Seminar on Approaches to Teaching Islam
Instructor: Prof. A. E. SOUAIAIA
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This is a graduate seminar (open to seniors with Instructor's permission) designed to introduce future scholars and teachers to the various approaches to the study of religion. We will focus on the theoretical materials dealing with this topic. Additionally, we will examine some of the literature written by or about some of the most influential scholars in the discipline. Books: 1. Teaching Islam, edited by Brannon M. Wheeler 2. Why Gods Persist: A Scientific Approach to Religion, By Robert A Hinde Synopsis "Why Gods Persist takes a look at possible social-scientific explanations for why religions persist. Robert A. Hinde shows us how religions involve structural beliefs, narratives, rituals, moral codes, religious experience and social aspects. Offering a major study from the perspectives of both the social and biological sciences on the role of religion in human society, this book draws examples from a wide range of religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism. 3. Psychology of Religion: An Empirical Approach, By Bernard (EDT) Spilka, Bruce Hunsberger, Richard Gorsuch Synopsis Now in a fully revised and expanded third edition, this landmark text provides comprehensive, up-to-date coverage of an increasingly rich and varied field. The authors synthesize classic and contemporary research on religious thought, belief, and behavior across the lifespan; the forms and meaning of religious experience; the social psychology of religious organizations; and connections to biology, morality, coping, and mental health. As in previous editions, the focus is on scientific work that is moving the psychology of religion into the mainstream of academic psychology, rather than broad interpretative and conceptual discussions. Organized for optimal use in advanced undergraduate- or graduate-level courses, every chapter features thought-provoking quotations, sidebars, and examples that bring key concepts to life. 4. Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion, edited by Micahel Banton Synopsis As the basic questions of social structure were elucidated there came a quickening of interest among social anthropologists in the study of religion. This volume comprises a collection of such essays. 5. Feminism and Religion: An Introduction, By Rita M. Gross Synopsis Rita M. Gross offers an engaging survey of the changes feminism has wrought in religious ideas, beliefs, and practices around the world, as well as in the study and understanding of religion itself. 6. The Quest: History and Meaning in Religion, By Mircea Eliade Synopsis In "The Quest Mircea Eliade stresses the cultural function that a study of the history of religions can play in a secularized society. He writes for the intelligent general reader in the hope that what he calls a new humanism "will be engendered by a confrontation of modern Western man with unknown or less familiar worlds of meaning." 7. Religion After Religion: Gershom Scholem, Mircea Eliade, and Henry Corbin at Eranos, By Steven M. Wasserstrom 8. New Approches to the Study of Religion: Volume 1: Regional, Critical, and Historical Approaches; By Peter Antes, Armin W Geertz, R R Warne ___________________________ Journal Articles: 1. The Academic Study of Religion, by S. Gill; in Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 1994. 2. A Teacher's Guide to Study about Religion in Public Schools, by CC Haynes; in Journal of Law and Religion, 1990. 3. An Inquiry into the Nature of the Distinction between the History of Religion and the Phenomenology of Religion; by Arvind Sharma; in Numen, VOL. XXII, 1975. 4. Teaching Theology and Religion, Volume 6 Page 99 - April
2003 This essay describes an introductory class exercise to help prepare students to critically examine both religious beliefs and scientific findings. Using a published pedagogical exercise originally designed to teach Popperian falsificationism and modified to encompass a variety of schools of thought about hypothesis testing, the paper explores how groups of students utilized assigned philosophical approaches such as neojustificationism, falsificationism, or conventionalism. A description of the exercise and some of the learning outcomes are included. 5. Teaching Theology
and Religion This paper discusses a problem which is largely, though not exclusively, peculiar to the older universities in Great Britain where, in recent years, many long-established departments of Christian theology have expanded their area of responsibility to include religious studies. However, the author believes that what he has to say is not without relevance to universities and colleges outside of Great Britain which have inherited and continue to maintain a confessional bias in teaching theology and religion. 6. Teaching Theology
and Religion Abstract. Like religious studies, Jewish studies is an academic exploration of literature, ritual, history, philosophy, and experience across disciplinary boundaries. As with all area studies, Jewish studies balances itself – often precariously – as a bridge across that range of methodological options. The breadth of theories employed by each has complicated the teaching of an upper level seminar in Jewish studies. Conceived as a cross between a parade of scholars course and a senior capstone experience, the class employed the broad thematic principle of "identity." In doing so, it exposed the biases of the students, the subject, and the instructor. 7. Teaching Theology
and Religion A contemporary liberal education in the humanities and social sciences should introduce students to the serious exploration of various kinds of worlds that human beings articulate and within which they live. Teachers in Buddhist studies can make a significant contribution by offering courses that focus attention on distinctively Buddhist worlds that are directly relevant to postmodern interests and concerns. These courses should also be designed to empower students with the kind of interpretive skills that are needed in a postmodern environment to generate viable modes of sympathetic understanding, convincing forms of critical analysis, and the capacity to formulate and defend responsible personal and social judgments. This article is a revised version of the keynote lecture given at a McGill University conference on "Teaching Buddhism: The State of the Art," October 8–10, 1999. Reading materials, syllabus, and schedule
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