Ethics, religion, and literature

I. The Burden of this course
Why Can't God be Good? Why Should We? Evil, God, and Literature in an Obscene World. A 9 year-old is brutally raped; a mudslide wipes out a village of 10,000; a business executive cheats a 67 year-old widow out of her retirement savings; a child is born with AIDS; a guard crams naked children into a gas chamber; 3,000,000 starve from famine. A novelist picks up her pen and weeps. The so-called "problem of evil" has been the burden of many great religious writers. In this class it is our burden.

II. how shall this class carry the burden?
1. by exploring through literature the always-intertwined subjects of religion and ethics.

2. by reading and reflecting on some literary classics and their approach to the problem of evil.

3. By critically reflecting on philosophical systems of morality.

4. By critically reflecting on and developing our own thinking about the human capacity for evil and good.

5. By performing and reflecting on service learning.

6. By creating, satisfying, and perpetuating curiosity for learning about religion and Literature.

III. How shall we do this in a way that justifies your time and energy and merits acceptance as intellectually advanced activity by masters of our society's institutions of HIGHER learning?

By carefully and deliberately proceeding in our intellectual journey and recording our thought progress, and critically assessing it using the following guidelines:

A. Course Policies
Our community is based on common trust and respect, and our common success depends on each member of the community, students, faculty, and staff. As we all strive to act in accord with our communal ideals we liberate ourselves to relational integrity and confidence. As teacher, I pledge to respect your work and to teach with honesty and integrity, providing you with accurate information to the best of my ability. From you I need a statement on all assignments and exams informing me that you have followed the honor code. Academic dishonesty is seriously frowned upon and must result in being referred to Millsaps Honor Council.

1. Students and teacher are expected to attend class in a prepared manner; this is crucial for those desiring to make the most of their personal investments. Experience has shown that there is a direct relationship between attendance and learning and final grade. Absences of 4 or more will merit a final grade of no higher than a C. Perfect attendance is seriously smiled upon : and will result in 10 points being added to one's exam Grade. Persons are always responsible for material missed during absence.

2. ALL CLASS assignments must be submitted at the scheduled time, except in cases of personal emergency. In such cases, appropriate documentation will be required. There will be no make-ups, except by special permission, in which case it must be completed with 1 week. Late papers will be discounted by one grading increment (e.g. B+ to B) per Calendar day.

3. Written assignments must by neatly typed and well organized and conform to appropriate academic standards.

4. Students with special needs because of a learning disability or other kind of disability are encouraged to discuss your needs for this class with me at your earliest convenience.

5. At times the complexities and exigencies of life come to bear even on carefully designed course policies and otherwise idyllic classrooms. Whenever you have a question or difficulty, you are welcome to talk to me. I have never bitten anyone. If you have any questions about this course, assignments, policies, grading etc. or about your ability to complete the tasks, please come talk to me. I can help you only if I am informed. For example, if you do not understand an assignment or question, ask as soon as possible; do not wait until it is due to tell me you didn't understand.
THE MILLSAPS HONOR CODE: As a Millsaps College student, I hereby affirm that I understand the Honor Code and am aware of its implication and of my responsibility to the Code. In the interests of expanding the atmosphere of respect and trust in the College, I promise to uphold the Honor Code and I will not tolerate dishonest behavior in myself or in others.

B. Readings
1. Dostoevsky, Fyodor The Brothers Karamazov (1880). Trans. R. Pevear and L. Volokhonsky. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2002.

2. Hugo, Victor, Les Miserables (1862), abridged. Trans. C. Wilbour. Fawcett, 1982.

3. Camus, Albert, The Plague (1947). Trans. S. Gilbert. Vintage Books.

4. Wiesel, Elie, The Night Trilogy; Night (1958). Trans. S. Rodway. Hill and Wang, 1990.

5. Job from Tanakh. The Holy Scriptures, Jewish Publication Society.

6. Qohelet from Tanakh. The Holy Scriptures, Jewish Publication Society.

7. Rachels, James, The Right Thing to Do. McGraw Hill, 2002.

8. Dillard, Annie, For the Time Being. Vintage Books, 2000.

C. FILMS
Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero
Schindler's List
Night and Fog

D. Formal Components of student engagement
1. Reading

2. written reading reflections for each book
1 page of book summary
1-2 page of reflections on author's contribution to the discussion of evil. Imagine a conversation with the author about the book.

3. class conversations/discussions/lectures

4. written class, Lecture, Movie notes
Briefly summarize The content, with special attention to issues of evil and religion; 1-2 pages (More if necessary)
Turned in weekly

5. service learning
This will involve 15 hours of working against evil in the community of Jackson in a place that you choose from a list provided by millsaps "faith and work initiative." You will interview a leader in that service about her/his motivations for doing the work and writing a 2-page report reflecting on the interview and your own experience.

WHY service Learning?
Dozens of studies on student learning demonstrate that hands-on projects enhance student mastery of course content, not merely in the sciences, where laboratory work has long been based on this recognition, but in other academic areas as well. Service-learning projects are one form of hands-on learning. They challenge students to connect in-class and text-based learning with practical experiences in real-world laboratories.
Colleges and universities are part of larger communities and have a responsibility to be good citizens of those larger communities. Service-learning projects offer colleges and universities opportunities to forge partnerships with community agencies and to contribute to the common good by supporting the work of these agencies.
Students who engage in service-learning projects within the context of academic courses are challenged to connect theory with practice and to consider service to others as one piece of the mature intellectual life. Service-learning projects help students make connections between their academic development and their character development; put differently, it helps them bridge the gap between academic affairs and student affairs, offering them a holistic model of human development.
BECAUSE of Dr. Rieux
Because any people privileged to sit comfortably and study evil should also do something to fight it

6. exam

7. final reflective, integrative paper
15-20 pages

E. Outline and Assignments (Subject to revision)

Week 1 (Jan 13) M:
W: Wiesel, NIGHT

Week 2 (Jan 20) M:
W: NO CLASS
REQUIRED ATTENDANCE: Thursday, January 23, 7:30 PM AC Recital Hall
Mark Juergensmeyer Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence Mark Juergensmeyer's book, Terror in the Mind of God, focuses on recent events and explores the use of violence by marginal groups within five major religious traditions: Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism, and Buddhism. He asks one of the most important and perplexing questions of our age: Why do religious people commit acts of murder and terror in the name of their god? Dr. Juergensmeyer, professor and director of Global and International Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara, specializes in the interaction of religion and politics and religion's return to center stage in the post-Cold War world.

Week 3 (Jan 27) M: Rachels, The right Thing to Do, Preface, 1-94.
W: Exam on Rachels

Week 4 (Feb 3) M: Job, Qohelet
W:

Week 5 (Feb 10) M:
W:

Week 6 (Feb 17) M:
W:

Week 7 (Mar 3) M: NO CLASS
CLASS WILL VIEW "SCHINDLER's LIST" in an evening
W: Hugo, Les Misérables

WEEK 8 (MAR 10) M:
W:

¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ SPRING BREAK ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨¨ ¨ ¨

WEEK 9 (MAR 24) M:
W:

Week 10 (MAR 31) M:
W:

Week 11 (Ap 7) M: Dostoevsky, the brothers karamazov
W:

Week 12 (Ap 14) M: Camus, The Plague
W:

Week 13 (Ap 21) M: Dillard, for the Time Being
W: Last Day of class, attendance Required
F: NooN, final integrative paper due

IV. Grading
reading reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%
Weekly class, film, lecture notes . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%
Service learning project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%
Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15%
Final integrative Reflection paper . . . . . . . . . 25%
Letter grades are assigned to increments of 10 on a scale of 100.
A 94-100 A- 91-93 B+ 88-90 B 84-87 B- 81-83
C+ 78-80 C 74-77 C- 71-73 D+ 68-70 D 64-67 D- 61-63