REL 105-001: Honors Introduction to Religious Studies MWF 9:00-9:50 A.M. Manly Hall 207 Dr. Michael J.

Altman [email protected] 205-348-7223 Office: 315 Manly Hall Office Hours: Tuesday 10am-noon or by appointment Dept. Office: 212 Manly Hall I. Course Description This course introduces the academic study of religion through a combination of historical inquiry and theoretical application. First, we will investigate the history of religion as a category for analysis in Western culture, beginning with the Enlightenment and moving forward into late modernity. Second, we will apply theories of religion that make up that history to contemporary social and cultural phenomenon and to a case study from the field of religious studies. The course, then, combines the history of the academic study of religion with theoretical practice in religious studies. II. Course Outcomes a) At the end of this course all students will master a basic narrative for the intellectual history of the analytical category religion. b) At the end of this course all students will understand and apply theories of religion to cultural and social phenomenon. III. Course Requirements a) Reading Underneath each date on the schedule readings are listed. Complete the readings before you come to class that day. When two dates are listed, be sure to complete the reading before the first date. We will spend two days on the material but you will need to have read it all beforehand. Our readings will come from two books and various articles/chapters I post on Blackboard. REQUIRED BOOKS (Buy them.) Explaining Religion: Criticism and Theory from Bodin to Freud, J. Samuel Preus (2000), listed as ER on the schedule below Journey Through the Twelve Forests: An Encounter With Krishna, David L. Haberman (1994) listed as Journey on the schedule below. The rest of the readings will be found on Blackboard.

b) Scavenger Hunt More on this coming soon. c) Response Questions Writing is thinking. So, to help us think through the readings, nearly every week there will be a response question you must complete. I will give you the question two class days before it is due (e.g. I give the question out on Monday and it is due on that Friday). I will also post the question on Blackboard after class. These questions will require analytical engagement with all of the weeks readings, should be answered in a paragraph or two typed and double spaced (between a half page and a full page). Do not write more than a page. I will collect them at the end of the class they are due. Feel free to mark up, amend, and annotate your answers with thoughts and questions from class as we move through our discussions of the reading. Maybe something in class changes your mind, prompts a question, or challenges what you wrote before; note that in the margins or at the end of your answer. These questions are a way for me to make sure you understand the readings and a chance for you to tell me what is confusing in the material or what I need to go back and spend more time on. At times, I may ask you to read or summarize your answer aloud in class or share them with a partner/small group. Response questions are graded on a 1-3 scale. 1- An answer that shows little or no engagement with the reading, is vague, and lacks details or examples. 2- An answer that engages the reading but is very general or broad and lacks specifics or an example. 3- An answer that specifically engages the reading through an example or details. d) Film Response Late in the semester we will watch the film White Shamans and Plastic Medicine Men. You will write a two page (750-1000 words), typed, double spaced, response to the film. I will provide a prompt/question for your response. e) Exams There will be two exams. The midterm exam will be multiple choice. The final exam will be a combination of multiple choice, fill in the blank, identifications, and short answer questions. f) Attendance You are expected to attend every class session. I will not take attendance. But you have to be here to do well. You will need the context I provide in class to make sense of the readings you do on your own. So, I wont be taking attendance but if you dont come to class you will probably do very poorly.

We will all come to class prepared. That means I will be prepared to lead class discussion and lecture, while you will have done the reading, answered the Response question, and have your reading and your Response with you.

Grade Breakdown: Scavenger hunt - 5% Reading Responses- 30% Film Response- 10% Midterm- 25% Final- 30% Grade Scale A+ 95-100% A 90-94 B+ 85-89 B 80-84

C D+ D DF

70-74 65-69 60-64 50-59 below 50

IV. Ground Rules Late Work/Makeup Work I do not accept late work. I do give extensions in the case of extraordinary circumstances, but I expect that you will ask for the extension promptly. Do not email asking for an extension unless it is under extreme circumstances outside of your control (like a relative died over the weekend and you need to leave immediately. See technology policy regarding technological emergencies.) I allow for make up exams in extraordinary circumstances and only with appropriate documentation that a student missed the exam for reasons outside of their control. Technology policy Lets face it: technology breaks. Servers go down. Transfers time out. Files become corrupt. The list goes on and on. These are not considered emergencies. They are part of the normal production process. An issue you may have with technology is no excuse for late work. You need to protect yourself by managing your time and backing up your work. Turn your cell phone on silent when you come into class. Do not text in class. If you bring a laptop to class, use it for class. Your screen can distract other students. See here: http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Students+laptops+class+lowers+grades+Canadian+ study/8788540/story.html Also, I will occasionally ask that all laptops be put away during class discussion in order to help us focus on listening and responding to one another.

Accommodations Students with a documented physical and/or learning disability should contact the professor outside of class time as soon as possible to review documentation and discuss accommodations. Also, students should familiarize themselves with the Office of Disability Services at http://www.ods.ua.edu. In Case of Emergency/Weather UA's primary communication tool for sending out information is through its web site at www.ua.edu. In the event of an emergency, students should consult this site for further directions. In the event of an emergency, I will use Blackboard to provide additional course information. Honor Code Academic misconduct is a serious offense and is taken very seriously at UA and in the class. Suspected cases of plagiarism, cheating, or other forms of academic misconduct will be referred to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. You are bound by UAs Honor Code in this class.

V. Tentative Schedule INTRODUCTION: Searching for Religion Wed. 8/21- Introductions to an Introduction Fri. 8/23- In Search of a Definition, or Five: Library Scavenger Hunt Mon. 8/26- Categories, Whales, and Mountains Extract of Cetology from Moby Dick Whats in a Name? from Studying Religion: an Introduction, Russell T. McCutcheon Scavenger hunt due PART I. The Enlightenment: From Natural Religion to Natural History of Religion Wed. 8/28- Natural Religion and the Enlightenment Naturalism, God Given Reason, and the Quest for Natural Religion from Thinking About Religion, Ivan Strenski Fri. 8/30, Wed. 9/4- Religion and Human Nature: David Hume ER Ch. 5 Fri. 9/6- Reading Hume Selections from Natural History of Religion Response Question 1 PART II. Savages, the Social Sciences, and Religion Mon. 9/9, Wed. 9/11- Religion of Animism: E. B. Tylor ER Ch. 7 Fri. 9/13- Reading Tylor Selection from Religions in Primitive Culture Response Question 2 Mon. 9/16, Wed. 9/18- The Sacred and Society: Emile Durkheim ER Ch. 8 Fri. 9/20- Reading Durkheim Selection from Elementary Forms of Religious Life Response Question 3 Mon. 9/23, Wed. 9/25- Religion and Neurosis: Sigmund Freud ER Ch. 9

Fri. 9/27- Reading Freud Selection from Future of an Illusion Response Question 4 Part III. The Twentieth Century Search for the Meaning of Religion Mon 9/30, Wed. 10/2- Religion is Sui Generis: Mircea Eliade The Reality of Religion: Mircea Eliade from Eight Theories of Religion, Daniel Pals Fri. 10/4- Reading Eliade Selection from The Sacred and the Profane Response Question 5 Mon. 10/7, Wed. 10/9- Religion, Meaning, and Culture: Clifford Geertz Religion as a Cultural System: Clifford Geertz from Eight Theories of Religion Fri. 10/11- Reading Geertz Religion as a Cultural System Response Question 6 Part IV. Contemporary Critics: Theorizing, Deconstructing, and Critiquing Religion Mon. 10/14, Wed. 10/16- Crossing and Dwelling: Thomas Tweed Confluences: Toward a Theory of Religion from Crossing and Dwelling: A Theory of Religion Fri. 10/18, Mon 10/21- Christianity and Religion: Talal Asad The Construction of Religion as an Anthropological Category from Genealogies of Religion Wed. 10/23, Fri. 10/25-Against Sui Generis Religion: Jonathan Z. Smith The Wobbling Pivot from Map is Not Territory: Studies in the History of Religion Response Question 7 due Friday 10/25 Mon. 10/28- Review: How Far Have We Come? Wed. 10/30- Midterm Exam Fri. 11/1- FALL BREAK PART V. A Case Study in Religious Studies: Journey Through the Twelve Forests Mon. 11/4- Introducing Hinduism in One Day Wed. 11/6- Pilgrimage, Gopis, and Desire Journey Preface, Ch. 1 pp. 3-29 (bottom) Fri. 11/8- History and Myth in Braj Journey Ch. 1 pp. (bottom) 29-44

Mon. 11/11- The Itinerary Through Braj Journey Ch. 2 pp. 45-68 Wed. 11/13- The Road to Nowhere: Centers and Borders in Braj Journey Ch. 2 pp. 68-99 Fri. 11/15- Symbols, Signifiers, and the Signified Journey Ch. 3 Response Question 8 Mon. 11/18- The Ascetic: Time and Space Journey Ch. 4 Wed. 11/20- Performance, Research, and Play Journey Ch. 5 Fri. 11/22 Whos Religious Experience? Journey Ch. 6 Religion and the Insider/Outsider Problem from Studying Religion: An Introduction Response Question 9 CONCLUSION: Inventing, Defining, Organizing, and Studying Religion Mon. 11/25- Who Owns Religion? NO CLASS Watch Watch Shamans and Plastic Medicine Men (Blackboard) Wed. 11/27- CLASS DISMISSED Fri. 11/29- THANKSGIVING Mon. 12/2- Finding a Definition J. Z. Smith Religion, Religions, Religious Wed. 12/4- Organizing Religion Tomoko Masuzawa, Introduction, The Invention of World Religions Film response due Fri. 12/6- What is the study of religion? Religion and Classification from Studying Religion: An Introduction Response Question 10 Mon. 12/9- Final Exam- 8-10:3am