Derek
Maher
Office:
Austin 235
Telephone:
328-5332
Mailbox:
Brewster Building BA-327
Course
Description:
As
far back in the past as one can credibly determine, human beings have had
something corresponding to religious identities and aspirations. Likewise, throughout this time, issues
of violence and non-violence have marked human civilizations. More often than not, religions have
endeavored to grapple with both violence and non-violence. At times, they have embraced violent
practices or ideologies, such as human sacrifice, the Crusades, or
martyrdom. At other times,
religions have raised non-violence up on their central altar, as is the case
with, for example, Christian pacifism or the Buddhist values of
non-harmfulness.
In
recent years, millennialism, apocalyptic cults, religiously inspired terrorism,
and other forces in society have made us ever more aware that violence has long
been a major part of religion.
In
this seminar, we will explore various theoretical approaches to the connection
between violence and religion, including those articulated by Freud, Girard,
and Arendt. We will then
investigate some of the primary expressions of religiously based non-violence
– New Testament pacifism, Gandhi’s ahimsa, and the religious foundations
of the non-violent civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. We will then turn to a variety of case
studies of how violence is expressed in different religious contexts. These include Just War Theory,
religious terrorism, pain rituals, blood sacrifices, martyrdom, and magical
control of enemies.
The
course is primarily intended as a capstone seminar for Religion Majors. A high level of engagement and
involvement is expected and required.
Successful students will spend a significant amount of time reading and
writing each week, and they will actively participate in the classroom discussions.
By
way of these inquiries, the student should be able to:
·
Identify and employ
several basic theoretical approaches to the study of violence in religion and
·
Critically analyze
religious practices, ideologies, and imagery that deploy violence and non-violence.
Students
in this course will also:
·
Cultivate critical
thinking and reading comprehension skills and
·
Enhance their ability
to communicate more effectively, verbally and in writing.
These
objectives will be attained through readings, writing, writing critiques, and
classroom discussions. Challenging
readings from a variety of disciplines will supplement these strategies.
Course
Reading:
Additional
readings are available on the course Blackboard website. http://ecu.blackboard.com/ Students are
responsible for checking their email address linked to Blackboard system so
that they are assured of remaining up-to-date with reading assignments, exam
dates, and any other information relating to the course.
Grading
·
12-14 page paper with
preliminary proposal and two drafts (30%)
·
Five 3-4 page reaction
papers (30%)
·
classroom participation
(20%)
·
Reading Quiz on
Theories of Religious Violence (5%)
·
final examination with
essays and short answers (15%)
A
research paper must clearly set forth a thesis, assemble evidence from
authoritative sources, and argue for a conclusion. The paper, which should be 12-14 pages, should concern a
theme covered in this course. A
standardized style for footnotes and bibliography, such as the MLA style, must
be employed. A paradigm, along
with other helpful information relevant to writing papers is available on-line
at:
http://www.ecu.edu/cs-lib/Reference/refdesk/style.cfm
One
of the most powerful resources available for the study of religion is the ATLA
(American Theological Library Association) Religion Database. This valuable tool provides information
from 1949 on many topics in religious studies and includes: more than one
million bibliographic records covering the research literature of religion in
35 languages, more than 350,000 article citations from 600 journals, more than
200,000 essay citations from 15,500 multi-author works, and over 360,000 book
review citations. In order to foster
research skills, each student is required to use two resources found through
the ATLA system. Please mark those
resources in your bibliography by placing the acronym “ATLA” beside those
sources. Access it at http://www.lib.ecu.edu/erdbs/atla.htm
Students
may employ web page resources, but they should be used sparingly. In no case should they constitute more
than 25% of the sources employed.
Both
the ideas and the quoted words of others must be footnoted properly. Failure to do so could constitute
plagiarism. While it is fine for
to share resources and references with peers, each person must do their own
work. If you are uncertain as to
whether you might be crossing the line between helpfulness and cheating, please
consult with me. On-line
resources, such as web pages, can be extremely unreliable when it comes to
religion. If you have doubts as to
the authenticity of your sources, please ask for my advice. If you use material from the web, the
particular URL of a referenced idea or passage must be footnoted just like any
other source. Further
specifications for research papers will be available in a handout.
The
steps to writing your research paper are as follows:
·
Students will write a
proposal for their paper. They
should include their thesis, a general statement of how they will proceed in
writing the paper, and resources they expect to use.
·
Each student will read,
carefully reflect upon, and respectfully critique the proposals of three of
their peers. I will also write a
critique of each proposal.
·
Students will write the
first draft of their paper in reliance upon the helpful comments they have
received.
·
Each student will read,
carefully reflect upon, and respectfully critique the first drafts of two of
their peers (different people from those who previously critiqued the paper
proposal).
·
Students will rewrite
their papers in light of the comments from their peers.
·
Students will write
their final draft and submit it on time.
Additional
resources for research and writing papers in the field of Religious Studies can
be found at www.ecu.edu/religionprogram under
“Resources for the Academic Study of Religion”.
Each
student will write five 3-4 page papers throughout the semester. These will be reactions to classroom
discussions, mock editorials, short stories, or other particular forms of
writing. Each student will revise
one of these papers in light of my comments. More information will be provided in class and below.
Exam
The
final exam will consist of essays and short questions. I will provide several (perhaps three)
essay questions from which the student may select a smaller number (perhaps
two) to answer. Short questions
may be multiple choice, true and false, or simple identification. I will solicit your assistance in
writing the exam. According to the
University schedule, this exercise will be held on December 15, 8:00-10:30.
Students
who maintain an A average throughout the semester will be exempt from the
final.
All
students are expected to comply with the principles of Academic Integrity
embodied in the ECU Honor Code.
Since violations can result in expulsion from the University,
suspension, or a grade of “F” for the course, students should become familiar
with what constitutes plagiarism, cheating, falsification, and other
violations. Note also that
according to ECU policy mere attempts to plagiarize, cheat, or falsify qualify
as violations. Consult the ECU
Clue Book for details. http://www.ecu.edu/studentlife/cluebook/III.htm
The
Writing Center offers students in-person and on-line assistance in
learning writing skills. Contact
the Writing Center for hours and locations at Bate 2026 (328-2820).
In
addition to providing students with personal counseling, the Counseling and
Student Development Center in Wright Building 316 (328-6661) offers various
resources to assist students in their academic development. These resources include training in
time management, test taking, overcoming test anxiety, and academic
motivation.
East
Carolina University works to accommodate students with disabilities. Students who feel they may need such
support should contact the Department of Disability Support Services
located in Brewster A-114.
(328-6799)
East
Carolina University seeks to comply fully with the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA). Students requesting accommodations based on a disability must be
registered with the Department for Disability Support Services located in Slay
138 (252) 737-1016 (Voice/TTY).
Meeting
with me
I
am available in my office 5 hours each week. If the times I have indicated are not practical for you,
please see me before or after class.
If you need to meet with me another time, please let me know, and I am
sure I can accommodate your needs.
I encourage all students to come and see me as you work to formulate
your research paper. This will
insure that your selected paper topic is appropriate and relevant. I will likely be able to direct you to
resources that can help you in your quest.
Library
All
students at ECU should become proficient in using library resources. The Joyner Library at ECU (accessible
on-line at http://www.lib.ecu.edu/)
has many valuable resources on the material we will be covering. There are thousands of books on
religion in the stacks of Joyner Library.
Books on Philosophy, Psychology, and Religion have call numbers
beginning with the letter B.
Navigate your way around the library with the following source: See the following website for help in
navigating your way around the Library.
http://geography.miningco.com/library/congress/blb.htm)
Additionally,
you can find information on religious traditions in books in other sections of
the library, including anthropology, art, geography, history, literature,
philosophy, and psychology. You
may also explore the film and music resources the library collects. One of the best resources available is
the library’s collection of journals.
Not only does the library have numerous religion journals in paper and
bound forms, but it is also possible to access a very large number of journals
on-line. (http://www.lib.ecu.edu/locator/main.cfm)
The library staff can be extremely helpful in learning to use all of these
resources. Don’t be shy about
asking for their help.
As
a student of East Carolina University, you also have free use of the Library
system at University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill (www.lib.unc.edu). Moreover, you can access just about any
book, journal or other resource in the world through the Inter-Library
Loan. Many resources can be
obtained within a matter of days.
Often, journal articles can be delivered electronically within a day or
two. The Joyner Library has a
special office for Inter-Library Loan services, located to the left of the
front desk. You can access these
resources on-line at: http://jill.lib.ecu.edu/illiad/logon.html
Course
outline
We
will have 14 class meetings this semester. We will not meet in class on September 1, 2005, although
there is a reading assignment for that week. The following readings are to be found either in the
Blackboard listing of Course Documents, the Blackboard listing of External
Links, or the required course texts.
August
25 – #1 Intro and methodology
Course Overview
Discussion of Course
Methodology
September
1 – #2
Theories
of Violence
September
8 – #3
Theories
of Violence
(Please choose one of the last two
items to read. You may read both,
but you must read one.)
September
15 – #4
Reading
Quiz on Theories of Violence
Jesus, Pacifism, and
Christian Violence
Use
your own Bible or go to http://bible.com/bibles.html
September
22 – #5
Gandhi and Non-Violence
Indian
Critiques of Gandhi
For further information on
Gandhi, see
http://www.la.utexas.edu/course-materials/sociology/soc352m/su97/extra.html
http://www.gandhiinstitute.org/
September
29 – #6
Religious Basis of the
Civil Rights Movement
October
6 – #7
Religious Justifications
for Terrorism
October
13 – #8
Violent Religious Groups
Robert
Jay Lifton, Destroying the World to Save it: Aum Shinrikyo, Apocalyptic
Violence, and the New Global Terrorism.
3-58, 274-302, 326-340
Note: Their motto is “Never
Forget – Violence Solves Everything”
October
20 – #9
Martyrdom and Sacrifice
October 27 – #10
Pain rituals
November
3 – #11
Black Magic and Shamanic
Violence
November 10 – #12
Blood
Sacrifice
November
17 – #13
Georges
Bataille and Transgressive Behavior
·
Bataille, Theory of
Religion
November
24 – no class
December
1 – #14
December
5
Draft
of Papers Due
December
7
Peer
Review of Papers Due
December
8 – Reading Day
December
9
Final
Papers Due
December
15, 7:30-10:00 p.m. EXAM