HIS 130: WORLD RELIGION

North Island College Fall 2011

Meeting Times:    Tues., Thurs. 1:00-2:20 pm

Meeting Place:    TYEE 201, Comox Valley Campus.

Instructor: Dan Hinman-Smith

Office:  Village G6

Office Hours:  Wed. 11:30 am - 1 pm; 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm

Office Phone: 334-5000, Extension 4024

Home Phone:   250-336-0238 (Do not hesitate to call with course-related questions).

Web-Site: http://www.misterdann.com/contentsworldreligion.htm

E-Mail: dan.hinmansmith@nic.bc.ca

Tentative Class Schedule

WEEK1

Thursday, September 8

a)  Introduction

b)  Video: "A History of God"

WEEK 2

Tuesday, September 13

a)  Discussion:

i)  Of God and Abraham

ii)  Entering Sacred Space: Jerusalem

b)  Finish "A History of God"

Reading Assignment:

Thursday, September 15

a)  Lecture: The Essence of Judaism

WEEK 3:  On-Line Text:  Judaism

Tuesday, September 20

a)  Lecture: The Jewish Story From Abraham To The Holocaust

Listening Assignment:

 

Thursday, September 22

a)  Discussion: Judaism Audio Links and Judaism In The News

a)  Video: David Hare's "Via Dolorosa" (90 mins.)

Reading Assignment:

Listening Assignment:

*For the accompanying web-site to our in-class viewing of David Hare's one-man play, see

WEEK 4

Tuesday, September 27

a)  Finish David Hare's "Via Dolorosa" (90 mins.) and Discuss

Thursday, September 29

a)  Discussion:  Walking The Bible

b)  Introduce Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad Project

Reading Assignment:

WEEK 5:  On-Line Text:  Christianity

Tuesday, October 4

a)  Discussion:  The Lost Gospels and The Gospel Of Judas

b)  Video: "From Jesus To Christ: The First Christians" (60 mins)

Viewing Assignment:

Reading Assignment:

 

Thursday, October 6

a)  Lecture: The Essence Of Christianity

WEEK 6

Tuesday, October 11

a)  Discussion:  Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, And James, The Brother Of Jesus

b)  Lecture: Continue The Essence Of Christianity

Reading Assignment:

Thursday, October 13

a)  Introduce Other Religions Project

b)  Discussion: Christianity Audio Links And Christianity In The News

c)  Lecture: Finish The Essence Of Christianity

Reading Assignment:

Listening Assignment:

WEEK 7

Tuesday, October 18:

a)  Discuss  ***Comparing Jesus, Buddha and Muhammad Assignment

b)  Video: "Muhammad: Legacy of A Prophet" (116 minutes)

 

Thursday, October 20

a)  Finish "Muhammad: Legacy Of A Prophet"

Listening Assignment:

***FIRST HALF JOURNAL DUE***

WEEK 8

Tuesday, October 25

a)  Lecture: The Straight Path -- The Story Of Islam

Thursday, October 27

a)   Debate: Banning The Burqa

Reading Assignment:

WEEK 9

Tuesday, November 1

a)  Discussion: No God But God

Reading Assignment:

  • Reza Aslan, No God But God: The Origins, Evolution, And Future Of Islam

Thursday, November 3

a)  Discussion: Islam In the News and Islam Audio Links

b)  ***Other Religions Group Presentations

Reading Assignment:

Listening Assignment:

WEEK 10

Tuesday, November 8

a)  ***Other Religions Group Presentations

Thursday, November 10

a)  ***Other Religions Group Presentations

WEEK 11

Tuesday, November 15:  On-Line Text:  Hinduism

a)  ***Other Religions Group Presentations

Thursday, November 17

a)  ***Other Religions Group Presentations

b)  Discussion: Atheist Bus Campaign And The New Atheism

Reading Assignment:

WEEK 12: 

Tuesday, November 22

a)  Lecture: The Truth Is One, Its Names Are Many -- The Essence Of Hinduism

Listening Assignment:

Thursday, November 24

a)  Discussion: Hinduism In The News and Hinduism Audio Links

b)  Lecture: The History Of Hinduism

Reading Assignment:

WEEK 13

Tuesday, November 29:  On-Line Text:  Buddhism

a)  Video: "The Buddha -- The Story Of Siddhartha" (120 minutes)

Thursday, December 1

a)  Discussion:  Nine Lives

Reading Assignment:

 

b)  Finish Video: "The Buddha -- The Story Of Siddhartha" (120 minutes)

Reading Assignment:

WEEK 14

Tuesday, December 6

a)  Lecture: The Nature Of Suffering Must Be Understood -- The Essence Of Buddhism

Thursday, December 8

a)  Discussion: Buddhism In The News and Buddhism Audio Links

b)  Final Exam Review

WEEK 15:  FINAL EXAM:  Date and Time TBA.  **SECOND HALF JOURNAL DUE AT TIME OF EXAM

Texts

Feiler, Bruce.  Walking The Bible: A Journey by Land Through The Five Books Of Moses.  New York: Oxford, 2003.

Aslan, Reza.  No God But God: The Origins, Evolution, And Future Of Islam.  New York: Random House, 2005.

Dalrymple, William.  Nine Lives: In Search Of The Sacred In Modern India.  London: Bloomsbury, 2009.

N.B.  The NIC Library has an excellent set of audio lectures from the Teaching Company.  Although listening to any of these CDs is an entirely optional exercise, each of the sets of lectures is superb:

Evaluation

Reflections On Entering The Course                                    1%

First-Half Journal                                                                   25%

Second-Half  Journal                                                             25%

Overall Journal                                                                      15%

Final Exam                                                                             20%

Class Participation                                                                14%

a)  Reflections On Entering The Course (1%)

Who are you? Where are you from? What are your interests? Why are you taking this course? How would you begin to make sense of your own thoughts about religion and religious studies? Do you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions as we start the course? Write two or three informal paragraphs for the second class of the semester to introduce yourself to me.

b)  The Journal (65%)

The student journal is the main assignment in this class.  The purpose of the journal is to provide you the opportunity for frequent thoughtful, analytical and personal commentary upon course—related material.  The advantages of the journal, to my mind, are that it breaks work down into regular and manageable chunks, and that it enables you to seize hold of the curriculum in a way which reflects your own interests and style.

The journal will be graded in two installments.  It will be due at the mid-point of the semester.  This installment will count for 25% of the course grade.  The journal will then again be due on the day of the Final Exam.  This installment will include both a 25% grade for the second installment and a 15% grade for the journal in its entirety (most likely an average of the first and second installments grades).

In order to give you a basic structure and to clearly communicate my expectations, I will specify certain mandated entries and suggest a format for reading responses.  However, while it is required that all work in the journal be your own original writing, you are encouraged to be imaginative in your own investigation and analysis of World Religion.  I myself will be learning much about religion as the course proceeds and part of the logic of the Journal is that it provides you with some space to pursue topics of particular interest.

The excellent journal will:

  • be approximately 40+ pages long.

  • include the Thoughts On Entering The Course and Reflections Upon Leaving The Course entries.

  • include the Comparing Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad and the Other Religions mini-projects.

  • include analytical reviews of each of the three books.

  • include at least 3 Discussion Topic commentaries.

  • include at least 4 reading and/or audio responses to such items as the required or supplementary articles and audio features, or Religion in the News readings.

  • include other entries that draw upon class material and/or your independent research.

  • demonstrate that you are approaching the readings and the course with care and effort.

The above list of entries is meant as a firm guide rather than as an absolutely-everything-here must be completed.  The embedded tension within the assignment between structure and flexibility is deliberate.  It possibly to excel in the course either by closely following my guidelines or by diverging from these significantly.  The entries will, no doubt, vary in format, length and quality.   Do not hesitate to take risks and to express your own opinions.  It's fine if some entries read more like summary than analysis; it can be useful to put what you have learned from an article or a video into your own words.  Try, however, not to succumb to the temptation to write in an easy, stream—of—consciousness style.   There is no inherent tension between analytical rigour and personal insight.  This is an assignment designed to encourage and to reward extensive student effort and learning.  The work-load is heavy but my expectation is that a good-faith approach to the course will lead to strong success.  You can include print-outs from the internet in the journal or quote passages but are expected to identify that which is not your own original work.  Formal footnoting is not required but plagiarized/cut-and-pasted material will likely lead to a failing grade for the course.  Likewise, you should not recycle any writings from other classes.

c)  Final Exam (20%)

The Final Exam will ask you to write short essays analyzing paired historical terms. A detailed preparation sheet will be handed out in advance.

d)  Class Participation (14%)

The class participation grade will be based upon attendance; pre-class preparation; and the willingness to contribute thoughtfully to full-class and small-group discussion.  Although attendance is not required, I will take roll, and those who are not in class regularly will receive a poor grade for this component of the course.  I would like to encourage a classroom environment in which all are eager to share their ideas and in which lectures are accompanied by thoughtful dialogue.

Assigning class participation grades can be quite arbitrary.  When I assign participation grades at the end of the semester, I place each student in one of three following categories:

1)  Regular class attendance and excellent class participation.

2)  Regular class attendance and  fully satisfactory class participation.

3)  Irregular class attendance and preparation.

Those in Category 1 receive top participation grades.  Those in Category 3 receive poor participation grades.  Those in Category 2 are most likely to receive no specific participation grade but rather have the 86% total for their written work pro-rated to a 100% scale (in some cases the participation component may help a Category 2 student's final grade but in no instance will it lower the final grade).  Thus,  shy students are not penalized for class participation so long that they attend faithfully and I need only to distinguish between strong, satisfactory and weak participation rather than attempt to make fine distinctions.

WELCOME TO THE COURSE

 

 

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