INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS (REL 244; NAT 244; ANT 273)
Fall 2005 (19956, sec M001)
WF (12:45-2:05), 018 Eggers
Instructor: Professor Philip P. Arnold
Office: Department of Religion, 508 Hall of Languages
Office hours: W. 2:30-3:30 and by appointment
phone: 315-443-3861
e-mail:** pparnold@syr.edu
T.A.: Jay Larson
Office: room 300, 3rd floor, 113 Euclid Ave.
Office hours: T 10-11 and by appointment
e-mail:** jlarson@syr.edu
** e-mail is the
preferred method of contact for Professor Arnold and Mr. Larson
Introduction:
This course explores a long neglected aspect of the world's religions--Indigenous Religions--that is religions that are primarily defined as orally and ritually oriented toward particular landscapes. Because the category of "Indigenous" encompasses a tremendous cultural variety, our first task must be to interrogate the category itself. What does "Indigenous Religions" mean? On one hand Indigenous religions are in contact with, yet distinct from, the 'great' world religions such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, etc. On the other hand there are indigenous elements in all of religious life. Indeed we will consider how being indigenous is directly connected with religious creativity. Our second task will be to investigate this complicated topic by looking at particular cases and issues confronting indigenous people. These will be largely taken in our reading from the Americas. Then we will assess the disjunction between the modern world that determines our cultural understandings, and indigenous life by examining the consequences of the railroad. For our third task we will read what Indigenous People are telling the world in speeches from the United Nations. At each of these three turns in the course we will self-consciously appraise the cultural distances between the world views which constitute modernity (and the university) and the world views which constitute Indigenous peoples.
Required Texts: Keith Basso, Wisdom Sits in Places
Joseph Bastien, Mountain of the Condor
Ann Grodzins Gold, Fruitful Journeys
Wolfgang Schivelbush, The Railway Journey
Paul Stoller and Cheryl Olkes, In Sorcery's Shadow
Basic
Call to Consciousness
Topics Assignments
August
31 Introductions and definitions
September
2 What are Indigenous Religions? Arnold, chapter 1
7 Introduction to the Mountain Bastien chapters 1-2
9 Earth metaphor Bastien chapters 3-4
14 Birth Bastien chapters 5-6
16 Marriage Bastien chapters 7-8
21 Death Bastien chapters 10-11
23 Paying attention Arnold,
chapter 2
28 Village India Grodzins Gold pp. 1-34
30 Dangerous dead Grodzins Gold pp. 59-99
October
5 Way to the Ganges Grodzins
Gold pp. 190-213
7 Water returns and pilgrimage Grodzins Gold pp. 241-261; 299-307
12 Village life Stoller/Olkes, chapters 1-4
14 Texts of initiation Stoller/Olkes, chapters 5-10
19 Sorko and witches Stoller/Olkes, chapters 11-16
21 Words of power Stoller/Olkes, chapters 17-21
26 Places and ancestors Basso, chapter 1
28 Wisdom sits in places Basso, chapter 4
November
2 Mechanized
power Schivelbusch,
chapters 1-2
4 Eid Ul-Fitr no class
9 Railroad space, railroad time Schivelbusch, chapters 3-4
11 The compartment Schivelbusch,
chapter 5
16 Fear of the machine Schivelbusch, chapters 7-8
18 Industrialized consciousness Schivelbusch, chapters 9-10
23 & 25 AAR and Thanksgiving Break no classes
30 The Haudenosaunee Basic Call, Intro and Preamble
December
2 Indigenous people at the UN Basic Call, pp. 26-40
7 Basic call to
consciousness Basic
Call, pp. 80-102
9 Survival Basic Call, pp. 103-125
FINAL
EXAMINATION-Wednesday, 14 December, 2:45 to 4:45 PM
Final grades will be based on weekly papers, your responses to other student papers, a final paper, and class attendance and participation.
Weekly discussion papers and responses: Each week you are responsible for writing a short paper on the assigned topic and readings. The paper is to be 300 to 500 words (1 or 2 pages, double spaced) and posted on the class Blackboard site (http://blackboard.syr.edu/). The papers will be due on each Wednesday before the class (see the class schedule). You will receive up to 5 points each week for your paper depending on its quality. You will also be asked to respond to at least 2 other papers of your peers each week for which you will receive 2 points. You will have until the Wednesday after the due date for the paper to make your responses. You can get up to 7 points each week and there are a total of 11 papers for a possible total of 77 points.
Final paper, presentation and response: The final paper and presentation where you can articulate your own thinking about the topic. This is to be your own work generated by course materials but expanding on the methodological and interpretive features of the reading. The paper should be approximately 1500 words (5 to 6 pages, typed, double-spaced) and with any additional bibliography cited. The final papers are worth up to 10 points and must be posted on the last Wednesday of the class. Also you are to make at least 2 responses to other students work for an additional 3 points. The final exam of class time will be devoted to your very short presentation of your final paper. This will be an extra credit opportunity for you.
The criteria listed below are used when assessing your written work. Percentages are only to demonstrate the relative weight of each of the criteria in any given assignment.
· Clarity. The viewpoints you present in your writing must be clearly conceived and well argued. Your writing style should be straight-forward, easy to read and should be clearly related to the issues you wish to address. Topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph are helpful in establishing the issue and argument for the reader at the outset. (40%)
· Engagement with the material. Entries are to be related to the reading material. They are not reviews of what has been stated in the book but are your critical analysis of the reading. Avoid direct quotes. Instead seriously take-up what you consider to be the ‘key’ issues for the study of religion in the reading. An analysis of the issues discussed in the course become clearer the closer your writing is to the texts used in class. (40%)
· Creativity. The ‘work’ of Religious Studies, and perhaps the Humanities in general, is essentially creative. Interpretation of religious phenomena requires that you come to some meaningful relationship with your object of study. This is one of the defining characteristics of creativity. You have a unique and important contribution to make to our collective understandings. There are no predetermined experts in the area of interpretation, only well refined and well argued positions. Your interpretations will be dealt with as importantly as you regard them yourself. (20%)
Attendance and class participation: Attendance is mandatory for this class. Lectures and reading will be intimately related but quite different. It is therefore in your own best interest to do the reading and attend class as both will reflect on your performance on discussion papers, responses and your final paper. You will be given regular opportunities to participate in class either by asking questions, making comments, and interacting with other students in discussion in class or on Blackboard.
Grades will be calculated on the following basis:
11 weekly discussion papers and responses 77 points
Final paper, presentation and responses 13 points
Attendance and class participation 10 points
100 points
A 90-100 points
A- 88-90 points
B+ 84-87 points
B 81-83 points
B- 78-80 points
C+ 74-77 points
C 71-73 points
C- 68-70 points
D+ 64-67 points
D 61-63 points
D- 58-60 points
F 57 points and below