Introduction to World Religions REL 1300 0009 Fall 2015 MWF 1 25 2 15 Florida State University College of Arts and Sciences INSTRUCTOR Jacob Lollar jlollar fsu edu Office Dodd Hall 112 TEACHING ASSISTANT Renee Dyehouse ard15b my fsu edu Office Dodd 120c CLASSROOM Kellogg Research Building KRB 105 OFFICE HOURS MWF 11 am 1 pm Lollar F 10 10 am 1 10 pm Dyehouse PHONE NUMBER 520 490 3733 Lollar This is a Liberal Studies Course The Liberal Studies for the 21st Century Program at Florida State University builds an educational foundation that will enable FSU graduates to thrive both intellectually and materially and to support themselves their families and their communities through a broad and critical engagement with the world in which they live and work Liberal Studies offers a transformative experience this course has been approved as meeting the Liberal Studies requirements and thus is designed to help you become a thoughtful patron of and participant in cultural practice It has also been approved as meeting the Cross cultural Studies requirements and thus is designed to help you become a culturally conscious participant in a global community Course Description This course is an introduction to the academic study of world religions It is designed to acquaint students with religious traditions practiced throughout the world Particular attention will be given to the historical development of various religious traditions their role s in world history and their relevance in current events Course Objectives By the end of the term students will be able to 1 compare and interpret intellectual and artistic expressions of a variety of cultures 2 compare interpret and create or model cultural artifacts that function as widely varied reflections of human perspectives and or practices 3 recognize the complex cultural and historical contexts that give rise to and shape religious traditions 4 critically read historically contextualize and interpret arguments about religious history and religious studies 5 articulate the ways that religious communities conceive of their own traditions 6 understand and employ basic terms commonly used in the discipline of religious studies to be assessed by two definition papers Course Materials 1 Hexham Irving Understanding World Religions An Interdisciplinary Approach Grand Rapids Zondervan 2011 2 Readings posted to the Blackboard Site Grading Breakdown Percentage Exams 25 each Projects 20 each Definition Papers 5 each The following grading format is used for this course A 95 100 A 90 94 B 86 89 B 84 85 B 80 83 C 76 79 C 74 75 C 70 73 D 66 69 D 64 65 D 60 63 F 59 and below Grading Disputes In order to ensure that each student s work is graded in accordance with standards that apply to the entire class if you have a question regarding a grade you must meet with the instructor who graded your assignment within two weeks after the work in question is graded No exceptions will be made to this policy If the exam or assignment is re graded the entire exam or assignment will be graded again This means that your score may increase or decrease Attendance There is a mandatory attendance policy in this course Arriving after attendance is recorded or leaving prior to the end of the lecture without arrangement with the instructors may be recorded as an unexcused absence After 3 unexcused absences each additional unexcused absence will lower the student s final grade by 1 of the overall course average Anyone caught signing in for another student or being signed in by another student will be penalized one letter grade for each occurrence discovered More than 12 unexcused absences will result in a failing grade for the course Excused absences include documented illness deaths in the family and other documented crises call to active military duty or jury duty religious holy days and official University activities These absences will be accommodated in a way that does not arbitrarily penalize students who have a valid excuse Consideration will also be given to students whose dependent children experience serious illness Exams There will be a midterm and a final exam for this course The midterm will cover the material from the beginning of the course up to the midterm and the final will cover the material from the midterm up to the final The exams may include a mixture of true false multiple choice matching fill in the blank and or short answer questions Prior to both exams students will receive a study guide and if necessary there may be a scheduled study session with the Instructor A missed exam may only be made up in an emergency and a different exam from the one that the class as a whole took may be given to the student If you are unable to take an exam at the scheduled time you must provide advance notice of at least TWO DAYS so that alternative arrangements can be made this includes students with documented disabilities for which see below It is up to the discretion of the Instructor whether a student may be allowed to take an exam at a later earlier date If a student does not show up for an exam without making prior arrangements then he she will receive a 0 on the test and will be unable to make it up Course Projects Students will complete TWO course projects during the semester One project will consist of watching a film that deals explicitly with one or more of the Yoga traditions that we cover and writing an essay in which the student will compare the portrayal of the tradition with what the student has learned about the tradition in class Films to choose from include but are not limited to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom on Hinduism Seven Years in Tibet on Buddhism Ghandi on Hinduism The Golden Child on Buddhism Unmistaken Child on Buddhism A Dream in Doubt on Sikhism Learning to Drive on Sikhism The Life of Pi Hinduism If a student is feeling particularly daring he or she may review the animated show Avatar The Last Airbender on Buddhism If a student wishes to review a movie not on this list the student must attain approval from professor Lollar The analysis must be between 1000 1200 words This project is due on October 9th in class Students must follow the Modern Language Association MLA format for citing materials in their papers The MLA formatting and style guide may be referenced at https owl english purdue edu owl resource 747 01 The other project will consist of inventing a religion Students will imagine they must present their group to Congress to make a
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