RELIGIOUS STUDIES 101
Exploring Religion
Spring 2006
Instructor:
Dr. John K. Simmons, Professor of Religious Studies, Chair
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday:
Office: Morgan Hall, Room 456; Phone: 298-1057
Department Office: Morgan Hall, Room 456; Phone: 298-1057
Class meets in: Morgan Hall, Room 230,
Peer mentor: Aaron Becker - AS-Becker@wiu.edu
Web Site:
http://www.wiu.edu/users/mfjks (contains some PowerPoint notes
and other useful information, including quiz and exam review sheets.)
E-Mail: j-simmons@wiu.edu (I check my email everyday.)
In
Native American cultures, and the cultures of many indigenous peoples around
the planet, coming to adulthood is recognized as a time of change and
transformation. Young people are called
to find meaning, purpose, and direction in life. It is the time for the vision quest. For
example, in Lakota (Sioux) culture, a “teenager,” about the age of most of the
students in our class, is required to go on a vision quest. The “child” is asked to go off into the
wilderness – a forest, mountain, or desert – and stay completely alone with
minimal food and water and without shelter. The idea is to make contact with
the spiritual power present in the natural world. During this time, a vision may come, one that
provides the “adult” with a new and powerful identity and reveals purpose and
meaning in life. Often the person on the
vision quest takes on a new name following this profound life experience.
By
now, I’m sure you know that coming to adulthood is no easy task. In fact, it encompasses a major life change,
what we will call a rite of passage. You are probably not the same
person you were four years ago, maybe even four months ago (four days ago?)! During this time, in most cultures
including our own, young people are required to undergo a challenging experience, one that changes who they are (identity)
transforms the way they relate to the world (relationship). It is all part of
the maturing process. The vision
quest is a response to one of life’s less obvious, but extremely important
“truths”: you can live well or you can live poorly, but you cannot live free
until you take full responsibility for your life.
Most cultures
have some kind of ritual activity that parallels or is similar to the vision
quest. In our culture, one path is
the path of undergraduate education, a journey that moves a young person
away from the familiarity of family and friends and towards the unfamiliar and
challenging university environment. It
is not
the only path. Part of what we
want to accomplish in this FYE class is for you to decide for yourself without
any other outside influence, if the undergraduate education vision quest is
for you. For now, the undergraduate
education vision quest is the path you have chosen and, if you put your all
into it, it will be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life.
However, if you came to
As in all
vision quests, the responsibility for finding an empowering vision rests
entirely with you. However, as part of
the first year experience program, I want to get you started by a)
keeping the idea of the vision quest in the forefront of our time
together and b) focusing on and gaining knowledge about religion and
religions. Please set aside your
preconceived notions about “religion.”
As we will soon see, “religion” is much, much more than a label
(Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, etc.), a set of beliefs, or going to an oddly
shaped building at a specified day and hour of the week. During times of personal transformation,
religion has always been involved. All
peoples in all cultures and in all historical periods have experienced rites of
passage such as birth, coming to adulthood, or death. Religious rituals help people move through
these challenging, yet common life events. Thus, religion has been and is
pervasive in human cultural experience.
Seen in this light – a neutral, non-judgmental approach – religion is a
wonderful topic to help us along on the first stages of a four-year long vision
quest.
Course Description,
Goals and Objectives:
BELIEFS AND BELIEVERS, Religious Studies 101, offers the
student an opportunity to explore religion and religions in an open-minded,
unbiased fashion. As the title suggests,
we will meet real people, real believers who will help us understand what it is
they believe, why they believe it, and how their beliefs guide personal and
collective behavior within their respective communities. We will also investigate how religious
behavior impacts on society in general. The teleclass
version of BELIEFS AND BELIEVERS,
under a licensing agreement with the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), is
currently used at over 100 colleges and universities around the nation, and it
is estimated that over 25,000 students have taken this course. We decided to offer the course in a
traditional classroom setting so that Western students would have the opportunity
to experience this unique educational adventure.
WELCOME
ABOARD!
Course Text:
Margaret
C. Huff & Ann K. Wetherilt, Religion: A Search
for Meaning (NY: McGraw Hill, 2005).
Simmons,
John K., Beliefs and Believers Teleclass Study Guide,
Second Edition, Revised Printing (
The
course requirements are non-negotiable; alternative assignments or extra
credit projects are not permitted. What
you see below is what you do for a grade in this class.
Examinations:
Quiz
#1: on INTRODUCTION &
EXPERIENTIAL DIMENSION
I --- 30 points
Quiz
#2: on EXPERIENTIAL DIMENSION
II ---------------------------- 30 points
Midterm
exam: on EXPERIENTIAL, MYTHIC & RITUAL DIMENSIONS -- 55 points
Quiz
#3: on DOCTRINAL & ETHICAL
DIMENSIONS -----------------
30 points
Final
exam: on DOCTRINAL, ETHICAL & SOCIAL
DIMENSIONS----- 55 points
Total points:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
200 points
Quiz Format:
Each of the three quizzes will consist of 30
computer-graded multiple-choice questions worth 1 point each for a possible 30
points. Please bring a #2 pencil to take
the quizzes.
Exam Format:
The
Midterm Exam will be comprehensive, covering the material from
the first day of class through the experiential, mythic, and ritual dimensions
of religion. We will have the midterm
exam around the 8th week of the semester. The format will be:
Part I: 30 computer-graded multiple
choice questions worth 1 point each.
Part II:
5 matching questions worth 1 point each
Part III: 8 short answer identifications,
you pick any 5, worth 2 points each
Part II:
2 essay questions based on visual material viewed in class or a first
year experience event you attend; you answer one in an essay of at
least four paragraphs in length; worth 10 possible points for a total of 55
possible points
Please bring a #2 pencil for the
computer-graded portion of the exam.
The
Final Exam will be partially comprehensive, covering the material
from the Midterm Exam through the doctrinal, ethical, and social dimensions
of religion. The time and date of the
final exam is determined by the Registrar and is listed in the Spring 2006 Class Schedule. The format will be
identical to the Midterm Exam.
Exam Questions: the questions
for quizzes and the exams exam will be drawn from three sources: a) the
required texts, b) in-class activities, including visual material and
discussion, c) the Web-based PowerPoint notes. It is highly unlikely that you
will be able to achieve a top grade in this course by avoiding class sessions
and relying solely on the PowerPoint notes for exam preparation.
Exam Make-up Policy: Except in the most extreme, documented
cases, THERE ARE NO MAKE-UP EXAMS OFFERED IN THIS CLASS. If you miss a
scheduled examination, you will receive 0 points for that section of the
course. You will have at least 7 days
notice of the exact date for each of the exams.
PLAN TO BE THERE! Students with
documented commitments requiring participation in WIU activities such as
sporting or music events will be excused per university policy.
First Year Experience Events:
As a FYE section, we are asked to attend at least 3
outside-the-classroom events during the semester. I will give you plenty of notice on events –
lectures, movies, concerts, etc. – that would be appropriate for our general
goal of exploring religion and developing worldview analysis skills.
With our small class size, our peer mentor, Aaron
Becker, and I will try to organize several other interesting, out-of-class
events, including visiting regional religious sites, attending movies, music,
or dramatic events.
Final Grade Scale:
180 – 200 points = A
160 - 179 points = B
140 – 159 points = C
120 – 139 points = D
0 - 119 points = F
Attendance Policy:
Attendance is required. The following attendance policy will be
in place starting the second week of classes; a sign-in attendance sheet (your
signature and last four digits of your student ID#) will be passed around at
the beginning of each class period:
6th
unexcused absence = email warning
7 – 9
unexcused absences = 2 points off your final point total (out of 200 possible
points) per absence
10th
unexcused absence = email warning + additional 2 point deduction
11th
unexcused absence = full grade deduction; examples, B to C; C to D; D to F
15th
unexcused absence = email warning
20th
unexcused absence = F for the course regardless of points earned.
The three keys
to success in this class (and all college classes, for that matter) are:
a)
attend class regularly; in fact, make it a goal not to miss any
classes this semester!
b)
read
the assigned material carefully, and take some time to reflect on it;
c)
come to the exams well prepared.
Civility means behaving respectfully towards
everyone during our class sessions, including other students, the occasional
guest, and your instructor. Questions and comments, relevant to the topic of
the day, are heartily welcomed. However,
private conversations that disturb other class members are unacceptable in the
college classroom. Please come to class ready to focus
on our class, not the math test you need to study for or plans for the “big
weekend.” Take care of any business you might have with a classmate before or
after class.
Try
to arrive on time, and, if you must leave before the end of the class session,
it is appropriate to let the instructor know.
Wandering in and out of class is highly distracting to other students
and the instructor. Try to resist the
urge to shuffle books and papers at the conclusion of class. It is often during the last minutes of class
that important concluding points are made.
Other
ground rules: we all need work on developing our listening skills, instructors
included. Respect others and listen to
what they are saying and then think about it before responding. Respect each other as individuals with
personal viewpoints, whatever those viewpoints may be. Everyone must be allowed to finish his or her
thoughts unhampered. In this classroom,
no one need fear reprisal for not being “politically correct.” If we disagree, we can agree to disagree with
civility. We’re here, together, to learn and explore one of the most powerful
subject areas in all of human history. Welcome,
one and all!
Enjoy the Journey!