Course Syllabi
Syllabus 1: Religious Studies 7: Introduction to American Religion
Syllabus 2: Women's Studies 100: Introduction to Multicultural Women's Studies
Religious Studies 7: Introduction to American Religion
Sarah Whedonwhedon@umail.ucsb.edu
Office Hours: T & Th 12:30-1:30
Office: 4431T South Hall
Summer Session A 2006
HSSB 1232
MTWRF 11:00-12:20
Course Description
This course will survey the diversity of religions or religious traditions in America, including Native American, Asian, African-American, Jewish, Roman Catholic, Protestant, and new religious traditions. It also looks at how civil religion and public Protestantism create an American religious consensus. The course asks what is uniquely American about religions practiced in America as well as what is religious about the broader American culture. We will explore particularities of American religious experience through reading personal religious writing such as memoir.
Please be familiar with UCSB's guide to academic dishonesty, which can be found at http://hep.ucsb.edu/people/hnn/conduct/disq.html.
If you have a disability that will require special arrangements please let me know. You may also contact the Disabled Students Program at www.sa.ucsb.edu/dsp/ if you have any questions.
Texts
Catherine L. Albanese, America: Religions and Religion, 3d ed.
Course Reader, available at AS Publications
Course Requirements
- Attendance and Participation (15% of grade) Your prepared and on-time attendance and participation are critical to your success in this course. You are expected to complete all readings and be prepared to discuss them in class. This may also include additional assignments given during the course.
- Midterm (25% of grade) In class July 17.
- Final (25% of grade) In class August 4.
- Final Paper (35% of grade) Due in class August 3.
- Option 1. Autobiography paper. Select and read one (or more) full-length religious autobiography of an American. Write a paper that summarizes the autobiography and analyzes that autobiography in the context of what you have learned in this course about American religions. You might consider the degree to which your subject is representative of his or her religion or ways in which the American oneness changed the individual. How does this individual's religious narrative fit or resist what you have learned about American religions?
- Option 2. Family history paper. Gather information on your family's religious history for at least three generations. This may involve (but does not necessarily require) oral history interviews. Write a paper that recounts this history and analyzes the history in the context of what you have learned in this course about American religions. Consider how beliefs and practices have changed over the years. Have conversions, immigration, contact with the American oneness changed anything? How does your family's religious history fit or resist what you have learned about American religions?
You will write an 8-10 page final paper, due in class on August 3rd. You may select one of two options:
You must refer to course materials in your paper. It may be necessary, but is not required, to do library research on the religion/s considered in your paper. More complete instructions will be discussed in class.
Class Schedule
Week One -- The Early Cast
June 26 Orientation
June 27 America & Religion
Reading: Albanese, 1-19
June 28 Native Americans
Reading: Albanese, 24-48; Reader:
June 29 Jews
Reading: Albanese, 49-72; Reader: Levine
June 30 Roman Catholics
Reading: Albanese, 73-101; Reader: Merton
Week Two -- The Early Cast, continued
July 3 no class, Independence Day ?
July 4 no class, Independence Day
July 5 Protestants
Reading: Albanese, 102-123; Reader: Edwards
July 6 Protestants
Reading: Albanese, 149-180
July 7 African Americans
Reading: Albanese, 191-216; Reader: Raboteau
Week Three -- Made in America
July 10 Mormons
Reading: Albanese, 217-228
July 11 Adventists
Reading: Albanese, 228-232; Reader: Harrison
July 12 Communitarians
Reading: Albanese, 238-249; Reader: Miller
July 13 New Thought Practitioners & Christian Scientists
Reading: Albanese, 233-238 & 269-272
July 14 Spiritualists & Theosophists
Reading: Albanese, 250-269 & 272-280; Reader: Bailey
Week Four -- Eastern Religions
July 17 Midterm
July 18 Eastern Orthodox
Reading: Albanese, 283-292
July 19 Muslims
Reading: Albanese, 292-300; Reader: Malcom X
July 20 Hindus
Reading: Albanese, 301-310; Reader: Pai
July 21 Buddhists
Reading: Albanese, 310-323; Reader: hooks
Week Five -- Expansion and Contraction
July 24 Regional Religion: Appalachia
Reading: Albanese 324-349
July 25 Regional Religion: The West Coast
Reading: Reader: Maffly-Kipp; Reader: Medina & Cadena
July 26 New Age & Neopaganism
Reading: Albanese, 350-369; Reader: Adler
July 27 Fundamentalists and Evangelicals
Reading: Albanese, 369-393; Reader: Colson
July 28 Public Protestantism
Reading: Albanese, 396-431
Week Six -- American Oneness
July 31 Civil Religion
Reading: Albanese, 432-462
Aug 1 Cultural Religion
Reading: Albanese, 463-482 & 496-501
Aug 2 Cultural Religion - Holidays
Reading: Reader: Clark
Aug 3 The Contact Situation
Reading: Albanese, 502-533
Final Paper Due
Aug 4 Final
RS 7: Course Reader -- Summer 2006
Table of Contents
June 29 From Stephanie Wellen Levine, Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers: An Intimate Journey among Hasidic Girls
June 30 From Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain
July 5 Jonathan Edwards excerpts in Hugh T. Kerr and John M. Mulder, eds. Conversions: The Christian Experience
July 7 From Albert J. Raboteau, A Fire In The Bones: Reflections on African-American Religious History
July 11 Barbara G. Harrison in Edwin S. Gaustad, ed. Memoirs of the Spirit
July 12 From Tirzah Miller, Memoir, in Robert S. Fogarty, ed., Desire and Duty at Oneida: Tirzah Miller's Intimate Memoir
July 14 From Alice A. Bailey, The Unfinished Autobiography
July 19 From Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X
July 20 Sona Pai "Under the Mandap" in Angela Jane Fountas, ed., Waking Up American: Coming of Age Biculturally, First-Generation women Reflect on Identity
July 21 bell hooks "Waking Up To Racism" in Thomas A. Tweed and Stephen Prothero, eds. Asian Religions in America: A Documentary History
July 25 Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp "Eastward Ho!: American Religion from the Perspective of the Pacific Rim" in Thomas A. Tweed, ed. Retelling U.S. Religious History
Lara Medina and Gilbert R. Cadena "Dias de lose Muertos: Public Ritual, Community Renewal, and Popular Religion in Los Angeles" in Timothy Matovina and Gary Riebe-Estrella, SVD, eds. Horizons of the Sacred: Mexican Traditions in U.S. Catholicism
July 26 Interview with Margot Adler in Ellen Evert Hopman and Lawrence Bond People of the Earth: The New Pagans Speak Out
July 27 From Charles Colson, Born Again
Aug 2 Cindy Dell Clark "The Christmas Spirit: Santa Claus and Christmas" in Flights of Fancy, Leaps of Faith: Children's Myths in Contemporary America
Women's Studies 100: Introduction to Multicultural Women's Studies
Fall 2007Mon & Wed. 1:30-2:50 - Room P210
Sarah W. Whedon whedon@simmons.edu
Office Hours: Mon & Wed 3:00-4:00, or by appointment Office: MCB C205D
This course offers an introduction to critical issues in the lives of women, and at the same time, demonstrates the multidisciplinary nature of women's studies. In the course we will examine the social construction of gender. We will explore how gender is influenced by race, ethnicity, social class, religion, sexuality, and nationality. We will investigate how we can contribute to and resist normative definitions of femininity and masculinity. We will also explore contemporary or "third wave feminism," contrasting it with the work and ideas from earlier feminist movements, and we will look at the connections between women's studies and activism.
Striking a balance between personal experience and intellectual understanding is an objective of the course, as the integration of women's lived experiences as an important component of their learning has been one of the fundamental innovations of women's studies. At the same time, women's studies emphasize the importance of rigorous analysis in order to understand and act in the world. Thus, a balance of theory and experience-one's own and through class readings and films-is essential in a women's studies classroom.
Required Readings:
G.,E. Anzaldua & K. Analouise, eds., This Bridge We Call Home: Radical Visions for Transformation. New York and London: Routledge, 2002.
Daisy Hernadez and Bushra Rehman, eds., Colonize This! New York: Seal Press, 2002.
E-reserve: Many of the required readings are on reserve as listed on the syllabus.
Journal and newspaper articles may be included during the semester.
Student Accommodations:
Requests for accommodations should be presented at the start of the semester to ensure consistent provision of accommodations. It is required that all disability and accommodation needs be documented with the office of Disability Services and by completing the Student Academic Accommodation Request (SAAR) form located in the Center for Academic Achievement, Suite P304, 1 Place Rd, 617-521-2474. If you have any questions about documenting a disability or requesting accommodations, please make a time when we can discuss these issues privately. The Director of Disability Services, Timothy Rogers (timothy.rogers@simmons.edu), or the Coordinator, Krista Stokes (krista.stokes@simmons.edu), can answer questions that you may have regarding services available to students with disabilities at Simmons.
Assignments
All papers should by double spaced, with 1" margins all around and use APA writing guidelines. See: http://my.simmons.edu/library/bibliography/apa_style.shtml
No Electronic Papers Are Accepted
Late Papers Will Receive a Grade Deduction
Reflection Papers:
There are three reflection papers. For each reflection paper select two pieces of course material (readings or films). Once during the semester one of your pieces of material must be an approved lecture or other event from outside class; these will be announced in class. You will write a short paper that puts the two texts into conversation with each other. For example, you might compare/contrast the authors? main themes or use one piece to comment on the other piece. The content is your choice, but it must be a thoughtful analysis of two pieces of course material (readings or film). Each reflection paper should be 2-3 pages.
Reflection Papers Due Wednesdays: Sept 19, Oct 3, and Nov 7
Midterm Paper:
Take home essay exam paper of 5-8 pages. Questions will be handed out in class.
Midterm Paper Due: Wed., Oct 17Final Paper:
Take home essay exam paper of 10-12 pages. Questions will be handed out in class.
Final Paper Due: Dec 11
Group Projects:
Group projects are a way to examine specific issues that relate to race, gender, and class within women?s studies. Each group will research a selected topic and make a presentation on their findings in class. Think about how the topic interacts with the course materials discussed in class, and/or topics in the media. The group must submit an outline of their presentation no longer than 3 pages. Be creative about the best way to convey your material to your classmates. You may wish to use video, PowerPoint, handouts, etc..
Grading:
Reflection Papers (3) 20%Midterm Paper 25%
Group Project 20%
Final Paper 35%
Total 100%
Course Schedule
9/5/07 Introduction
In-class reading: Excerpt from "Claiming an Education," Adrienne Rich
9/10/07 A Brief Historical Overview
Reserve:
Gender Inequality: Feminist Theories and Politics, Judith Lorber, 1-17
9/12/07 A Brief Historical Overview (cont.)
Read these documents on-line:
Declaration of Sentiments of Resolutions, Seneca Falls: http://ecssba.rutgers.edu/docs/seneca.html
Redstocking Manifesto:
http://fsweb.berry.edu/academic/hass/csnider/berry/hum200/redstockings.htm
The Combahee River Collective Statements:
http://www.buffalostate.edu/orgs/rspms/combahee.html
Film: I Was a Teenage Feminist
9/17/07 The Social Construction of Gender
Reserve:
"'Night to His Day': The Social Construction of Gender," Judith Lorber
"Masculinity as Homophobia: Fear, Shame, and Silence in the Construction of Gender," Michael Kimmel
9/19/07 Multicultural Women?s Studies
Reserve:
"Theorizing Difference from Multicultural Feminism," Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill
This Bridge We Call Home:
Preface, Introduction, and Foreword
First Reflection Paper Due: Wednesday, September 19, 2007
9/24/07 Sex, Gender, & Sexuality
Reserve:
"Everyone's Queer," Leila J. Rupp
"Lusting for Freedom," Rebecca Walker
9/26/07 Sex, Gender, & Sexuality (cont.)
This Bridge We Call Home:
Ch. 19, Young Man Popkin: A Queer Dystopia
Ch.20, Transchildren, Changelings, & Fairies: Living the Dream & Surviving the Nightmare in Contemporary America
10/1/07 Sex, Gender, & Sexuality (cont.)
This Bridge We Call Home:
Ch. 31, Lesbianism, 2000, Cheryl Clark
Ch. 32, "Now that You're a White Man:" Changing Sex in a Postmodern World ? Being, Becoming & Borders, Max Wolf Valerio
Film: You Don't Know Dick
10/3/07 Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Gender, & Sexuality
Colonize This:
Sections: Forward, Introduction, & Family & Community: A Litany For Survival
Browngirl world: queergirl color organizing, sistahood, heartbreak, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
What Happens When Your Hood is the last Stop on the White Flight Express, Taigi Smith
Second Reflection Paper Due: Wednesday, October 3, 2007
10/8/07 Columbus Day Holiday - No Class
11/10/07 Privilege
Reserve:
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, Peggy McIntosh
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?, Beverly Tatum Daniel
10/15/07 Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
Reserve:
Age, Race, Class, & Sex: Women Redefining Difference, Audre Lorde
10/17/07 Struggling With The Boxes
Colonize This:
Love Feminism, but Where's My Hip Hop? Shaping a Black Feminist Identity, Gwendolyn Pough
This Bridge We Call Home:
ch. 16, The Hipness of Mediation: A Hyphenated German Existence
ch. 55, Being The Bridge: A Solitary Black Woman?s Position
ch. 57, Missing Ellen & Finding the Inner Life: Reflections of a Latina Lesbian Feminist on the Politics of the Academic Closet
Midterm Paper Due: Wednesday, October 17, 2007
10/22/07 Disciplining the Female Body
Reserve:
Sex, Lies, and Advertising Gloria Steinem
If Men Could Menstruate, Gloria Steinem
Selling Hot Pussy: Representations of Black Female Sexuality in the Cultural Marketplace, bell hooks
Film: Killing Us Softly, III
10/24/07 Disability
Reserve:
Freaks and Queers, Eli Clare
10/29/07 Reproduction
Reserve:
Beyond "A Woman's Right to Choose": Feminist Ideas about Reproductive Rights, Rosalind Petchesky
10/31/07 Reproduction (cont.)
Reserve:
Motherhood, Allison Abner
Colonize This:
Nassan Ka anak Ko? A Queer Filipina-American Feminist?s Tale of Abortion and Self-Recovery
Film: The Pill
11/5/07 Households and Families: Work & Poverty
Reserve:
Globetrotting Sneaker, Cynthia Enloe
11/7/07 Households and Families: Work & Poverty (cont.)
This Bridge We Call Home:
Notes from a Welfare Queen In the Ivory Tower
Colonize This: Section 2 Our Mothers, Refugees from World on Fire
Third Reflection Paper Due: Wednesday, November 7, 2007
11/12/07 Veterans Day Holiday - No Class
11/14/07 Women & Violence
Reserve:
Fraternities & Collegiate Rape Culture: Why Are Some Fraternities More Dangerous Places for Women?, A. Ayers Boswell and Joan Z. Spade
11/19/07 Women & Violence (cont.)
Reserve:
Sex and War: Fighting Men, Comfort Women, and the Military-Sexual Complex, Joane Nagel
Thanksgiving Holiday 11/21-11/25 - No Class
11/26/07 Pornography and Sex Work
Reserve:
I Buy it For the Articles: Playboy Magazine and the Sexualization of Consumerism, Gail Dines
Feminism, Sex Workers, and Human Rights, Priscilla Alexander
11/28/07 Pornography and Sex Work (cont.)
Reserve: Inventing Sex Work, Carol Leigh aka Scarlot Harlot
Film: Live Nude Girls Unite
12/3/07 International Activism
Reserve:
The Status of Women Under International Human Rights Law and the 1995 U.N World Conference on Women, Beijing, China, Margaret Plattner
Feminist Problematization of Rights Language and Universal Conceptualizations of Human Rights, Isbelle Barker and Jasbir Kaur Puar
International Networking for Women's Human Rights, Charlotte Bunch with Peggy Antrobus, Samatha Frost, and Niamh Reilly
Group Presentations begin
12/10/07 Last Day of Classes
Reserve:
Daisy Hernandez, "Bringing Feminism a la Casa"
This Bridge We Call Home: ch. 80, now let us shift, Gloria Anzaldua
Group Presentations continue
Final Paper Due 11/11/07