Living World Religions
Class time:
Location:
Name of Faculty:
Contact details:
Mon – Thurs 8.30 – 10.25 am
Sherwin Room
Dr Tamara Gieselman and Visiting Faculty, Dr Robert Dion.
[email protected]; [email protected]
Office hours:
By appointment
REL 212
Course Description
This course will involve interfaith engagement with the beliefs, organization, practices, communities and
ethical claims of major world religions as seen through the lens of their liturgies within sacred spaces.
Fieldwork will involve immersion experiences at sacred sites and spaces to explore how sacred
architecture, worship, and religious practice embody and shape the overall vision of different religious
traditions.
Additional Information: REL 212 is designed around two components pedagogically, class room
lectures/discussions and experiential learning. Rail travel provides an added cultural experience for
students and makes field work a participatory immersive experience into British culture. This course also
includes a religion and politics component and close examination of how religion in the public square is
viewed and managed by religious communities.
Students in this course are required to purchase Britrail passes (UK train travel) and Oyster cards (London
Underground) in order to participate in course fieldwork.
Credit Hour Policy Statement
The course will be delivered over five weeks. To achieve the requisite number of credit hours for a 3-Credit
course and meet the University of Evansville Credit Hour Policy http://acelink.evansville.edu/Links.cfm the
course will include:
Fact-to-Face time: Students and faculty will spend a total of 40 hours in seminar, class discussion, group
work and workshops at Harlaxton Manor, over 5 weeks.
These will be complemented by experiential learning visits to sacred sites and spaces with travel providing
an added cultural experience for students.
This class will therefore meet the federal credit hour policy of 45-75 hours for each credit hour through a
combination of: 1) class lecture/discussion and group work; 2) individual study time; and 3) supervised
fieldtrips and visits.
General Education Objective
This course also meets the University’s General Education requirement (Enduring Foundations – 2013
and beyond) for Outcome 4: Engagement with fundamental beliefs about human identity, core values,
and humankind’s place in the world and Overlay A: Global Diversity: International, including:
 Understanding of key questions and issues – this goal parallels the development of religious
literacy outlined above; it will be evaluated through section tests, the cumulative exam, and in
the final essay.
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Critical analysis – this goal parallels aspects of the development of religious literacy and
engagement with religious diversity outlined above; it will be evaluated through the cumulative
exam, engagement activities, and in the final essay.
Awareness of own fundamental beliefs – this goal parallels engagement with religious diversity
outlined above; it will be evaluated through engagement activities and in the final essay.
Complexity recognition – this goal parallels engagement with religious diversity outlined above; it
will be evaluated through engagement activities and in the final essay.
This course also meets the University’s General Education requirement (Enduring Foundations – 2013
and beyond) for Overlay A: Global Diversity: International, including:
 Knowledge of other civilizations and cultures – this goal parallels engagement with religious
diversity outlined above; it will be evaluated through engagement activities and in the final essay.
 Cultural self-awareness – this goal parallels engagement with religious diversity outlined above;
it will be evaluated through engagement activities and in the final essay.
 Cross-cultural communication and competence – this goal parallels engagement with religious
diversity outlined above; it will be evaluated through engagement activities and in the final essay.
 Curiosity – this goal parallels the pursuit of the question about how we might live together in a
religiously diverse world; it will be evaluated through the final essay.
Learning Objectives
Listed below are the Learning Objectives for the course:
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Religious Literacy:
o Students will understand the ideas and approaches that various world religions in different
cultures take toward fundamental questions of seeking the sacred, being human, and living in
the world.
o Students will be able to analyse differences and similarities between religious traditions and
cultures in order to understand implications of different ideas and practices.
o Students will be able to recognize and analyse connections between sacred spaces, religious
practices and the beliefs, ideas and visions of community in major religions.
Engagement with Religious Diversity
o Students will develop a more comprehensive view of “religion” and the relationships among
religions.
o Students will understand how sacred spaces are similar and different between various
religions, and explore the implications of those relationships.
o Students will explore religious diversity in order to negotiate one’s own response to the
question: “How do we live together in a religiously diverse world?”
As part of these overall course goals, this class meets the University’s General Education requirement
(pre-2013) for The Philosophical and Spiritual Dimension and thus strives toward the following overall
outcomes:
 Understanding and appreciation of efforts to identify and explain humankind’s place in the world
and some understanding of the issues that need to be addressed in arriving at such explanations.
 Desire to continue reflection and study of spiritual and philosophical issues.
Further Information about the Course
Schedule of topics
Please be aware: Updates to the schedule will be made on a regular basis. In order to experience
the best of a summer at Harlaxton class, we must approach adjustments to the syllabus with a
modicum of good humor and a positive attitude. Flexibility is key for success.
The lecture component of the course meets each day, 8:25AM – 10:25AM: Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, and Thursday. On days when we work in the field we will be gone for much of the day.
Week
Topics, questions, and focus
1
Intro to class; Framing questions:
What is religion? How should we study religion? What is the language of sacred
space? How is ritual essential to religion?
Religious diversity, interfaith etiquette, and religion in the public square will be
covered throughout the course schedule.
2
Hinduism and Buddhism
What constitutes the sacred? How are rituals framed to invoke or respond to the
sacred? How is the divine or sacred reflected in sacred spaces? How does the
nature of ritual within a tradition reflect and shape ideas of the sacred?
Field Work: Hindu Temple and/or Buddhist Temple
3
Judaism and Christianity
What does religious community look like? How do religious traditions affect
personal development? How do sacred spaces and liturgies reflect and shape
ideas of community and hospitality? In what way do such spaces and liturgies seek
to foster personal development?
Field Work: Jewish Temple and/or Christian Cathedral
4
Islam
What is the relationship between religious practices and beliefs and the moral
actions of adherents in the world? How do sacred spaces and liturgies foster and
shape such action?
Final exam
Field Work: Islamic Mosque
Cumulative Exam
5
Pulling it together
Student presentations
Final essay due
Journal Presentations
Teaching Methods
Key Text(s):
1. Prothero, Stephen. God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World. HarperOne. ISBN:
978-0061571282
2. Sacred Space as Text. The course will use an active learning pedagogy through fieldwork including
the exploration of cathedrals, temples, and mosques, which will facilitate a structured and
intentional examination of sacred spaces and enable various religious space to serve as
laboratory. This kind of immersion fosters critical inquiry, integrative learning, and understanding
through engagement with liturgical space.
3. Digital Media
a. Additional readings will be made available online.
b. Class discussions will sometimes be facilitated by multi-media presentations.
Other Class Materials:
ATTENTION!!
Britrail Pass information: You must have a Britrail pass and an Oyster Card in order to maximize
value, convenience, and participate in the course fieldwork. Your Interfaith Pilgrimage Travel
Scholarship more than pays for both passes.
Go to britrail.net and order your passes ASAP. They must be purchased while you are still in the
United States and it takes several days sometimes weeks to process.
For the purposes of REL 212 you will need to order the Britrail England Flexipass, Valid 8 days within
1 month. If you are under 25 years old you are eligible for the Youth Discount, which amounts to
HUGE savings. Standard class is $398.00.
On the same website, please purchase an Oyster card preloaded with £30. At the top menu click
“Extras” at the drop-down menu click “City Transport.” Click “Oyster Card” and follow the directions
to purchase your £30 Oyster card. ($43.11) The Oyster Card will be mailed with your Britrail pass and
you should have it before you leave the United States for England. The Oyster Card provides access to
the majority of London’s transport services such as the Tube, Docklands Light Railway, bus and tram,
and some National Rail services. We will use public transportation when in London and you will need an
Oyster card in order to participate in the course fieldwork.
Teaching Methods:
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Lecture
Class discussion
Fieldwork
Schedule of Assignments
WEEK 1
May 16
May 17
May 18
May 19
Hinduism
Buddhism
Judaism
Introduction
Syllabus details
Religious Autobiography
Prothero, pages 1 – 24, 131 – 168
Prothero, pages 169 – 201
Prothero, pages 243 – 278
WEEK 2
May 23
May 24
May 25
May 26
Christianity
Field Work
Field Work
Islam
Prothero, pages 65 – 99
Prothero, pages 25 – 63
WEEK 3
May 30
May 31
June 1
June 2
Field Work
Field Work
Field Work
Sacred Architecture
Hand-outs
WEEK 4
June 6
June 7
June 8
June 9
Sacred Liturgy
Field Work
Field Work
Final Essays Due
WEEK 5
June 15
June 16
June 17
Review
Journal Presentations
Final Exam
Hand-outs
Assessment and Grading Criteria
1. Class attendance, preparation, and participation (25%)
 Learning happens in a variety of ways, but one of the best ways is when we work collaboratively
with others. To that end, some of our work in class and beyond class will require work with
others. Because teaching and learning are dialogical by their very nature, class attendance,
preparation for class, and participation in class are imperative. Thus we will all be expected to be
regular and punctual in attendance. You should read the assignment carefully and thoughtfully
for a given class session prior to coming to class in preparation for our time together. We will
learn collaboratively through lectures, discussion, field trips, dialogues, and other activities.
 NO ABSENCES are allowed during the summer session at Harlaxton. Absences will significantly
lower your final grade. Failure to participate in all field trips will result in lowering the final
grade by a letter grade for each missed trip. Arriving late to class disrupts the class, and will be
considered a half absence. Arriving late for a field trip may result in you not getting to participate
in that field trip if we have already departed.
 While attendance is imperative, please note that merely attending class will not earn anyone a
grade in the A, B, or C range for this category. Along with regular, punctual attendance, you must
make substantial and frequent contributions to class discussion and be well-prepared for and
contribute to group work in order to receive a grade in the A range in this category. To earn a
grade in the B range, in addition to attendance you must also make a substantial contribution in
the ways highlighted above, though not necessarily every time we have discussion or group work.
In order to earn at least a C, you must at a minimum participate seriously in the various activities,
in-class writings, and projects done in class over the course of the semester in addition to your
regular attendance.
 Withdrawal from the course corresponds with standard University of Evansville withdrawal
procedures and published dates.
2. Sacred Space as Lab (30%)
During the semester the class participate in fieldwork immersions, exploring various sacred sites
(cathedrals, temples, mosques, etc.). These immersions will function as lab work for research.
Students will consider what is happening religiously and liturgically in the sacred space using the
concepts and language learned throughout the course, and will use the study of sacred spaces and
liturgies as the basis for interfaith engagement and to make comparisons, connections, and
distinctions among religious traditions. Students must purchase a Britrail pass online prior to leaving
the United States. We will depend on the British rail system for our transportation to and from our
field destinations. (See course schedule on page 5 for more details.)
Fieldwork will involve:
 Journal Entries for Field Trips and Sacred Site Pilgrimages – students will keep a learning journal
for the fieldwork trips and pilgrimages taken by the class. Guiding questions will be provided to
help frame the journals. Journals will be presented interactively during the last week of the
course and will help facilitate class reflection and discussion.
Cumulative Exam (20%) – A key goal for this class includes knowledge and comprehension of
religious traditions of the world – that is, religious literacy. Such basic knowledge of different
traditions and various religious concepts and ideas provides the background for analytical and
reflective work. A final exam will be given during the last week of class to ensure that you
understand basic concepts, terms, and ideas.
Final essay (25%) – The final essay of the course is intended to draw together the work, study
and experiences over the course of the semester, and will reflect the section of the class in which
a student is enrolled. For REL 212 and REL 380 students, the final essay will ask each student to
articulate in some way their response to the framing question of the course: How do we live in a
religiously diverse world? The framing of sub-questions for the essay will have a different focus
depending on whether a student is registered for REL 380 or REL 212. Further details will be
provided separately. The final essay will be 5-6 pages (for REL 212) or 7-8 pages (for REL 380)
and is due on Tuesday, June 16. Papers must be submitted to Blackboard and to LiveText by
that time.
The following grading scale will be used in this class:
93-100 = A
88 - 89 = B+
78 - 79 = C+
68 - 69 = D+
90 – 92 = A83 - 87 = B
73 - 77 = C
60 - 67 = D
80 - 82 = B70 - 72 = Cbelow 60 = F
Attendance Policy
Harlaxton College operates a mandatory attendance policy that is binding on all faculty and students.
In the Fall and Spring semesters the number of unexcused absences that are allowed before incurring a
penalty is related to the number of times a class meets during a week. This means that for courses which
meet three times a week students are allowed a maximum of three unexcused absences during the
semester without attracting penalty points, for courses meeting twice a week two such absences are
permitted and for courses meeting just once a week a single absence is allowed.
NO ABSENCES are allowed for this class during the summer session at Harlaxton due to the number of days we
are in the field. Absences will significantly lower your final grade. Failure to participate in all field trips will result
in lowering the final grade by a letter grade for each missed trip.
Drop/Add and Withdrawal Policy
The course is subject to the UE drop/add policy as modified to apply to a summer semester of study in the
UK context. For Summer 2016 classes start on 18 May and the last day to Drop/Add, without a ‘W’, is 22
May.
Disability Policy
It is the policy of the University of Evansville (Harlaxton College) to make reasonable accommodations for
students with properly documented disabilities. University of Evansville students should contact the
Office of Counselling and Health Education to seek help with this. Students from Partner
Universities/Colleges should contact their own relevant student support office. For assistance whilst at
Harlaxton students should contact the College Secretary whose office is located adjacent to the
Principal’s office.
Written notification to faculty from the College Secretary is required for academic accommodations to
be implemented.
Honor Code
All students at the University of Evansville (Harlaxton College) agree to and are bound by the principles
and practice of the honor code:
‘I understand that any work I submit for course credit will imply that I have adhered to this
Academic Honor Code: I will neither give nor receive unauthorized aid, nor will I tolerate an
environment that condones the use of unauthorized aid.’
The full Honor Code is available online:
https://www.evansville.edu/offices/deanstudents/downloads/honorcode.pdf