Office: CC-16
Office Hours: TTh 1:00-2:00pm and by appointment
Phone: 601-974-1337 (w) 601-982-9298 (h)–Call before 10:00pm, please.
Email: raydk@millsaps.edu (This is the best way to reach me.)

Course Description & Format
This seminar will explore the myriad ways in which religion is understood and practiced in contemporary America. From academic theories of religion to roadside billboards, presidential speeches, and slick marketing campaigns, we will attempt to grasp the shape and function of religion in today's complex and diverse society.

A seminar is a discussion class in which students share responsibility for bringing materials and issues before the group. In other words, you as students are responsible for helping to teach this class. As professor, I will serve as official guide for our journey. In addition, I have created a rough map for our journey: I have pre-selected certain "sites" (texts, issues) to be visited, a proposed route (syllabus) to be traveled, and a handful of landmarks (assignments) by which to mark and evaluate our progress. However, it is vital that you understand I am a fellow traveler with you–perhaps more anxious or excited than you about the upcoming journey but equally a novice when it comes to the particular route we will take. While I have scouted out the possibilities in some detail, I have never walked this path before. If we are to have an interesting and enjoyable journey, we will need each other's good company; diverse gifts, interests, and areas of expertise; and commitment. If you are not willing to contribute these things, please jump ship now. We'll miss you, but we don't need any dead weight on this trip.

Goals & Objectives
Students who successfully complete this course should be able to speak intelligently about the shape and function of religion in contemporary American culture. In addition, they should be able to offer an in-depth analysis of at least one contemporary issue, debate, idea, or phenomenon at the nexus of religion and American culture. Such intelligent speech and in-depth analysis are the overarching goals of the course.

To achieve these goals, specific learning objectives for the semester can be identified. Students who successfully complete this course should be able to:
* identify, explain, exemplify, and offer a critical assessment of at least two major theories of religion;
* present an informed sketch of the religiously diverse landscape of twenty-first century America;
* use religious studies categories to comment intelligently on varied cultural phenomena such as roadside religious displays, electoral politics, and consumerism;
* offer an extended and in-depth description and analysis of at least one issue, debate, idea, or phenomenon at the nexus of religion and culture.

Course Readings
These required readings are available for purchase in the Millsaps College bookstore:
Daniel L. Pals, Eight Theories of Religion
Diana L. Eck, A New Religious America
Stephen Prothero, American Jesus
Timothy K. Beal, Roadside Religion
Richard King and Jeremy Carrette, Selling Spirituality
Jim Wallis, God's Politics

Course Expectations/Requirements
I hope you will be a glad and even enthusiastic co-traveler this semester. I hope you will throw yourself into the texts, questions, and issues we encounter–engaging with them actively and voluntarily. I hope you will become good friends with your paper topic and experience the paper exercise as an opportunity for new adventure and growth. At the very least, I expect you to be collegial and respectful, to pull your own weight in group-work, and to complete all assignments in a timely fashion. The official course requirements are as follows:

(1) Attendance
I expect your regular and punctual attendance at all class meetings. Absences in excess of three will result in the lowering of your final grade by one-third letter grade (e.g., from B to B-) per absence. In addition, significant and/or repeated tardies will each be treated as one-half an absence. The student is responsible for material missed due to lateness or absence.

(2) Class Participation (20%)
A seminar is not a seminar unless its participants participate. By participation, I do not mean the occasional brief comment or the really thoughtful flow of b.s. you come up with in response to someone else's informed and relevant insight. Yes–brief comments are welcome; and yes, we will all respond to each other's insights and use those insights as jumping-off points for our own reflections. But "adequate" participation (i.e., participation that earns a grade of "C") will involve more than "occasional" comments or intellectual "mooching." Indeed, "adequate" participation will involve consistent, text-informed engagement in the classroom conversation. "Good" or "above average" (i.e., "B") participation will go beyond this by reflecting complex or creative thinking about the question or issue at hand. "Exemplary" or "superior" participation will be consistent, text-informed, complex and/or creative in content, generous in its interactions with conversation partners, and intellectually adventuresome. Please, do not take this portion of your grade for granted.

(3) Guide Work (20%)
On three separate occasions during the semester, you will act as a seminar "guide"–organizing and facilitating the class's encounter with the day's assignment. You will work with one or two others to do this; you are welcome to consult with me as well. I will assign you to topics/dates based on the preference form you complete on the first day of class. If you need to switch dates for some reason, it will be your responsibility to work out the details and to inform me of the switch. Guides are encouraged to use care and creativity in designing class time encounters with assigned materials (e.g., "borrow" strategies from other courses or experiences, move us to a new location, exploit the particular strengths of those in your guide team, bribe your peers to come to class prepared on your day, etc.).

(4) Sightings (10%)
Keep your eyes open! On two separate occasions during the semester, you will report on a "religion and culture sighting" you have recently made. Your "sighting" might be a relevant newspaper article, web site, congressional debate, Supreme Court case, movie, song, or other phenomenon. . . anything where religion and contemporary American culture are coming together in interesting ways. Your job will be to offer a brief summary of your sighting to the class and to comment on it with the help of at least one text or idea from the course. I hope this exercise will be fun and enlightening.

(5) Exam (15%)
There will be one exam designed to test your ability to recall, synthesize, and reflect critically on the content and import of material covered in the course. Your work on the exam will be evaluated in terms of command of material, complexity of thinking, clarity and organization of ideas, and persuasiveness of argument.

(6) Paper (35%)
You will write one 8-10 page paper in which you explore and offer an in-depth analysis of some question, issue, debate, or phenomenon at the nexus of religion and American culture. In addition to plumbing the depths of a particular topic, your paper should attempt to situate that topic within the framework of a more general analysis of the relationship between religion and culture. For this framing task, you will want to make thoughtful use of at least one theory of religion (Pals book). Your paper should make thoughtful use of at least 4-6 sources. A series of pre-writing exercises is set forth in the Daily Schedule (below). These exercises are not optional; they are designed to help you produce a well-informed, tightly-focused, and thoughtful paper. You may infer from the emphasis on the paper throughout the Daily Schedule that I am making an intentional effort to set you up for success on this paper. You may also infer that I have high expectations for this paper.

(7) Senior Religious Studies Majors: Core 10 Paper
Senior Religious Studies majors must fulfill one additional requirement: A 6-8 page reflection on your intellectual growth during your time at Millsaps, taking into account (a) the larger experience of liberal learning and the goals set for all Millsaps students, e.g., in the Liberal Arts Abilities targeted by your previous Core courses, and (b) the more specialized experience of the Religious Studies major. The successful completion of this paper makes this course count as a Core 10 course.

Here is the official description of the college-wide Core 10 requirement:The purpose of Core 10, "Reflections on Liberal Studies," is to integrate the major with the multidisciplinary core and to help prepare you for life after graduation. For this reason it is reserved for the senior year. Most students will meet this "capstone" requirement with the senior seminar in their major. In this course you will write a reflective paper intended to draw upon your critical thinking skills and help you integrate your liberal arts experience. You will consider how your Millsaps experience has contributed to your growth and development as an educated person and how it has prepared you for the responsibilities of community and professional life. On completing this course, you will have finished the Millsaps core curriculum. You should be better prepared to meet the challenges of a dynamic and changing world, where the primary measure of success will be your ability to think creatively and act responsibly.
Regarding the Frank and Rachel Ann Laney Award: In order to satisfy the Core 10 requirement, all graduating seniors must submit essays in which they reflect on the value of their liberal arts education. A faculty panel chooses ten finalists whose papers are published as a record of the seniors' reflections. The one winning essay is then selected each year for the Laney Award based upon its excellence in thought and expression. In order to pass down the wisdom of the graduating seniors, the winning paper will become required reading for incoming freshmen the following year.

In general, written work in the course will be evaluated in terms of command of material, complexity of thinking, clarity and organization of ideas, persuasiveness of argument, creativity of thought, elegance of expression, proper handling of sources, and grammatical correctness.

Grading
While I hope you will work long and hard on this course and its assignments, I must warn you that when it comes to written work and oral presentations, you will be graded on the quality of the work you produce, not the effort you put into it. I will not, as an evaluator of your work, lie to you by telling you your work is better than it is. On the other hand, I would be pleased as punch if every single person in this class submitted high quality work all the time and hence earned a grade of "A" in the course. All that being said, here is what letter grades mean in this course:

A grade of F means the work you have done on the assignment basically fails to respond to it.
A grade of D means your work speaks to the assignment but still does not meet its minimum requirements. Your paper has serious problems.
A grade of C means you have successfully met the minimum requirements of an assignment. Your paper has no major problems of any kind, but there is still much for you to do to better your grade. Your work on that paper is average.
A grade of B means you have succeeded in important ways. Your work has gone beyond the minimum requirements of the assignment. For example, you have demonstrated adequate mastery of complex materials; you have successfully balanced description with analysis; well-chosen evidence is offered in support of your assertions and interpretations; you express yourself clearly, coherently, and meaningfully. Your work on that paper is good.
A grade of A means you have produced a highly impressive, exemplary paper. You have demonstrated complex thinking and excellent mastery of materials; you have presented your thesis coherently and persuasively; you have organized your thoughts effectively; and you have supported your interpretations meticulously. An A paper is also one that is excellent in style and voice or tone. And in an A paper, attention to form (spelling, punctuation, grammar, documentation) is as rigorous as it is to the content. Your work on that paper is superior.

Complex thinking is often termed "critical thinking". This term does not refer to the act of being critical. Rather, critical thinking is thinking which is able to incorporate multiple points of view, addresses problems which may have no neat and simple answers, tolerates ambiguity, finds connections, and is not reliant on others' assessments. Critical thinkers can subject their own assumptions to rational inquiry and are able to be self-assessors.
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 61-67

Special Needs: Students with special needs because of a disability are encouraged to discuss those needs with me at your earliest convenience.

Honor Code
All work completed in this course should comply with the letter and the spirit of the Millsaps Honor Code. Suspected violations of the Code will be forwarded to the Honor Council for consideration.
If at any point in the semester you or anyone you know has questions about the Code or its relation to a given assignment, please do not hesitate to contact me. Ignorance and the absence of malice are not acceptable excuses for violating the Honor Code.

Daily Schedule*

1/18 Beginnings

I. Theories of Religion

1/23 Pals, Eight Theories of Religion, ch. 1 (Tylor and Frazer) and ch. 2 (Freud)
Guide: Ray

1/25 Pals, ch. 3 (Durkheim) and ch. 4 (Weber)
Guides:

1/30 Pals, ch. 6 (Eliade) and ch. 8 (Geertz)
Guides:

II. A Multireligious Society

2/1 Diana Eck, A New Religious America, Preface plus ch. 1-2
Guides:

2/6 Eck, ch. 3 (American Hindus) and ch. 4 (American Buddhists)
Guides:

Special Event (recommended): Bernard McGinn, "Why Monasticism Matters," 7:30pm, AC 215

2/8 Eck, ch. 5 (American Muslims) plus pp. 294-296
Guides:

2/13 Exam

III. Symbolic Sprawl: Jesus as Cultural Icon

2/15 No class. Read, read, read Part One of Stephen Prothero's American Jesus.
Paper pause: Spend at least 30 minutes considering your paper topic: What question, phenomenon, debate, issue, idea, or movement that stands at the juncture of religion and American culture interests you? Try free-writing on a possible topic to see what questions and possibilities emerge. Are you still interested? If you're pretty clueless, you might begin with a broad topic and then go from there (e.g., religion and. . . race/ gender/ economics/ politics/ science/ education/ popular culture). Or perhaps there is a current controversy or movement that piques your interest (e.g., Intelligent Design, Dominionism, gay marriage, pluralism, fundamentalisms). Now is the time to begin sorting through possible topics for your paper.

2/16 Special Event (required): Ron Sider, "How Does Christian Discipleship Make Social Action Different?" 11:30am, Leggett Center. Before event, read brief Sider interview: www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/004/32.70.html

2/20 Stephen Prothero, American Jesus, pp. 7-16 and Part One: "Resurrections"
Guides:
Sightings:

2/22 No class. Read, read, read Part Two of American Jesus.
Paper Pause: Firm up paper topic. Search for initial sources. Submit ILL order if necessary.
Special Event (required): Reza Aslan, "No god but God," 7:30pm, AC Recital Hall

2/27 Prothero, American Jesus Part Two: "Reincarnations"
Guides:
Sightings:

3/1 Paper pause: No class. Firm up paper topic and sources. Email me with your paper topic and at least 3-4 proposed sources (with full bibliographic citations).

3/2 Special Event (required): Steven Tipton, "In Search of the Self in Community," 11:30am, AC Recital Hall. Related events are recommended. Before the lecture, read this brief interview of Tipton: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week623/tipton.html

IV. Roadside Religion

3/6 Timothy K. Beal, Roadside Religion, Introduction plus two chapters
Guide: Ray

3/8 Beal, Roadside Religion, two additional chapters
Guide: Ray

Spring Break

3/20 Paper Pause: Bring to class two copies of the following materials: (1) A two-sentence statement of the question your paper will take up. State the question in the first sentence. Then, in the second sentence, state it in a different way. (E.g., "In other words, I want to explore the issue of. . . ") (2) An annotated bibliography of some of the sources you expect to use in your paper. You should by now have selected 2-3 sources which you have actually read and for which you can present a brief annotation explaining what information or insight(s) from each source you plan to use in your paper. Present full bibliographic citations for each source. (3) A brief discussion of what you expect at this point to conclude on the basis of your analysis of the source materials in relation to your guiding question.

Sightings:

V. God and Mammon

3/22 Jeremy Carrette and Richard King, Selling Spirituality, Introduction and ch. 1
Guides:
Sightings:

3/27 Carrette and King, Selling Spirituality, ch. 2
Guides:
Sightings:

3/29 Carrette and King, Selling Spirituality, ch. 3
Guides:
Sightings:

4/3 Carrette and King, Selling Spirituality, ch. 4 and Conclusion
Guides:
Sightings:

4/5 Paper Pause: Bring to class bibliographic annotations for an additional 2-3 sources. Bring also a one-paragraph Statement of Argument in which you set forth your paper's topic or guiding question and its well-informed and thoughtful thesis or main argument. Be prepared to offer a spoken word performance of the content of your Statement. Kidding. Be prepared to share your argument with the class and to respond to our questions.

VI. Religion and Politics

4/10 Jim Wallis, God's Politics Part I
Guides:
Sightings:

4/12 Wallis, God's Politics Part II
Guides:
Sightings:

4/17 Wallis, God's Politics Part III
Stanley Hauerwas, "September 11, 2001: A Pacifist Response"
Guides:
Sightings:

4/19 Wallis, God's Politics Part IV
Guides:
Sightings:

4/24 Wallis, God's Politics Part V
Guides:
Sightings:

4/26 Wallis, God's Politics Part VI
Guide: Ray

5/1 Paper due. Late papers will have grades lowered by one increment (e.g., B to B-) per day.