| Note | Week: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
I will be available in my office in Patterson 121 every day from 9:30 until 10:30, and at other times by arrangement.
The schedule of assignments, quizzes, etc. remains negotiable until Friday of week 9. Changes must be made before this date.
Week 1 - Introduction: the Academic Study of Religion
Wed. 9/1 Introduction to the course: the class
description, the webpage, and textbooks.
A brief
introduction to the academic study of religion.
Fri. 9/3 The Problem of Definition: terms and categories of the study as themselves providing models of religion. An introduction to the idea of "Dimensional" Models of religion.
How does this apply to contemporary America? See Diana Eck's A New Religious America and The Pluralism Project
Mon. 9/6 The "phenomenology" of religion.
Chris Arthur,
"Phenomenology and the Art of Story-telling."
Wed. 9/8 Smith's "point of departure," pp. 8 - 15 and
the Foreword, Preface, and List of Contents from Novak's collection of texts.
(Note that required readings from the two textbooks are shown in blue. Other readings, usually provided on the
class R: drive, are shown in red).
Fri. 9/10 Religious narratives as models of Human Experience.
Clifford Geertz on Religions as "models of" and "models for" human life.
Week 3 - Religious Traditions: The Oral Traditions
See BigMyth.com for many of the world's traditional oral myths.
Novak Chapter Eight, Smith Chapter IX.
Mon. 9/13 First short quiz
Creation Myths: Water symbolism and creation.
See Novak's collection for examples of the creation myths of oral peoples.
Week 4 - Hinduism. Make sure you know the basic geography of India. See Maps of India
In fact, make sure you know the location of all of the countries
involved.
See these maps (1)
& (2).
There will be a trip to the Sri Venkateswara temple in Penn Hills, Pittsburgh sometime in this section of the course. Usually we will leave from the Patterson Hall car park about 4:15 and return about 9:00 PM. Students are asked to dress respectfully.
See also
the Saivenkateswara Homepage.
Varnasramadharma - the blessed rage for order.
Novak chapter One.
Smith 16-25, 40-46.
Mon. 9/20 The Vedas and Varnashramadharma.
Wed. 9/22 An Introduction to the BhagavadGita.
The BhagavadGita in the Mahabharata.
Fri. 9/24 The valid aims and stages of life.
Smith 47 - 57.
Week 5 - Hinduism, Continued.
Mon. 9/27 The Yogas.
Smith 26 - 39.
Wed. 9/29 A discussion of Rajayoga: How can "heterophenomenology" be applied to Hinduism? Especially to Rajayoga?
Fri. 10/1
The Buddhadharma - challenging tradition.
Novak chapter Two (especially pages 49-65)
Smith 59-97.
Week 6 - Buddhism continued.
Mon. 10/4 Video: Footprints of the Buddha.
Wed. 10/6 Discussion: Is Theravada Buddhism a "religion?"
Fri. 10/8 Second Short Quiz (on Hinduism and Buddhism)
Chinese Religion
See these maps (1)
& (2).
San Chiao - Unity and Diversity.
Novak chapters Three and Four
Smith 99 - 143.
See also this note on transliteration and this
map of China during the Han period.
The San Chiao; China's three traditions and See this website for
Classical Chinese Scriptures: Daoism.
Week 7 - Chinese Religion continued
Mon. 10/11 Confucianism.
Wed. 10/13 Chinese Buddhism.
Fri. 10/15 Second Essay Answers (Hinduism, Buddhism and Chinese Religion).
Midterm Break: Saturday October 23rd to Tuesday October 26th.
Week 8 - Judaism.
Novak chapter Five
Smith 179 - 203.
The People of the Book
Bear these questions in mind as you study.
Monday Classes meet TUESDAY 10/19:
The Texts, and the History.
Wed. 10/20 The Texts, and the History continued.
Fri. 10/21 Guest Speaker: Rabbi Martin Shorr of the local Jewish community will speak to the class today.
Week 9 - Judaism continued
Mon. 10/25 Video: Mightier than the Sword. "A detailed examination of the remains of some of the greatest cities of the time ... shows the nature of the Eastern Hellenistic civilization of which Jerusalem was a part and into which Jesus was born."
Wed. 10/27 Third Short Quiz
Relating texts and history
Fri. 10/29 No Class. Prof Rennie will be attending the Annual Conference of the American Academy of Religion
Week 10 - Religion and the Arts.
Mon. 11/1 Religion and the Arts: Perceiving the Sacred in the Profane.
Wed. 11/3 A Visit from the Tibetan Buddhist Monks.
Fri. 11/5 Discussion of Tibetan Buddhism and the Art of Religion.
Week 11 - The History of Religion in the Ancient Mediterranean World.
See these documents on The Greco-Roman Context, Greek and Roman Mysteries, and Mithraism and Gnosticism.
Mon. 11/8 The Mystery Religions, Mithraism, and Gnosticism..
Wed. 11/10 Zoroastrianism: the religion of the Persian Empire.
Fri. 11/12 Fourth Short Quiz. Introduction to the Insider/Outsider problem in the study of religion. See also this article.
You are required to turn in a working bibliography for your paper at the end of next week. This must contain at least five properly documented sources, written up in the style required by the notes on the essay.
Week 12 - Introduction to the Study of Christianity.
Mon. 11/15 The Jesus of history and the Christ of faith. Smith 205 - 216.
See also the PBS Frontline website From Jesus to Christ.
Wed. 11/17 Consider The Liturgy of Christianity and try to answer the question, "How do the Christian narratives of Easter and Christmas relate to the seasons of the solar year? What, in your opinion, is the significance of this?"
Fri. 11/19 Christianity in History: the successful spread of the early Church.
Students should see Rel 111:
"Early Christian Growth.doc"
Your working bibliography is also due today (Friday 19th) and should be sent by e-mail. This must contain at least five properly documented sources, written up in the style required by the notes on the essay.
Week 13 - Christianty concluded.
Mon. 11/22 The Sacraments of Christianity.
Week 14 - Islam
Mon. 11/29 Third Essay Answers: (Judaism, Graeco-Roman Religion, and Christianity).
Wed. 12/1 Islam
Novak chapter Seven
Smith 145 - 159.
An Introduction to Islam: The Prophet and the Book, the Caliphate and the origins of the Sunni/Shia division.
Fri. 12/3 The Five Pillars of Islam and Principles of Islamic Theology.
Today is your last chance to have a rough draft of your paper checked.
Week 15- Islam Continued
Smith 160 - 177.
Mon. 12/6 Guest Speaker, Dr. Ahmad Abul-Ela, a prominent member of the local Islamic Society will talk to the class at some point in this section of the course.
Wed. 12/8 Heterophenomenology and Islam.
See this searchable database
Fri. 12/10 The last class. Your paper
is due in today (as an e-mail attachment, by 4:30).
Explanation of the Final Examination.
Student Assessments of the course.
I will hand out the take-home final in this class.
The Completed take-home final examination may be handed in as an e-mail attachments anytime before the deadline, but you must await a positive response from me that I have received your paper before you assume that I have got it, because I will not accept any excuses whatsoever for final exams that have been somehow lost.
