R 201:EASTERN RELIGIONS
Winter 2003

1. A persistent effort to understand the unfamiliar empathetically and the familiar as if one were a stranger.

In other words, all work for the course, with the exception of your journal (in which you are encouraged to develop your personal responses to the content and expectations of the course, including this expectation), should be done so far as possible in accordance with the principles of empathetic objectivity. (See Cannon, "Religious Studies Essay II: Empathetic Objectivity in the Interpretation of Religious Phenomena.")

• mastering the content covered in the readings,
• intelligent participation in class sessions,
• preparing for doing well on the examinations, and
• building an essential background for writing a good term paper.

 

 

Study tips:

• Use the Examination Study Questions along with your reading to highlight the information you especially need to know, and take notes to answer each of the questions to serve as as a basis for preparing for the examinations.
• Identify and write down to bring to class (or email to me <cannodw@wou.edu>) anything covered in the assigned reading that seems unclear, confused, or in need of fuller explanation. It could be that, having clearly identified your question, further reading will enable you to answer it yourself.
• Reflect on and respond to the readings through the use of your class journal. Suggested journal questions may be found in the R201 Lectures.

• regular attendance (Note that there is a penalty for un-made-up absences.  See attendance and absence make up policy for full details.  Absences are normally made up by viewing a video and writing up a 1-2 page summary.),
• attentive listening to lectures;
• a persistent effort to learn and acquire mastery of material covered in class,
• readiness to ask questions for clarification and explanation of content covered in class sessions and assigned readings;
• involvement in class discussion and other class activities; and
• a persistent effort to understand the unfamiliar empathetically and the familiar as if one were a stranger.

 

 

Study tips:

• Bring the R201 Lectures to class to highlight, take additional notes in, identify matters not sufficiently clarified and explained, etc.
• Don't hesitate to let me know in class when you have not understood something, when you would like further explanation about something, or when you have a question relating to the course content. Generally, I welcome such interruptions, though I may decide to put off a fuller explanation to a later, more opportune time.
• Bring to class any questions you have that have arisen from prior class sessions or from assigned readings. Generally, I ask for any such questions at the beginning of each class.

• Conversations between class members unrelated to what is otherwise going on in class are to be avoided during the class session.
• Studying for other courses and reading books or magazines unrelated to what is otherwise going on in class is not appropriate.
• If you know in advance that you must leave in the midst of a class session, kindly let me know ahead of time, please sit near the door, and make your exit as unobtrusive as possible.
• The wearing of hats and the chewing of gum in class is inappropriate.
• Anything otherwise disruptive of or distracting to the class session is to be avoided.

• PURPOSES: The point of working in teams is (a) to learn through conversational dialogue with other points of view, (b) to be a network of mutual support, and (c) to refine your thinking, understanding, and writing by way of constructive critical feedback from peers.  It is not to relieve you of responsibility for doing the work of the course.
• TIME?: Teamwork does not necessarily require spending a lot of time together.  Much can be done at a distance, by way of exchanging notes and papers, and by way of something like email.
• DUE DATES: It might be most useful for you and your teammates to have your papers due at the same date (see below).  This, however, is not necessary.
• TEAMWORK FOR EXAMINATIONS:  You are asked to do your exam preparation in a mutually supporting way (e.g., by delegating specific tasks to specific persons).
• TEAMWORK ON PAPERS: Teammates are expected to give each other constructive critical feedback in choosing a topic, in identifying and sifting source information, in thinking through the composition of the paper, and in carrying through a constructive critical review of a first draft of the paper through the use of a Peer Review Form for the Research Project or a Peer Review Form for the Essay Book Review.  Teammates should not choose the identical research paper topic (complementary angles on the same topic are welcome).  Teammates may choose to do a book review of the same book, but should not jointly write the same paper or say the same thing in only slightly different words.  Papers must give acknowledgment of teammate assistance.
• TEAMWORK ON EXTRA-CREDIT PROJECTS:  The quality and richness of Extra-Credit Projects in the course are considerably enhanced if carried out as a team.
• TEAMWORK PROBLEMS:  In preparing for an exam or writing a paper in the course, when you find that you and your teammate(s) do not agree, try to use that disagreement as a spur to develop each of your thinking further -- at least in your journals if not in the actual things you write.
• WHEN A TEAM DOESN'T SEEM TO WORK AT ALL: If the disagreement persists and the team ceases to be mutually supportive or valuable, please see me for reassignment early on.  In any case, if cooperation proves impossible, work done outside of a team will be fully acceptable without prejudice.

• At the conclusion of each of the three sections of the course (relating respectively to Hinduism and Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism, and the Religions of China and Japan), there is scheduled an in-class, multiple-choice examination (mostly multiple-choice, a few short-essay questions), drawn from study questions given out ahead of time which will assess your mastery of the main content of lectures and assigned readings. The first two exams will cover the introduction to the study of religion as well.  These will take place Fri. Jan 31, Fri. Feb 21 (these during the regularly scheduled class hour), and at the scheduled final examination Fri. Mar 21, at 8 AM (for the 2 PM section) and 10 AM (for the 10 AM section).
• You must register in advance (by Jan 10) which of the three examinations will not be taken for credit. Your term paper (research project or book review) will be due on the date and time of the exam not taken for credit, except for the final paper which is due Mon. Mar 17 at Noon. A maximum of 1/3 of the class may have their papers due on any one of these three dates. The choice of due date will determine the general subject area of your paper (see below).
• For more specifics about the examinations, including study tips, click here.

• Your term paper will be due at the time of the scheduled examination except for the final set of papers -- i.e., either Fri. Jan 31, Fri. Feb 21, or Mon. Mar 17 (Noon). You will have to choose and register which of these three dates it will be due by Fri. Jan 10. Should you choose to do a research project (Option I), the choice of due date will determine the general subject area of your project. Thus, a research project due at the time of the first exam must be on some expression of Hinduism or Jainism (broadly conceived). A project due at the time of the second exam must be on some expression of Buddhism or Sikhism (broadly conceived). And a project due at the time of the third exam must be on some expression of one of the religions of China or Japan (broadly conceived).
• The option choice and topic of your paper plus (in case you chose a research project) a tentative list of at least three major academic sources (other than Internet sources; four will be required) which you anticipate using must be submitted in writing to me (for review, approval and/or redirection, and bibliographic suggestions) not later than two weeks before it is due (Wed. Jan 15 for the first set of papers, Wed. Feb 5 for the second set, and Wed. Feb 26 for the third set). You will receive feedback on your choice from me at the next class session.  Topic suggestions can be found on the research project website and choices for the book review are given on the book review website.  Note: the bibliographic suggestions from me are expected in normal circumstances to be heeded and not ignored.  See me if you run into trouble.
• A paper may be turned in ahead of time, and you are encouraged to come to see me individually if you wish to receive feedback during its development. In any case, re-writes for an improvement of the paper and an improvement of the grade are encouraged (though simply making minor spelling and grammatical corrections will likely not improve your grade significantly. Papers due Mar 17, to be eligible for a re-write, must be turned in by Mon. Mar 10.
• Depending on the paper option you choose, it must be researched and composed carefully in accorance with the directives and guidelines for the research project or for the book review respectively. In other words, you are not free to write on just any topic you like, or do the research for it in any way you like, or write it in any way you like. Similarly with the book review.  The purpose of the directives and guidelines is to have you learn through practice the discipline of empathetic objectivity in the interpretation of religious phenomena. Nevertheless, within these guidelines, you have a very wide range of choices.
• Please note that not taking one of the examinations for credit does not relieve you of responsibility for mastering the course content for that section of the course (e.g., completing the assigned reading). Your paper (whichever option you choose) is expected to reflect mastery of that content so far as the content is at all relevant to your paper. In any case mastery of that content will put you in a more secure position to evaluate your sources critically. Your not having to take the exam is for the purpose of freeing you to focus more effectively on your paper.
• The term paper (whichever option you choose) is expected fully to address the assignment as given and be
• coherent,
• the result of your own work (i.e., avoid plagarism at all costs),
• neatly typed with double-spacing,
• free of minor spelling and grammatical errors (i.e., proof-read and corrected before you write your final draft), and
• characterized by full and accurate documentation in MLA format for all sources on which you have directly relied (even when not quoted directly), including interviews. For further specifics on MLA format, click here.
Failure to meet these minimum expectations will result in a substantially lower grade than you otherwise might deserve, and perhaps no credit for your work at all.  For further understanding of grading criteria, click here.
• Before you write your final draft, you must arrange with a study partner to review your next to final draft, using the Peer Review Form for the Research Project or the Peer Review Form for the Book Review.  This completed form is to be handed in with the final draft of the paper.

 
• OPTION I: RESEARCH PROJECT -- an empathetically objective, carefully researched interpretation, of 5-10 typed, double-spaced pages according to certain specific guidelines, of some feature, teaching, person, or practice of one of the religious traditions we are studying.  Note: This is not to be an ordinary research paper; it is different in many ways from ordinary research papers.  Specifically, it is to be empathetically objective in such a way that, if circumstances permitted, it would both meet the approval of knowledgeable insiders and also honor your readers' independence from insiders' views; it is to be a bridge of empathetic communication between insiders and outsiders.  It must be of a (sub)tradition very different from one you are currently involved in.  Moreover, your task is to bring it to life for your reader, making plain to your reader how it is meaningful for insiders to be involved in it.
• For more specifics about the Research Project, including research and composition tips and suggested topics, click here.
• A Research Project constructed in the form of a creative website or a PowerPoint presentation is encouraged (the same guidelines apply, however).  Please see me for details.

• OPTION II: ESSAY BOOK REVIEW -- a thoughtful and thorough review, of 5-10 typed, double-spaced pages in accordance with certain specific guidelines, of a book attempting an interreligious dialogue between at least one Eastern religious tradition and one Western religious tradition from among those on library reserve under the heading "Sources on Interreligious Dialogue," one of which is available for purchase.  Note: This is not to be an ordinary book review; it is different in many ways from ordinary book reviews and the guidelines stipulate how it is to be different..

• Assuming that the book you choose concerns primarily one of the traditions being covered, it may be used only in connection with a section of the course that correlates with that tradition. (I.e., you may not choose a book dealing primarily with a dialogue between Buddhism and Christianity to serve in place of the exam on Hinduism.)
• For more specifics about the Essay Book Review, including composition tips, click here.  Please note that the structure of the book review must follow the outline given in the guidelines.

• You should aim at not less than three entries per week, one for each class session.
• Suggested journal questions may be found at the end of each of the four sections of the R201 Lectures. They pertain to both the lecture content and the assigned reading selections.  Additional suggested questions will be given in class.
• Your complete Journal and a "Journal Summary" for each of the sections of the course (i.e., at least three "Journal Summaries" -- a fourth on the Introduction to Religious Studies part of the course is encouraged in addition) must be turned in Friday Mar 14.  At that time you must choose either Grade Option A (the default option) or Grade Option B.  Grade Option A assigns to your journal an equal weight to the two exams and the paper (25% each).  Grade Option B does not assign a specific grade to your journal, but uses it to count soley in a positive way depending on its quality.  However, no serious effort being put into the journal assignment will cause the Grade Option to default to Option A.
• For more specifics about the Journal and "Journal Summary" assignment, click here.

• Those going on the field trip will visit places most students will not likely have been exposed to before -- e.g., a Hindu retreat center, a Hindu Temple, a Pure Land (devotional) Buddhist Temple, a Soka Gakkai International Center [a form of modern Buddhism], a Zen Buddhist Meditation Center, a person who represents a Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the Portland Chinese Garden, or the Portland Japanese Garden.  We will hear speakers from each tradition who will answer questions.  It is an opportunity you should try hard not to miss.
• Registration and a reservation fee of $8.00 will be required by several days prior to the trip (date to be announced), for transportation (lunch extra) [returnable only if remaining funds adequate]. The fee is $1.00 if you are providing your own transportation (which covers the cost of a copy of the itinerary and background reading on the sites we will be visiting).
• For more specifics about the Field Trip, click here.