|
|
||
|
Comparative
Religion
|
||
|
|
||
|
Saint Martin's
College Humanities Division Department of Religious Studies David Suter homepage Return to course list Campus office: 366 Campus phone: (360) 438-4360 Office hours: MWF 2:00-2:50 PM; TR 10:00-11:00 AM Email contact here |
Description Texts Requirements Topics and Assignments |
  |
|
|
||
|
One can study religions "comparatively" in different ways and for a variety of reasons. As we become involved in the study of various religions, we will begin to realize that the title of the course itself presents a problem: can we compare, and, if so, what are we comparing, and why? Is comparing religions a little like comparing apples and oranges? Or are the different religions alternative paths to the same center, to use a Hindu metaphor? Are we seeking common "patterns" within different religions—founders, mysticism, or the use of scriptures—out of intellectual curiosity or for spiritual reasons? Or are we seeking to speak the truth about God, or the Absolute, without regard to any particular religion, because we dare not say anything untrue about him, her, or it? Are we seeking to choose among religions, to understand our own more fully in comparison to others, or the ability to enter into dialog with persons of other faiths? These options reflect the alternatives current among scholars and schools dealing with what is called variously comparative religion, the history of religion, or world religions. At the outset of the course, these options are open, and the student will be expected to choose her or his place among them as the course progresses. The text we are using, Roger Eastman, The Ways of Religion: An Introduction to the Major Traditions, will facilitate the study of the various religions by permitting the student to encounter excerpts from some of the ancient texts and contemporary representatives of the different religions and to interact with fellow students over the meaning and interpretation of those excerpts. We will have several goals, including the acquisition of some exact knowledge about several of the religions of the world, a focus on the central or controlling concepts of those religions, the ability to communicate and to enter into dialog with persons of other faiths, and perhaps a better understanding of the "religious" dimension of our own lives, however we define it. Part of the class will involve an investigation into the old city of Jerusalem as a geographical space with intersecting zones of space sacred to three different religions. |
||
|
|
||
TextsRoger Eastman, The Ways of Religion: An Introduction to the Major Traditions, Third Edition (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999). ISBN 0-19-511835-9. Huston Smith, The World's Religions (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1991). ISBN: 0-06-250811-3. |
||
|
|
||
|
The course will include a midterm test, a final exam, a focus paper, and a term paper. The test and exam will be take-home tests with essay or paragraph-length questions. The focus paper is an essay of four to five pages dealing with an issue related to the readings and class discussions (several topics will be assigned by the professor, from which the student will choose one). Considerations in evaluating the essay will include the significance of the issue, the understanding of the issue reflected in the essay, the clarity of the writing, and the citation and discussion of material from reading assignments and class sessions. The term paper will be a research paper of eight to ten pages dealing with a topic related to the comparative study of religions. Considerations in evaluation of the term paper will include the significance of the topic, the quality of the student's understanding of the topic and related issues, the clarity of the writing and presentation, and the choice and evaluation of appropriate source material, and the appropriate citation of reference material. For both the focus paper and the term paper, the student will be expected to include endnotes (or parenthetical documentation) and a bibliography or list of works cited. Late papers will be lowered a letter grade. Violations of the College's policies on academic honesty as printed in the catalogue will lead to failure of the assignment or the course, depending upon the seriousness of the offense in the judgment of the professor. During the second half of the term we will work as a class and in small groups to develop presentations on shared sacred space in the old city of Jerusalem. The final grade will be weighted as follows: midterm test, 15%; focus paper, 20%; final exam, 25%; term paper, 25%; class participation, 15%. |
||
|
|
||
|
Schedule of Topics and Assignments A significant part of the class will involve discussion and examination of selected readings from the textbook, and students will be expected to come to class having read the assigned material in advance and prepared to discuss them in class. We will also use small a group assignment to involve student in a project in the comparative study of religion. The topic will involve a study of Jerusalem as a city in which spheres of holiness related to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam intersect.
|
||
|
|
||
|
||
|
|
||
