RELIGIONS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST

SPRING 2010
RELIGION 116

Texts	Course Description	Grading
Schedule	The Term Paper	Sakai Site

REQUIRED READING:
THIS ENTIRE WEBPAGE IS REQUIRED READING. Read it carefully and thoroughly.
Willard Oxtoby, World Religions: Western Traditions. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, Second Edition, 2002.

RECOMMENDED READING:
Karen Armstrong, A History of God. New York, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994.
The Bible. (Any version will do but I recommend the New Revised Standard Version, especially the Oxford Annotated Bible. Alternatively the New American Bible is also recommended.)
John H. Hayes, Introduction to the Bible.
Bruce Metzger and Michael Coogan (eds.), The Oxford Companion to the Bible.
Mary Boyce, Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices.
Paul Kriwaczek, In Search of Zarathustra.
The Qu'ran (Koran).
Gershom Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism.
Luther Martin, Hellenistic Religion.
Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, The Contemporary Islamic Revival.
Lindsay Jones (ed.), The Macmillan Encyclopedia of Religion (second edition).
John Hinnells, A New Handbook of Living Religions.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course will be a study of the histories, narratives, rituals, and scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and other traditions from the Middle East, with special attention to Judaism and Islam in the twentieth century. The course will be divided into five sections:
(1) Judaism;
(2) Other Traditions from the Middle East, including religions of the Greco-Roman Empire and the Zoroastrian tradition;
(3) the Christian Tradition;
(4) The Islamic Tradition; and
(5) the Contemporary Situation.

The assigned reading must be done before the classes and class will involve discussion of the reading as well as explanatory lectures from the professor. Students will be asked to answer guided reading questions questions before class and to be ready to respond to those questions in class. See the first week's questions, for example.

GRADING

Grades will be based on a total of 500 possible points:
There will be five quizzes, one on each section of the course. There will be one term paper of approximately 3,000 words, whose topic must be determined by Thursday, April 3^rd. There will be a final examination whose form will be discussed during the course. Attendance to the classes is required, as is participation in class discussions. Attendance and participation will be graded. The grading distribution will be as follows:

Assignment	Number	Each worth	Total Worth
Quizzes	5	40	200
Term Paper	1	100	100
Examination	1	100	100
Attendance and Participation			100
TOTAL POINTS	500

Attendance

You must attend classes. Failure to do so might lose up to 20% of your grade points. NO absences are regarded as "excused." If a student misses class because of sickness or bereavement, or for athletic, employment, or other educational purposes this still could damage their progress in the class. All absences will be recorded and after three, all students will have to assure the instructor that their absence was unavoidable, that they have made up for it appropriately, and that their performance in the class has not suffered.

Academic Integrity
(see p. 73 of the Student Handbook and the Academic Integrity Policy.ppt on your class R:/Profnote drive)

Westminster College as an institution and I as an individual both pursue a strict policy of academic honesty. Plagiarism: leading your reader or listener to believe that what you have written or said is your own work, when, in fact, it is not, will be treated severely. But always remember that while using someone else's work without declaring your source is dishonest, doing the same thing and citing the source is good scholarship! Books must be cited in the correct bibliographic style (see here) and personal sources can also be cited.
Your instructor reseves the right to use the plagiarism software at Turnitin.com.

SCHEDULE
This class will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:00 to 3:30 in Patterson Hall 215.
I will be available in my office in Patterson Hall 122 Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 until 12:30.

Week: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Click the number to see the week.

Week 1. Section One: Introduction and the Jewish Tradition.
Thu. 1/21 Introduction to the course. Reading: Oxtoby's "Personal Invitation."
Click here for information on the Hebrew Bible..
Here is a useful link for relevant Maps.

Week 2. The Jewish Tradition, continued.
Tue. 1/26 Reading: Chapter Two, pages 33 - 43. See Guided Reading.
Click here for a list of important dates in the Biblical History of Israel..

Thu. 1/28 Reading: Chapter Two, pages 43 - 71. See Guided Reading.
Click here for information on the Hebrew Prophets. and here for information on the J, E, P, and D traditions.

Week 3. The Jewish Tradition, continued.
Tue. 2/2 Reading: Chapter Two, pages 71 - 91. See Guided Reading.

Thu. 2/4 Reading: Chapter Two, pages 91 - 111. See Guided Reading.

Week 4.
Tue. 2/9 Reading: Chapter Two, pages 111 - 150. See Guided Reading.

Thu. 2/11 Quiz #1: The Jewish Tradition.

Section Two: Other Middle-Eastern Traditions.

Week 5. Religions of the Greek and Roman Empires.

Additional reading material for this section of the course is a document on the R:drive on Greco-Roman Religions: The Eleusinian Mysteries and the Mysteries of Dionysus and Orpheus.
Additional Reading: See Guided Reading.

Tue. 2/16 Reading: Chapter One, pages 11 - 29. See Guided Reading.
Some Religions of the Roman Empire: Mithraism and Gnosticism.
Additional Reading: R: drive materials on Greco-Roman Religion. See Guided Reading.
Also you can see On Gnosticism and Mithraism One and Mithraism Two for some extra background information.

Thu. 2/18 The Zoroastrian Tradition.
Reading: Oxtoby, Chapter Three, pages 159 - 173. See Guided Reading.

The Farohar (Winged Disc of Ahura Mazda) and Achaemenid Sphinxes

Combined Zoroaster and Farohar. The earliest 'angel?'

Week 6. The Zoroastrian Tradition, continued.
Tue. 2/23 Reading: Chapter Three, pages 173 - 195. See Guided Reading.

Thu. 2/25 Quiz #2: Other Middle-Eastern Traditions.

Week 7. Section Three: The Christian Tradition.
Tue. 3/2 Reading: Chapter Four, pages 201 - 259. See Guided Reading.
Click here for more information on the priority of the Gospel of Mark and other related information.
For more information see the documents on R:/Rel116/profnote:
On the Christian Liturgy LITURGY.DOC)
On the seasonal year Seasons.htm
and on the Christian symbol of the fish ichthys.doc

Thu. 3/4 Reading: Chapter Four, pages 259 - 283. See Guided Reading.

Spring Break: March 6^th to 16^th
Saturday through Tuesday

Week 8. The Christian Tradition, continued.
Thu. 3/18 Reading: Chapter Four, pages 283 - 331. See Guided Reading.

Week 9.
Tue. 3/23 Quiz #3: The Christian Tradition

Thu. 3/25 Section Four: The Islamic Tradition. See this website for access to the Qur'an and other Muslim resources.

Reading: Chapter Five, pages 341 - 368. See Guided Reading.

NAUCORP--The North American Undergraduate Conference on Religion and Philosophy
takes place this weekend. Students are encouraged to attend the student presentations between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM in the Lakeview Room. Students in this class are REQUIRED to attend the lecture from Guest Speaker, Rosemary Hicks, a specialist scholar of Islam. Her current research highlights how Americans conceptualize Islam: “Islam and Humanitarianism: the Politics of Legitimacy.” Students will be excused class on April 1st to compensate.

Week 10.
Tue. 3/30 Reading: Chapter Five, pages 368 - 416. See Guided Reading.

Thu. 4/1 No Class: Prof. Rennie will be off-campus giving lectures at Lehigh and Lafayette Universities.

Week 11. The Islamic Tradition, continued.
Tue. 4/6 Reading: Chapter Five, pages 416 - 454. See Guided Reading
The topic of your term paper must be determined and approved by the professor by this date.

Thu. 4/8 Video: The Legacy of a Prophet.

Week 12.
Tue. 4/13 Review of Islam with our guest, Dr. Ahmad Abul-Ela, a member of the local Muslim community.

Thu. 4/15 Quiz #4: The Islamic Tradition.
You must submit an annotated bibliography for your term paper by today.
This should contain at least five appropriate references.

Week 13.
Section Five: The Contemporary Situation.
New Horizons.

A Palestinian Muslim faces an Israeli Curfew.
Picture from Associated Free Press

Tue. 4/20 Video and Discussion: Three Faiths, One God.

Thu. 4/22 Assigned Reading on Pluralism.

Week 14.
Tue. 4/27 Reading: Chapter Six, pages 463 - 491. See Guided Reading.

Thu. 4/29 Traditions in Contact.
Reading: Chapter Seven, pages 495 - 507. See Guided Reading.
Today is the last day that you can hand in a draft of your term paper to be checked.

Week 15.
Tue. 5/4 Quiz #5: The Contemporary Situation.

Thu. 5/6 Final class. Closing Discussion. Instructions for the final examination.
Student Assessments of the course.
Today is the deadline for your term paper.

Reading Day, Tuesday, May 11^th.
Finals period May 12^th through 15^th
Wednesday through Saturday.
THE FINAL FOR THIS COURSE WILL TAKE PLACE
on Friday May 14th from 3:00 - 5:30.
The final will be a take home examination that covers the whole semester's work. All questions will be drawn from the set of questions already posed in the quizzes.
Term ends Saturday, May 15^th.

For a list of essential vocabulary, see Oxtoby's "Key Terms," pages 145, 194, 344, and 486.

SOME NOTES ON THE TERM PAPER.

All students will submit a typewritten or word-processed critical essay of 10-12 pages (double spaced, that is about 3,000 words). This paper is due in on Thursday, May 6^th.

You are required to obtain the approval of the instructor for your paper topic by Tuesday, April 6^th.

You are required to submit an annotated bibliography for your paper by Tuesday, April 15^th. This should contain at least five appropriate sources with a brief (no more than 50 words) description of the contents of each source. You must have at least as many print sources as you have Internet sources!

Papers cannot be accepted after the due date (Thursday, May 6^th).

You may hand in a rough draft of your paper to be checked anytime up to Thursday April 29^th.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS OF AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY.

These are not reports but argumentative essays: that is to say they are editorialism rather than journalism--your own views are as essential as knowledge of your subject material. The standard of your technical writing as well as your accuracy and argument will be taken into consideration. To that end, here is a short list of common avoidable writing errors which should help you to avoid simple mistakes which will otherwise reduce your grade.

1. Papers must have a title which states the topic of your essay. In order to maintain the focus on Religions from the Middle East as the topic of this course your papers should be entitled "Religions from the Middle East: . . . " with your topic or focus following the colon. Papers must be typed on standard 81/2 x 11 paper (no folders please!). Papers will be kept by the professor.

2. You must have a thesis, argument, and a conclusion. "Thesis" is defined as "a proposition laid down or stated, especially as a theme to be discussed or proved" (Oxford English Dictionary). You must explain to your reader why you believe that your thesis is correct, and clearly state the conclusion of your thought. This is mainly to help you to focus your thoughts.

3. The arguments and research which support your thesis should make the main body of the essay.

4. Source material (books, but don't forget articles in journals and encyclopedias, even newspapers and personal interviews) should be integrated into your argument as evidence, example, or illustration. You MUST document the sources of all quotations, statistical information, and paraphrased material.

5. Your conclusions must be clearly stated. They can be negative as well as positive. Don't worry if you find that your original thesis is insupportable. As long as your conclusion is based on your research negative results areas valuable as positive ones. Just re-write your introduction to reflect your results.

6. You must give a separate list of sources (entitled "References" or "Bibliography" or "Works Cited") at the end of your paper. In alphabetical order give the full name of each author, surname first, then first name, followed by the title of the work. Book and journal titles should be italicized (underlining should be avoided and used only if italics are not available, as in hand- or typewritten manuscripts). Article titles should be in quotation marks. Details of publication must be included. For example:

Batson, C. Daniel and W. Larry Ventis. The Religious Experience. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.

Ferré, Frederick. "The Definition of Religion." Journal of the American Academy of Religion 38, no.1 (1970): 3-16.

Fieser, James (Ed.), The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/, July 10th, 1996.
(For Internet sources the minimum required information is author name, URL --that is the "http://filename/etc.htm"--and the date you took it from the Internet. REMEMBER: You must have at least as many print sources as you have Internet sources!

Your bibliography does not count as part of your length (3,000 words as stated above).

PLEASE ASK ME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF THIS!

brennie@westminster.edu