University of Toronto
Department for the Study of Religion
SYLLABUS - RLG230H1F - RELIGION AND PUBLIC LIFE
September – December 2008
INSTRUCTOR:
Ruth Marshall
Office Hours:
Jackman Humanities Building (170 St. George St.),
Suite 206C, 978-0241 [email protected]
Tuesdays, 12 - 2, Thursdays 12 - 1 :30.
Teaching Assistant:
TBA
THEMES:
The dramatic resurgence of religion in public spheres and political debate across the globe has
prompted an urgent questioning of the place of religion in political life. Through interdisciplinary
readings and the examination of case studies and current events from around the world, this
course will examine the evolving role of religions in contemporary public, political contexts. The
focus will be on developing an understanding of the ways in which secularism, as the defining
context of modern social life and the cornerstone of liberal democracy, has become increasingly
questioned or embattled. Themes to be discussed include: religion and the nation-state; the
relationship between religion, human rights, law and justice; problems of tolerance, pluralism
and accommodation, questions of immigration and multiculturalism; the political nature of
religious organizations and doctrine (political theologies); religious ‘publics’ and media; religion
and the politics of gender and sexuality; interreligious conflict and alliances; religious violence,
terror and fear; the role of religion in remapping the global order in our post-9/11 world .
REQUIREMENTS:
1. Short Paper (firm maximum of 750 words). Due Tues. Oct.14th
Format to be discussed in class and posted on the web site.
Weight: 15%
2. Test, Tues., Nov. 4th
Weight: 15%
An in-class quiz, with a series of short “identification” items and an essay question.
3. Second Essay (firm maximum of 3000 words). Due Tues., Dec. 2nd
Weight: 35%
Topic to be chosen by student following guidelines discussed in class and posted on the website.
This essay is to be submitted to Turnitin.com
.
4. Final Exam, December examination period
Weight: 35%
A series of questions will be handed out on in late November, from which a random selection
will be made for the examination. Note that the exam will be in the examination period,
scheduling TBA. Students should not make travel plans over the inter-term period without
knowing the examination timetable.
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LATE PENALTIES:
Essays and papers are due by the beginning of class on the due date. Essays handed in after the
beginning of class will be assessed with a late penalty. Penalties for late essays are 5% per day.
Essays more than a week late will not be accepted. The only exceptions will be medical or family
emergencies, supported by the appropriate documentation.
Students are required to keep both electronic and hard copies of their essays until their marked
essays have been returned to them.
ESSAY WRITING:
Clear, well-organized, and articulate writing is an indispensable feature of the analytical process,
and this course assumes that you are prepared to work on improving your capacity to
communicate in prose. Please consult the “Writing at U of T” link www.utoronto.ca/writing to
access a wide array of university-wide resources. Each college also has a writing workshop, and
I will be available during my office hours for consultation on any part of the essay-writing
process.
Plagiarism is a serious academic offence and will be dealt with accordingly.
Students must read the University’s “How not to Plagiarize” document, http://www.utoronto.ca/
writing/plagsep.html. and are encouraged to discuss with me if they are unsure of what
constitutes plagiarism or academic dishonesty. The second essay, due December 2, must be
handed in to Turnitin.com, for a review of textual similarity and detection of possible plagiarism.
In doing so, students will allow their essays to be included as source documents in the
Turnitin.com reference database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting
plagiarism. The terms that apply to the University's use of the Turnitin.com service are described
on the Turnitin.com web site.
WEB SITE & EMAIL:
The course will have a Blackboard web site, on which the syllabus, announcements, information
on essays and tests, relevant media reports, certain readings and other items will be posted.
Students are urged to consult the web site regularly.
Students may communicate with me by email, but should not necessarily expect a response, or at
least not immediately. Questions concerning information given in class or available on the
syllabus or the website will not be answered. Substantial matters must be discussed with me
during my office hours or by appointment.
TEXTS:
Course Pack: A course pack is available through Print City, 180 Bloor St. West, Phone
920-3040. Readings NOT included in the course pack are marked “ol” if available on line, and
“ws” if posted on the course web site. Materials drawn from academic journals and designated
“ol” are available through the U of T library site by finding the “electronic resource” listing
under the journal title. Books from which course pack articles are drawn will usually contain
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other material worthy of your attention, and are available on short term loan at Robarts Library.
READING LIST:
All reading listed under each topic is required reading and lectures will assume that required
reading has been completed before class. In addition to the items listed below, media reports and
other articles may be posted on the course web site and treated as required reading. A showing
of the film Persepolis will be organized outside of class time, and will be treated as an integral
part of the course, on par with readings and lectures.
Sept. 9. Course Introduction
Sept. 16
Secularism and Modern Political Life
cp
Talal Asad “Introduction: Thinking about Secularism” Formations of the Secular:
Christianity, Islam, Modernity, (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003), pp.1-17.
cp
Charles Taylor, “Introduction”, in A Secular Age (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University
Press, 2007), pp. 1-22.
ol
Peter Berger “Secularization Falsified” First Things, N°180, February, 2008. pp. 24-29.
Sept. 23
Private and Public Religions
cp
José Casanova, “Private and Public Religions,” in Public Religions in the Modern World
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994), pp. 40-66.
cp
José Casanova, “Evangelical Protestantism: From Civil Religion to Fundamentalist Sect
to New Christian Right” Public Religions in the Modern World (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1994) pp.135-166.
ol
Discussions from the SSRC website The Immanent Frame on American Politics and
Religion: http://www.ssrc.org/blogs/immanent_frame/category/religion-americanpolitics/ . See Blackboard for required blogs.
Sept. 30
The Limits of Accommodation I - Canadian Multiculturalism
ol/ws Gerard Bouchard and Charles Taylor, “Final Report, Consultation Commission on
Accommodation Practices Related to Cultural Differences – Abridged Version,”
Government of Quebec, 2008.
cp
John Biles and Humera Ibrahim, “Religious Diversity in Canada: In the Shadow of
Christian Privilege,” Canadian Diversity 4,3 (Fall 2005): 67-70.
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cp
Rainer Baubock, “If You Say Multiculturalism is the Wrong Answer, Then What Was the
Question You Asked?” Canadian Diversity 4, 1 (Winter 2005): 90-93.
cp
Will Kymlicka, “The Uncertain Futures of Multiculturalism,” Canadian Diversity 4,1
(Winter 2005): 82-85.
Oct. 7
The Limits of Accommodation II - French Republicanism
ol
John Bowen, “Muslims and Citizens: France’s Headscarf Controversy” in Boston Review,
February/March 2004 (http://bostonreview.net/BR29.1/bowen.html)
cp
Olivier Roy “French Laïcité and Islam: Which is the Exception?” Secularism Confronts
Islam, (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007.) pp. 13-35.
cp
Joan Wallach Scott, “Secularism”, The Politics of the Veil, (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 2007). pp. 90-123.
Oct. 14 - Short Paper due
The Limits of Accommodation III: The Politics of Tolerance in the Netherlands
ol
Peter van der Veer, “Pim Fortuyn, Theo van Gogh, and the Politics of Tolerance in the
Netherlands”, Public Culture, Vol. 18, (1), 2006, pp. 111-25.
cp
Job Cohen, “Can a Minority Retain its Identity in Law?”, (2005 Mulatuli Lecture) in
Political Theologies: Public Religions in a Post-Secular World, ed. Hent De Vries and
Lawrence Sullivan (New York: Fordham University Press, 2006) pp. 539-555.
Oct. 21
Religion, Secularism and the Public Sphere in non-Western Contexts
cp
Partha Chatterjee “The Contradictions of Secularism,” in Anuradha Dingwaney Needham
and Rajeswari Sunder Rajan eds. The Crisis of Secularism in India, (Durham: Duke University
Press, 2007) pp. 141-156.
cp
Fariba Adelkah, “Introduction: A Political Earthquake”, and “A New Public Space for
Islam”, Being modern in Iran (London: C. Hurst and Co., 1999) pp. 1-8, and pp. 105-138.
cp
Stephen Ellis, Terri Ger Haar, “Power,” in Worlds of Power: Religious Thought and
Political Practice in Africa (London: C. Hurst and Co., 2004), pp. 90-113.
Oct. 28
Religion, Human Rights and Justice
ol
The Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam
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cp
Bettina Prato, “Prophetic Justice in a Home Haunted by Strangers: Trangressive
Solidarity and Trauma in the Work of an Israeli Rabbis’ Group”, in Political Theologies:
Public Religions in a Post-Secular World, ed. Hent De Vries and Lawrence Sullivan
(New York: Fordham University Press, 2006) pp. 557 -587.
cp
Adam Ashforth “Witchcraft, Violence and Justice,” in Witchcraft, Violence and
Democracy in South Africa (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005), pp. 243-278.
Nov. 4 - In-class test
Nov. 11
Religion, the Politics of Gender and Sexuality
cp
Linda Kintz, “Tender Warriors”, Between Jesus and the Market: The Emotions that
Matter in Right-Wing America (Durham: Duke University Press: 1997), pp. 111-139.
cp
Annelies Moors, “Representing Family Law Debates in Palestine: Gender and the Politics
of Presence”, in B. Meyer, A. Moors (eds.) Religion, Media and the Public Sphere,
(Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2006) pp.115-131.
ol
Laurel Zwissler, “Spiritual, But Religious: ‘Spirituality’ among religiously motivated
feminist activists”, Culture and Religion, Vol.8 (1), 2007, pp. 51-69.
Nov. 18
The Media and Global Religious Publics
ol
Ruth Marshall-Fratani “Mediating the Global and Local in Nigerian Pentecostalism”
Journal of Religion in Africa, Vol. 28, N° 3 (Aug., 1998), pp. 278-315
cp
Charles Hirschkind, “Cassette Ethics: Public Piety and Popular Media in Egypt” in B.
Meyer, A. Moors (eds.) Religion, Media and the Public Sphere, (Indianapolis: Indiana University
Press, 2006) pp. 29-51.
Nov. 25
Ethico-Political Landscapes of Religious Militancy and Violence
cp
Faisal Devji, “Effects Without Causes,” Landscapes of the Jihad: Militancy, Morality,
Modernity, (London: C. Hurst and Co., 2004), pp. 1-32.
ol
Ananda Abeysekara, “The saffron army, violence, terror(ism): Buddhism, identity, and
difference in Sri Lanka”, Numen, vol. 48, no. 1, 2001. pp. 1-46,
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ol
Edward Simpson, “The State of Gujarat and the Men without Souls”, Critique of
Anthropology, Vol: 26, Issue: 3, September 2006, pp. 331 - 348
Dec. 2 - Second Essay due
Remapping the World: Religion and the War on Terror
ol
David Kaplan, “Hearts, Minds, and Dollars In an Unseen Front in the War on Terrorism,
America is Spending Millions...To Change the Very Face of Islam” U.S. News and World
Report, April 25, 2005.
ol
Saba Mahmood, “Secularism, Hermeneutics and Empire: The Politics of Islamic
Reformism”, Public Culture, 18, 2, 2006. pp. 323-347.
cp
Olivier Roy, “Remapping the World: Culture, Civilization and Strategy,” in Globalised
Islam: The Search for a New Ummah, (London: C. Hurst and Co., 2002), pp. 326-340.
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