COURSE DESCRIPTION
REL 2000, Introduction to Religion, provides an introduction to the academic study of religion. Using the tools of the social sciences, the student will investigate a wide range of religious phenomena from the major world religious traditions.
ORIENTATION
May 9, 5:00 P.M., Room 104, Social Sciences Building.
An orientation session will be held during the first week of Distance learning classes. Instructions on how to study, how to prepare for examinations, and the other basic rules and guidelines will be addressed at this session. Attendance is not required; all the material covered in the orientation is on the course Web site.
TESTING INFORMATION:
Exam One: June 6, 5:00 P.M., SS 104, over Lessons 1-8.
Exam Two: June 20, 5:00 P.M., SS 104, over Lessons 9-16.
Exam Three: July 18, 5:00 P.M., SS 104, over Lessons 17-24.
NOTE: If you can not take the tests at the scheduled times or you miss a test, contact me for permission to reschedule. If you cannot take the test during my office hours, it is your duty to arrange your test-taking with the distance learning office. Make-up exams may be all essay, and may include essays NOT on the study guide, so take the exams on schedule if at all possible. There are NO make-ups for the final exam. Students living in Bay County must take exams as scheduled on campus or make alternative arrangements with the instructor. Students living outside Bay County may make arrangements two weeks in advance of the test date with the Distance Education Office by email at vcampus@gulfcoast.edu or call (850) 769-1551/(800) 311-3685, ext. 5807.
TERM PAPERS ARE DUE by 600PM, Monday,
July 11, 2005, in Dr. Baldwin's office
SS107.
No student can pass this course without successfully completing the term paper
project.
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION: Your instructor, Dr. Richard Baldwin of the Social Sciences Division, can be contacted by using the e-mail icons located throughout this Web site or by phone during the weekdays at 769-1551, ext. 6005. His duty night is Monday from 4:00-6:30 p.m. E-Mail address: rbaldwin@gulfcoast.edu. The Social Sciences Division extension is 3825. The college's 800 number, 1-800-311-3685, is available for access to and interaction with any faculty member or division chair. The college web address is www.gulfcoast.edu.
EXAMINATION SCORES: Examination scores will be available on this Web site under the "grades" button. If you want grades mailed to you, let Dr. Baldwin know so. Graded exams may be examined during the instructor's weekly duty night. The final grade in the course will be determined by the average of the exam grades and the paper (though at my discretion, I can drop one of the first two test grades if it allows me to give a higher grade to the student).
TAPES: Tapes may be checked out from the Circulation Desk in the college library. You must show proof of registration before you will be allowed to check out tapes. Off campus students should contact a local college coordinator or the Instructional Support office at 872-3847.
INDEPENDENT STUDY WITHDRAWAL POLICY
Students may withdraw from an independent study course no later than one week following the second examination. After that date, the student shall receive a "W" if passing or an "F" if failing.
Students planning to transfer to a state university should keep in mind that preference may be given to students with few or no withdrawals. While withdrawals are not calculated in grade point averages, they may influence admission decisions, particularly in competitive programs. Students will be permitted a maximum of two withdrawals per course. Upon the third attempt, students will not be permitted to withdraw and will receive a grade for the course. PLEASE NOTE: On the third attempt of a college credit course, the student must pay fees at 100 percent of the full cost of instruction (equivalent to out-of-state fees).
Introduction to Religion is an independent, self-study course which requires a great deal of self-motivation and discipline from each student. This course is designed as an alternative to the traditional classroom course. This course is a semester length exploration into the nature and function of belief structures or "worldviews." These worldviews exist in formal organized entities such as traditional religions or as political or personal ideologies, such as feminism or environmentalism. Worldviews do not exist in a vacuum. The dynamic, living relationship between a religious organization and its immediate cultural environment provides a "living laboratory" for the study of beliefs and believers. In this course, representatives from a wide variety of religious and secular perspectives will help students develop an understanding of what they believe and why they believe it. Students will gain some initial exposure to major world religions-- Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--as well as systems of beliefs which are outside the scope of what are deemed to be mainstream religious institutions, such as new age religions, neo-paganism, and "civil religion." The objective of the course is to create a religiously literate student--to engage the subject of religious diversity in a non-threatening, but thought-provoking manner, so that students will be better informed about the place of religion and the need for religious tolerance in a pluralistic society.
A. Video Lessons: This course centers upon the "Beliefs and Believers" video series (24 one-hour videotapes) produced by Governors State University. "Beliefs and Believers" is an introductory course, exploring the sociology of religion in a multi-cultural context. Six dimensions of religious life are studied theoretically and practically.
Each lesson is built around a three-step structure. First, a "classroom" introduction provides an overview of the matters to be discussed, the sociological methods to be employed, and the theoretical issues to be investigated. Secondly, the video instructor takes the student on "location" to diverse religious groups--the student observes a religious phenomenon in its own context, applies sociological analysis to this phenomenon, and draws meaningful conclusions about religious belief and behavior. Thirdly, the student returns to the "classroom" for a lively discussion between the video instructor and a group of students.
B. Study Guide: Beliefs and Believers:A Teleclass Study Guide is required. This guide will assist the student in identifying the central concepts of the video lessons and preparing for examinations.
C. Textbook: The required textbook for this course is Worldviews: Crosscultural Explorations of Human Beliefs by Ninian Smart. This book discusses each dimension of religious life, drawing attention to examples from the major living religious traditions.
ASSIGNMENTS
First Examination, Covering lessons (1-8)(1) Belief and Believers: Introduction, What is Religion?
World Views: Introduction & Chapter 1
(2) Belief and Believers: Six Dimensions of Worldviews
World Views: Introduction and
Chapter 1
(3) Belief and Believers: Boundary Questions: Rites of Passage
World Views: Chapter 7
(4) Belief and Believers: The Religious Experience
World Views: Chapter 2 & Chapter
3
(5) Belief and Believers: Religious Experience: Mystics and
Meditation
World Views: Chapter 3
(6) Belief and Believers: Religious Experience: Hinduism
World Views: Chapter 3
(7) Belief and Believers: Religious Experience: Buddhism
World Views: Introduction &
Chapter 1
(8)Belief and Believers: The Religious Quest: The Ramtha
School of Enlightenment
World Views: Chapter 4
Second Examination, Covering lessons (9-16)
(9) Belief and Believers: Myth and Ritual: The Dimensional
Triangle
World Views: Chapter 4
(10) Belief and Believers: Mythic Dimension: Judaism
World Views: Chapter 4
(11) Belief and Believers: Religious Symbols/Civil Religion
World Views: Chapter 7
(12) Belief and Believers: Ritual Dimension: Primal Religion,
Part I
World Views: Chapter 7
(13)Belief and Believers: Ritual Dimension: Primal Religion,
Part II
World Views: Chapter 7
(14) Belief and Believers: Doctrinal Dimension: Christianity
World Views: Chapter 5
(15) Belief and Believers: Doctrinal Dimension: Conservative
Christianity
World Views: Chapter 5
(16) Belief and Believers: Doctrinal Dimension: Sacred vs.
Secular
World Views: Chapter 5
Third Examination, Covering lessons (17-24)
(17) Belief and Believers: Doctrinal Dimension: Islam (Part 1)
World Views: Chapter 5
(18) Belief and Believers: Doctrinal Dimension: African American
Islam
World Views: Chapter 5
(19) Belief and Believers: Ethical Dimension: Ethical Conflicts,
Part I
World Views: Chapter 6
(20) Belief and Believers: Ethical Dimension: Ethical Conflicts,
Part I: The
Middle East
World Views: Chapter 6
(21) Belief and Believers: Far East Religion
(22) Belief and Believers: Social Dimension: Religious Diversity
World Views: Chapter 8
(23) Belief and Believers: Social Dimension: New Religious
Movements
World Views: Chapter 8
(24) Belief and Believers: Social Dimension: New Directions
World Views: Chapter 9 &
the postscript
