THIS IS A DRAFT SYLLABUS, POSTED APRIL 2018
RS 101: Introduction to World Religions: Introduction to the Study of Religion
Fall 2018
Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:00-3:15, in Lubar S185
Professor David DiValerio
Holton Hall 384
Office hour: Wednesday, 12:45-1:45; additional meetings by appointment
(I am free to meet most days; email me to set up a time to meet)
Course Description:
This course offers preliminary explorations of some of the world’s major religions—Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—while introducing students to some of the themes, questions and methods that characterize the modern academic study of religion. Emphasis will be placed on making structured and purposeful comparisons between the religious traditions discussed.
No prior familiarity with any religious tradition is required.
Course Objectives:
Students will gain:
- a basic understanding of Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
- familiarity and comfort with speaking comparatively about religions
- experience in reading and interpreting religious texts (both “myth” and “scripture”)
- critical thinking about religion and culture
- a deeper understanding of what religion is
- improvement in reading, interpretation, and writing
Grading:
Final grades will be determined based on the following seven measures:
-attendance 10%
-in-class participation 5%
-in-class reading quizzes9%
-writing assignment 1 (due October 8)19%
-in class test 1 (October 24)19%
-in class test 2 (November 19)19%
-writing assignment 2 (due December 19)19%
Late papers:
If a students hands in a paper anytime after the beginning of class on the day it’s due, the paper is officially late. Late papers automatically lose one grade increment (for example, an A- paper turns into a B+), and another grade increment for each additional 24 hours late the paper is. So, for example, if a paper is due September 29th, at 11am, if you hand it in anytime after that and before 10:59 on September 30th, you lose one grade increment. If you hand it in after 10am on the 30th, you will lose 2 grade increments; after 11am on the 31st, you lose three, and so on.
Attendance:
Consistent attendance is a must. Students may miss three class sessions without penalty. Every absence after that for which a student does not have a note from a doctor or a university administrator will count as “unexcused” absence and will result in an automatic deduction of one and a half points from the student’s final grade. A student can lose up to ten points from his or her final grade.
For example, if a student misses a total of six classes, and has a doctor’s note saying that he or she had the flu on one of those days, there remain five unexcused absences. Three of those are “free” absences. The student will then lose 3 points from his or her final grade.
Reading quizzes:
Pop quizzes will be given at the beginning of class throughout the semester. Their intent is to determine whether or not students have done the assigned reading for that day of class. The quizzes will be short and simple.
Class Conduct:
- Please no texting, Facebooking, chatting, reading the Onion, doing work for other classes, sleeping, coming in late, etc. Common sense applies.
- You are expected to observe UWM’s standards of academic honesty. The penalty for cheating or plagiarism on any paper, exam, or other assignment is an automatic “F” for that assignment. The penalties for such academic misconduct can also include failing the course and expulsion from the University.
- University policies on academic misconduct, as well as on other issues including procedures for students with disabilities, for students called to active military duty, incomplete work, discriminatory conduct, grade appeal procedures, final examination policy, policies for religious observance, and complaint procedures, may be found at
- You must check your UWM email regularly for important course notifications. There may be changes in the readings or assignments during the semester, which I will notify you about via email. If you do not know about these changes because you did not check your email (or ignored an email you received from me) you will still be held accountable.
GER-Humanities Course criteria:
This course counts for Humanities GER credit. Humanities are the academic disciplines that investigate human constructs and values. The humanistic disciplines – such as art history, history, language and literature, philosophy, religious studies, film and media studies – are concerned with questions, issues, and concepts basic to the formation of character and the establishment of values in a human context. They also provide literary, aesthetic, and intellectual experiences that enrich and enlighten human life. In these courses, students will use humanistic means of inquiry, such as: the critical use of sources and evaluation of evidence, the exercise of judgment and expression of ideas, and the organization, logical analysis, and creative use of substantial bodies of knowledge in order to approach the subject of study.
This course fits with the above definition because it helps you develop the skills necessary for the critical use of primary and secondary historical sources. It also helps you achieve a humanistic means of inquiry to evaluate evidence pertaining to the history of religion around the world. This course also fosters an appreciation of distinctive cultures and traditions that enrich and enlighten human life by using textual, visual, and other sources to critically examine the experiences of Hindus, Jews, Christians and Muslims within a variety of cultural and geographical settings.
You will critically evaluate a number of books, articles, and images concerning these religious traditions from antiquity to the present. The process of examining and evaluating such textual and visual sources will introduce you to a substantial body of historical knowledge that will help them increase their understanding of religion, class, gender, and culture around the world.
You will be able to use the knowledge of religions gained throughout the semester to “apply diverse humanistic theories and perspectives to other branches of knowledge or to issues of universal human concern” because this knowledge will help you increase your understanding of other religions on a global scale and help you understand how these affect contemporary global issues of religion, class, gender, and culture, as well as how these may evolve in the future.
The above learning outcomes will be achieved through two written assignments and two in-class exams. The written assignments will ask students to display their understanding of the assigned readings, as well as to form their own individual synthesis from them. These assignments will improve students’ critical reading abilities, as well as their abilities to formulate, construct, and support an academic argument. The in-class exams will challenge students to display their understanding of the concepts covered in class. In the process, students will be made to reflect not only on the religions we have examined, but on the nature of religions in general.
The scores assigned will be evaluated to determine if an acceptable percentage of you have acquired the skill outlined in the learning goal. Your written exams will be evaluated and assigned a value in each of the following categories: a) conceptual clarity demonstrating understanding of critical concepts of the religions under consideration; b) the proficiency of written organizational skills. An average of your essay scores will provide a numeric measure of the success of the course in reaching these learning goals and will illustrate the extent to which the course needs to be altered to improve it. If areas of weakness are indicated, the course pedagogy and content will be evaluated to determine where changes can be made to improve future students’ access to the desired skill.
UW System Shared Learning Goal:
This course will also address the University of Wisconsin System Shared Learning Goal of Effective Communication Skills including listening, speaking, reading, writing, and information literacy. Your written exams will be evaluated and assigned a value in each of the following categories: a) conceptual clarity demonstrating understanding of critical concepts of the religions under consideration; b) the proficiency of written organizational skills. The scores assigned will be evaluated to determine if an acceptable percentage of you have acquired the skill outlined in the learning goal. An average of the students’ essay scores will provide a numeric measure of the success of the course in reaching these learning goals and will illustrate the extent to which the course needs to be altered to improve it. If areas of weakness are indicated, the course pedagogy and content will be evaluated to determine where changes can be made to improve future students’ access to the desired skill.
Materials:
The required reading materials for this course are as follows:
1) The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic, translated by R. K. Narayan (Penguin Classics, 2006, ISBN 978-0143039679)
2) Islam: The Straight Path (Fifth Edition), by John Esposito (Oxford University Press, 2016, ISBN 9780190632151)
3) The Sabbath, by Abraham Joshua Heschel (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2005, ISBN 978-0374529758)
There are multiple printings and versions for each of these books; it is important that you get the one indicated above. The ISBN number is the most important part. The easiest way to get the correct books is to go to and navigate to RELIGST 101 (section 001), where the correct versions of these books are listed. Or you can order the books from elsewhere.
4) Lastly, you will need a copy of the Bible. Pretty much any version of the Bible will do, as long as it contains the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Week 1
Weds, Sept 5 – Introduction to the course
Week 2
Mon, Sept 10 – Religions
Weds, Sept 12 – Hinduism I
Ramayana, 3-32, “Prologue,” “1. Rama’s Initiation,” “2. The Wedding”
Week 3
Mon, Sept 17 – Hinduism II
Ramayana, 33-61, “3. Two Promises Revived”
Weds, Sept 19 – Hinduism III
Ramayana, 62-89, “4. Encounters in Exile,” “5. The Grand Tormentor”
Week 4
Mon, Sept 24 – Hinduism IV
Ramayana, 90-120, “6. Vali,” “7. When the Rains Cease”
Weds, Sept 26 – Hinduism V
Ramayana, 121-138, “8. Memento from Rama,” “9. Ravana in Council,” “10. Across the Ocean,” “11. The Siege of Lanka”
Week 5
Mon, Oct 1 – Hinduism VI
Ramayana, 139-157, “12. Rama and Ravana in Battle,” “13. Interlude,” “14. The Coronation,” “Epilogue”
Weds, Oct 3 – Paper writing workshop
No assigned readings
Week 6
Mon, Oct 8 – Topic TBA
*** First writing assignment due at the beginning of class
Weds, Oct 10 – The Judeo-Christian Tradition I
The Old Testament: Genesis, chapters 1-12
Week 7
Mon, Oct 15 – The Judeo-Christian Tradition II
The Old Testament: Exodus, chapters 1-18
Weds, Oct 16 – The Judeo-Christian Tradition III
The New Testament: The Gospel According to Mark, chapters 1-16
Week 8
Mon, Oct 22 – The Judeo-Christian Tradition IV
The New Testament: The Book of Revelation, chapters 1-22
Weds, Oct 24 – *** In-class test
Week 9
Mon, Oct 29 – Islam I
- The Straight Path, 1-35, “1. Muhammad and the Quran: Messenger and Message”
Weds, Oct 31 – Islam II
- The Straight Path, 37-89, “2. The Muslim Community in History”
Week 10
Mon, Nov 5 – Islam III
- The Straight Path, 92-141, “3. Religious Life: Belief and Practice”
Weds, Nov 7 – Islam IV
- The Straight Path, 144-188, “4. Modern Islamic Reform Movements”
Week 11
Mon, Nov 12 – Islam V
- The Straight Path, 190-252, “5. The Resurgence of Religion in Politics”
Weds, Nov 15 – Islam VI
- The Straight Path, 255-299, “6. The Struggle for Islam in the Twenty-First Century”
Week 12
Mon, Nov 19 – *** Take-home test during class time
Weds, Nov 21 – no class, Thanksgiving
Week 13
Mon, Nov 26 – Judaism I
- The Sabbath, vii-xvi, 3-10, “Introduction,” “Prologue: Architecture of Time”
Weds, Nov 28 – Judaism II
- The Sabbath, 13-32, “1. A Palace in Time,” “2. Beyond Civilization”
Week 14
Mon, Dec 3 – Judaism III
- The Sabbath, 35-62, “3. The Splendor of Space,” “4. Only Heaven and Nothing Else?”, “5. ‘Thou Art One’,” “6. The Presence of a Day”
Weds, Dec 5 – Judaism IV
- The Sabbath, 64-101, “7. Eternity Utters a Day,” “8. Intuitions of Eternity,” “9. Holiness in Time,” “10: Thou Shalt Covet”
Week 15
Mon, Dec 10 – Class topic TBA
Weds, Dec 12 – Class topic TBA
Week 16
Weds, Dec 19 – *** Final paper due at 2pm