World Religions:
A Sociological Introduction

CROSSSTILL.gif (977 bytes)  STILLBUDDHIST.gif (968 bytes)  STILLISLAMSMALL.gif (972 bytes)  STILLNATIVEAMERICANSMALL.gif (1159 bytes)  STILLSTARDAVID.gif (853 bytes)  STILLTAO.gif (1060 bytes)  STILLWICCANSTAR.gif (1247 bytes)

 

Instructor Douglas E. Cowan
204C Haag Hall
235-1492
cowande@umkc.edu
Designation Sociology 300RN (Undergraduate)
Sociology 580G (Graduate) 		Reference #: 28778
Reference #: 29035
Location Royall Hall 214
Time Tuesday / Thursday: 9:30-10:45 a.m.
Office Hours Tuesday / Thursday: 11:00-12:00 noon, or by appointment
Required textbook Theodore M. Ludwig,
The Sacred Paths: Understanding the Religions of the World
3rd ed. Prentice-Hall
Online syllabus http://c.faculty.umkc.edu/cowande/worldrel.htm

 

Assignments and Class Evaluation | Course Syllabus | Attendance Policy | Academic Honesty | Graduate Students

Assignments and Class Evaluation

Student evaluation will be based on three things:
Three scheduled, in-class tests 15% each (45% total)
Four unscheduled pop quizzes 5% each (20% total)
Discussion notebook (see below) 40%
You will note that this adds up to 105%. This is to allow students the opportunity to pick up extra marks that might have been lost somewhere along the way.
There will be NO registrar scheduled final examination in this course.

The Discussion Notebook
There are two basic components to the Discussion Notebook: (a) your written answers to weekly questions drawn from Ludwig, The Sacred Paths (see below); and (b) an introduction and conclusion which you will write to draw the answers together into a coherent document. The Discussion Notebook is worth a total of 40% towards your final grade.
1. Each week, you will write a minimum one-page, typed and double-spaced answer to each of the questions assigned for that week. These answers are due on the dates indicated in the syllabus below. Late submissions will be accepted only with a written excuse, or by prior arrangement with Prof. Cowan. Each week's assignment is worth one point; all tolled, they total 15%.
2. The final questions are due Tuesday, November 26. You will receive them back on Tuesday, December 3. On Monday, December 9, you will return all your answers to me, in some sort of bound format (a three-ring binder is fine) with a 2-3 page introduction, and a 2-3 page conclusion. This final product will contribute another 25% to your grade.
Note:
  • You do not have to organize your final Discussion Notebook according to the dates on which the answers were submitted. Several of the questions cluster around common themes; you could organize them this way. Or, you could organize them according to religious tradition, or geographical region, or chronology.
  • Feel free to incorporate other reading that you might have done, other resources that you come across during the course, pictures, maps, etc. If you include other material, however, be sure that you connect it in some way to the answers you have already provided.
  • In writing both your introduction and your conclusion, you will have to read over your own answers several times to get a sense of what it is you are saying about the religious traditions under discussion. This is why authors often wait until a book is completed before they write the introduction to it.
  • While I do not want you to rewrite any of your answers (unless I gave you specific instructions to do so), you may want to add to those answers, insert commentary that indicates how your thinking has changed about these questions, make links between certain questions, or certain issues.
  • Remember, though, this course is about the scholarly study of religion; we will not be taking a fideistic (faith-based) approach. That is, the intent of the course is to learn about the religions of others, not compare and contrast them with our own.
Though he was referring to languages when he wrote this, a quote from the famous German scholar Max Müller (1823-1900) captures very nicely our approach to the scholarly study of religion: "He (or she) who knows only one, knows none."

To minimize the risk of misunderstanding, be sure and check Prof. Cowan's grading scale, and grading rubric for written presentations. This rubric details the standards according to which written work is graded.

Course Syllabus

We will be following Ludwig, The Sacred Paths, at a rate of approximately one chapter per class session. This matrix lists the chapter and required study questions for each week. It is highly recommended that you read ahead.

Date Topic Required Reading
 Questions

All chapter and page numbers refer to Ludwig, The Sacred Paths
August 22

Introduction to the course
August 27-29 Exploring the Sacred Paths Chapter 1
Chapter 3		 Pp.23-24: #2, 5;
P.61: #1, 11
Due: August 29
September 3-5 Religions arising from India 1 Chapter 4
Chapter 5		 P.83: #1, 3;
P.100: #4, 7
Due: September 5
September 10-12 Religions arising from India 2 Chapter 6
Chapter 7		 P.115: #2, 9;
P.132: #1, 2
Due: September 12
September 17-19 Religions arising from India 3 Chapter 8
Chapter 9		 P.146: #7, 8;
P.161: #2, 3
Due: September 19
September 24 Religions arising from India 4 Chapter 11 P.186: #6, 9
Due: September 24
September 26

Test #1
October 1-3 Religions of China and Japan 1 Chapter 12
Chapter 13		 Pp.214-215: #2, 9;
P.237: #3, 9
Due: October 3
October 8-10 Religions of China and Japan 2 Chapter 14
Chapter 15		 P.260: #4, 9;
P.276: #5, 6
Due: October 10
October 15-17 Religions of China and Japan 3 Chapter 16
Chapter 17		 P.288: #9, 10;
P.304: #3, 4
Due: October 17
October 22

Test #2
October 24 Religions of the Mediterranean 1 Chapter 18 P.316: #1, 4;
Due: October 24
October 29-31 Religions of the Mediterranean 2 Chapter 20
Chapter 21		 P.349: #2, 6;
P.361: #1, 9
Due: October 31
November 5-7 Religions of the Mediterranean 3 Chapter 22
Chapter 23		 P.375: #4, 8;
P.400: #1, 3
Due: November 7
November 12-14 Religions of the Mediterranean 4 Chapter 24
Chapter 25		 P.412: #2, 12;
Pp.426-427: #2, 9
Due: November 14
November 19-21 Religions of the Mediterranean 5 Chapter 26
Chapter 27		 Pp.451-452: #5, 10;
P.463: #8, 9
Due: November 21
November 26-28 Religions of the Mediterranean 6 Chapter 28
 P.478: #1, 7;
Due: November 26
November 28

No class
December 3

General review of course
December 5 Test #3
December 9 Discussion Notebooks due.
Submission deadline is 5:00 p.m. at Prof. Cowan's office (204 Haag Hall).
Late assignments will be penalized at a rate of 5% per day.

Attendance Policy

You are expected to attend and participate in all class sessions. Only excused absences which have been previously arranged with Prof. Cowan, or which are substantiated by medical documentation, will be permitted. Any more than two unexcused absences will result in a grade penalty of 1% per missed class.

Graduate Students

If you are taking this class for graduate credit (i.e., you have registered in Soc 580G), there will be an increased workload for you. It is imperative that you make an appointment to see Prof. Cowan during the first full week of classes to discuss this.

Academic Honesty

Please note that Prof. Cowan has a zero tolerance policy for plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty. Consequences can range from course failure (for undergraduate students) to dismissal from the academic program in which a student is enrolled (for graduate students). If you are unclear about what constitutes plagiarism, click here.

Douglas E. Cowan
University of Missouri-Kansas City