SYLLABUS

RLST 2400 PROF. IRA CHERNUS

RELIGION AND SUMMER A TERM, 2007

CONTEMPORARY U.S. SOCIETY

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 A Social Scientist Interprets Religion

II. Traditional U.S. Society: The 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.

LECTURE TOPICS AND READING ASSIGNMENTS

I. A SOCIAL SCIENTIST INTERPRETS RELIGION

June 5: RELIGION AND THE NOMOS

BERGER, Chapter 1; WEB: Summary of Sacred Canopy, chapter 1.

(The Vocabulary List on the WEB should help you get through Sacred Canopy.)

June 6: Religion And LEGITIMATION OF THE NOMOS

BERGER, Chapter 2; WEB: Summary of Sacred Canopy, chapters 2- 3

June 7: RELIGION, Freedom, AND ALIENATION

BERGER, Chapter 4

June 11: secular society

WEB: Summary of Sacred Canopy, Chapter 5;

BERGER, Chapter 6 (read at least 128 - middle of 139 and middle of 145 – 147)

II. TRADITIONAL U.S. SOCIETY: THE PUBLIC RELIGION

June 12: THE foundations of modernity

SPRETNAK, 38 - top of 44, middle of 56 - top of 63, 217 - top of 222 (44 - 56 optional)

WEB: "The Myth of Objective Consciousness" (from Theodore Roszak, The Making of a Counterculture) pp. 210-229

WEB: Study Aids: Modernity

June 13: THE WORLDVIEW OF MODERNITY

WEB: “The Cultural Milieu: Liberalism” (from Edward S. Greenberg, The American Political System), 36-50

June 14: Religion and the Meaning of the Nation

WEB: "The Shape of the National Covenant" and "Religious Meanings of the Community" (from John F. Wilson, Public Religion in American Culture), 23-40,102-117

III. POSTMODERNISM: THE NEW PUBLIC RELIGION ?

June 18: from Modernism to postmodernism

WEB: Ira Chernus, "Modernity, Modernism, Postmodernism"; Study Aids: Modernism; SPRETNAK, middle of 167 – 180; WEB: Todd Gitlin, "The Postmodern Predicament" MID-TERM EXAM DUE

June 19: Exploring Postmodernism

WEB: "Fredric Jameson's Interpretation of Postmodernism," Part1 and Part2; Study Aids: Postmodernism

June 20: Postmodern culture

WEB: "Jameson's Interpretation of Postmodernism," Part 3 and Part 4

June 21: Postmodern ConservativeS VS. LIBERALS

WEB: Gary Wills, “Original Sinlessness” (from Reagan’s America); Robert Wuthnow, The Restructuring of American Religion, 244-251, 254-259, 266-267, 292-295

IV. CHALLENGES TO THE PUBLIC RELIGION

June 25: liberation theology: INTERPRETING the world

BOFF & BOFF, 1-30

June 26: NO CLASS

June 27: LIBERATION THEOLOGY: INTERPRETING THE WORD OF GOD

BOFF & BOFF, 30-95; WEB: Carol Christ, "Rethinking Theology and Nature"

June 28: THE SPIRITUALITY OF NATURE/BODY/PLACE

SPRETNAK, 11 - 36, 64 - 100

july 2: A CRITIQUE OF pOLITICS AND EDUCATION

SPRETNAK, 101 - 129

july 3: AN ALTERNATIVE WORLD

SPRETNAK, 181 – 215

JULY 5: FINAL EXAM DUE BY 4:30 PM (in religious studies dept. office)

EVALUATION:

Your grade in this course will be based primarily on two take-home essay exams. The mid-term exam is due on June 18. The final exam is due on July 5.

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, or you can make an appointment to see me. My office is HUMN 284. You can reach me at chernus@colorado.edu or at 303-492-6169 or (in emergencies) 303-818-6491.

If you need any special accommodations to enhance your learning in this course, I will be glad to discuss that with you and help in any way I can.