RELG 120: COMPARATIVE RELIGION
Professor: Dr. Jack Turner
Phone: 777-8280(o)
Email: [email protected]
Office: Thomas Cooper Library 109
Online Course
Generic Syllabus
Website: http://blackboard.sc.edu
Office hours are by appointment
1. Nature of the Course
This course is designed to introduce the student to the wide variety of religions in our world as
well as to provide them with the basic methods for the scholarly study of world religions. As a
part of this study, particular emphasis will be laid upon the history, theology/doctrine, and rituals
of each tradition as a way of directing our inquiry and understanding these differing religions.
Every attempt will be made to present each religion as a living, vital, and active force in our
world today, with specific emphasis being laid upon how each religious tradition is manifested in
our immediate geographical region.
As the course progresses, we will from time to time look at different religions comparatively.
This is not done as a means of evaluating good or bad and correct from incorrect, but rather to
highlight differences and similarities between different religious groups. Students will be
expected to individually interact with a religious tradition other than their own. Students will also
have the opportunity to think critically about their own tradition as a part of this course.
The overall goal of the course is to allow the student an opportunity to learn some basic facts
both about the study of religion generally and about specific religions, particularly ones that are
found in our state and nation. At no time will attempts at proselytizing be tolerated; such
activities are inappropriate in an academic setting. Students are also expected to refrain from
demeaning or defacing any tradition in their academic work and classroom interaction, including
their own tradition.
By the conclusion of the course, the successful student will:
 Understand the basic theories about and methods for the scholarly study of religion.
 Identify the major religious traditions in the world and their presence in South Carolina.
 Know the basic facts about each religion studied, as well as relevant vocabulary.
 Articulate challenges each tradition faces in a modern secular and pluralistic society.
2. Course Format
This course is delivered entirely online and there are no in-class sessions to attend. Lectures have
been recorded for the student to use in completing the requirements of the course. These, along
with readings from the textbooks and supplemental readings and videos posted to blackboard, are
a supplement to the textbook, and not a replacement for the assigned texts. Students are still
expected to complete all readings from the textbook and the biblical literature. Questions for
quizzes and examinations are drawn from both the textbook and from the lectures. All materials
required to complete the course will become available on the official course start date. The
lectures are saved in .mp3 format. You may listen to the lecture in blackboard or you may
download the lecture to your computer. Do take note of where the lecture is downloaded to
ensure you are able to find it when ready to listen. You may download these lectures to your
computer and place them on a portable device (such as an iPod) if available, but these lectures
are the property of the professor and may not be distributed without his express written
permission.
Students must check blackboard periodically for updates to the course. As the primary means of
communication will be e-mail, all students must ensure that they check their USC e-mail
regularly or that they update their e-mail address in blackboard to one that they check regularly.
The instructor will check his e-mail regularly and will make every attempt to respond in a timely
manner; the instructor considers a response within twenty-four (24) hours Sunday through
Thursday or seventy-two (72) hours Friday through Sunday to be timely. However, the instructor
is sometimes away from computers and thus unable to check e-mail; if you have not received a
response in forty-eight hours (seventy-two over the weekend or holiday), it is likely that your
message was not received and you should attempt to re-send your message. If sending an
assignment, it is YOUR responsibility to ensure that it is received by the deadline, so you should
plan in advance when you will submit assignments. Important reminders for the entire class will
be posted on the announcements section of the course website so that they are immediately
viewable when logging into the course site, distributed via e-mail to students, or both.
If you are experiencing a problem with the course, it is important to contact me when you
become aware of the problem. I cannot know you are having difficulty, either with the course
material or some technical difficulty unless you tell me that you are having a problem. It is in
your best interest to communicate with your professor regularly and to work ahead on the course
materials to ensure that a last-minute technical failure does not prevent you from completing the
course. Technical problems will not be considered an excuse for a failure to complete course
work in a timely fashion.
Because the course is online, you may work on course material at your own pace, up to the end
of the module that is currently open. You will not be able to work ahead in the current module,
but you can always go back to a previous module for review. However, even though this course
is online it is not a self-paced course; there are specific due dates for several assignments, and
students must ensure they submit the assignment by the required date. Thus, students should
devise a study plan which allows them to complete the required work well in advance of an
assignment’s due date. Once a due date has passed, the assignment will cease to be available on
blackboard and no further submissions will be accepted. Any work not submitted will count as a
zero. No incompletes are given for this course.
Online courses are not for everyone. A student must be self-motivated to succeed in the course,
proactive in learning the material, and willing to work within established periodic deadlines.
Even though online courses are flexible, allowing you to work when it is convenient for you, the
student, there is still a lot of work to be completed, and student work is held to the same high
standards used in traditional classroom courses. In addition, this is an eight week course.
Because the course is offered in half the time of a normal course, it does not mean it has half the
work. Rather, because of the accelerated format, you will need to complete the same amount of
work in half the time. This requires an additional element of motivation to complete course work
on time and commitment to keep to the required schedule.
3. Course Requirements
Student grades will be determined as follows:
Quizzes
30%
A
Midterm Exam 25%
.B+
Term Paper
15%
.B
Final Exam
30%
.C+
100-90
89-88
87-80
79-78
C
D+
D
F
77-70
69-68
67-60
below 60
Quizzes: There will be a series of quizzes, one for each unit, totaling thirty-five percent of the
overall grade. Each quiz will cover the subjects associated with given module, and students
should take the quiz after completing the appropriate module on the syllabus. There will is also a
prompt at the end of the last lecture in each module instructing the student to take the quiz.
Quizzes will be open book and are not designed to trick or trip up the student, but are designed to
gauge how well the student has understood the material in the previous section. Quizzes will
consist of multiple-choice, true/false and short answer objectives.
Exams: There will be a midterm and a final exam for this course. The midterm will cover the
first three units of the course, and the final exam will cover the last three. The exams are not
cumulative, so students will not need to study material from the entire course for the exam.
Term Paper: Students are expected to write a term paper for this course and will have a choice
between two types of papers. The first paper will involve the student immersing themselves in a
religious tradition of their choosing. The other type of paper will be a standard research paper,
where in a student engages in selects a topic wherein the student may compare an aspect or
theme present in multiple religious traditions. This paper will rely heavily on scholarly and
academic literature, allowing the student to demonstrate familiarity with the main issues in using
the comparative method and the significant questions that arise from comparing a theme across
multiple religious traditions.
Students may choose which paper they would like to write first and some may wish to complete
the module related to the religion associated with their paper prior to undertaking the personal
experience required for the paper. Regardless, a paper must be submitted by the due dates listed
on the syllabus, though students are welcome to turn their papers in earlier. For further details,
students should consult the relevant Guidelines in the Assignments section of blackboard: either
Research or Religious Experience papers guidelines as appropriate.
4. Textbooks
Please see the official course syllabus in blackboard for textbook information.
5. Communication
Students who need to contact the instructor for assistance with the course are encouraged to do
so as soon as they become aware of the need for assistance. The easiest method is via e-mail,
which the student can expect to have answered in 48 hours. Student who are on the Columbia
campus may also make an appointment to see the instructor in his office. Finally, students may
communicate with each other via e-mail or via the “Water Cooler” on the discussion board
section of blackboard.
6. Readings Schedule
Please see the official syllabus in blackboard for a list of readings.
7. Student Schedule
Below is the schedule for students to follow for the course. Students may undertake their work at
their own pace, but must submit assignments by the due dates listed in Section 8 on the syllabus.
You may work ahead at any point, but assignments which have a specific due date must be
submitted on or before the date given; late work will not be accepted. The schedule provided is
intended to space out all of the coursework over the entire semester while meeting the course’s
established deadlines, allowing students to make steady and consistent progress towards
completing the required assignments, while also providing rest periods during breaks. All
materials for the course will be available on the official start of course date and students should
begin work at that time. Because a heavier load of work is often required at the end of courses, it
is to your advantage to complete as much as possible in advance of the actual due date.
8. Important Dates
Please see the official syllabus in blackboard for important dates for this course.
9. Assignment Due Dates
Please see the official syllabus in blackboard for assignment due dates for this course.
10. Academic Integrity
You are expected to practice the highest possible standards of academic integrity. Any deviation
from this expectation will result in a minimum academic penalty of your failing the assignment,
and will result in additional disciplinary measures. This includes improper citation of sources,
using another student’s work, and any other form of academic misrepresentation.
The University of South Carolina has clearly articulated its policies governing academic integrity
and students are encouraged to carefully review the policy on the Honor Code in the Carolina
Community. Any deviation from these expectations will result in academic penalties as well as
disciplinary action. The area of greatest potential risk for inadvertent academic dishonesty is
plagiarism. Students should also read closely the discussion of avoiding plagiarism that is
included in the guidelines for student papers.
Any suspected violation of the University of South Carolina Honor Code will be reported to the
Office of Academic Integrity to be dealt with accordingly. If, after an investigation by the Office
of Academic Integrity, a student is found to have violated the Honor Code will, at a minimum,
receive a grade of “0” on the assignment in question and may receive an “F” for the course if, in
the judgment of the professor, such a penalty is warranted. This will be in addition to any
sanctions handed down by the Office of Academic Integrity.
Students can read the Carolina Creed at http://www.sa.sc.edu/creed/ and the USC Honor Code at
http://www.housing.sc.edu/academicintegrity/honorcode.html.
11. Disability Accommodations
Students who require any form of disability accommodation must be registered with the Office
of Student Disability Services. The professor will not provide accommodations to any student
who is not registered with Student Disability Services, and that office will contact the professor
with the appropriate accommodations from the student. The professor is not qualified to make a
determination of what accommodations a student needs or is entitled to and under no
circumstances will the professor attempt to make those determinations. The Office of Student
Disability Services can be contacted at 803-777-6742 or [email protected].
12. Technical Support
In order to avoid problems due to technology malfunction, students should not wait until the last
minute to take quizzes, review lectures, or submit assignments. However, should students find
that they are having a technology problem, they must contact the USC Help Desk at 803-7771800 or [email protected] for support. You must also contact the professor so that he is aware
of the problem. Even if you have been working with UTS on an issue for a long period of time, if
you do not report the problem to the professor and it prevents you from submitting work, you
will still receive a grade of 0.
13. Student Responsibilities
Students who read this syllabus and mark it as reviewed are agreeing that they have read the syllabus
in its entirety and that they will abide by the conditions of the course, including established due dates,
that all work submitted on all assignments, including examinations, will be the student’s own original
work that they have completed by their sole effort without assistance from other person, student or
otherwise, whether enrolled in this course or another at the university or not enrolled in any course
whatsoever at any university anywhere, and that the student understands that this course is an internet
course which requires both access to the internet and the use of a compatible web browser as
specified by the University of South Carolina’s blackboard compatibility chart. Students who cannot
agree to these conditions should not continue in this course.