SYLLABUS, ANT 120, RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD, 3 credits. Spring 2008.

This course is an introduction to the major world religions, with some attention to the
generalizations that can be made about all religions.

This is an online course, with videostreamed lectures on WebCT. Henry Munson,

Instructor. E-mail: henry.munson@umit.maine.edu. Students will need a WebCT
account. The course will NOT have a First Class conference folder, discussion can be
posted to the discussion folder within WebCT. When you need help on
technical problems, WebCT account or problems seeing and hearing
lectures, contact cedtechhelp@umit.maine.edu, or 1-877-947-4357.
The people at these addresses can also help with online testing using WebCT, as can
Andrei Strukov (on First Class at Andrei.Strukov@umit.maine.edu) or Louis Fortin
(on First Class at louis_fortin@umit.maine.edu ). You will need a high-speed
(broad-band) internet connection. A dial-up connection will not enable you to see
the videotaped lectures. If you do not have a broad-band connection (DSL or cable) at
home, you may need to view the lectures at a university, school, or library. Broad-band
connection is available at computer labs at UC Centers throughout Maine. For help
locating a UC Center nearest you, please dial UC Teleservice at 1-800-868-7000.

Louis Fortin is the reader/grader for the course. He is in charge of tests and grades and he
can answer questions concerning these issues. Professor Munson can only answer
questions about the course’s content.

Grade: Three online WebCT multiple-choice exams, equally weighted. No extra credit
is offered.

Grading will be as follows:

A: 93+; A-: 90-92;
B+: 87-89; B: 83-86; B-: 80-82
C+: 77-79; C: 73-76; C-: 70-72
D+: 67-69; D: 63-66; D-: 60-62
F: 59-

Exams: Three online exams are required in this course. Exams are located under
“Assessments” within WebCT. Each exam MUST be completed during
the week specified below. STUDENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE
FOR KNOWING THE DATES WHEN EXAMS CAN BE
TAKEN. (If, for some reason, you cannot take the exam during the specified week,
you must make arrangements with the reader/grader in advance. Only documented
excuses, i.e., doctor's note, obituary, etc., will be accepted as reasons for extensions.) The
exams are not open-book and should be done individually, not in pairs or as a group.
You do not need to have a proctor present, contrary to what is stated in the
videotaped lectures, which were recorded before we began using online testing.
To take exams, click on http://webct.umaine.edu, log on then click on assessments,
then click on the title of the exam. Here are instructions for WebCT accounts:
http://dll.umaine.edu/cd/html/welcome_manual.html.

Students with disabilities needing special accommodation should contact Ann Smith
(581-2319) as early as possible in the semester.

Texts: The following textbooks will be available through the U Maine (Orono) bookstore
and also the UMA bookstore (1-800-621-0083, www.umabookstore.com):

Michael Coogan, ed. The Illustrated Guide to World Religions.

Robert E. Van Voorst, ed. Anthology of World Scriptures. 6th ed. (In some cases,
pages in this book referred to in videtaped lectures will differ slightly from the
pages in this edition because an earlier edition was used when the lectures were
taped. Read the pages listed in the syllabus.)

Schedule: Ignore the dates mentioned in the videotaped lectures. Please note the
exact dates specified in this syllabus for both lectures and exams. You should keep up
with the readings for each week.

Readings should have been finished by the dates indicated. Be sure to read the texts
carefully, including information in sidebars in the Coogan book. Also read the
glossaries at the end of each chapter in Van Voorst’s Anthology of World Scriptures.

Lecture 1. 1/14 – 1/19. Overview of course. The Structure of Religion. Durkheim on

religion as social glue. Malinowski, death explained, death endured. Geertz.
Worldview and ethos. Problems of meaning, suffering. Myths of origin. Myth and
ritual. Eliade. Sacred place and time. Rites of passage. Holy days/holidays. Purity
and pollution. Conceptions of life after death. Male and female. Problems of
interpretation. Universals. Anthropology vs. history of religion. What people do
and what texts say they should do. Believer's point of view. (No readings for this
section, just the videotaped lecture.)

Lecture 2. 1/20 – 1/26. Judaism. Coogan: 15-33. Van Voorst: 205-14 (Introduction), 220
(The Oneness of God, Shema), 221-22 (God’s creation of the world), 223-24 (The revolt
of humanity), 214-20 (Abraham, Moses, crossing the Red Sea, the covenant, Psalm for
David, and Ezra’s enforcement of Torah observance).

Lecture 3. 1/27 – 2/2. Judaism. Coogan: 34-51. Van Voorst: 225-34 (The messianic king,
final judgment, resurrection of the dead, the ten commandments, laws on slaves,
violence, and property, justice for all, holy war, sexual love, God’s call to an
unfaithful people), 238-46 (Women as judges and prophets, circumcision,
Passover, Sabbath, Day of Atonement, kosher and nonkosher foods, The sayings
of the fathers).
Test 1: Theorists and Judaism (To be taken online 2/3 – 2/9).
Lecture 5. 2/10 – 2/16. Christianity. (Ignore minor problems with tape at the beginning
of this lecture.) Coogan: 53-69. Van Voorst: 250-57 (Introduction), 257-62 (life
of Jesus), 262 (the coming of the Holy Spirit), 267-68 (Nicodemus visits Jesus
[and concept of being born again], a sinful woman forgiven), 269-71 (the end of
time), 271-74 (the Sermon on the Mount).

Lecture 6. 2/17 – 2/23. Christianity. Coogan: 70-87. Van Voorst: 274-75 (directions
concerning marriage), 276-77 (ethics in the Christian household [Wives, be
subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord], 281 (Peter as the rock), 282-85
(women in the early church, baptism, the eucharist, confession and anointing).
.
Lecture 7. 2/24 – 2/29. Islam. Coogan: 89-107. Van Voorst: 289-95 (Introduction), 304-
05 (creation, Adam, Eve, and the fall), 305-06 (The Holy Quran), 295-300 (Life
of Muhammad), 317-18 (The Opening of the Quran [al-Fatihah], confession of
faith).

Spring Break: Friday, February 29 – Sunday, March 16

Lecture 8. 3/16 – 3/22. Islam. 108-123. Van Voorst: 307-09 (on unbelievers, Jews and
Christians), 309-11 (resurrection and judgment, heaven and hell), 311-16 (conduct
of believers, women, against evil magic, jihad, law codes), 319-21 (alms, fast,
pilgrimage), 322-25 (selections from the Hadith [more on jihad]).

Test 2: Christianity and Islam (To be taken online 3/23 – 3/29).

Lecture 10. 3/30 – 4/5. Hinduism. Coogan: 125-143. Van Voorst: 21-28 (Introduction),
28-30 (Aditi and the birth of the gods, two philosophical views of creation), 30-31
(Indra), 31-32 (Rudra and Shiva), 32-33 (That you are), 40-42 (creation and the
caste system, the four castes [actually varnas], outcastes), 36-39 (stages of life for
twice-born man), 39-40 (the life of women).

Lecture 11. 4/6 – 4/12. Hinduism. Coogan: 144-161. Van Voorst: 50-59 (selections from
the Bhagavad Gita)

Lecture 12. 4/13 – 4/19. Buddhism. Coogan: 164-181. Van Voorst: 65-72 (Introduction),
73-79, 91-92, 80 (life and death of Gotama Buddha), 80-81 (Sermon on the four
noble truths), 84 (Essence of Buddhism [Heart Sutra], 89 (admonition to laity
[five precepts], 92-94 (order of nuns), 98-100 (mindfulness in meditation), 102-03
(Tibetan scripture to guide the soul after death).

Lecture 13. 4/20 – 4/26. Buddhism and Shinto in Japan. Coogan: 182-197. Coogan: 237-
271. Van Voorst: 181-83 (introduction),183-87 (Shinto creation stories).
Test 3: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Shinto (To be taken online 4/27 –
5/3).
These materials are made available at this site for the educational
purposes of students enrolled in ANT120 class at The University of Maine. They are
not for further reproduction or transmission.