| Ira Chernus PROFESSOR OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER |
SYLLABUS
RLST 2400: RELIGION AND CONTEMPORARY U.S. SOCIETY
PROF. IRA CHERNUS
SUMMER 2004
ABOUT THE COURSE
In this course we will look at contemporary U.S. society, using the concepts and methods of academic religious studies as our basic tools. The course will not focus on organized religion (Protestants, Jews, Buddhists, etc.). Rather, we will give most of our attention to the values and cultural patterns that people in the U.S. tend to share in common--what we often call secular life. We will see how religious studies can shed new light upon our everyday secular life.
The ideas in this course are meant to be complex, difficult, and challenging. You are not expected to understand them all perfectly or in complete detail. But you should be able to grasp the main themes clearly, understand at least some of them in good detail, and put some of them together to develop new ideas of your own. Most importantly, by the end of the course you should be seeing "contemporary society" — which means the everyday world around you — in new, more complex, and more interesting ways.
The success of the course depends heavily on your cooperation in doing the work, participating in class, and thinking hard about the course material. Your comments throughout the course, no matter how critical, and suggestions for improvements will be most welcome.
COURSE OUTLINE
I. How Social Scientists Interpret Religion
II. The Traditional Public Religion
III. Postmodernism: The New Public Religion?
IV. Challenges to the Public Religion
1. Liberation Theology
2. The Spirituality of Nature / Body / Place
REQUIRED READING
These books are available for purchase in the Bookstore and on reserve in Norlin Library:
Peter Berger, The Sacred Canopy
Leonardo BOFF and Clodovis Boff, Introducing Liberation Theology
Charlene SPRETNAK, The Resurgence of the Real
Other required readings, as well as this syllabus and other materials pertinent to the course, are at http://www.colorado.edu/ReligiousStudies/chernus/2400/index.html You can access the web-based readings easily from the syllabus on the website. They are marked "WEB" in the syllabus. Note that some of the WEB readings require Adobe Acrobat Reader for .pdf files. If you don't have it, you can download it for free.
LECTURE TOPICS AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
(All dates are in June)
I. SOCIAL SCIENTISTS INTERPRET RELIGION
2: RELIGION AND THE NOMOS
WEB "Religion as a Cultural System: The Theory of Clifford Geertz"; BERGER, Chapter 1
WEB: Summary of Sacred Canopy, chapter 1.
(The Vocabulary List on the WEB should help you get through Sacred Canopy.)
3: RELIGION AND LEGITIMATION OF THE NOMOS
BERGER, Chapter 2; WEB: Summary of Sacred Canopy, chapters 2- 3
4: RELIGION, FREEDOM, AND ALIENATION
BERGER, Chapter 4
7: SECULAR SOCIETY
WEB: Summary of Sacred Canopy, Chapter 5; BERGER, Chapter 6
II. TRADITIONAL U.S. SOCIETY: THE PUBLIC RELIGION
8: THE FOUNDATIONS OF MODERNITY
SPRETNAK, 38 - top of 44, middle of 56 - top of 63, 217 - top of 222 (44 - 56 optional)
WEB: Study Aids: Modernity
9: THE WORLDVIEW OF MODERNITY
WEB: "The Myth of Objective Consciousness" (from Theodore Roszak, The Making of a Counterculture) pp. 210-229
WEB: "The Cultural Milieu: Liberalism" (from Edward S. Greenberg, The American Political System), 36-50
10: RELIGION AND THE MEANING OF THE NATION
WEB: "The Shape of the National Covenant" (from John F. Wilson, Public Religion in American Culture), 23-40
11: RELIGION AND THE MEANING OF THE NATION
WEB: "Religious Meanings of the Community" (from John F. Wilson, Public Religion in American Culture), 102-117: WEB: George W. Bush, Address to Congress and the American People, September 20, 2001 (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html)
III. POSTMODERNISM: THE NEW PUBLIC RELIGION ?
14: FROM MODERNISM TO POSTMODERNISM
WEB: Ira Chernus, "Modernity, Modernism, Postmodernism"; Study Aids: Modernism; SPRETNAK, middle of 167 – 180; WEB: Todd Gitlin, "The Postmodern Predicament"
15: EPLORING POSTMODERNISM
WEB: "Fredric Jameson's Interpretation of Postmodernism," Part 1
Study Aids: Postmodernism
JUNE 16: MID-SEMESTER BREAK: NO CLASS
17: POSTMODERN CULTURE
WEB: "Jameson's Interpretation of Postmodernism," Part 2 and Part 3
MID-TERM EXAM DUE18: POSTMODERNISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE
WEB: "Jameson's Interpretation of Postmodernism," Part 4
21: THE POSTMODERN CONSERVATIVES
WEB: Terry Eastland, "In Defense of Religious America" (from Commentary Magazine), 41-45; Gary Wills, "Original Sinlessness" (from Reagan’s America);
22: CONSERVATIVES VS. LIBERALS
WEB: Robert Wuthnow, The Restructuring of American Religion, 244-251, 254-259, 266-267, 292-295
IV. CHALLENGES TO THE PUBLIC RELIGION
23: LIBERATION THEOLOGY: INTERPRETING THE WORLD
BOFF & BOFF, 1-30
24: LIBERATION THEOLOGY: INTERPRETING THE WORD OF GOD
BOFF & BOFF, 30-65
25: RACE, GENDER, AND LIBERATION THEOLOGY
BOFF & BOFF, 66-95; WEB: Carol Christ, "Rethinking Theology and Nature"
28: THE SPIRITUALITY OF NATURE/BODY/PLACE
SPRETNAK, 11 - 36, 64 - - 100
29: A CRITIQUE OF POLITICS AND EDUCATION
SPRETNAK, 101 - 129
30: AN ALTERNATIVE WORLD
SPRETNAK, 181 – 215
July 1 and 2 will be for visual fun and edification.
FINAL EXAM DUE IN CLASS ON JULY 2
EVALUATION:
Your grade in this course will be based primarily on two take-home essay exams. The mid-term exam is due on June 17. The final exam is due on July 2.
There will be NO in-class exams and NO in-class final exam.
You can improve your grade (and make the course a lot more interesting!) by active participation in class discussions.
OFFICE HOURS
I will be available after class every day. My office is HUMN 284. You can reach me at chernus@colorado.edu or at 303-492-6169 or (in emergencies) 303-818-6491.