Religion and Conflict RLG 6938 Tuesday 5:00 pm 7:45 pm CPR 472 Fall 2017 Instructor: Dr. Adib Farhadi Office: CPR 468E Office Hours: Tuesday 3pm-5pm Email: farhadi@usf.edu (please use Canvas for course related communication) Course Description: After the tragic events of 9/11, religious related violence have been in the forefront of the U.S. led war on terrorism policy discourse. The complex relationship between religion and conflict has been a central theme in western policy responses to terrorism and is one of the most critical issues of our modern times. This transdisciplinary course will critically examine the paradoxical and intricate relationship between religion and conflict both conceptually and empirically in the 21th century. Since religious related violence is not unique to a particular religion or a geographic area, we will examine religion and conflict across different religious traditions from around the globe. But particular attention will be given to Islam, Middle East (Afghanistan) and North Africa as they relate to terrorism, insurgency, and the relationship between politics and religion. The course is designed to explore beneath the waterline to familiarize students with analytical examination of how critical factors such culture, ethnicity, ideology, tribalism, ethics, economics and regional geopolitics play a crucial role in exacerbating or mitigating conflict. Through classroom lectures, reading assignments, discussions, in-depth practitioner s case studies and guest speakers we will focus on better understanding the relationship between religion and conflict. The course will use weekly current real-life case studies to examine religious related violence, global trends in religion and conflict, peacebuilding, post-war reconciliation as well as strategies for effectively reducing violent conflict. Students will accumulate new knowledge, insights, and thinking that will help them understand the complex relationship between religion and conflict in the 21st century.
Course Objectives: To provide an awareness and understanding of the complexity of religion and conflict Familiarize students with factors such as culture, politics, ethnicity, tribalism and economics that exacerbate or mitigate conflict. How to apply key lessons from case studies to understanding the complex relationship between religion and conflict. Provide students with the analytic skills needed to assess the potential for measurable and lasting impact. Develop critical thinking and writing skills by writing short-papers that analyze both conceptually and empirically based on case studies the relationship between religion and conflict. Requirements: Required Textbooks: All required books, listed below, are available through the university bookstore. 1. Appleby, R. Scott, The Ambivalence of the Sacred, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Lanham, MD 2000. ISBN 0-847685543 2. Armstrong, Karen. Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence. Alfred. A. Knopf, New York, 2014. ISBN 9780307957047 3. Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, 3rd ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003. ISBN: 13: 9780520240117 Additional required readings will be available on Canvas. Students are encouraged to print the readings and bring to class for reference and discussion. Grading: Final grade for the course will be based on the following: 1. Class Participation 20% - The success of this course depends on respectful, informed and analytical participation. 2. Analytical Papers 60% - Each student will write 1-2 page analytical paper after each session based on readings and class discussion. The student can choose a theme or an idea from the readings and write a critical analysis that he/she finds particularly essential to the discourse. The criteria of assessment will be clarity of writing style, proper academic referencing, developing a logical and analytical structure. The papers will be discussed at the beginning of each class and based on comments and feedback the student are able to revise their paper.
3. Final Paper 10% - The final paper is due by December 5. The final paper will consist of the 1-2 page analytical papers written throughout the semester with the addition of an introduction and conclusion. 4. Presentation 10% - Each student will be required to make a 10-15 minute presentation of their semester paper. 5. No Final Exam Grade Table 93-100 % = A 90-92 % = A- 87-89 % = B+ 83-86 % = B 80-82 % = B- 77-79 % = C+ 73-76 % = C 70-72 % = C- 67-69 % = D+ 60-66 % = D Below 60 % = F Policies: Syllabus: Week 1 August 22 Introduction to the course. Living in post-9/11 View during class: 1. "WTC: The First 24 Hours 2. Grimm, Brian, The Numbers of Religious Freedom 3. Is religion to blame for violence? UpFront Week 2 August 29 Conceptualizing religion and conflict 1. Samuel Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations?" Foreign Affairs 2. Juergensmeyer, Mark. Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, (Preface and Chapter 1 Terror and God) 3. Armstrong, Karen. Fields of Blood, (Introduction)
Week 3 September 5 Conceptualizing religion and conflict (cont.) 1. Appleby, R. Scott. The Ambivalence of the Sacred, (Introduction, Chapter 1 The Growing End of an Argument and Chapter 3 Violence as a Sacred Duty: Patterns of Religious Extremism) Week 4 September 12 What is Religious Peacebuilding? 1. The Imam and the Pastor, 2006, 40 min documentary, Journeyman Films, directed by Alan Channer, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfh85k4nfv0 2. Appleby, R. Scott. The Ambivalence of the Sacred, (Chapter 8 Ambivalence as Opportunity: Strategies for Promoting Religious Peacebuilding. 3. Juergensmeyer, Mark. Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, (Chapter 11 The Mind of God) 4. Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Conflict Resolution and Religion: Toward A Model of Interreligious Peacebuilding, Journal of Peace Research 38, no. 6 (November). 5. Harvard Business School Case Study: Negotiating the Path of Abraham Week 5 September 19 Abrahamic Religions - Judaism and Conflict 1. Juergensmeyer, Mark. Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, (Chapter 3 Zion Betrayed) 2. Armstrong, Karen. Fields of Blood, (Chapter 4 The Hebrew Dilemma) 3. Perliger, Arie. Comparative Framework for Understanding Jewish and Christian Violent Fundamentalism, Religions 2015, 6, 1033 1047. 4. Aran, Gideon & Hassner, Ron. Religion Violence in Judaism: Past and Present Terrorism and Political Violence Vol. 25, Iss. 3,2013 Week 6 September 26 Abrahamic Religions Christianity and Conflict
1. Juergensmeyer, Mark. Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, (Chapter 2 Soldiers for Christ) 2. Armstrong, Karen. Fields of Blood, (Chapter 5 Jesus: Not of This World?) 3. Volf, Mirolsav. Christianity and Violence, Boardman Lectureship in Christian Ethics, Department of Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania. 3-1-2002 Northern Ireland Case Study 1. Northern Ireland: Religion in War and Peace. Religion and Conflict Case Study Series. Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, Georgetown University, August 2013 Waco Case Study 1. Brown, Mattew. Lesson from Waco: Religion matters when dealing with the nonconventional, Desert News. April 18, 2013 Week 7 October 3 Abrahamic Religions Islam and Conflict 1. Juergensmeyer, Mark. Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, (Chapter 4 Islam s Neglected Duty) 2. Armstrong, Karen. Fields of Blood, (Chapter 7 The Muslim Dilemma) 3. Toft, Monica Duffy. Getting Religion? The Puzzling Case of Islam and Civil War, International Security, April 2015 4. Esposito, John. Islam and Political Violence, Religions 2015, 6(3), 1067-1081 Week 8 October 10 Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Conflict 1. Juergensmeyer, Mark. Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, (Chapter 5 The Sword of Sikhism and Chapter 6 - Armageddon in a Tokyo Subway) Myanmar Case Study 1. Cox, Orsborn and Sisk, Religion, Identity, and Conflict in Transitioning Myanmar, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver Hindu Nationalist Case Study
1. Bauman, Chad. Hindu-Christian Conflict in India: Globalization, Conversion, and the Coterminal Castes and Tribes. Butler University, August 2013 Week 9 October 17 Israel-Palestine Case Study 1. Noce, Dawn. Religious Fundamentalism and the Conflict Between Israel and Palestine: A Case Study of the Kahane and Hamas Organizations, International Studies Department, St. John Fisher College. April 20015 2. Yehezkel Landau, "Healing the Holy Land: Interreligious Peacebuilding in Israel/Palestine", (Washington,D.C.: US Institute of Peace, 2003) 3. Goodwyn, Reid. The Isreali-Palestinian Conflict A Case Study for the United States Military in Foreign Internal Defense. School of Advanced Military Studies, United States Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, April 2006 Week 10 October 24 Afghanistan Case Study 1. Sparago, Marta. Terrorist Recruitment: The Crucial Case of Al Qaeda s Global Jihad Terror Network, Advanced Independent Research Project Center for Global Affairs New York University, Spring 2007 2. Taliban Case Study Week 11 October 31 ISIS Case Study 1. What ISIS Really Wants, Atlantic Monthly, March 2015 https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isis-reallywants/384980/ 2. ISIS: Portrait of a Jihadi Terrorist Organization November 2014 Boko Haram Case Study 1. Voll, John. Boko Haram: Religion and Violence in the 21st Century, Religions 2015, 6, 1182 1202
Week 12 November 7 Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Case Study 1. Frazer and Nunlist. The Concept of Countering Violent Extremism, CSS Analyses in Security Policy, N0. 183, December 2015 2. Holmer, Georgia. Countering Violent Extremism: A Peacebuilding Perspective, United States Institute of Peace, Special Report, September 2013 3. EMPOWERING LOCAL PARTNERS TO PREVENT VIOLENT EXTREMISM IN THE UNITED STATES, The White House, August 2011 4. Department of State & USAID Joint Strategy on Countering Violent Extremism, Department of State, May 2016 5. Radicalization and Violent Extremism: Lessons Learned From Canada, the U.K. and the U.S., National Institute of Justice, Arlington VA, July 2015 Week 13 November 14 Week 15 November 21 No Class - Reading Day Week 16 November 28 Final Paper Due - Presentations Week 17 December 5 The syllabus may be revised