Exploring Dimensions of Ultimate Reality

(Religious Studies 100/English 102)

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Asst. Prof. Tammie Bob

Tel. (630) 942-3327

E-mail:  bobtam@cdnet.cod.edu

Office: IC3127b

Office Hours: M+ F  8-9 AM  

Wed. 8-9 AM and 2-3 PM 

T + Th 8-10 AM and 12- 12:50                                                      

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Asst. Prof. Eva Maria Raepple , Ph. D .

Tel. (630) 942 3983

E-mail: mailto:Raepple@cdnet.cod.edu

Office: IC 2011 d

Class location: Tuesday and Thursday 10-12, src 1558  Friday in src 3615 (comp lab)

TEXTBOOKS:

Understanding Religion in Global Society. Raepple, Richter et al.

Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, expanded edition. Mack, Bierhorst et al.

Writing Analytically, third edition, Rosenwasser, Stevenson.

Description

This course introduces students to religious dimensions and worldviews by comparing concepts, texts and experiences of diverse religious traditions. It is an attempt to describe, interpret and explore the nature of religion using a global perspective. We will explore concepts that are considered to refer to the source of religious belief. Although no single religious tradition will be treated comprehensively, we will study materials from various traditions to illustrate important thematic issues in religious experiences of Sacred Reality. We will work to gain an appreciation of the nature and variety of religious experience and its roots in understandings of the Sacred. Further, the course will situate religious experience in the context of human cultural, economic and historical reality.

We will gather, evaluate, and synthesize information from primary and secondary sources such as sacred texts and commentaries, ritual instructions, ethical imperatives, social-cultural practices, imaginative literature, art and architecture. We will explore ways to access and understand these sources, some of which may seem impenetrable or perplexing. Much of our focus will be on close analysis of texts, and how to discover, develop, and support ideas about issues that those texts raise. We will build on the writing skills developed in English 101 including use of the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, and critically reviewing your own and others' essays) and add to them the elements of critical analysis and academic research.

Students are invited to investigate differing expressions of human beliefs and religious experiences. A first step in this investigation is to heighten awareness of diverse responses to the human quest for what is believed as 'the Absolute/the Holy/Ultimate Reality. Through classroom and outside activities and various writing assignments, students will dialoguewith some of these diverse cross-cultural sacred expressions. Expect possible challenges to preconceptions! Successful learning requires sensitivity, and the willingness to be open to listen and to approach with empathy concepts that might be unusual and unfamiliar. Finally, it requires the ability to question and to rethink notions of sacred dimensions in human life.

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Objectives

· To acquire critical knowledge of dimensions of “the Absolute/the Sacred/Ultimate Reality'

· To consciously recognize, and analyze the idea of the Sacred/Ultimate Reality as focus of diverse religious traditions under a cross-cultural global perspective

· To gain understanding of the phenomenon of religion by comparing and contrasting different dimensions of the Sacred/Ultimate Reality utilizing examples from the seemingly endless variety of aspects including visualization, sacred writings and commentaries, philosophical conception, holy sounds, rituals, symbols and practices

· To recognize religious expressions as concepts 'responding' to fundamental questions in human existence, questions, which include experiences like death and suffering, awe and wonder

· To gain a notion of the role of religion in the context of historical as well as modern societies

· To assimilate conventions of academic inquiry, research, and writing by interpreting sacred texts, commentaries, and artistic expressions

· To develop empathy coupled with informed critical consideration of religious contexts as a means to respond to a rapidly emerging global consciousness

· To improve rhetorical knowledge, the understanding of the writing situation.

· To practice and develop control of the writing process

· To write persuasively and to understand the demands made by the arguments students encounter

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Course Materials

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Assignments

Every Friday, we will meet in a computer-lab, for research on the Internet. A series of assignments will provide you with ideas, instructions and questions to explore specific topics. The assignments will always deal with the readings and topics discussed during the week. Therefore, lectures as well as the readings in your textbook are a very important preparation for your written weekly essays. The goal of these assignments is twofold:

a) to acquire knowledge about unfamiliar religious ideas, concepts, expressions, and experiences
b) to apply this knowledge according to the questions in the assignment

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Written Assignments

Three major papers and a series of analytical responses to each reading:

1. Essay with a focus on personal response to applied interpretation of literary and/or religious texts
2. Essay that synthesizes the ideas of other writers and thinkers into a coherent whole evil/suffering/death
3. Essay that responds to and synthesizes the ideas of others and incorporates research
4. A written response to each reading

Plan to spend some time in a library. Not everything is available on the internet and especially with regard to religion studies,  very few Websites offer academic resources! This class follows the “Academic Honesty Philosophy Statement” of the College of DuPage. All assignments and thepapers must be your own work. Proven plagiarism will earn you an F for the class. The grading criteria will particularly focus on clarity, creativity, and depth of presentation in your interpretation of a primary literary source. I will not grade any essays that do not include bibliographic references. Again, proven plagiarism will earn you an F for the class, possibly a meeting with the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, including a formal report and/or an appearance before a Judicial Board.

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Class Discussions

Lively discussions make a course much more interesting! Therefore, please keep up with all the readings and mark as many questions as come to your mind while you are researching the material. Since your thoughtful and critical contribution in these discussions accounts for 20% of your grade, please participate regularly. We also check attendance. Missing more than four classes during the quarter will negatively influence your participation grade.

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Sources:

1. Kathmandu, Nepal | Buddhist monk at Swayambunath Temple. Mikey and Lou Samson. SnapshotAsia. 06/08/03.
http://www.snapshotasia.com/

2. Photo: courtesy of Tammie Bob

3.&4. Photos: courtesy of Knute Ellingson

5. Toledo, Spain | Detail of a wall. Mikey and Lou Samson. SnapshotAsia. 06/08/03.
http://www.snapshotasia.com/