Dr. Mark Stewart email:
Social Science Division Office: Locke 121
Office Telephone: (209) 954-5497
GREAT RELIGIONS OF THE WESTERN WORLD
CLASS INFORMATION SHEET
FALL 2008 (August 14 – December 19)
Course Code / Department # / Meeting Days / Meeting Times / Classroom #58187 / HUM 014B / MWF / 11am – 12pm / CUNN 102
17247 / HUM 014B / MWF / 8am – 9am / HOLT 245
28968 / HUM 014B / TTh / 8am – 9:30am / HOLT 313
31656 / HUM 014B / MWF / 9am – 10am / HOLT 310
75772 / REL 014B / MWF / 11am – 12pm / CUNN 102
46959 / REL 014B / MWF / 8am – 9am / HOLT 245
64650 / REL 014B / TTh / 8am – 9:30am / HOLT 313
66566 / REL 014B / MWF / 9am – 10am / HOLT 310
TEXTBOOK
Fisher, M. P. (2008). Living Religions: Custom Edition Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall
Expectation of Students:
- Arrive on Time. If you are late with good reason, please find a seat in the back of the room.
- Be Courteous to Instructor and Fellow Students. This includes obvious courtesy issues such as not using cellular phones, not talking in class except during group sessions, in response to questions, etc.
- If the instructor requests that you stop the behavior causing problems, please do so immediately.
- Indicate questions and responses with raised hand; please wait to be acknowledged, particularly in the larger classes.
- Plagiarism and any other form of cheating will not be tolerated.
- No offensive language or behavior will be accepted.
- All tests and assignments must be submitted on time, barring extreme emergency.
- No more than three unexcused absences will be permitted. An email stating the nature of the illness or similar issue will suffice in making the absence an excused absence.
Grading Scale: Assignments Counted in Grade:
90 – 100 A Online Midterm 20%
80 – 89 B Online Final 20%
70 – 79 C In Class Final Examination 10%
60 – 69 D Portfolio 50%
Below 60 F Total 100%
Online Midterm and Online Final
These tests are taken online on the ETUDES course site. They will cover all of the modules handled in class; these will be utilized as a guide to help students keep up with readings in order to better understand the subject. These are each worth 20% of your course grade.
In Class Final Examination
This is a written exam taken in class on the day assigned for the final by the College. This is worth 10% of your course grade.
Portfolio
The Portfolio consists of the following three elements:
- Individual Class Notes. Keep these in a file and submit them with the portfolio; they will be returned to you
- Group Notes. These may be kept by one member of the group and photocopied for other members. Each member will be expected to have a separate copy of the group notes in their portfolio
- Religion Paper. For this you are expected to attend a place of worship from a Western Religious tradition other than your own. You may in lieu of this interview a person of a faith other than your own. In addition to this, you must compare what they tell you or what you observe to what the textbook has to say with regard to the religion. This paper is to be typewritten and is to be 4 to 5 pages (double spaced) long.
- The notes will each be worth 15% of your course grade and the paper worth 20% of your grade.
- Portfolios will be collected two weeks before the final examination week; the date will be stated in the Course Outline
Accessing the Online Section on ETUDES
You may access the online section in order to check your grades as well as to take your tests when they go “live”. [Note: This is different than the Publisher’s companion website which is for informational purposes only]
· Go to the Delta College Home Page
· Click on Online Classes in the left menu
· On the Online Class Page click on the blue link in the middle text that says ETUDES Gateway Page, This should bring up a burgundy colored log in page
· Your Login ID is your nine digit Delta College student number beginning with 98 (Do not include any dashes or spaces). You will not be able to log in using your Social Security Number.
· Your PIN number is your default birth date in the format MMDDYY
· If you need technical assistance call the ETUDES help desk between Monday and Friday from 9am to 6pm at (209) 954-5840 or at http://otrs.deltacollege.edu/otrs/customer.pl
MONDAY / WEDNESDAY / FRIDAY COURSE OUTLINE
August 15 Course Introduction
18 Why are there Religions? Understandings of Sacred Reality.
20 Worship, Symbol, and Myth. Absolutist and Liberal Interpretations.
22 Historical-Critical Study of Scriptures. The encounter between Science and Religion
25 Women in Religions. Negative aspects of Organized Religion.
27 Case Study: Primal / Indigenous Religion (Maya and Stone Maya)
29 Case Study: Primal / Indigenous Religion (Maya and Stone Maya)
September 1 No Class – Public Holiday
3 Understanding Indigenous Sacred Ways. Cultural Diversity.
5 The Circle of Right Relationships. Religious Specialists.
8 Group Observations. Contemporary Issues.
10 Case Study: The Asmat of New Guinea – Adapting to a changing world
12 Class Discussion of Chapter 1 and 2; Group-work and group-work checkup.
15 Religion of Ancient Mesopotamia
17 Religion of Ancient Greece
19 Religion of Ancient Rome
22 Ancient Europe (beyond the Alps) and Religious Practices
24 Meso-American Religion
26 Iranian Religion before Zoroastrianism. The life and teachings of Zoroaster
29 The Religion of the Later Avesta. The Zoroastrians of the Present Day
October 1 Class Discussion of Noss Chapters; Group-Work and group-work checkup.
3 Review for Midterm [* * * Online Midterm goes “live” * * *]
6 No Class – Instructor Conference
8 Judaism Introduction [* * * Online Midterm Closes * * *]
10 A History of the Jewish People. Timeline of the Old Testament Narrative.
13 Torah. Sacred Practices & Holy Days.
15 Contemporary Judaism. Major Branches of Judaism Today.
17 Video: Survivors of the Shoah (Holocaust)
20 Class Discussion of Judaism. Group-work and group-work checkup.
22 Islam Introduction
24 The Prophet Muhammad. Timeline.
27 The Qur’an and central teachings of Islam.
29 The Five Pillars of Islam
31 Sunnis, Shi’as and Sufis.
November 3 The Spread of Islam, Muslim resurgence, and Relationship with the West.
5 Video (American Muslim Society)
7 Class Discussion of Islam. Group-work and group-work Checkup.
10 Introduction to Christianity.
12 The Christian Bible. Timeline.
14 Life and Teachings of Jesus,
17 The Early Church. East / West Split: Orthodoxy and Catholicism
November 19 Medieval Church.
21 Protestant Reformation and Roman Catholic Reformation
24 Impact of the Enlightenment.
26 Group Work Checkup Day
28 No Class – Thanksgiving Break
December 1 World Missionary Movements. Rise of Denominationalism.
3 Contemporary Trends in Christianity
Class Discussion of Christianity. Group-work and group-work checkup.
5 Video Presentation.
* * * Portfolios Due * * * [Online Final goes “live]
8 New Religious Movements (Overview)
10 Religion in the Twenty-First Century (Overview)
[* * * Online Final Closes * * *]
12 Course Summary and Review for Final.
15 – 19 * * * FINALS WEEK * * *
TUESDAY / THURSDAY COURSE OUTLINE
August 14 Course Introduction
19 Why are there Religions? Understandings of Sacred Reality. Worship, Symbol, Myth.
21 Absolutist vs. Liberal, Science vs. Religion, Historical-Critical study of Scriptures.
26 Women in Religions. Negative aspects of Organized Religions
28 Case Study: Primal / Indigenous Religion (Maya and Stone Maya)
September 2 Case Study: Primal / Indigenous Religion (Maya and Stone Maya)
4 Understanding Indigenous ways. Cultural Diversity. Circle of Right Relationships.
9 Religious Specialists. Group Observations. Contemporary Issues.
11 Case Study: The Asmat of New Guinea – Adapting to a Changing World.
16 Religion of Ancient Mesopotamia. Religion of Ancient Greece.
18 Religion of Ancient Greece (continued). Religion of Ancient Rome.
23 Religion beyond the Alps. Meso-American Religion.
25 Iranian Religion before Zoroastrianism. The life and teachings of Zoroaster.
30 The Religion of the later Avesta. The Zoroastrians of the present day.
October 2 Class Discussion & Group-work. [* * * Midterm goes “live” * * *]
7 No Class – Instructor Conference
9 Judaism Introduction [* * * Midterm Closes * * *]
14 A history of the Jewish people. Timeline of the Old Testament narrative. Torah.
16 Sacred practices & Holy Days. Contemporary Judaism. Branches of Judaism today.
21 Video: Survivors of the Shoah (Holocaust).
23 Introduction to Islam. The Prophet Muhammad. Timeline of Islam.
28 The Qur’an and central teachings of Islam. The Five Pillars of Islam.
30 Sunnis, Shi’as and Sufis. The Spread of Islam. Islamic Resurgence.
November 4 Relationship of Islam to the West. Video (by American Muslim Society)
6 Class Discussion of Islam. Group-work and group-work checkup.
11 Introduction to Christianity. The Christian Bible. Timeline.
13 Life and Teachings of Jesus. Apostles. The Early Church.
18 East / West Split. Orthodoxy & Catholicism. Medieval Church.
20 Protestant and Catholic Reformations. Impact of the Enlightenment.
25 Group-work Checkup Day
27 No Class: Thanksgiving
December 2 World Missions. Denominationalism. Contemporary Trends in Christianity.
4 Video Presentation. [Portfolios Due. Online Final Goes “Live”]
9 New Religious Movements & Religion in the 21st Century (Overview)
11 Course Summary and Review for Final
15 – 19 * * * FINALS WEEK * * *
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