Meeting Times, Location, & Course Delivery Details
Contact Information
Fisher, Mary Pat. Living Religions. 10th Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2017.
Hanh, Thich Nhat. Living Buddha, Living Christ. New York: Putnam’s, 1995.
Neihardt, John G. Black Elk Speaks: The Complete Edition. Lincoln: U. of Nebraska Press, 2014
Welcome to Comparative Religions II: Indigenous and Eastern Religions! We will begin our overview in this course with a consideration of indigenous religions around the world, focusing in on Native American religion of the Lakota culture through a reading of the classic book Black Elk Speaks. We will then move on to explore the ancient religions of India, beginning with Hinduism, and then concluding with a more in-depth analysis of Buddhism through a reading of the book Living Buddha, Living Christ by acclaimed Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. As a Global “G” course, Comparative Religions aims to deepen and enrich your understanding of world religious traditions and cultures by addressing how these traditions deal with issues of global importance like peace and social justice, women’s and human rights, environmental ethics, and interreligious/intercultural dialogue.
Course Goals
This course will:
- Explore themes, events, people, and issues found in various world religions
- Examine world religions with reference to Western traditions
- Encourage thoughtful yet critical and spirited discussion about religious ideas
- Introduce sources and methods in religious studies and encourage further study
- Study religious traditions in their wider social dimensions and cultural context
Global Education Goals
With reference to Wilmington College’s mission, vision, core values, and queries, students will
- develop knowledge of
- the perspectives of cultures other than their own
- global issues, especially as they relate to peace, social justice, and/or ecology;
- reflect upon the interconnectedness of the world and their own roles as engaged members of a global community.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
- Demonstrate a basic knowledge of Judaism and Islam
- Think and write clearly about world religious traditions
- Recognize, evaluate, and apply different critical approaches to the study of world religions
- Recognize and analyze similarities and differences among diverse religious traditions
- Analyze religion as part of a wider cultural and historical context
Schedule of Topics and Readings (Subject to change)
Week 1
T 10/20 Introduction and Orientation/Avatar HW: Fisher pp. 33-47
TH 10/22 Indigenous Sacred Ways: Common Elements HW: Fisher 47-59
Week 2
T 10/27 Spiritual Specialists and Rituals HW: Black Elk Speaks (hereafter BES) Intro., Ch.’s 1-2
TH 10/29 Black Elk’s Story: Historical & Cultural Context HW: BES Ch.’s 3-4
Week 3
T 11/3 Black Elk’s Great Vision HW: BES Ch.’s 5, 7-8, 13-14
TH 11/5 Bringing the Vision to Earth HW: BES Ch.’s 15-18; Ch. 24
Week 4
T 11/10 Healing the People/Wounded Knee HW: Black Elk Paper/Fisher 72-88
TH 11/12 Black Elk Paper Due/Hinduism Origins and Overview HW: Fisher 89-108, 136-148
Week 5
T 11/17 Epics, Lifeways, Rituals and Festivals/Buddha & Dharma
HW: Fisher 148-182; Living Buddha, Living Christ (LBLC) Foreword, Ch.’s 1-5
TH 11/19 Branches of Buddhism/Intro to LBLC Paper/Thich Nhat Hanh HW: LBLC Ch.’s 6-8
Week 6
T 11/24 Living Buddha, Living Christ HW: LBLC Ch. 9
TH 11/26 THANKSGIVING
Week 7
T 12/1 Interbeing and Interfaith Dialogue HW: Fisher 187-199; 205-217
TH 12/3 Daoism and Confucianism HW: Living Buddha Paper/Fisher 222-233
Week 8
T 12/8 Living Buddha Paper Due/Shinto/Last Day of Class HW: Prepare for Final Exam Quiz Bowl
Week 9
T 12/15 FINAL EXAM 10:15-12:15 AM
Course Requirements
The major requirements for this course are two short papers, and the final exam, which will take the form of a quiz bowl. The final exam for this course will be held on the last day of class, Tuesday, December 15 from 10:15-12:15 AM.
Two Short Papers (submit as Microsoft Word documents in Blackboard)
To receive an A on the short papers, you must at a minimum: 1) address all parts of the question/prompt; 2) cite specific examples from the reading (with quotation marks around direct quotes and in-text source citations) to explain and support your points; 3) provide bibliographic citations of your sources in a References section at the end of the Reflection; 4) meet the length requirement; and 5) submit your paper on time.
NOTE: Be sure to steer clear of generative AI. Papers written using generative AI will receive a zero—I want to know what you think and feel, not a computer!
Black Elk Paper (750-1000 words, typed, double-spaced, due Thursday, November 12)
In this first paper, you are asked to identify examples of indigenous belief and/or ritual as discussed in the Fisher textbook, and illustrate/explain these beliefs/rituals with examples from the book Black Elk Speaks. We will be discussing multiple examples from Black Elk Speaks in class, which can serve as the basis for your paper.
Living Buddha Paper (750-1000 words, typed, double-spaced, due Tuesday, December 8)
The Living Buddha paper will be a response paper based on a close reading of Thich Nhat Hanh’s book Living Buddha, Living Christ. I will be providing a handout with more detailed guidelines and questions to help and support you in writing this paper.
General Criteria for Evaluation of Essay Questions and Papers
More generally, essays and papers will be evaluated based on 1) how well you develop and organize your ideas; 2) how effectively you use and integrate evidence from class readings, lectures, and other source materials to support your conclusions; 3) organization, coherence, and consistency of your argument; 4) accuracy of information; 5) creativity and originality of ideas and approach; and 6) proper acknowledgement and citation (in papers) of all terms, ideas, concepts, and words not your own. For exam essay questions, you must also answer all parts of a question to receive full credit.
Schedule of Requirements Course Grade Breakdown
- Thurs., Nov. 12: Black Elk Paper Due Blk Elk Paper: 40%
- Tues., Dec. 8: Living Buddha Paper Due LB Paper: 40%
- Tues., Dec. 15: Final Exam Final Exam: 10%
- Participation: 10%_______________________________
Total: 100%
Grading Scale
A=90-100 B=80-90 C=70-80 D=60-70 F=59 or less
Instructor Course Policies
Students who do well on reading quizzes/exercises, participate actively in class discussions and test design, and attend every class will generally receive a full ten points for participation. To succeed in this course, you must attend all classes, but I will not reduce your grade unless you accumulate more than one week of unexcused absences. Please see the current Student Handbook for the College’s attendance policy, especially as it pertains to excused absences.
Please let me know (in person, or by phone/email) as soon as possible if you must miss a class. If you have scheduling conflicts due to athletic competition or other collegiate activities, please let me know right away.
Students engaging in academic misconduct (using generative AI, cheating on a test, turning in another person’s work as your own) will receive a zero for the assignment and possibly fail the course. Please see the current Student Handbook for the College’s Academic Integrity policies as they pertain to examinations, plagiarism, classroom behavior, and the process for handling academic misconduct charges.
Institutional and Program-Level Policies
All exams will follow the Final Exam Schedule. Students scheduled to take three or more final examinations on one day may request to arrange their examination schedule, so no more than two exams occur on one day.
Requests for early or late exams are considered only under extreme circumstances. Prior to the exam period, the student must file a written request on the Early/Late Exam Form available in the Student One Stop Center, Academic Records, and on the WC portal. The form must be signed by the Instructor and the Academic Dean, approving the alternate exam time. This process must be completed prior to the scheduled exam period.
Undergraduate: FA26 Final Exam Schedule
Out-of-class Work Expectation A minimum of 2 hours of out-of-class student work is expected for each hour of in-class time for traditional face-to-face courses. For online and hybrid courses, the combination of face-to-face time and out-of-class work should be equal to 3 hours per credit hour per week. |
Instructional Course Delivery Definition of Courses |
Academic Integrity Policy The use of generative AI is prohibited except where expressly allowed in assignment instructions. Academic Integrity Policy |
Class Attendance Policy Institutional Class Attendance Policy |