Document Type

Syllabus

Publication Date

Fall 2023

Course Description

Welcome to the class! The course is a survey of the major beliefs, practices and forms of the Christian religion. Among other things, special attention will be given to its origins, Biblical foundations, theological formations and development, pivotal historical developments, and engagement with the contemporary world. In keeping with its orientation, the learning goals, outcomes, and other relevant pedagogical information stated below are designed to promote knowledge of how a religious movement centered around a relatively obscure Jewish figure at the margins or outposts of the Roman Empire in the First Century C.E. spread to become a world religion:

Student Outcomes

With respect to Learning Goal 1: Religious Literacy I. To develop a solid foundation of credible knowledge about diverse religions and the concept of “religion” with specific reference to the Christian tradition. • Students will be able to identify definitions of religion and their limitations. • Students will be able to describe characteristic patterns/dimensions shared by religious traditions. II. To understand how religious traditions have shaped—and are shaped in turn by— historical-cultural contexts. III. To recognize the global diversity of religious traditions and the diversity within each tradition. IV. To acknowledge the importance of religion in the human search for meaning and purpose, and for the force of this meaning to shape individuals, communities, societies, and nations. V. To gain an appreciation of the relationship between religion, the human imagination, and artistic creations. With respect to Learning Goal 2: Global/Intercultural Competence I. Cultivation of a greater global and cultural awareness of self and other by engaging with peoples and cultures from around the globe with specific relation to the origins, development, dissemination, and globalization of the Christian tradition. II. To develop robust and responsible ways to think comparatively about religious similarities and differences. III. Gain familiarity with non-western religioustraditions and cultures through a comparative approach and deepening knowledge of non-western religions and socio- historical contexts. • Students will be able to identify geo-cultural regions and their respective majority religious traditions. • Students will be able to evaluate the importance of “pluralism” and “tolerance” when assessing global religions and diversity within religious traditions. • Students will be able to identify the intersections of human creative expression/religious arts. • Students will be able to identify the process of creation and recreation in the Christian tradition, and thereby appreciate the historical dimensions of Christianity. • Students will be able to demonstrate a capacity to work open-mindedly with students from all backgrounds, cultures, and religions. • Students will be able to understand how Christianity became global, and the related processes. • Students will be able to write essays and theses using cross-culturally framed and informed research questions. • Students will be able to define what religion is and how it functions within the context of a robust consideration of non-Western religious traditions. IV. Strengthen empathetic (non-judgmental, open and curious) engagement with the diversity of religious worldviews and the cultures from which they emerge. With respect to Learning Goal 3: Reading, Speaking, and Writing I. To read, understand, and critically analyze religious texts (both oral and written) and artifacts from a number of different genres, registers, regions, epochs, languages, and cultural traditions with respect to the Christian tradition. II. To distinguish confessional or prescriptive statements about religion from descriptive or analytical statements. III. Write clearly and cogently about religion as a mode of cultural production. IV. Formulate questions and making effective arguments (both orally and in writing), conducting research, evaluating research resources, and organizing projects. • Students will be able to identify how the diversity of religious worldviews represents racial, national, socioeconomic, sociocultural, and other kinds of differences. • Students will be able to discuss the relationship between the study of religion and an increased awareness of global and intercultural diversity. • Students will be challenged to consider paths to community building. • Students will be able to engage in analytical discussion about religious texts, traditions, or artifacts. • Students will be empowered to note the role that rhetoric and communication play in the Christian tradition, and religion as a whole. • Students will be able to distinguish between (confessional or prescriptive or truth- claiming) statements made (from) within religious texts, traditions, artifacts and scholarly, comparative religious studies statements made (from) outside of religious tradition • Students will be able to perform a written analysis of how cultural (and social, political, and economic) factors are represented in religious texts, traditions, artifacts • Students will be able to develop an original thesis statement about a religious text, tradition, or artifact. • Students will be able to acquire strategies for convincing readers and an audience of the value of an argument about a religious text, tradition, or artifact. • Students will be able to conduct research about religious texts, traditions, or artifacts. V. Model academically informed civil discourse in the discussion of sensitive and controversial topics with specific reference to the Christian tradition.

Download

Share

COinS