COURSE OBJECTIVES:

1. Joint-ownership of this course. By this I mean each of us preparing for every session, listening closely to other points of view, and sharing our own ideas and impressions in order to make the course as intellectually and personally challenging as possible.
2. Reading skills. This will entail reading ca. 100-200 pages of text each week, and more carefully examining a portion of that material.
3. Writing skills. Academic expertise involves the ability to express oneself in writing clearly and succinctly; in my experience practice helps, even if it does not, alas, "make perfect."
4. Appreciation of the issues raised within the academic study of religion over the last century. A direct way to meet this goal is to select our primary readings from some of the leading figures in the history of the discipline; rather than read the Bhagavad Gita or the Qur'an, for instance, we'll read some Durkheim and Eliade.
5. Sensitivity to the current state of Religious Studies in Canada. Who are the scholars shaping the field, and what are the major issues throughout the country?
6. Awareness of the perspectives we bring to texts. Reading a text is a complex act that usually involves the wearing of more than one interpretive hat (e.g., postmodern, feminist, historical-critical). Learning to recognize some of those hats is one of the goals of this course.
7. Speaking skills. Academic endeavours involve oral expression -- in the classroom, in conferences, and over drinks -- and one of the course goals is to have everyone participate as frequently as they are able.
8. The art of comparison. The academic study of religion continues to be called by some "comparative religion," and although that expression is not one of my favourites it has the value of underlining the pedagogical (anthropogical?) value of comparison. A good way to appreciate the merits and pitfalls of "comparing" religions is to do some comparing ourselves.
9. Expanded research skills. Most of you, I suspect, are at home in a traditional research library. Where you might need more practice is in the areas of CD ROM searches and electronic communication -- i.e., academic exchange via email -- and especially in personally engaging academics.
10. Experimentation and serendipity. I would like us to experience a variety of learning situations, and to become more conscious of the pedagogical effects of class dynamics.

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