COURSE SCHEDULE

PART ONE

INTRODUCTION: THE CONTEXT GEOPOLOTICAL CONTEXT OF RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM

T 9/6 / Course Introduction
Th 9/8 / Key Terminology: “Terror” and “Terrorism”
  • Neil J. Kressel, Bad Faith: The Danger of Religious Extremism, 9-19
  • Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, 3-15

T 9/13 / Key Concepts: Traditionalism and Fundamentalism
  • Martin Marty and R. Scott Appleby, The Glory and the Power: The Fundamentalist Challenge to the Modern World, 7-35

Th 9/15 / Key Concepts: Nation-State and Secular Nationalism
  • Juergensmeyer, GR, 1-17

T 9/20 / Key Concepts: Ideologies of Order
  • Juergensmeyer, GR, 17-38

PART TWO

FUNDAMENTALISTS AND EXTREMISTS IN CHRISTIANITY, JUDAISM, AND ISLAM

Th 9/22-
Th 10/27 / We will watch the three of the films listed below during this part of the course (precise days to be determined).
  • “Crimes in the Name of God”
  • “Israel’s Next War?”
  • “Suicide Bombers: Inside the Minds of Failed Martyrs”
  • “Pakistan on the Brink”
  • “In the Name of God: Holy Word, Holy War”
The precise readings for each class during Part Two have yet to be assigned. We will read many of the selections below, but I will determine which ones on a class-by-class basis once we reach Part Two.
Christian Fundamentalism and Extremism
  • Martin Marty and R. Scott Appleby, The Glory and the Power: The Fundamentalist Challenge to the Modern World, 37-68

  • Martin Marty and R. Scott Appleby, The Glory and the Power: The Fundamentalist Challenge to the Modern World, 68-87
  • Carolyn Tuft and Joe Holleman, "Inside the Christian Identity Movement" (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 5, 2000)

  • Juergensmeyer, GR, 151-63; 182-192

Jewish Fundamentalism and Extremism
  • Martin Marty and R. Scott Appleby, The Glory and the Power: The Fundamentalist Challenge to the Modern World, 89-109

  • Martin Marty and R. Scott Appleby, The Glory and the Power: The Fundamentalist Challenge to the Modern World, 109-128

  • Juergensmeyer, GR, 54-63
  • Jeffrey Goldberg, “Among the Settlers: Will They Destroy Israel?” (New Yorker)

Muslim Fundamentalism and Extremism
  • Martin Marty and R. Scott Appleby, The Glory and the Power: The Fundamentalist Challenge to the Modern World, 129-148
  • Irfan Ahmad, Islamism and Democracy in India: The Transformation of Jamaat-e-Islami, 4-7

  • John L. Esposito, Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam, 26-70
  • Juergensmeyer, GR, 39-54; 63-72
  • Juergensmeyer, GR, 73-90
  • Juergensmeyer, GR, 193-211
  • Osama bin Laden, “Osama bin Laden’s Oath to America,” in The Al Qaeda Reader, trans. Raymond Ibrahim, 192-195
  • Osama bin Laden, “‘Why We Are Fighting You’: Osama bin Laden’s Letter to Americans,” in The Al Qaeda Reader, trans. Raymond Ibrahim, 197-208

T 11/1 / Two-Thirds Term Examination (I can’t quite call it a Midterm at this point…)

PART THREE

THEORIES/EXPLANATIONS: WHY DO RELIGIOUS PEOPLE BECOME VIOLENT?

Th 11/3 / Scriptural Rationale
  • Selengut, SF, 5-10; 15-42

T 11/8 / Collective Unconscious, Cognitive Dissonance, Symbolic Empowerment
  • Selengut, SF, 43-83

Th 11/10 / Apocalpytic Violence and Cosmic War
  • Selengut, SF, 85-90; 93-98
  • Juergensmeyer, GR, 212-221

T 11/15 / Masochism, Martyrdom, Sacrificial Victims
  • Selengut, SF, 159-181
  • Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, 167-189

Th 11/17 / Presentations
T 11/22 / No class (I’m at the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting in San Francisco)
Th 11/24 / Thanksgiving
T 11/29 / Presentations
Th 12/1 / Symbolic Empowerment
  • Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, 190-210

T 12/6 / Civilization Clashes, Culture Wars
  • Selengut, SF, 121-146

Th 12/8 / Future of Religious Rebellions
  • Juergensmeyer, GR, 244-263

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