Religion and Audience in America: Conscience and Community

Required texts:

Feiler, Bruce. Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths. New York:

HarperCollins, 2004.

Potok, Chaim. My Name Is Asher Lev. New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1979.

Excerpts from Eck, Diana. A New Religious America. (RESERVE)

Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference. 5^th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003.

OFFICIAL COURSE DESCRIPTION: The advanced study and practice of analysis and argument, using a variety of academic and non-academic models. The course will teach independent research and the use of scholarly sources and consistency with standard grammar, diction and MLA style. May confer college writing proficiency.

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The research process involves gathering and evaluating information, information that was at some time compiled for a particular audience. We must remain detached from the information in order to evaluate it; but there comes a time when we either become skeptics or believers. We abandon the information as false or biased, or we experience a leap of faith and embrace it as probably true.

Religion provides an interesting forum in which to explore the interweaving of audience and information. Today, this forum is increasingly relevant, as the moral and political ramifications of various religious groups explode beyond national borders. While we shall focus on religion in the United States, the issues raised in these readings exist worldwide, as the tensions between faith and fact, religious and secular, conservative and liberal pull at the fabrics of governments and societies. The assigned readings establish religion as a source of power, a power that both confirms and defies community. Indeed, religion is enmeshed with culture, race, and politics. It is linked both to destruction and redemption.

In exploring religion through literature, we can more easily inhabit worlds that might otherwise remain alien, so that we reach transcendent understandings that can then be examined by research and discussion. While the reading assignments may often demand a real investment of your time, my hope is that the readings will ignite both pleasure and questions that will inspire you to fulfill the course’s ultimate aim: to become better writers and responsible scholars.

W 9/1 First day of class. Diagnostics.

Judaism

F 9/3 Overview of the research and writing process. CWP

sheets. Relevance of readings to research and discussion. Sources:

primary vs. secondary; scholarly vs. nonacademic.

M 9/6 No class—Labor Day.

W 9/8 Feiler: “Home” 3 – 14. Overview of religions and religious texts.

Overview of research process. Relevance of readings to research and

discussion. Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity. The Old and New

Testaments. Peer Group Assignments. Discuss Paper 1 assignment.

F 9/10 Potok: 3 – 150 (The Hasidim; the Torah; the celebrations and rituals; life

and death; the gift; the authority of orthodox religion). Bring in questions!

Citing sources MLA style. Alternate styles of documentation.

Assignments for group reports on subject guides.

M 9/13 Draft of Paper 1 (personal narrative essay) due. No workshop.

Potok: 153 – 197 (The awakening; seeing into the Christian

world; the pain of love; the Rebbe; Jacob Kahn; Picasso’s Guernica).

Feiler: “Birth” 17 - 35. Abraham and Isaac. Creating a thesis; presenting

evidence to support it. Sign up for conferences. Peer group articles

due/arrange meeting with me.

W 9/15 No class / conferences. Topics for Paper 2.

F 9/17 No class / conferences.

M 9/20 Potok: 198-247 (Asher’s research; the growth of the artist; warmth and

humor of dialogue; the conflict between art and religion; the crucifixion).

Art books.

W 9/22 Sample annotated bibliography.

Evaluating sources. PEER GROUP: CONTEMPORARY JUDAISM IN

AMERICA. Bring in articles.

F 9/24 Library Orientation. Meet in Library! Paper 1 due.

M 9/27 Group reports on SUBJECT GUIDES: Religious Studies.

W 9/29 Potok: 251 – 307 (Light; the spectre of World War II; politics and the

artist; Asher’s parents). Annotated bibliography for Paper 2 due.

F 10/1 Potok: 308 – 369 (Florence and Paris; transcending the “frames” of

American and Jewish culture; the mother’s torment; truth or betrayal?;

acts of creation). The Magnificat.. HANDOUT: Research Paper.

M 10/4 READ AND DISCUSS SAMPLE RESEARCH PAPER

W 10/6 Drafts of Paper 2 due; workshop. Bring handbooks.

F 10/8 Conferences / No class. Nominations for best papers (1 from each group).

M 10/11 Conferences / No class.

W 10/13 Candidates for best papers. Campaigns and votes! Peer group articles

due/arrange meeting with me.

F 10/15 Mid-semester break.

M 10/18 Mid-semester break.

Christianity

W 10/20 Feiler: “Birth” 17 – 35; “Call” 36 – 54. Who was Jesus? Paper 2 due.

F 10/22 Feiler: “Children of Abraham” 57 – 81. Chapters 1 and 2 of the Gospels.

The writers of the Gospels.

M 10/25 Feiler: “Isaac” 82 – 110. The Gnostic Gospels. PEER GROUP: The

Religious Right and Evangelical Strategies. Bring in articles or sources.

[The movie Saved]

W 10/27 Feiler: “Jews” 113 – 135. The Catholics and the Protestants. Baltimore as

home to Catholics. Johns Hopkins and the Baltimore Friends. Peer group

articles due/arrange meeting with me.

F 10/29 Feiler: “Christians” 136 – 159. Protestants in America. The Puritans. The

Southern Baptists.

M 11/1 The Methodists. The Presbyterians. The Mormons. Topics for

Paper 3.

T 11/2 ELECTION DAY

W 11/3 PEER GROUP: CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIANITY. (Politics and

religion, perhaps?) Bring in articles. Annotated bibliography for Paper

3 due.

F 11/5 Drafts for Paper 3 due; workshop.

M 11/8 Conferences / No class

W 11/10 Conferences / No class

F 11/12

Islam

M 11/15 RESERVE: Eck: “Envisioning the New America” 6 – 11; “Passage to

America” 11 – 17. Peer group articles due/arrange meeting with me.

W 11/17 Feiler: “Muslims” 160 – 185. Excerpts from the Koran.

F 11/19 RESERVE: Eck: “The Most Misunderstood…” 232 – 251.

More exerpts from the Koran? Topics for Paper 4.

M 11/22 PEER GROUP: CONTEMPORARY ISLAM IN

AMERICA. Bring in articles. Peer group articles due/arrange meeting

with me.

W 11/24 Thanksgiving Break

F 11/26 Thanksgiving Break

M 11/29 RESERVE: Eck: “African-American Islam in the 20^th Century” 251 – 260.

W 12/1 Feiler: “Legacy” 189 – 218; “Unity” 219 - 226. Excerpts from The

Autobiography of Malcolm X. Annotated bibliography for Paper 4 due.

F 12/3 PEER GROUP: CONTEMPORARY ISLAM ABROAD. Bring in

articles.

M 12/6 Draft of Paper 4 due; workshop.

W 12/8 Last day of class. Evaluations.

Final conferences will be scheduled.

M 12/10 Paper 4 due, with Self-Evaluation, by Noon.

Electronic submissions:

--You must obtain my permission to electronically submit a draft or paper.

--The e-mail submission must be sent “w/ return receipt.”

--You are responsible for making sure that the paper was in fact received.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism, or the unacknowledged use of someone else’s ideas or words, is a serious academic offense that could lead to failure of the course. In A Writer’s Reference, Diana Hacker notes: “Three different acts are considered plagiarism: (1) failing to cite quotations and borrowed ideas, (2) failing to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks, and (3) failing to put summaries and paraphrases in your own words” (331). As you assume more confidence as a writer, you will gain clarity about avoiding plagiarism. Let me know if you have questions about identifying or avoiding plagiarism.

Paper 1: A 3 pp. personal narrative about your religious or spiritual experience and background. Offer specific examples to develop your discussion. Focus in this paper will be on basic writing strategies and on gaining an understanding of the perspective from which you will be regarding the readings and religious issues explored in this course. 5%

Paper 2: A 5 – 7 pp. paper relating to Judaism or to one of the artists or issues raised in Asher Lev. The perspective should be historical or literary, and the research process should increase familiarity with Reference sources, books, and historical journals. 5 – 7 sources. 10%

Paper 3: A 5 – 7 pp. paper discussing some aspect of Christianity. Similar in structure and process to Paper 2, this paper will give you the opportunity to become more comfortable with writing and research issues that may have been difficult when writing Paper 2. 5 - 7 sources. 10%

Paper 4: A 7 – 10 pp. paper about a contemporary issue involving religion in the United States. This paper will depend largely on periodical sources, with database and Internet use. The final assignment, this paper should display the strategies that were practiced throughout the semester. The paper should be well-written, carefully documented, and should integrate relevant and reliable sources. 10 – 12 sources. 20%

Drafts for Papers 2, 3, and 4: You are to hand in reasonably well-developed and proofread drafts on the dates assigned. Include in-text citations and works cited pages (MLA style). Each draft: 5%. Total 15%

Annotated Bibliographies: Three annotated bibliographies are required: for Paper 2 (3 – 5 pp.; 4%); for Paper 3 (3 – 5 pp.; 4%); and for Paper 4 (5 – 7 pp.; 6%). Total 14%

Group Presentations/Discussions: Each peer group will bring in articles and lead one class session on the assigned topic (see syllabus). Each group member will find an article, and the group will meet with me prior to the scheduled class. In the presentation, there should be discussion about each article and some dialogue or forum between group members about the different articles. The group should also invite class discussion. There will be 2 grades: one for the group and one for each individual. You will be graded on the quality and relevance of the article; on your ability to pick out significant parts of the piece and bring them forward for discussion; on your group interaction; and on your initiation of class discussion. 10%

Self-evaluation: At the end of the semester, you will submit with your final paper an evaluation of your work and progress over the semester. 5%

Class Participation and Attendance: The class works best if we are all there and ready to talk and listen. Be there! No more than 3 unexcused absences. 11%

NOTE: In the event of class cancellation, please continue with your assignments according to the syllabus unless otherwise notified.

This syllabus is subject to revision.