REL 2300 World Religions Online Fall 2019 Instructor: Cyrus Zargar Email: zargar@ucf.edu Office: PSYCH 237; Office Hours: Wednesday 10am-12pm

General Description This course serves as an introduction to World Religions, as well as a general interest course for students who wish to explore the academic study of religion. The course will enable you to explore a diversity of approaches to the academic study of religion (phenomenological, anthropological, scriptural, theological/ethical, critical, and comparative). You will then use those tools to become familiar with the diversity of practices, beliefs, and stories central to different religious communities worldwide. I also hope that it will become the beginning of further study, perhaps as a Religion and Cultural Studies major or minor, through more in-depth courses in religion, and/or by continuing to reflect on the place and meaning of religion today.

Specific Description: This course is mainly set up as having two components: Component One: Acquiring Tools (mainly using Kessler’s Studying Religion). Quizzes will serve to keep you on track. Component Two: Applying those tools to bigger questions, especially questions about the way the world’s religions interact and achieve dialogue. The midterm and the final will allow you to apply what you’ve learned to these bigger questions.

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is bitterest. –Confucius.

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Learning Objectives Essential: Learning fundamental principles, generalizations, and theories. You will learn to distinguish between an outsider and insider perspective on religious traditions and practices. You will learn to describe religious traditions and practices from the perspective of an observer.

• By working carefully through Kessler’s Studying Religion • By discussing, online, the methods of religious studies

Essential: Gaining factual knowledge. You will learn some of the major theoretical perspectives that have dominated the field of religious studies in the twentieth century. You will also learn to identify major figures, practices, and stories of certain world religions.

• By preparing for quizzes focusing on key terms and concepts. • By completing readings that explore terms, methods, and concepts such as pluralism, secularism,

nationalism, and racism. • By participating in online discussions as well as essays for the midterm and final.

Important: Gaining a broader understanding and appreciation of the world’s religions (and cultures). You will learn to ask meaningful questions about the similarities and differences among the religious traditions of the world and to explain why these similarities and differences matter.

• By responding to prompts with short essays on the midterm and final. • By having discussions in groups. • By considering the arguments for and against religious pluralism and interfaith dialogue.

Required Texts

• Studying Religion (Third Edition), Gary E. Kessler • Everything else will be on Canvas.

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Assignments and Grading

• Syllabus Quiz (1%): You will answer a few questions about the syllabus.

• Online participation (discussion) (10%): The basis of this grade will be your activities online, especially the discussions, which are graded. Your engagement overall counts toward this score, but there are two discussions which will be graded. Canvas tracks the degree to which you check in online and engage with materials. Points for all ungraded activities fall in this category.

• Quizzes (30%): Quizzes are multiple choice. In general, each quiz will have ten questions, which will

relate to both (a) the reading AND (b) previous lectures. It will be open book and note. There will be ten such quizzes spread out throughout the semester, but only your top eight scores will count. These will be taken at home, on Canvas.

• Midterm (29%): The midterm is a 500-word open-book examination. There will be three questions

given to you ten days in advance. Two of those questions will be selected for the midterm. Each answer should be approximately 250 words, but it is more important that both answers add up to 500 words, or close to that number.

• Final (30%): This is an open-book assignment, like the midterm, though it should be 600 words. You

will be asked to answer two questions (out of three, given ten days in advance) in more depth. Important notes:

• WORD COUNTS MUST BE TYPED AT THE TOP OF EACH DOCUMENT • WORD COUNTS MAY BE WITHIN 10% of THE ASSIGNED MINIMUM/LIMIT, that is, a 700-word

midterm should be no less than 630 and no more than 770 words long. • All quizzes and tests will expect you to be familiar with readings and lectures.

Grading Scale: The following scale determines your grade: 100-92.0% = A; 91.9-90.0% = A-; 89.9-87.0% = B+; 86.9-82.0% =

B; 81.9-80.0% = B-; 79.9-77.0% = C+; 76.9-70% = C; 69.9-60.0% = D; 59.9% to below = F

Course Topics (These will almost definitely change. It is up to you to keep up with changes.)

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Week/Dates Topic Assignments Due Dates

Week 1

8/26-9/1

Orientation

Defining Religion

Syllabus Quiz

Watch: Chapter One “Explorations” as online lecture

Read: Defining and Studying Religion Kessler, 14-37

Quiz #1, closes at 11:59pm on Friday

Quiz #1, closes at 11:59pm on Friday

Week 2

9/2-9/8

Sacred Power Read: Kessler, 38-59

Read: Renunciation Hausner, Wandering with Sadhus: Ascetics in the Hindu Himalayas, (Ch.1), pp. 35-43.

Quiz #2, closes at 11:59pm on Friday

Quiz #2, closes at 11:59pm on Friday

Week 3

9/9-9/15

Sacred Myth Read: Kessler, 60-81

Read:

Buddhism Goes to the Movies, Ch. 2: “The Four Noble Truths, Fight Club”

Quiz #3, closes at 11:59pm on Friday

Quiz #3, closes at 11:59pm on Friday

Graded discussion #1, completed by Sunday at 11:59pm.

Week 4

9/16-9/22

Ritual: Sacred Action

Read: Kessler, 82-102

Watch: Judaism and the Holocaust (Watch: “Films on Demand,” Seg. 10 & 11)

Read: “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”

Quiz #4, closes at 11:59pm on Friday

Quiz #4, closes at 11:59pm on Friday

Week 5

9/23-9/29

Sacred Space Read: Kessler, 103-126

Watch: “Hajj,” directed by Anisa Mehdi

Quiz #5, closes at 11:59pm on Friday

Quiz #5, closes at 11:59pm on Friday

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Week 6

9/30-10/6

Mystics and Morality

Experiencing the Sacred Kessler, 127-158 Religion and Morality Kessler, 186-209

NOTE: Midterm Questions will be posted this week.

Week 7

10/7-10/13

Power and Authority

Organizing the Sacred (Institutionalized Religion) Kessler, 240-275

Midterm Preparation

Midterms Due at 11:59pm on Friday.

Week 8

10/14-10/20

Modernity Watch: “Max Weber's the Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”

Watch: “Edward Said on Orientalism” (Full Video)

Quiz #6, closes at 11:59pm on Friday

Week 9

10/21-10/27

Existential Questions

Human Existence and Destiny Read: Kessler, 276-299

Explaining Evil Read: Kessler, 159-183

Quiz #7, closes at 11:59pm on Friday

Week 10

10/28-11/3

Religious Diversity and Truth

Read: Omid Safi, “Bargaining with Baraka”

Read: ‘Aṭṭār, “Shaykh of Sam‘ān,” pp. 108-125

Quiz #8, closes at 11:59pm

Week 11

11/4-11/10

Interfaith Read: Religious Diversity and Truth Kessler, 300-325

Read: Eboo Patel, Sacred Ground, pp. 23-40. (Skim pp. 78-87.)

Quiz #9, closes at 11:59pm

Week 12

11/11-11/17

Pluralism Read: John Hick, “The Non-Absoluteness of Christianity” Read: Legenhausen, “Islam and Religious Pluralism,” up to "The Non-Reductive Religious Pluralism of Islam" (the part btwn notes 26 and 27)

Watch: Patel vs. Hawerwas on Religious Diversity.

Quiz #10, closes at 11:59pm on Friday

Week 13

11/18-11/24

Religion and War

Read: Hawerwas, War and the American Difference (Ch. 2)

Read: William Cavanaugh, The Myth of Religious Violence, Ch. 4

Graded discussion #2, completed by Sunday at 11:59pm.

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Week 14

11/25-12/4

THANKSGIVING

Review for Final Special Online Meeting: Live Video Chat

FINALS WEEK

12/5-12/12

Final Final Due Tuesday at 11:59pm

FINE PRINT: Academic Integrity Students should familiarize themselves with UCF’s Rules of Conduct at <http://osc.sdes.ucf.edu/process/roc>. According to Section 1, “Academic Misconduct,” students are prohibited from engaging in

1. Unauthorized assistance: Using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids in any academic exercise unless specifically authorized by the instructor of record. The unauthorized possession of examination or course-related material also constitutes cheating.

2. Communication to another through written, visual, electronic, or oral means: The presentation of material which has not been studied or learned, but rather was obtained through someone else’s efforts and used as part of an examination, course assignment, or project.

3. Commercial Use of Academic Material: Selling of course material to another person, student, and/or uploading course material to a third-party vendor without authorization or without the express written permission of the university and the instructor. Course materials include but are not limited to class notes, Instructor’s PowerPoints, course syllabi, tests, quizzes, labs, instruction sheets, homework, study guides, handouts, etc.

4. Falsifying or misrepresenting the student’s own academic work. 5. Plagiarism: Using or appropriating another’s work without any indication of the source, thereby attempting to convey the

impression that such work is the student’s own. 6. Multiple Submissions: Submitting the same academic work for credit more than once without the express written permission

of the instructor. 7. Helping another violate academic behavior standards.

For more information about Academic Integrity, consult the International Center for Academic Integrity <http://academicintegrity.org>. For more information about plagiarism and misuse of sources, see “Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices” <http://wpacouncil.org/node/9>. Course Accessibility Statement The University of Central Florida is committed to providing access and inclusion for all persons with disabilities. Students with disabilities who need disability-related access in this course should contact the professor as soon as possible. Students should also connect with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) <http://sas.sdes.ucf.edu/> (Ferrell Commons 185, sas@ucf.edu, phone 407-823-2371). Through Student Accessibility Services, a Course Accessibility Letter may be created and sent to professors, which informs faculty of potential access and accommodations that might be reasonable. Determining reasonable access and accommodations requires consideration of the course design, course learning objectives and the individual academic and course barriers experienced by the student.

Campus Safety Statement for Students in Online-Only Courses Though most emergency situations are primarily relevant to courses that meet in person, such incidents can also impact online students, either when they are on or near campus to participate in other courses or activities or when their course work is affected by off-campus emergencies. The following policies apply to courses in online modalities.

• To stay informed about emergency situations, students can sign up to receive UCF text alerts by going to <https://my.ucf.edu> and logging in. Click on “Student Self Service” located on the left side of the screen in the toolbar,

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scroll down to the blue “Personal Information” heading on the Student Center screen, click on “UCF Alert”, fill out the information, including e-mail address, cell phone number, and cell phone provider, click “Apply” to save the changes, and then click “OK.”

• Students with special needs related to emergency situations should email their instructors.

Make-Up Assignments for Authorized University Events or Co-curricular Activities Students who represent the university in an authorized event or activity (for example, student-athletes) and who are unable to meet a course deadline due to a conflict with that event must provide the instructor with documentation in advance to arrange a make-up. No penalty will be applied. For more information, see the UCF policy at <http://policies.ucf.edu/documents/4-401.1MakeupAssignmentsForAuthorizedUniversityEventsOrCocurricularActivities.pdf> Religious Observances Students must notify their instructor in advance if they intend to miss class for a religious observance. For more information, see the UCF policy at <http://regulations.ucf.edu/chapter5/documents/5.020ReligiousObservancesFINALOct17.pdf>. Deployed Active Duty Military Students Students who are deployed active duty military and/or National Guard personnel and require accommodation should contact their instructors as soon as possible after the semester begins and/or after they receive notification of deployment to make related arrangements.