Comparative Religions, REL 2553
Spring 2010
Dr. David Linebarger
Office: HHA 245
Office Hours: MWF: 1:00-3:00; TTH 2:00-3:00; and by appt.
Telephone: 456-5511, ext. 2708
E-Mail: linebarg@nsuok.edu
Required Text: Scriptures
of the World's Religions, Ed. by James Fieser and John Powers,
third edition.
Course Purpose: To introduce students to the ideas,
practices, and scriptures of diverse religious traditions such us
Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Daoism, Shinto, Judaism, Chrisitianity,
Islam, the Baha'i Faith, and other religious traditions. Students
will develop a wide
range of critical reading, writing, and thinking skills as they engage
the writings and thoughts of each religious tradition.
Grading: All final grades will based on a total of 1000
points.
Here is the breakdown for grades:
A=900-1000, B=800-900, C=700-799, D=600-699, F=599 and below.
To determine your final grade, assignments and exams will be
weighted
as follows: Quizzes; in-class writings (250 pts), 3 Exams (600 pts),
Oral Presentation (150 pts.).
Quizzes, in-class writings (250 pts.): For those days marked
below by quiz, you should be
prepared to write a response (about 10-15 minutes) to some question or
questions I
ask
about the assigned readings below. To prepare for these quizzes,
you must carefully study each text assigned so that you know it well,
can explain it to others, and can offer your own reflections on what it
means. Each of these assignments will
be
worth 20 pts. On other days, I will often assign a reflective
in-class writing worth 10 points. Both quizzes and in-class
writings cannot be made up for
any reason. Because of this, I will give you an extra 50
points (for a total of 300 pts), so that you may miss up to 50 points
and still receive 250/250
points. But you cannot receive more than 250 points for your
quiz/in-class writing grade.
Exams: A study guide for each examination will be available
from
my homepage a week before each examination takes place. For each
examination, you will be responsible for all of the individual readings
assigned. You will be responsible for knowing these readings well
and for explaining how they fit into their religious tradition.
Exams will include both essay writing as well as identification
and commentary on selected passages from individual readings.
Exams may also cover specific vocabulary from each religious tradition.
If you need to miss an examination for some reason, please contact me
beforehand
and let me know. If you do not contact me prior to the
examination,
I will deduct 10 pts. from this examination for each class day until
you
take it.
Attendance: Attendance at all class meetings is
required.
Excessive absences will endanger the health of your grade and could
result
in failure and loss of credit for the course.
ADA Policy: If any member of the class feels that he/she has
a disability and needs special accommodations, please advise the
instructor
of such disability at the first class attended.
Schedule (Subject to Change)
1/14 Intro
1/19 Buddhism:
The Heart of the
Buddha's Teaching, by Thich
Nhat Hanh. pp. 28-46, (e-reserve).
1/21 Buddhism:
Intro (pp. 75-86); Prepare Quiz
on Chapter 7, "For a Future to be Possible" from Living Buddha, Living
Christ, by Thich
Nhat Hanh
(e-reserve).
1/26 All readings, (pp. 87-103).
1/28 "Parable of the Burning House" (112-114);
Bodhisattva's Vows (116); all readings (pp. 124-131). Prepare quiz on "Parable of the Burning
House" (103-105).
2/2 Hinduism:
Intro (pp. 1-11); “What is the Origin of the World” (pp. 21-22), Prepare Quiz on “Yama’s Instructions” (pp.
22-24).
2/4 All readings, (pp. 25-33). Prepare Quiz on "The Bhagavad
Gita" (pp. 43-46).
2/9 Devotional Literature, all works, (pp.
46-48). Treatises on Dharma, all works, pp. 48-57.
2/11 Sikhism: Introduction
and all works (pp. 133-151).
2/16 Daoism: Intro
(pp. 181-89); The Daodejing (pp. 192-197).
2/18 Shinto: Intro
and all works (pp. 217-232).
2/23 Exam #1
2/25 Judaism:
Intro (pp. 267-78); Karen Armstrong, The
History of God, “In the Beginning,” pp. 3-39 (e-Reserve.)
3/2 Books of Moses, all works (pp.
278-88.) Quiz on all these
readings.
3/4 All works, (pp. 288-306).
3/9 Christianity:
The Gospel of John (Chapters
1-10). Quiz on this
reading.
3/11 The Gospel of John
(Chapters 11-21).
3/13-3/21 Spring Break
3/23 All readings (pp. 349-356) Quiz
on this reading.
3/25 Islam: Intro
(pp. 413-425); Armstrong, The
History of God, “Unity: The God of
Islam," p.
132-146, (e-reserve.) No Journal Due.
3/30 The Qur'an
(pp. 425-33; 441-452). Quiz on
all these
readings.
4/1 Baha'i Faith:
Intro (pp. 477-484); Baha'u'llah (pp. 493-510). Quiz on all these
readings.
4/6 Indigenous
Religions of the West: (pp. 511-533); Exam Review.
4/8 Exam #2
4/13 Student Presentations
4/15 Student Presentations
4/20 Student Presentations
4/22 Student Presentations
4/27 Student Presentations
4/29 Student Presentations
5/4 Student Presentations
Final Exam: Tuesday, May 11,
1:00-2:50 pm