Thursday, November 19, 2009
HW for Friday 11/20
Read the next two sections in Smith ("Meaning in Suffering" and "Meaning in Messianism" [pp 293-299]) and post three discussion questions to the blog.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
HW for Monday 11/9
Read pp 157-169 in A History of God. Consider the differences and similarities between Smith and Armstrong's accounts of Islam, and post three comments or questions to the blog before class.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
HW for Thursday 11/5
Read pp 144-157 in A History of God. Consider the differences and similarities between Smith and Armstrong's accounts of Islam, and post three comments or questions to the blog before class.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
HW for Wednesday 11/4
Read pp 132-144 in A History of God. Consider the differences and similarities between Smith and Armstrong's accounts of Islam, and post three comments or questions to the blog before class.
Friday, October 23, 2009
3-Day Itinerary - 10/23, 10/26 & 10/27
Friday 10/23 - Tao Te Ching discussion, walking meditation
Monday 10/26 - Begin Islam from Religions of the World DVD
Tuesday 10/27 - Finish Islam DVD. "Eastern Religions" Essays due Wednesday, and bring Smith to class.
Monday 10/26 - Begin Islam from Religions of the World DVD
Tuesday 10/27 - Finish Islam DVD. "Eastern Religions" Essays due Wednesday, and bring Smith to class.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
The Tao Te Ching
Go to the link below and spend some time perusing the Tao Te Ching...we'll talk about our reactions and favorite passages in class tomorrow.
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/taote-v3.html
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/taote-v3.html
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Eastern Religions Paper Due Friday 10/23
As you read the fifth chapter of The World's Religions, you should have noticed a number of striking similarites between Chinese Taosim and the Indian traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Write an essay of no more than 500 words (two double-spaced typed pages) in which you delineate the major similarities among the three religions and contrast them to the Christian religion as you understand it.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Week 7 Reading
By Thursday, read Chapter 2 of A History of God and post 5 good discussion questions to the blog. By Monday you need to have read pp 82-112 in The World's Religions.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Reading Assignment #1
You should be making your way through the Introduction and In the Beginning... in A History of God and Points of Departure in The World's Religions. By Friday 8/28 you should have posted to this blog a minimum of 5 content questions and 5 discussion questions for each author.
Make sure that your discussion questions are open to debate and do not have direct, verfifiable answers from the text. Also, do not make your content questions too direct or simple. The should require not only fact retention but also some analysis. Here is an example:
1. Who are J, E, P, and D, what is the difference between J and E, and how are these biblical sources important to Armstrong's project/thesis?
Make sure that your discussion questions are open to debate and do not have direct, verfifiable answers from the text. Also, do not make your content questions too direct or simple. The should require not only fact retention but also some analysis. Here is an example:
1. Who are J, E, P, and D, what is the difference between J and E, and how are these biblical sources important to Armstrong's project/thesis?
Course Syllabus
Intro. to Religious Studies
Fall 2009
Mr. Dalton
Syllabus
Purpose:
The main purpose of this course is to introduce high school students to the academic study of religion as it is conducted in the majority of secular colleges and universities in the United States. The format will be comparative in that we will study the world’s major religious traditions with the hope of: (1) coming to a richer and more universal definition of religion by examining the similarities between these traditions and; (2) gaining a knowledge of, and appreciation for, traditions other than the Judeo-Christian by examining the differences between these traditions and scrutinizing the peculiarities of each.
Materials:
The text for this course will be Huston Smith’s The World’s Religions and Karen Armstrong’s A History of God. However, readings from the text will be liberally supplemented with poetry, fiction, and philosophy from familiar and important Western sources. We will also view several films, and students will be expected to analyze and critique them both in class discussions and essay assignments. Each student will need a three-ring binder to store all notes and hand-outs given during the course of the semester. As you will be allowed to use notes and hand-outs for in-class writing assignments, I suggest that you keep a thorough and well-organized Religious Studies notebook.
Objective:
Though mastery of the course-content is expected, it is not the primary objective of this class. The sole objective of this course is to provide you with the opportunity and impetus to develop your own ideas and opinions about both religion in general and the particular traditions we will cover. Though there will technically not be a tremendous amount of homework for this course, the type of work that you will be asked to do will be very demanding. However, I think that you will also find it extremely rewarding in the end.
Student Evaluation: Unit tests and extended essay assignments will make up the majority of each student’s grade. Participation grades and reading quizzes may be used as well.
Fall 2009
Mr. Dalton
Syllabus
Purpose:
The main purpose of this course is to introduce high school students to the academic study of religion as it is conducted in the majority of secular colleges and universities in the United States. The format will be comparative in that we will study the world’s major religious traditions with the hope of: (1) coming to a richer and more universal definition of religion by examining the similarities between these traditions and; (2) gaining a knowledge of, and appreciation for, traditions other than the Judeo-Christian by examining the differences between these traditions and scrutinizing the peculiarities of each.
Materials:
The text for this course will be Huston Smith’s The World’s Religions and Karen Armstrong’s A History of God. However, readings from the text will be liberally supplemented with poetry, fiction, and philosophy from familiar and important Western sources. We will also view several films, and students will be expected to analyze and critique them both in class discussions and essay assignments. Each student will need a three-ring binder to store all notes and hand-outs given during the course of the semester. As you will be allowed to use notes and hand-outs for in-class writing assignments, I suggest that you keep a thorough and well-organized Religious Studies notebook.
Objective:
Though mastery of the course-content is expected, it is not the primary objective of this class. The sole objective of this course is to provide you with the opportunity and impetus to develop your own ideas and opinions about both religion in general and the particular traditions we will cover. Though there will technically not be a tremendous amount of homework for this course, the type of work that you will be asked to do will be very demanding. However, I think that you will also find it extremely rewarding in the end.
Student Evaluation: Unit tests and extended essay assignments will make up the majority of each student’s grade. Participation grades and reading quizzes may be used as well.
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