James Anderson office: Trinity 242 tel: 898 5662 e-mail: to WebCT box
Office hrs. Mondays 3-5, Wednesdays 2-3, Thursdays 10-11 and by appt.
Sections: 332-70/72 TTh 2:00 MLIB 027B; 332-3 TTh 5:00 Langdon 303
Course Description
How much is religion a factor in global politics and economic life? Is war necessary to achieve justice or security? Do different cultures have conflicting conceptions of human rights? Are environmental issues really global concerns or just partisan politics? This course takes a look at these and other questions in an effort to understand better three major global issues: the environment, justice and human rights, and war and social conflict. The particular lens through which these issues will be explored, is that of the world religions, their world views, values, and practices.
We will proceed with this project by devoting much of the first half of the course to a look at the environmental issue and some religious conceptions of the relationship between human beings and nature. What is the “environmental crisis?” Are the problems before us serious? Are they solvable by technology? Are they caused by attitudes, by political and economic structures, natural cycles, too many people? Closely related to this set of questions is the issue of social justice: are the good things of the world fairly distributed? How are our world-views related to our economic structures? Is global poverty a solvable problem—if so, are we moving in that direction? Finally, we look at the issue of modern war and the role of religion, focusing in on a case study exploration of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Are the religious traditions mainly war-making or peace-making influences in global conflict areas? What do we need to know and do to reduce wars and reap the well being that a more peaceful world affords?
As a theme course, RS 332 covers a great deal of ground and accents broad questions and multiple perspectives. We’ll be aiming at the general features of these global issues and religious traditions, not so much their details--as a helicopter pilot might choose to get a sense of the lay of the land by flying over a broad landscape rather than dropping to touch down below the canopy for closer inspection.
Clearly, though, the course is ambitious in its scope. The readings are diverse and need to be woven together in our class sessions—we will all work together on this. Since you will all come from a range of academic backgrounds, some of these readings will be new in content, style, and language to many of you. Give your best effort to stretching yourself into these new areas, and bring your questions and comments into the class discussions.
General Education Upper Division Thematic:
RS 332 is the foundational course in the nine unit Global Issues upper division thematic component of the general education program. Students enter theme study after completing at least 45 semester units, and all of their Core GE requirements As a UDT course, this study aims to cultivate the ability to address global issues from a variety of perspectives, in particular those arising from the humanities and social sciences.
Course Requirements: [additional details in syllabus supplements to be posted]
Texts:
1- Lester Brown, Plan B 3.0
2- Paul Knitter and Chandra Muzaffar, Subverting Greed
3- Daniel Smith-Christopher, Subverting Hatred
4- J.M. Thompson, Justice and Peace 2nd ed.
Tests, papers, and other student responsibilities:
1. Attendance and participation [20%] [attendance/cult events/forum/discuss papers]
2. Papers: two 3 page reflection papers [40%]
3. Quizzes [mid-term series] [20%]
4. Final: [20%]
Group work:
a- on-campus students: participation in group work, discussion forums, and case study presentations during the term. Discussion and reflection papers will be associated these activities.
b. on-line students: participation in discussion groups which will be formed in the first two weeks of the term. Discussion group members will submit weekly responses to set questions, beginning week three.
Cultural Events:
Attendance at four cultural events, with a single page reflection for each in which you propose some connection between this event and the themes of the course, broadly construed. These are due as a packet at the end of the fourteenth week and are considered for credit in the participation grade.
Additional matters you should know or consider:
1. Academic honesty: Consult with me if you have any questions about acceptable practices in regard to academic integrity. Page 51 in the university catalogue reviews some of the common instances where observing academic honesty is required. Always follow good practice in crediting sources and submitting work—this includes material from the internet. Take this responsibility seriously; the consequence of blatant plagiarism [as distinguished from honest errors in proper forms of attribution, for example] will be an F in the course, and a report will be provided to Student Judicial Affairs for further action. The weight of this consequence reflects the commitment of our department to actively maintain practices of integrity in our courses. I strongly encourage you to explore the department policy and tutorial athttp://www.csuchico.edu/rs/resources.html#plagiarism
2. Students with certified disabilities: Please notify me of any special need relating to your disability within the first two weeks of the semester. I will make every reasonable effort to facilitate your success in this course. If you have a documented disability that may require particular accommodations, please contact Disability Support Services (DSS) for coordination and support. DSS is located in University Center building, behind Kendall Hall. The DSS phone number is 898-5959 V/TTY or FAX 898-4411. Visit the DSS website at http://www.csuchico.edu/dss/
3. Adding and Dropping: Add the course online during the first two weeks, or through submitting a Change of Program form [COP] with faculty signature to MLIB 180 during the third and fourth weeks. Dropping the course follows the same pattern; remember that after the fourth week, you will need a “serious and compelling reason” [see university catalogue p. 145] and signatures of the instructor, department chair, and dean, to drop a class. You are responsible for these steps; you will not be automatically dropped for not attending.
4. Cell phones: Please turn them off during the class session to avoid disturbance of our work and your own embarrassment.
5. Travel and anticipated absences: Please be sure to arrange your travel plans to permit attendance of all class sessions; do not plan early departures before holidays.
6. Final exam conflicts. If you find you have a final exam conflict, or you have 3 exams scheduled for the same day, please see me to discuss a rescheduling of your final.
A note on the readings:
Expect to spend 2 or more hours preparing for each of our two weekly meetings. If this is more than you are able to commit to this class, you should reconsider your enrollment in it, or consult with me about your situation. This is an honest forewarning that this course must be given its due as you schedule your time and commitments. I will be doing my best to present the material clearly, but without effort on your part, the range and diversity of material will be difficult for you to integrate-- that is, you’ll be lost.
Stay up with your reading—the lectures will assume you are familiar with the assigned readings listed for that class session. Some assigned readings are on electronic reserve. Electronic reserve documents are available for downloading and printing at the CSUC library: From the CSUC homepage, select library, then reserve materials, then electronic reserve, then electronic reserves and course materials [at this window you can choose to download adobe acrobat if you don’t have it on your computer], then search for RS 332—typing it into the Eres Quicksearch box is an easy route. You will need a course access code; this code will be given out at the first class meeting. Use a library computer if you need to.
Grading:
All graded work will receive a percentage mark; these marks when weighted according to the schedule listed above under “Tests, papers, etc.” will translate into final letter grades according to the following scheme:
93-100 A
90-92 A-
87-89 B+
83-86 B
80-82 B-
and so on, to the mark of 60, which is the lowest passing grade.
Course lectures and readings:
Section one: introduction to course themes
Week one [Jan 28-Feb 1]
1. Introduction to the course
2. How we got here
[Thompson, chapter one]
3. Religion and global issues
[Esposito et al, World Religions Today [excerpts] on elect. reserve]
Section two: environmental issues
4. The environment as a global issue
[Thompson, chapter three excerpts [TBA] Brown, Plan B chapter one
Week three [Feb 11-15]
5. The environment: The environmental challenges
[Brown, individual assignments]
6. The environment: new directions and prospects
[Brown. individual assignments]
Week four [Feb 18-22]
7. The environment: plan for a way forward
[Brown, chapter 13; Co-op America plan: http://www.coopamerica.org/about/newsroom/editorials/Twelvesteps.cfm;
[Reflection paper one due in class]
Section three: religions and the environment
8. Humans and nature: religious perspectives
[Rockefeller, “Faith and Community in an Ecological Age,” pgs 141`-147 and 162-169. Pgs 147-155 recommended also. On electronic reserve]
Week five [Feb 25-29]
9. Asian religions and the environment
[Fisher, “Asian Religions” and Rockefeller pgs 155-158, on elec. reserve ]
10. Buddhism and the environment
[Kaza, “Keeping Peace with Nature,” on elec. reserve]
Week six [Mar 3-7]
11. Abrahamic religions and the environment
[Fisher “Abrahamic Religions,” and Rockefeller pgs 158-161 on elec. reserve ]
12. Abrahamic perspectives
[Schorsh, “Learning to Live with Less,” Patriarch Bartholomew, “Address to an Environmental Symposium,” Nasr, “Islam and the Environmental Crisis” all on elec. reserve]
Section four: religions and the issue of justice
Week seven [Mar 10-14]
13. Justice and religion
[Smurl, “The Problem of Distributive Justice” on elec. reserve]
14. The problem of poverty
[Thompson, chapter two, pp. 29-55]
Spring holiday Mar 17-21
Week eight [Mar 24-28]
15. A Jewish view of justice and globalization
[Solomon, “Judaism and Economic Reform” in Knitter, pp. 96-118]
16. A Christian view of justice and globalization
[McFague, “God’s Household” in Knitter, pp. 119-136]
Week nine [Mar 31-Apr 4]
17. A Muslim view of justice and globalization
[Ali, “Globalization and Greed” in Knitter pp. 137-153]
18. A Buddhist view of justice and globalization
[Loy, “Pave the Planet or Wear Shoes?” in Knitter, pp. 58-76]
Week ten [Apr 7-11]
19. A Confucian view of justice and globalization
[Qin, “A Confucian view of the global economy” in Knitter, pp. 77-95]
20. Forum: religious views on justice in the economy
[explore these web sites: www.earthcharter.org; http://www.afsc.org/economic-justice/LearnAbout.htm; http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/289/; [watch at least ten minutes of the video on the mitworld site. Yunus recently won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work]
Section five: religion, war, and peace
Week eleven: [Apr 14-18 ]
21. War as a global issue: a Christian perspective
[Thompson, chapter five, pp. 114-121; 138-147; Gray Cox, The Ways of Peace, pp. 171-181 on elect. Reserve]
22. Christianity, non-violence, and nationalism
[Smith-Christopher, chapter 8 ]
Week twelve: [Apr 21-25]
23. Buddhism and the problem of violence
[Queen, “The Peace Wheel,” chapter 2 in Smith-Christopher]
24. Forum discussion: violence and its justifications
[[Reflection paper two due in class]
Week thirteen: [Apr 28-May 2]
25. War as a global issue: the Abrahamic religions:
Case study: Judaism, Islam, and the Middle East conflict
[Middle East Reading, on elec. reserve]
26. Judaism and the problem of violence
[Milgrom, “Let your love for me…” chapter 7 in Smith-Christopher]
Week fourteen [May 5-9]
27. Islam and the problem of violence
[Harris, chapter 6 in Smith-Christopher]
28. Forum: Global issues in the Middle East
[Individual assignments]
[Cultural events reflections due]
Week fifteen [May 12-16]
29. Forum: Global issues in the Middle East
[Individual assignments]
30. Concluding discussions
Week sixteen: Finals week: [May 19-23]
A common multiple section final time will be arranged and announced during the semester.