Religious Literacy: Traditions and Scriptures
Module One in the World Religions Through Their Scriptures Series
HDS 3221.1x
Professor Diane L. Moore
Ms. Anna Mudd
Harvard Divinity School
March, 2016
Course Description:
Religions have functioned throughout human history to inspire and justify the full range of agency from the heinous to the heroic. Their influences remain potent at the dawn of the 21st century in spite of modern predictions that religious influences would steadily decline in concert with the rise of secular democracies and advances in science. Understanding these complex religious influences is a critical dimension of understanding modern human affairs across the full spectrum of endeavors in local, national, and global arenas. The Religious Literacy module focuses on how to recognize, understand, and analyze religious influences in human experience with a special emphasis on the role of scriptures. We’ll explore this way to think about religion through case studies related to themes such as gender and sexuality, conflict and peace, science, the arts, and the interpreted other.
Goals:
•To learn tools to better understand how religions function in human affairs.
•To interact constructively with peers from diverse religions, worldviews, regions of the world, experiences, and perspectives.
Expectations and Assessments:
•Engaging in all components of each day comprised of videos, readings, and exercises: 35%
•Regularly contributing to discussions and responding to peers: 35%
•A mid-term assessment assignment: 15%
•A final assessment assignment: 15%
Certificate candidates must complete at least 80% of expectations.
Pedagogy:
One of the main reasons that I wanted to offer this course in this venue is to provide an opportunity for people from diverse worldviews, religions, experiences, ages, and regions of the world to constructively interact around topics that too often divide us. As a result, the course is highly interactive in nature. You’ll have many opportunities to engage with peers in the course through discussion boards and the live online conversations we’ll hold every Friday. Though no one is obligated to participate in these interactive experiences, we hope many of you will take advantage of this unique opportunity to converse with others from around the world in response to the rich material we’ll be exploring together.
Approach to Religion:
Given this goal, I want to highlight here at the outset that the approach to learning about religion represented here is one that recognizes and values the diversity of beliefs and convictions within as well as among religions and worldviews. In this way, we will not be promoting or privileging one interpretation or worldview over another, or asking which interpretation or worldview is "right" or "true." Instead, we'll be exploring what gives rise to diverse interpretations, and why some worldviews and interpretations gain more social prominence and credibility in certain contexts over others. In short, our explorations will be focused on seeking to better understand diverse perspectives rather than debating which ones are "credible." I trust that all of you who have signed up for Religious Literacy share this interest, and will see the rich diversity of participants as one of the most important assets of the class. I also trust that all interactions via the discussion board and during our live conversations on Fridays will be respectful and motivated by curiosity and a sincere interest in learning with and from one another.
Course Schedule:
The course will “roll out” one day at a time at 12 noon EST throughout the first four weeks of March according to the following schedule:
Week One:
Tuesday, March 1: Day One - Introduction to Religious Literacy
Thursday, March 3: Day Two - The Cultural Studies Approach
Week Two:
Tuesday, March 8: Day Three - Cultural Violence and Cultural Peace
Thursday, March 10: Day Four - Synthesis of the Method: Country Profiles
Mid-Term Assessment
Week Three:
Tuesday, March 15: Day Five - What is Scripture?
Thursday, March 17: Day Six - The Role of Canon
Week Four:
Tuesday, March 22: Day Seven - Interpreting Scripture
Thursday, March 24: Day Eight - The Limitations of Scripture
Final Assessment
Post Course Gathering:
Though you can engage with the course material at any pace you wish, staying to this general schedule will provide the richest learning experience possible because 1) you will be interacting with peers who are moving the through the course at the same pace; and 2) the teaching team will be following the discussions and shaping future content based, in part, on your contributions.