criteria: () application of the concepts and the theories acquired in the course; () integration of relevant information from readings, personal experiences, and additional sources of information; (3) organization and thoroughness, and (4) overall effectiveness. Reflection Paper (35%) Based on the presentation materials, write up a reflective paper to evaluate further the usefulness of the concepts and theories for the study of religion today. Essay Length: ~ 500 words (year students); ~ 3500 (year students or above). Papers will be graded according to its content, focus of argument, discussion, and academic referencing style. The main objective of this reflection paper is to have students familiarize themselves with the original source materials and the extensive literature available on the study topic. Papers should be handed in both hard and soft copy on or before 9/4 (Fri), :55pm. Late submission will be penalized: 0 marks will be deduced for one day of late submission. Submission after 0 days will be given a zero mark.
5. Course Content Week 7/ 4/ 4 / 5 8/ Topics Introduction: Overview of the Course Religion and Religious Studies: Basic Concepts Overview Why Study Religion? Chapter, The Routledge Companion to the Study of Religion. How religion Arise? What Is and Isn t Religion? Pals, Nine Theories, 5-48; Pals, Introducing Religion, -35; Kevin Schilbrack, What Isn t Religion? Journal of Religion 93 #3 (03): 98-38. Psychological Approach to the Study of Religion () - Freud: Religion and Personality Pals, Religion and Personality, chapter, Nine Theories of Religion. Psychological Approach to the Study of Religion () William James and Carl Jung Psychology of Religion Chapter 9, The Routledge Companion to the Study of Religion. *Short Quiz on Psychological Approach 4/ No Class: Lunar New Year Vacation 6 / 7 8/ 8 5/ 9 4/3 0 /3 8/3 5/3 Sociological Approach to the Study of Religion () - Peter Berger: Sacred Canopy Sociology of Religion Chapter 9, The Routledge Companion to the Study of Religion. Sociological Approach to the Study of Religion () - Durkheim: Religion as a Community Experience Pals, Society as Sacred, chapter 3, Nine Theories of Religion. Anthropological Approach to the Study of Religion - Geertz: Religion as Cultural System Pals, Religion as Cultural System, chapter 9, Nine Theories of Religion. *Short Quiz on Sociological and Anthropological Approach Phenomenological Approach to the Study of Religion () - Otto: The Ideas of Holy Otto, The Ideas of Holy, chapter 5, The Insider/Outsider Problem in the Study of Religion: A Reader. Phenomenological Approach to the Study of Religion ()- Eliade: The Sacred in the Profane Pals, The Reality of Sacred, chapter 7, Nine Theories of Religion. *Short Quiz on Phenomenological Approach Presentation : Religious Theories Review () Topic : Religion makes people Happiness? Topic : Religion makes people more Collective? Presentation : Religious Theories Review () Topic 3: Religion and Culture are closely Related? Topic 4: Religion is a Cultural Practice? 3 /4 Reading Week: No Class 3
4 8/4 5 5/4 Presentation 3: Religious Theories Review (3) Topic 5: The Role of Religion helps people experice Sacred / Transcendent? Topic 6: Religion helps people experience Extraordinary in Ordinary Life? Conclusion and Academic Advising on Reflection Paper 6. Guidelines for Presentation and Reflection Paper: All Online 7. Feedback for evaluation End-of-term university course evaluation will be conducted in class. Students comments and feedback on the course through e-mails or personal meeting with the instructor are always welcomed. 8. Facility for Posting Course Announcements Related course materials are delivered via the platform Moodle (http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/elearning/) 9. Academic honesty and plagiarism Students must submit their papers in soft copy via VeriGuide. Relevant information on academic honesty and plagiarism can be allocated at: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty. When you use other writer s ideas or findings, you are advised to represent them in your own words. Simply copying of full sentences or parts of sentences from the source article is not allowed. 0. References Books: Boyer, Pascal. Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought. New York: Basic books, 00. *Hinnells, John. The Routledge Companion to the Study of Religion. Routlege, 00. Pals, Daniel. Introducing Religion: Readings From the Classic Theorists. Oxford University Press, 009. *Pals, Daniel. Nine Theories of Religion. Oxford: Oxford University, 05. Strenski, Ivan. Thinking About Religion, An Introduction to Theories of Religion. Blackwell Publishing, 006. Articles: Arnal, William E. Definition, in Guide to the Study of Religion, Willi Braun and Russell T. McCutcheon, eds. London: Cassell: 000, pp. -34. Brashier, K.E. The early Chinese endeavor to interpret early Chinese religions, in Oxford Handbooks Online. New York: Oxford University Press, 05. Braun, Willi. Religion, in Guide to the Study of Religion, Willi Braun and Russell T. McCutcheon, eds. London: Cassell: 000, pp. 3-8. Collins, Francis S. The origins of the universe and Life on earth: Of microbes and man, in The Language of God: A Scientist Present Evidence for Belief. New York: Free Press, 006: 57-84, 85-07. Dawkins, Richard. The roots of religion, in The God Delusion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 006, pp. 6-07. Forman, Robert K.C. Introduction: Mysticism, constructivism, and forgetting, in The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 990, pp. 3-49. Knott, Kim. Insider/outsider perspectives, in The Routledge Companion to the Study of Religion. London: Routledge, 005, pp. 43-58. Orsi, Robert A. Introduction, in The Cambridge Companion to Religious Studies, Robert A. Orsi, ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 0, pp.-3. Orsi, Robert A. The problem of the holy, in The Cambridge Companion to Religious Studies, Robert A. Orsi, ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 0, pp. 84-05. Penner, Hans H. Interpretation, in Guide to the Study of Religion, Willi Braun and Russell T. McCutcheon, eds. London: Cassell: 000, pp. 57-7. Proudfoot, Wayne. Explanation, in Religious Experience. Berkeley, CA: University of California, 985, pp. 90-7. 4
Sharpe, Eric J. The antecedents of comparative religion, in Comparative Religion: A History. London: Duckworth, 986, pp. -6. 5