Religion 200-Approaches to the Study of Religion-Fall 2012

Joel Kaminsky (Wright Hall 113, ext. 3608, jkaminsk@smith.edu)
Office Hours: 1:30-2:25 T and F, or by appt.

 

Grading percentages:

Regular and thoughtful classroom participation which will include occasional short presentations and submission of your daily preparation work= 25% of your course grade.

A 2-3 page paper=15% of your course grade.

A 4-5 page paper=20% of your course grade.

A final 9-10 page paper with an annotated bibliography due in three parts=40% of your course grade.

 

Fuller Explanation of each Requirement:

1) Class participation: Each class some students may be asked to initiate discussion on the reading, or provide background information on a particular book or author.  All students will be expected to have done the reading and to be ready to discuss the material in a thoughtful fashion. To facilitate matters, for each class session EVERY STUDENT will type up the following and print it out to bring to class: any questions you have on that day’s reading, a brief list of things you found useful or problematic in the reading, and one or two important quotations from the reading you think are worthy of in-depth discussion. You will turn in an extra copy of this sheet of questions and notes at the end of each class session.

2) Your 1st paper is due on Monday October 1st. Write a short paper, approximately 2-3 pages double-spaced (600-800 words) articulating a few key strengths and a few key weaknesses in the approach to the study of religion taken by James. You need not cover all of James’ ideas but rather focus on one or two and critically evaluate their usefulness and limits. A century later, how, in your opinion has this writer’s thinking held up?

3) Your 2nd paper is due via email on Friday November 2nd by 3PM.  You will write a short paper, approximately 4-5 pages double-spaced (1100-1300 words) in which you compare and contrast 2 of the 4 following thinkers’ approaches to one aspect of the study of religion: Freud’s Geertz’s, Berger’s, Griffith’s. Here you will need to hone in on a specific aspect of each thinker’s approach that makes for useful and productive contrast and comparison.

4) Your final paper due is three parts. Take a religious text, ritual, visual image, or historical event that was not discussed by the books we read this semester and utilize two of the theorists discussed in this class to analyze this material. The material you choose can come from another class you may have taken in Religion or an allied area like Anthropology or History, or it may even be drawn from your own encounters with a living religion. All topics must be cleared with the Professor in advance.
 
Part 1) By Wednesday October 26th at noon, after having consulted with Professor Kaminsky, you will e-mail both Professor Kaminsky and librarian Bruce Sajdak a brief description of your final paper topic. You do NOT need to know exactly which 2 theorists you will use at this early date. The point here is to leave adequate time to research the topic so as to produce a thoughtful draft over the coming weeks.

Part 2) By Friday November 30th at 3PM you will e-mail everyone in class a rough draft consisting of at least 4-5 pages double-spaced plus your annotated bibliography explaining what primary and secondary sources you are using and why they are relevant to your project. These will be discussed and critiqued in class the week of December 5th and 7th.

Part 3) By Friday December 14th (or at latest if you seek an extension by Monday December 17th) you will submit your final 9-10 page paper that will include a final annotated bibliography as well as footnotes.

 

Required books available at Grecourt Bookstore:

1) William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience (Dover, 2002; 978-0486421643)

2) Sigmund Freud, Moses and Monotheism (Vintage, 1955; 978-0394700144)

3) Peter Berger, A Rumor of Angels. (Anchor 1st edition, 1970, 978-0385066303).

4) Paul J. Griffith, Problems of Religious Diversity, (Blackwell, 2001; 978-0631211501).

5) 4) Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty, Other Peoples’ Myths: The Cave of Echoes (Chicago, 1995; 978-0226618579).

6) Ritual and Its Consequences: An Essay on the Limits of Sincerity by Adam B. Seligman, Robert P. Weller, Michael J and Simon (Oxford Univ. Press, 2008; 978-0195336016).

7) Bruce Lincoln, Holy Terrors, Second Edition: Thinking About Religion After September 11 (Chicago, 2006; 978-0226482033)

 

TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE

September 10th--1st meeting-go over syllabus and get organized

Psychological Approaches to Religion—No class on Monday September 17th and Wednesday September 26th due to the fall Jewish Holidays.

September 12th, Friday Sept. 14th, 19s and first half of the 24th – Read selections from William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience. (1-77, 78-165, 189-258, 379-429 and 485-519).

2nd half of the 24th, October 1st and October 3rd —Read Sigmund Freud’s, Moses and Monotheism.  For Bible background on Freud’s thesis, read Exodus 1-20, 32-34, Numbers 11-14, 16-17, 20.

 

 

An Anthropological Approach to Religion

October 10th— Read C. Geertz, “Religion as a Cultural System” HANDOUT

 

A Sociological Approach to Religion

October 15th and 17th —Read Peter Berger, A Rumor of Angels.

A Philosophical Approach to Religion,

October 22nd, 24th, and 29th—Read Paul J. Griffith, Problems of Religious Diversity

 

October 31st—Session with Bruce Sajdak in the Neilson teaching classroom.

 

Eclectic Approaches to the study of Religion

November 5th-, 7th  and 12th —Read Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty, Other Peoples’ Myths.

 

November, 14th, 26th and 28th—Read Ritual and Its Consequences: An Essay on the Limits of Sincerity.

NOTE: NO CLASS MONDAY NOVEMBER 19th —THIS IS THE TIME TO WORK ON YOUR PAPERS!!!

 

December 3rd and 5th—Discuss and critique final paper drafts

 

December 10th— Read pages 1-51 of Bruce Lincoln’s Holy Terrors.

 

December 12th— Final class wrap up discussing progress of final papers and evaluating the readings and structure of the larger course (possibly over lunch).

 

 


 

 

GUIDELINES FOR THE READINGS IN THIS COURSE

As you read these important theoretical works on the study of religion, keep the following suggestions and guidelines in mind.

 

1) What is the context in which the author is writing? When and where does he/she live? What field is he/she in? What is happening in the world at that time? How does the book fit into the overall life work of this thinker? If you do not know any of this, for certain writers you might consult the Encyclopedia of Religion. For others you might use library sources to see what other books they produced.

 

2) What primary sources does a particular author interrogate or rely upon? Can you obtain this evidence to test the author's readings of the primary material against your own readings of this same material? What modern framework of ideas and evidence does the author rely upon?

 

3) What parts of religion does a particular theorist of religion deal with?: Individual or communal, textual, artistic, ritual, legal, mythological, daily religion versus special extreme religious states, philosophical or theological versus popular practice by the masses. These are just some of the many areas that you might keep in mind. You will see that some theories treat certain dimensions of religion better than others.

 

4) Can you clearly articulate what theoretical insights are of continuing value and what should be criticized or abandoned in a given theorist? Can you construct a careful argument explaining why an idea is misguided, or of continuing value?

 

5) Always try to see in what ways later books we read build upon, nuance, or seriously diverge from approaches in the earlier books we are reading.

 

6) Write down ideas as you are reading through various books or make notes in the margins.