Christianity and Contemporary Thought. Tutor. Howard Taylor.
Syllabus for Contemporary Religious Thought
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1 Contemporary Religious Thought (REL 240‐01, Fall 2012) Wister Hall 304 [MWF 11:00am – 11:50am] Instructor: Dr. Anthony Paul Smith ([email protected]) McShain Hall Room 211 773‐931‐9570 (cell) Office hours: MWF 10:00‐11:00am, T 11:00am‐12:00pm or by appointment Course Description “Where is God? Where is He?” someone behind me asked. .. For more than half an hour [the child in the noose] stayed there, struggling between life and death, dying in slow agony under our eyes. And we had to look him full in the face. He was still alive when I passed in front of him. His tongue was still red, his eyes were not yet glazed. Behind me, I heard the same man asking: “Where is God now?” And I heard a voice within me answer him: “Where is He? Here He is—He is hanging here on this gallows....” – Elie Wiesel “Misery’s the river of the world.” – Tom Waits The experience of suffering is one of the most profound in all of creation. People who undergo suffering often try to find meaning in why they are suffering. Some turn to religion for that meaning, others turn away after feeling that the meaning offered there is hollow. But in each case, there is some relationship between abstract thought and suffering, between trying to make sense of what all of this is and the overwhelming experience that seems to outrun our ability to account for it. This course will examine the problem of suffering and abstract thought by looking at the book of Job (thought to be the first of the Hebrew Scriptures to be written) and contemporary responses to that ancient text. The class is ecumenical in the greatest sense of that word, meaning we are not just going to read Christians responses, but will read the responses of Contemporary Jewish, Muslim and secular thinkers as well. We may not find any answer for our suffering, but we may have, by the end of it all, created something in the midst of it. Learning Outcomes Upon completing the course the student should be able to: • engage with a variety of religious discourses and practices; • understand and use different theoretical methods in religious thought; • identify and explain the different ethical and social positions arising out of various forms of religious experience; • be able to identify the central themes and arguments of the texts and state them in a clear and sympathetic way in class discussion through participation and leading the discussion; • be able to formulate criticisms in a way that is attentive to the original author’s intent and argumentation. Grade Summary There will be two tests (comprised of short‐answer questions and essay questions),
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Syllabus for a course on suffering and abstraction that focuses on the Book of Job and contemporary Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Marxist responses to its themes.
Transcript of Syllabus for Contemporary Religious Thought
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ContemporaryReligiousThought(REL240‐01,Fall2012)WisterHall304
[MWF11:00am–11:50am]
Instructor:Dr.AnthonyPaulSmith([email protected])McShainHallRoom211773‐931‐9570(cell)
Officehours:MWF10:00‐11:00am,T11:00am‐12:00pmorbyappointment
CourseDescription “WhereisGod?WhereisHe?”someonebehindmeasked...
Formorethanhalfanhour[thechildinthenoose]stayedthere,strugglingbetweenlifeanddeath,dyinginslowagonyunderoureyes.Andwehadtolookhimfullintheface.HewasstillalivewhenIpassedinfrontofhim.Histongue
wasstillred,hiseyeswerenotyetglazed.
Behindme,Iheardthesamemanasking:
“WhereisGodnow?”
AndIheardavoicewithinmeanswerhim:
“WhereisHe?HereHeis—Heishanginghereonthisgallows....”–ElieWiesel
“Misery’stheriveroftheworld.”–TomWaits
Theexperienceofsufferingisoneofthemostprofoundinallofcreation.Peoplewhoundergosufferingoftentrytofindmeaninginwhytheyaresuffering.Someturntoreligionforthatmeaning,othersturnawayafterfeelingthatthemeaningofferedthereishollow.Butineachcase,thereissomerelationshipbetweenabstractthoughtandsuffering,betweentryingtomakesenseofwhatallofthisisandtheoverwhelmingexperiencethatseemstooutrunourabilitytoaccountforit.ThiscoursewillexaminetheproblemofsufferingandabstractthoughtbylookingatthebookofJob(thoughttobethefirstoftheHebrewScripturestobewritten)andcontemporaryresponsestothatancienttext.Theclassisecumenicalinthegreatestsenseofthatword,meaningwearenotjustgoingtoreadChristiansresponses,butwillreadtheresponsesofContemporaryJewish,Muslimandsecularthinkersaswell.Wemaynotfindanyanswerforoursuffering,butwemayhave,bytheendofitall,createdsomethinginthemidstofit.
LearningOutcomesUponcompletingthecoursethestudentshouldbeableto:
• engagewithavarietyofreligiousdiscoursesandpractices;• understandandusedifferenttheoreticalmethodsinreligiousthought;• identifyandexplainthedifferentethicalandsocialpositionsarisingoutof
variousformsofreligiousexperience;• beabletoidentifythecentralthemesandargumentsofthetextsandstatethem
inaclearandsympatheticwayinclassdiscussionthroughparticipationandleadingthediscussion;
• beabletoformulatecriticismsinawaythatisattentivetotheoriginalauthor’sintentandargumentation.
GradeSummaryTherewillbetwotests(comprisedofshort‐answerquestionsandessayquestions),
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discussions,leadingaclassseminarandpreparingaprotocol,andafinalpaper(10‐pages,double‐spaced).Eachtestwillcountfor20%(foratotalof40%)ofyourfinalgrade,leadinggroupdiscussionwillcountfor20%,thefinalpaperwillcountfor30%,andfinally10%forclassparticipation(whichincludesattendance).Itisimportantthatyoudonotmissaclassandespeciallyanexam.Anymake‐upforthein‐classexamswillonlybegivenduetoextremesituations,andthisisdoneveryrarely.Youmusthavepriorpermissionfromtheinstructoricaltotakeamakeup.ThepaperisdueviaBlackboard(informationonhowtosubmitwillbegivenlaterinthesemester)bytheendoftheday(11:59PM)onFriday,May10th.Thepaperistobesubmittedelectronicallyonly.IpreferthatthepaperbeaPDF.Detailsconcerningthepaper(itsformatandcontent)willbepassedoutafterthefirstexam.Latepaperswillnotbeaccepted.Cheating/plagiarismwillbedealtwithastheseriousinfractionsthattheyare,possiblyleadingtofailure;seetheAcademicIntegrityPolicyfordetails(availableontheportal).Thegradescaleisasfollows:100‐95=A,94‐90=A‐,89‐87=B+,86‐84=B,83‐80=B‐,79‐77=C+,76‐74=C,73‐70=C‐,69‐67=D+,66‐64=D,63‐60D‐,59andbelow=FCellPhone,LaptopandTabletPolicyWhileIunderstandtheaddictiontocellphones,especiallysmartphones,thematerialwearestudyingisverydifficultandthereforerequiresyourundividedattention.Ifyouarecaughtusingyourphoneduringalectureyouwillbegivenonewarning(eitherverballyorbyemail).Ifyouarecaughtasecondtimeormoreyouwillfaceareductionoffivepointsforeachoffensefromyourhighestscoringpieceofcoursework.Pleaseturnallcellphonesoffduringthelecture.IfIcandoit,socanyou.
Laptopsandtabletsareacceptableintheclass,butfornotetakingonly.Ifyouappearnottobepayingattentionbecauseyou’redistractedbysomethingnon‐lecturerelatedonyourlaptopthenIwillaskyoutoreadthelastlineofnotesyouhavejustwritten.Ifyoucan’tthenyouwillbegivenawarning(eitherverballyorbyemail).Ifyouarecaughtasecondtimeormoreyouwillfaceareductionoffivepointsforeachoffensefromyourhighestscoringpieceofcoursework.
BlackboardPleasemakesurethatyouchecktheemailattachedtoyourBlackboardprofile.Iwillbesendingemailstothataddress.Allcoursedocuments,powerpoints,audiooflectures,andotherhelpfullinkswillbeavailableontheBlackboardcoursepage.
RemarksonLectures,Readings,Films,andClassroomDiscussionsWearedealingwithadultthemesandarangeofdifferentbeliefsystemsinthisclass.Youwillbeexposedtodifferentwaysofthinkingbothinthereadings,thelectures,anddiscussionsinclass.Attimesyoumayfindyourselfoffendedbyoneormoreoftheideaspresentedandwhenyouarenotoffendedafellowclassmatemaywellbe.Thisisok!Whileofcourseverbalorphysicalabuse(namecalling,useofhatespeechdirectedatanotherstudent,etc.)isstrictlynottolerated,wehavetogiveeachotherpermissiontobeoffensive(withintheboundsofrespectfuldiscourse)andtobeoffended.Byremaininginthiscourseyouareagreeingtohaverespectfulconversationsaboutawiderangeofdifferentbeliefswhichmaysometimesbecomeheated.
Thisgoesespeciallyforthefilmsandclipswewillwatchinclass.AttimesIhavechosenmaterialthatmaybeoffensivetosome.Somefilmswillberated‐RandsomeclipsfromTVshowswillberatedTV‐MA.Byremainingenrolledinthisclassafterthefirstsession
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youareenteringintoanon‐verbalagreementthatyouunderstandandacceptyouwillbeaskedtowatchthesefilmsandclips.
RequiredTexts(Alltextsareavailablefromthebookstore,thoughsometimesmaybecheapertobuythemonline.Pleasechecktomakesureyouarebuyingthecorrectedition.)
• CourseReader(pdfsonBlackboard):o ElieWiesel,MessengersofGodo MartinBuber,ThePropheticFaitho PhilippeNemo,JobandtheExcessofEvilo RenéGirard,“JobasFailedScapegoat”
• TheBookofJobinRobertAlter(trans.),TheWisdomBooks(Norton)• CGJung,AnswertoJob(Princeton)• AntonioNegri,TheLaborofJob(Duke)• GustavoGutiérrez,OnJob(Orbis)• NavidKermani,TheTerrorofGod(Polity)
OutlineofCourseandReadingScheduleReadingslistedaretobereadforthatclassperiod.IfthereadingislistedunderSeptember14th,itistobereadpriortotheSeptember14thsessionofclass.Thescheduleandproceduresforthiscoursearesubjecttochangeintheeventofextenuatingcircumstances;changeswillbeannouncedinclass.Eachclasswillconsistoflectureandorganizedgroupdiscussionofthetext.January14th IntroductionJanuary16th Job,pp.11‐70. January18th Job,pp.71‐126January21st NoClassMLKJrDay January23rd Job,pp.127‐179January25th Wiesel,pp.211‐236(onBlackboard) January28th Buber,pp.183‐202(onBlackboard)January30th Nemo,pp.81‐99(onBlackboard)February1st SeminarGroup1 February4th Gutiérrez,pp.xi‐10February6th Gutiérrez,pp.11‐30February8th Gutiérrez,pp.31‐49February11th Gutiérrez,pp.51‐66February13th Gutiérrez,pp.67‐81February15th Gutiérrez,pp.82‐103
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February18th SeminarGroup2February20th Jung,pp.3‐29 February22nd Jung,pp.29‐56February25th Test#1February27th Jung,pp.57‐82 March1st Jung,pp.82‐108March4th–8th NoClass(MidSemesterHoliday)March11th Girard(ArticleonBlackboard)March13th Girard(articleonBlackboard)March15th SeminarGroup3
March18th Kermani,pp.2‐30March20th Kermani,pp.30‐57March22nd Kermani,pp.57‐93March25th Kermani,pp.93‐126March27th Kermani,pp.126‐155March29th–April1stNoClassEasterBreakApril3rd Kermani,pp.155‐179April5th Kermani,pp.180‐206April8th Kermani,pp.206‐222April10th SeminarGroup4
Negri,pp.xvii‐9April12th Negri,pp.9‐29April15th FilmTBA(usethesedaystogetaheadonyourreadingaswell)April17th FilmTBAApril19th SeminarGroup5April22nd Negri,pp.29‐47April24th Negri,pp.48‐69
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April26th Negri,pp.69‐91April29th Negri,pp.91‐107May1st SeminarGroup6May3rd Test#2May10th FinalPaperdue(bymidnight)FinalPaper
Thepaper(2500words,whichisaround10pages,normal12ptfont,doublespaced,normalmarginswithcitations)(informationonhowtosubmitwillbegivenlaterinthesemester)bytheendoftheday(11:59PM)onFriday,May10th.Thepaperistobesubmittedelectronicallyonly.IpreferthatthepaperbeaPDF.YoucansavethepaperasaPDFinWordbyclicking“Saveas”andselectingPDFwhereitsays“Saveastype”.Latepaperswillnotbeacceptedexceptforextremesituations.Cheating/plagiarismwillbedealtwithastheseriousinfractionsthattheyare,mostlikelyleadingtofailure;seetheStudentHandbookfordetails.
Prompts:
1. CompareindetailanytworeadingsoftheBookofJobwe’vereadinthecourse.Forexample,butnotlimitedtotheseexamples,thispapercanlookatthedifferencebetweentheChristianandJewishreadingsbyfocusingonGutierrezandWeisel,oreventhedifferencebetweentheChristianreadingofGutierrezandGirard,orthedifferencebetweenNegri’ssecularreadingscomparedwithKermani’sIslamicone.
2. WriteanessayonthequestionoffaithandtheBookofJobthatengageswithoneofthereadingswe’vediscussedinclass.Thispapershouldinvestigatethemeaningoffaith(sowhatdoesitreallymeantohavefaithinGod)anditsrelationshiptosuffering.Job,remember,doesnotsimplyaccepthissuffering,butdemandsaresponsefromGod.Thislooksverydifferentfromasimplyfideisticfaith.
3. Writeanessayontheologicalmethodthatexaminesthewaywedotheologybycomparingthemethod’spresentinthespeechesofJob’sfriendsandJob’sresponseswiththemethodpresentinoneortwoofthebookswehaveread.Thiswillrequireyoutoanalyzethesetextsthemselvestoseehowtheyengagewiththeirtradition,reason,andsufferingpresentintheworld.
4. Chooseyourownadventure(mustspeak/email/meetwithmepriortobeginningresearchonyourtopic).
Youmustengagewithtextsinyourpaperandhaveabibliography!Citationsarenecessaryandextraresearchwillalsobenecessary.Inyourbibliographyyoumustincludeatleastonejournalarticle.Usewhateversystemofcitationyouarecomfortablewithbutitmustremainconsistent.Ifyouareunfamiliarwithcitationsusethesystemontheothersideofthispaper.Agoodruleofthumbisthatyoushouldhaveatleasttwocitationsperpage.
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Thisisauniversitylevelresearchpaperandyoumusttreatitassuch.ThismeansyoumustreadBOOKS.DonotquotefromDictionary.com,Biography.com,oraboveallWikipedia.com.ThiswillresultinanautomaticCasthehighestgradeforthepaper.Ifyouareunfamiliarwithbooks,gowheretheylive,inthelibrary,andtalktoalibrarian.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutappropriatesourcespleasecontactme.
Rememberanessayhasabeginning,amiddle,andanend.Itshouldhaveaclearthesisstatement.Itshouldtakeeverythingitisarguingandrelateitbacktothatthesisstatement.Youshouldalsofeelfreetotryandwritecreativelyaslongasyoustaywithintheboundsofpresentinganargument.Istronglyencourageyoutosetupmeetingswithmetotalkaboutyourpaperatleasttwoweekspriortoitsduedate.
Citations:BookOneauthor
(Firsttimecitinginafootnote):MichaelPollan,TheOmnivore’sDilemma:ANaturalHistoryofFourMeals(NewYork:Penguin,2006),99–100.(Afterthefirstcitation):Pollan,Omnivore’sDilemma,3.(Bibliography):Pollan,Michael.TheOmnivore’sDilemma:ANaturalHistoryofFourMeals.NewYork:Penguin,2006.
Twoormoreauthors1.GeoffreyC.WardandKenBurns,TheWar:AnIntimateHistory,1941–1945(NewYork:Knopf,2007),52.2.WardandBurns,War,59–61.Ward,GeoffreyC.,andKenBurns.TheWar:AnIntimateHistory,1941–1945.NewYork:Knopf,2007.
Fortranslatedbooks1. Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera, trans. Edith Grossman (London: Cape, 1988), 242–55. 2. García Márquez, Cholera, 33. García Márquez, Gabriel. Love in the Time of Cholera. Translated by Edith Grossman. London: Cape, 1988.
Journal article
In a note, list the specific page numbers consulted, if any. In the bibliography, list the page range for the whole article.
1.JoshuaI.Weinstein,“TheMarketinPlato’sRepublic,”ClassicalPhilology104(2009):440.
2.Weinstein,“Plato’sRepublic,”452–53.
Weinstein,JoshuaI.“TheMarketinPlato’sRepublic.”ClassicalPhilology104(2009):439–58.
