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Department of Religious Studies REL 3308 Studies in World Religions
______________________________________________________________________________ Instructor:
Mr. Daniel Alvarez Class Hours: TR, 11::00 – Office Hours: TBA
.
Class Room: PCA 135 DM 458A or by Appointment Spring 2008
E-Mail Address: Alvarezd@fiu.edu QUIZ # 2
IS UP COURSE DESCRIPTION
Examines the origins, teachings, and practices of selected world religions. The specific religions selected form
examination may vary from semester to semester.
TEXTBOOKS
Lewis M. Hopfe, Mark R. Woodward, Religions of the World, 10th edition,
2007
Franklin Edgerton, Bhagavad Gita,
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES 1. To provide the student with the "raw
materials" for the study of religion by immersing the student in the beliefs,
doctrines, rituals, symbols, and (select) scriptures of some of the major world
religions. 2. To facilitate the informed cross-cultural
comparison and evaluation of ways of being religious by focused study of select
world religions. 3. To widen, enhance and enrich the
intellectual and spiritual horizons of the student by exposure to the spiritual
beauty, vitality, coherence, plausibility and richness of non-Christian,
non-Western approaches to the transcendent or ultimate reality. 4. To challenge the student to enter
sympathetically into the worldview of the religious traditions selected for
study. 5. To provide the context for dialogue and
discussion that will enable the student to live in an enormously complex,
interdependent, and religiously plural world with patience, understanding, and
appreciation for that which is different, and in some cases irreconcilably
different, from his or her own "worldview."
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADES
Mid-Term Exam, on Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism: 50 questions, .5 pts. each (25 pts.)
Final Exam, on Judaism, Christianity and Islam:
100 questions, .5 points each (50 pts.)
Quiz #
Quiz # 5
pts. awarded to every student for completing the course. The
exams are objective (true/false, multiple choice), and the questions will be
drawn from the required reading, lectures, and videos. Given this fact, it is important that the
student make an effort to attend every class.
Also, please remember to bring #2
pencils with you on the day of the quizzes and exams. The answers will be recorded on scantron
sheets to expedite test results. The
mid term exam will consist of forty (40) questions; the final exam will consist
of one hundred (100) questions. The
quizzes will be twenty (20) questions each.
The final exam will not be comprehensive; it will cover only the material
after the midterm exam (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam).
Quizzes will be given promptly at the beginning of the classes on the scheduled
dates. If a student arrives late, he/she is
responsible for completing the quiz within the class period. No exceptions will be made. Furthermore, there will be no make up
quizzes. A
94-100
C
73-77 A-
90-93
C- 70-72 B+
88-89
D+ 68-69 B
83-87
D
63-67 B-
80-82
D- 60-62 C+
78-79
F
0-59
This course is under Blackboard, not WebCT. Please follow the above instructions to login. Quiz 1 will be open from Tuesday morning to Wednesday night. It is 20 questions long, and on a 60 minute timer. COURSE OUTLINE Week 1 T
Introduction:
Syllabus, Requirements, Textbooks, Overview of course
The Study of Religion since the 19th century:
History vs. Dogma (I) Required R
The Study of Religion since the 19th century:
History vs. Dogma (II)
Required
Recommended:
Ernst Troeltsch, "Historical and Dogmatic Method in Theology,”(Right Click
and choose Save As to Download) in Ernst Troeltsch, Religion in History,
Fortress, 1991, 11-32. Week 2 T
Film:
Pre-Aryan Civilization of the R
Hinduism: Pre-Classical or Vedic Religion
Required
Week 3 T
Hinduism:
The Upanishads Required R
Hinduism:
Bhagavad Gita: Karma, Jñana,
Bhakti Required Week 4 T
Film:
"330 Million Gods" R
Theravada Buddhism: The Four Noble Truths, Nirvana, Anatta
Required
Recommended: Walpola
Rahula, What the Buddha Taught, 1-66; “Siddhartha,” film based on the
novel by Herman Hesse. Week 5 T
Film:
"Footprint of the Buddha" R
Film: “Siddhartha,” based on the novel by
Herman Hesse.
(To be able to watch the entire film the class is asked to arrive promptly at Quiz #1, on Hinduism and Theravada Buddhism due Quiz is online via Blackboard. Instructions on how to log in can be found above. Week 6 T
Mahayana Buddhism
Required
Recommnded:
Film: “Little Buddha.” R
Film:
"Land of the Disappearing Buddha" (on Pure Land and Zen Buddhism). Week 7 T
Chinese Religions: Taoism Required R
Chinese Religions: Confucianism Required Week 8 T
Mid-Term Exam (on Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism) due R
Israel: The pre-history of Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam
Required
Week 9 T
Prophecy in tension with Kingship and Priesthood Required R
Judaism: The Emergence of Rabbinic Judaism Required Week 10 T
Judaism:
Kabbalah, Pietism, Emancipation, Holocaust R
Christianity:
Christianity in the First Two Centuries and "Early Catholicism"
Required Reading: Hopfe, 280-304; 318-326; Matthew 5-7 (in
Hopfe), 25:31-46; Luke 4:1-30; Galatians 1, 2; II Corinthians 11-13; Acts 15. Week 11
SPRING BREAK Week 12 T
The Emergence of the Protestant Tradition: 16th
– 20th Centuries
Required R
Islam: The Prophet and the Faith of Islam
Required Week 13 T
Film: "There is no God but God"
Quiz #2, on Judaism and Christianity due R
Islam: Development of Law, Sufism, 18th & 19th Century
Reform Movements, Islamic Fundamentalism (from Ibn Hanbal to Muhammad Al’Wahhab)
Required Week 14 T
Video: “Muhammed:
Legacy of a Prophet” R
Film: “The Message” (Part I) Week 15 T
Film: “The Message” (Part II) R
Film: “The Message” (Part III) Week 16 TBA FINAL EXAM |
