Course Description
Topics and problems in religion with emphasis upon extensive reading in primary sources and individual and/or group research projects. Selection of topics will vary with instructor and interest of students.
Athena Title
TOPICS AND PROBLEMS
Non-Traditional Format
Directed study.
Prerequisite
Permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
To focus on reading of primary texts in the various areas of the discipline of religious studies, including such areas as Arts, Literature and Religion, Religion in America, New Testament, Hebrew Bible, and so on. To teach students research methods and to foster independent research. To strengthen skills in written composition, analysis, and presentation by means of projects such as essays, papers, reports, and examinations. To strengthen skills in oral expression, analysis, style, and interaction by means such as class reports, class discussion, and oral examinations. To enhance and facilitate computer literacy by the use of word processing, the web, email, and OASIS through research, preparation, and presentation of work such as oral class reports and completion of written assignments. To foster critical thinking by engaging in activities such as classroom discussion and debate, essay examinations, and oral presentations. To assist in the continued development of moral and ethical reasoning and reflection by encouraging creative thinking regarding individual and community concerns and needs, the challenging of prejudices and stereotypes, and examining rational and ethical bases of constructive social interactions.
Topical Outline
Topical Outline may vary according to professor and topic. A example below is from Arts, Literature, and Religion. I. Gods and Monsters: What is the impact of Enlightenment notions of identity and community on us? II. Identity: Journey into the Self. We also want to ask what constitutes a ”self,” particularly given Gatsby’s self-fashioning. III. Community and Identity in the Modern World: How do we “all get along” in a situation of post-coloniality? Or, can we? How do we come to understand the “other within”—-the colonized but also the other in ourselves? Is alienation the postcolonial situation, modern/post-modern situation? IV. Two Georgia Writers