Religious Fundamentalisms in Comparative Perspective is an elective course designed for graduate students with Religious Studies either as their coordinating or co-discipline. Although it is not restricted to Religious Studies students, it does assume a certain measure of theoretical familiarity and background of study. The course is designed to highlight issues related to fundamentalist movements in a variety of religious traditions.
Required Reading
There are eleven required texts for this course, covering a variety of fundamentalisms and scholarly perspectives on fundamentalism. Students will be expected to have read the text carefully, and to come to class well prepared to discuss issues raised by the author(s). The readings for each week will be introduced by student presentations. Rather than simply a précis of the work, students will be expected to discuss intelligently the issues and questions raised in the work by the author(s).
January 17, 2002Kaplan, Lawrence, ed. 1992. Fundamentalism in Comparative Perspective. The University of Massachusetts Press.
January 31, 2002 Stump, Roger W. 2000. Boundaries of Faith: Geographical Perspectives on Religious Fundamentalism. Rowman and Littlefield. February 7, 2002Marsden, George W. 1980. Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth-Century Evangelicalism, 1870-1925. Oxford University Press.
February 14, 2002Toumey, Christopher P. 1994. God's Own Scientists: Creationists in a Secular World. Rutgers University Press.
February 21, 2002Provenzo, Eugene F. 1990. Religious Fundamentalism and American Education: The Battle for the Public Schools. State University of New York Press.
February 28, 2002Bartholomeusz, Tessa J., and Chandra R. de Silva, eds. 1998. Buddhist Fundamentalism and Minority Identities in Sri Lanka. State University of New York Press.
March 7, 2002 van der Veer, Peter. 1994. Religious Nationalism: Hindus and Muslims in India. University of California Press. March 21, 2002 Student presentations of research works-in-progress.March 28, 2002
Heilman, Samuel C. 1999. Defenders of the Faith: Inside Ultra-Orthodox Jewry. University of California Press.
April 4, 2002
Brink, Judy, and Joan Mencher, eds. 1997. Mixed Blessings: Gender and Religious Fundamentalism Cross-Culturally. Routledge.
April 11, 2002
Nasr, Seyyed Vali Reza. 1994. The Vanguard of the Islamic Revolution: the Jama'at-i Islami of Pakistan. University of California Press.
April 18, 2002
Said, Edward W. 1980. Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World. Random House.
April 25, 2002
Student presentation of research projects.
May 2, 2002
Student presentation of research projects.
Research Project
Each student will turn in an original research essay on a topic of their choosing. Essays should be written to conform to the style of a particular academic journal, to which such an essay might be submitted. As part of the research project, students will be expected to identify which journal would be an appropriate venue for their paper and to employ that journal's length, documentation, and research protocols in preparation of their papers.
Papers are due on the last day of class,
May 2, 2002.