Department of Religious Studies
University of California, Riverside

Course Syllabus

Professor Ivan Strenski Winter 1998
University of California, Riverside Ethnic Studies/Religious Studies 12


Required Texts:



Achebe -- Arrow of God  

Gill -- Native American Religions

Kellerman -- The Ritual Bath

Strenski -- Course Reader



Office hours: Tu Th 1030-1200 HMNSS 2621, X5986 or Chair's Office, HMNSS, RLST Dept Suite  X5111



Course requirements



1. Total  of  three in-class 15 minute Scantron and short answer quizzes and two 3 page take-home essays =  (2/3 course total)

2. Final examination = (1/3 course total)--Scantron and short essays

3. Attendance and participation in sections. Failure to attend and participate in section discussions will result in a significant reduction of the final grade.



Schedule of Class Meetings:  all items are included in class reader or in required books

8 Jan   Introduction



13 Jan  What Is Religion? And How Should We Study It?

(Ninian Smart), "Introduction" 



15  Jan Racism and the Burden of  (Colonial)  History

(Orwell), "Shooting an Elephant". ( Horsman), 6. "The Other Americans",  7. "Superior and Inferior Races"



20 Jan  Racism Is Everybody's Problem: The Ethical Dimension of Religion

Khalid Mohammad, Hitler, Mein Kampf. Robert Girardi, "Nose Job"; Afghan Hospitals; Slavery in Sudan; Henry Louis Gates, "The Charmer". Cornel West, "On Black-Jewish Relations". Malcolm X, Autobiography of  Malcolm X,
22 Jan  At Home and the World: What Is Ritual?

Kellerman, The Ritual Bath.  Jacob Neusner, "Back to the Fold, Not to the Faith". Mud People 



27  Jan Indigenous Peoples, Christopher Columbus and their  Religions: Doctrinal Dimension

Gill, Native American Religions, ch 1-2, 4 (pp 83-97) 



QUIZ TODAY IN CLASS covering materal from 8 to 22 Jan



29 Jan  Film: "Black Robe": Seeing All the Dimensions of Religion Together

Brian Moore, Black Robe, excerpts

Take-home review essay assignment on  "Black Robe" (3 pages, double-spaced. due 5 Feb in class): Comment critically, with explicit reference (page numbers) to Gill and/or Smart to support your thesis. Theme: "According to what Gill and Smart say about religion how does Black Robe inform us both about religion in general and about Native American religion? What does Black Robe  leave out?" Warning: no page numbers cited from reading, no credit.. Cite specific pages, not just general vicinity of your source.



3 Feb   Religion of  "Natural Man": Irrational, Magical, and Just Like Us? 

(Marcel Mauss), The Gift. (Claude Lévi-Strauss), ch IX, "The Sorcerer and His Magic". Gill, Native American Religions, ch 3, 4 (pp. 97-113) and ch 5.



5 Feb   Mexico as Mirror: So Near to God, So Far from the United States 

Take-home review essay assignment on  "Black Robe" is due today in class

(Octavio  Paz), "Mexico and the United States", Labyrinth of Solitude. (Alan Riding), ch 1. "The Mexicans",  ch 2 "The Roots of the Nation". (Oscar Lewis), "Manuel";  Patrick Oster, ch 14. "The Evangelista"



10 Feb  Living the Day of the Dead: The Ritual Dimension

(Octavio Paz), ch 3. "The Day of the Dead", The Labyrinth of Solitude.Octavio Pax, ch 5. "The Conquest and Colonialism", The Labyrinth of Solitude.  Yugoslavian Day of the Dead;    Slides: Patzcuaro, Janitzio, Tzintzunzan 

"Amistad" Special Assignment Due (See Below)



12 Feb  Mexico as the Indianation: The Old Myths Do Not Die

Jacques Soustelle, from The Daily Life of the Aztecs; Richard Rodriguez, "The New Native Americans". B. Traven, "When the Priest Is Not at Home" B. Traven, "Conversion of Some Indians"  Slides: Yucatan, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guadalajara



17 Feb  Religion and Politics: What Was, What Was Lost, and What Might Yet Be

Film: "The Mission"

Take home review essay assignment on  "The Mission" (3 pages, double-spaced. due 24 Feb):

Theme: "Do the Guarani use Christianity and/or does it use them?" Tell me precisely how in terms of specific incidents in the film.



19 Feb  La Virgen de Guadalupe's Religion: National  Identity  through  Political Myth 

(Victor Turner), ch 3. "Hidalgo: History as Social Drama". Richard Rodriguez, "Mexican Food...." Richard Rodriguez, "Credo", Hunger of Memory. Richard Rodriguez, ch. 5. "The Missions"

QUIZ TODAY IN CLASS covering materal from 27 Jan to 17 Feb



24 Feb  Religion in West Africa 

take home review essay assignment on  The Mission  is due today in class.

Achebe,  Arrow of God,  Tom Lawson, "Yoruba Worldview"



26 Feb  Religious Experience in Africa: The ways of the gods are not our ways 

Achebe, Arrow of God 

African masks (slides) Jed Perl on Art. "Formal Africa"



3 Mar   African Religion as Art and Intelligence 

Achebe,  Arrow of God.  Victor Turner, "Muchona, the Hornet"



5 Mar   Film: "The Long Search" -- "Zulu Zion"
10 Mar  Religion in the New Africa

( Ninian Smart), ch 6. "Africa and Beyond". "Missa Luba" (audio).



12 Mar  Religion in the New Africa continued

QUIZ TODAY IN CLASS covering materal from 19 Feb to 10 Mar



17 Mar  Review: The Future of Religion and Ethnicity


"Amistad" Special Assignment

Date due: 10 Feb
	Students are offered a chance to do an EXTRA short paper on "Amistad"

based on the following question.



"Specify cases in 'Amistad' in which religion figures. As specified in

these cases, evaluate the role religion a plays in the action of the film."



By 'evaluate' I mean for you to spell out what significance these instances

of religion have concerning the role and nature of religion as depicted or

suggested by the film.



	The grade given on this paper can then be used to replace the LOWER grade

of the other two required papers. THIS IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE OTHER

TWO PAPERS. Thus, if the "Amistad" option is chosen, three papers are done,

and the lowest grade of the three dropped.


      Religious Myths and Rituals
        READER
        Table of Contents



The New Yorker cover/image

Ninian Smart, "Introduction"

George Orwell, "Shooting and Elephant"

Reginald Horsman, 6. "The Other Americans",   7. "Superior and Inferior Races"

Dr. Khalid Mohammad

Hitler, Mein Kampf

Cornel West, "On Black-Jewish Relations"

Robert Girardi, "Nose Job"

Afghan Hospitals

Slavery in Sudan       

Henry Louis Gates, "The Charmer"

Malcolm X, Autobiography of  Malcolm X,

Mud People

Jacob Neusner, "Back to the Fold, Not to the Faith"

Brian Moore, Black Robe

Marcel Mauss, The Gift

Claude Lévi-Strauss, ch IX, "The Sorcerer and His Magic"

Octavio Paz, "Mexico and the United States", The Labyrinth of Solitude

Alan Riding, ch 1. "The Mexicans",  Distant Neighbors

ch 2 "The Roots of the Nation",  Distant Neighbors

Oscar Lewis, "Manuel"

Patrick Oster, ch 14. "The Evangelista"

Octavio Paz ch 3. "The Day of the Dead", The Labyrinth of Solitude

Octavio Paz ch 5. "The Conquest and Colonialism", The Labyrinth of Solitude

Yugoslavian Day of the Dead

Jacques Soustelle, from The Daily Life of the Aztecs

Richard Rodriguez, "The New Native Americans"

B. Traven, "When the Priest Is Not at Home"

B. Traven, "Conversion of Some Indians"

Victor Turner, ch 3. "Hidalgo: History as Social Drama"

Richard Rodriguez, "Mexican Food...."

Richard Rodriguez, "Credo", Hunger of Memory--"The steps of the church defined the..."

Richard Rodriguez, ch. 5. "The Missions"

Tom Lawson, "Yoruba Worldview"

Viictor Turner, "Muchona, the Hornet"

Jed Perl on Art. "Formal Africa"

Victor Turner, "Muchona, the Hornet"

Ninian Smart, ch 6. "Africa and Beyond"


Other syllabi of the Department of Religious Studies at UC Riverside are avaiable at their web page.


http://www.wlu.ca/~wwwaar/syllabi/religious_myths_and_rituals-strenski.html

Latest update: August 02, 2002
Number of accesses since October 09, 1998: