Download RLS111_Wenisch_Syllabus

RLS111_Wenisch_Syllabus—Page 1
[Note to the General Education Committee: Dates and locations will, of course, be adjusted to the individual
semester in which the course is offered.]
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
RLS 111-0001, Fall, 2016
Dr. Fritz Wenisch; 874-2226; [email protected]
Class Time and Location: Tuesdays and Thursdays; 2:00-3:15 p.m. in Chafee 271.
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays; 12:45-1:45 p.m., and by appointment.
Office Location: Chafee 231.
Course Description
Comparative study of the teachings, the histories, and the practices of the three religions of
Abraham; emphasis on their teachings. (Lec. 3) (L) [D]
Course Goals
1. To understand the teachings and practices specific to each one of the three religions mentioned
in the course description;
2. To understand important common elements of the three religions mentioned in the course
description;
3. To appreciate that tolerance, even friendship, among members of the three religions mentioned
in the course description is not only possible, but desirable.
RLS 111 and General Education
The course is designed to provide general education credits for the following two outcomes:
1. Humanities;
2. Global Responsibilities.
Course Materials
Text: Fritz Wenisch, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—Differences, Commonalities, and
Community, Second Edition, Cognella Academic Publishing, 2015. On the SAKAI site for this
course, you will find links to on-line versions of the Bible and of the Qur’an. Study questions
and other course materials will be posted on SAKAI.
Course Outline
I. INTRODUCTION
A. How this course approaches the study of religion; an explanation of the reasons for this
approach.
1.
Religious teaching in other environments in contrast to religious teaching in this
course
2.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. Supreme Court
3.
Consequences of the various court decisions for the teaching of religion at public
institutions of higher learning in the United States
RLS111_Wenisch_Syllabus—Page 2
II. THE GOD OF JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, AND ISLAM
A. The significance for humanity of the Jewish idea of God
B. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael; overcoming Muslim Hesitancy about calling
God a “person”
C. Other important attributes of the God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
III. JUDAISM
A. Beginning of Judaism to A.D. 136
1.
Abraham
2.
Isaac, Jacob, and his 12 Sons; migration to Egypt
3.
Moses, the Exodus, the giving of the law, and 40 desert years
4.
Settling the “Promised Land”; the Period of the Judges; the Unified Kingdom and
the Divided Kingdom; destruction of the Northern Kingdom
5.
Destruction of the Southern Kingdom; the Babylonian Captivity; return from the
captivity; Ezra and Nehemia
6.
Alexander the Great; the Seleucids; the Maccabees; Herod and the Roman Empire
B. History of Judaism in North America, 1654–1924
1.
A small group of Jews (1654–1825)
a) Background: Colonialism, Spain, Portugal, and Pernambuco
b) First Jewish community in North America (1654)
c) Second Jewish community in North America (1658)—oldest still existing
North American synagogue (Touro Synagogue, 1763)
d) The situation around 1800
2.
Immigration of German Jews (1825–1880)
3.
Immigration of East European Jews (1880–1924)
C. The three present-day “denominations” of U.S. Judaism
1.
Orthodox (or Traditional) Judaism
a) Remarks on the Jewish Bible, the Mishna, and the Talmud
b) Origin
c) Practices
d) Beliefs
2.
Reform (or Liberal) Judaism
a) Origin
b) Practices
c) Beliefs
3.
Conservative Judaism
a) Origin
b) Practices
c) Beliefs
4.
Statistics
D. Miscellaneous items
1.
Additional groups of U.S. Judaism
2.
The Jewish calendar
3.
Some Jewish holy days
IV. CHRISTIANITY
A. Remarks on history; the Christian Bible
1.
Background history
RLS111_Wenisch_Syllabus—Page 3
2.
The Christian Bible
a)
Two testaments
b)
The Old Testament
c)
The New Testament
d)
The authors of the Gospels: An ancient tradition
e)
A contemporary theory about Gospel origins: The Two-source Hypothesis
(2SH)
f)
Difficulties with the 2SH
g)
Fritz Wenisch’s “modest proposal” concerning the Synoptic problem
B. The life of Jesus of Nazareth according to the New Testament
1.
Jesus prior to his public ministry
2.
Jesus’ public ministry
3.
Jesus enters Jerusalem, is arrested, found guilty, and executed
C. Fundamentals of Christian theological teaching
1.
Christian monotheism
2.
The Trinity
3.
The person of Jesus of Nazareth according to Christianity
4.
The purpose of Jesus’ suffering and death according to Christianity
D. The moral teaching in Jesus’ Message
1.
Christianity and the 613 Torah laws: non-moral and moral laws
2.
The two greatest commandments
3.
“Do unto others . . .”
E. Jesus merely a great human? The “Liar, Lunatic, Lord” Conundrum
V. ISLAM
A. The Origin of Islam: Two perspectives
1.
A non-Muslim’s understanding of the origin of Islam
2.
A Muslim’s understanding of the origin of Islam
B. The place of origin of Islam at the time of Muhammad’s birth
1.
Arabia
2.
The religious situation in Arabia when Muhammad was born
C. The life of Muhammad
D. Religious practices: The so-called “Five Pillars” of Islam
1.
The Creed
2.
Prayer
3.
Fasting
4.
Almsgiving
5.
Pilgrimage to Mecca
E. The basic teachings of Islam
1.
The Qur’an
2.
Relationship of the Qur’an to earlier “revelations”
3.
Monotheism
4.
Jesus in the Qur’an
5.
Islam and the “Last Things”
F. Two controversial Muslim beliefs
1.
Polygamy
2.
Holy war, aka jihad: What is it?
RLS111_Wenisch_Syllabus—Page 4
G.
Remarks on the history of Islam
EPILOGUE: Why Jews, Christians, and Muslims should regard one another as brothers and
sisters
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Additional Course Information:
NOTE: Prior to the second class meeting, you must read this entire syllabus and the more detailed
syllabus posted on SAKAI. Lack of awareness of the information contained in these documents
will jeopardize your grade and will not be accepted as an excuse.
ATTENDANCE: Required. If you miss more than eight class meetings, you will not receive a
passing grade; for each absence, there will be a two-point deduction from your semester average
and/or a score of “0” for a quiz you may miss, unless you are excused through a legitimate and
verifiable reason to be presented to me in the classroom at the beginning of the class meeting
within a week following your absence. In addition, you also must give me written answers to the
study questions on the material covered when you were absent. You must staple your absence
verification and the answers to a copy of the Absence Make-up Work Cover Sheet (to be printed
from the SAKAI site). You must fill that sheet in and follow all instructions on it.
VERY IMPORTANT: For an absence to be excused, you must have a legitimate reason and do the
makeup work by the deadline, as well as submit the work according to the procedure specified in
the preceding paragraph.
QUIZZES AND EXAMS: Four quizzes (dates: [to be determined]); first exam on [to be determined],
during class; final exam on [to be determined]. Quiz and exam questions will be similar to the
study questions posted on SAKAI. There will be so-called “short-essay” and “multiple choice”
questions.
MATERIAL ON QUIZZES AND EXAMS: At each quiz, you will have to know the material for which
you will not have been held responsible at an earlier quiz or exam. The first exam will cover the
material from class # 1 on; the final exam will be limited to the material for which you were not
responsible at the first exam.
MISSING OF QUIZZES AND BEING LATE ON QUIZ DAYS: Quizzes cannot be made up. A quiz missed
will be recorded as a “zero,” unless you are excused for your absence through complying with
the rules set under “ATTENDANCE,” above (see also the “VERY IMPORTANT” segment). If the
absence is excused, the quiz will be dropped, and your quiz score will be based on the remaining
quizzes only. If you are late for a class at which there is a quiz, your score also will be “zero.”
MISSING THE CLASS PRIOR TO A QUIZ: Missing a class for a legitimate reason does not excuse you
from a quiz scheduled for the class at which you return. Rather, you are expected to come prepared by reading and studying the textbook segment on the class(es) you missed (see the SAKAI
“Reading Assignments” file).
RLS111_Wenisch_Syllabus—Page 5
GRADING: The weight of the cumulative quiz score is 20%, that of the first exam 30%, and that
of the final exam 50%. Penalty points (if any) will be deducted from the score determined in this
way. In the case of students with no unexcused absences, the lowest quiz will be dropped.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Other Guidelines:
ACCOMMODATIONS FOR SPECIAL NEEDS
Any student with a documented disability is welcome to contact me as early in the semester as
possible so that we may arrange reasonable accommodations. As part of this process, please be
in touch with Disability Services for Students Office at 330 Memorial Union, 401-874-2098.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
All work on quizzes, exams, and make-up work to be excused from absences for a legitimate
reason must be your own.
ACADEMIC ENHANCEMENT CENTER
The work in this course is complex and intensive. To do the best you can, you may want to visit
the Academic Enhancement Center (AEC) in Roosevelt Hall. The AEC offers a comfortable
environment in which to study alone or together, with or without a tutor. AEC tutors can answer
questions, clarify concepts, check understanding, and help you to study. You can make an
appointment or walk in during office hours—Monday through Thursday from 9 am. to 9 pm,
Friday from 9 am to 1 pm, and Sunday from 4 pm. to 8 pm. For a complete schedule For a
complete schedule—including when tutors are available specifically for this class—go to
www.uri.edu/aec, call (401) 874-2367, or stop by the fourth floor in Roosevelt Hall.
STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOR
Students are responsible for being familiar with and adhering to the published “Community
Standards of Behavior: University Policies and Regulations” that can be accessed in the
University Student Handbook. If you must come in late, please do not disrupt the class. Please
turn off all cell phones, pagers, or any electronic devices.
RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS
It is the policy of the University of Rhode Island to accord students, on an individual basis, the
opportunity to observe their traditional religious holidays. Students desiring to observe a holiday
of special importance must provide written notification to each instructor.