Introduction

Conventional classroom study of religion is a valuable activity. Reading and discussing the texts of the world's great religions—the Bible, the Qur'an, the Bhagavad Gita, the Tao Te Ching—is a worthwhile activity. At Riverside Community College, Humanities 10, World Religions, takes this approach to the world's major historical traditions. However, another way of studying religion involves actually observing and experiencing the life of the religious traditions which surround us. One would still need to do some reading in order to be prepared to understand what one experiences, but if “a picture is worth a thousand words,” observation of religious life will provide information that simply reading a book cannot convey: this class will take advantage of online instruction to facilitate direct observation of religious belief and practice.

Course Description & Format

One of the things that makes teaching Humanities 10, World Religions, satisfying is the fact that most students take the course out of genuine personal interest, not just to meet some academic requirement. I hope that you are taking this class with similar curiosity and interest, not just because this is an online course.

Visiting and observing what happens in various religious settings is an explicit formal requirement of the course. If you are unable to comply with this requirement, you should not take the course because you will not pass.

Course goals

(1) you'll learn about actual religious practice in our community through both reading and personal observation; (2) you'll become a more independent learner through the self-discipline that success in this course will require; (3) you'll learn more about the resources available for the study of religion on the world wide web.

Prerequisite & Workload

While there is no prerequisite for this course, all formal requirements of this section require good writing skills, and eligibility for English 1A would be a distinct advantage—having completed English 1A would be better still. Some familiarity with the major ideas of different religious traditions would also be useful, and having completed Humanities 10 would be good preparation. There is a fair amount of reading for this course. Students should expect to spend at least 10-12 hours per week on work related to the course. Note that the time normally devoted to class attendance will be shifted to your attendance at various religious gatherings.

Grading

Grades in the class will be determined on the following basis: weekly quizzes, 25%; weekly postings, 25%; course essay, 25%; critique of other essays, 25%. Cheating on any course requirement is grounds for your failing the course.

Quizzes

We will take weekly quizzes whose intent is to "encourage" you to keep up with the reading, so it is important that you don't procrastinate. Once you begin the quiz, you have 30 minutes to respond to two questions (you'll have four to choose from). The software does not disconnect you when the thirty minutes have elapsed. The quizzes will ask questions about specific aspects of the week's reading. You must complete the quizzes by Thursday noon--the software will bar your access once noon Thursday arrives. I will score each question (two per posting) from 0-5. For each question, you'll receive 5 points for an answer which is correct, generally accurate in spelling and grammar, and of appropriate length (at least 125 words each--approximately one half of a double-spaced typewritten page); you will receive fewer points for answers which are lacking in one of these areas. I will not only score your quizzes but comment on the strength and weakness of your work: these comments are available by returning to the quiz and reviewing your answers and my comments. There are 14 quizzes and thus 140 points possible for quizzes.

If you miss a quiz, you may make up most of the points for up to two missed quizzes by making an additional Reflect post for the same lesson. (Quizzes are due by Thursdays but the Reflect post is not due until the following Tuesday). The additional post should also be at least 250 words and not duplicate the content of your primary post.

reflections

Students must complete weekly reflect postings; reflections usually require that you personally observe something related to the readings of the course: attending various church services, visiting the Buddhist temple in Hacienda Heights, the mosque in Riverside or San Bernardino, etc. Reflect essays should generally be around 250-500 words (the equivalent of 1-2 double spaced, typewritten pages. 10 points are available for each week's Reflect postings and 140 points total. You may receive 7 points for your post and an additional 3 points for a post you make as a response to another student's post. Your responding posts should be at least 100 words.

essays

Students will write two five-seven page essays for the course. The first will be due by April 21, the second by June 6 . For the first essay, you should contrast three of the traditions (consider each week a separate tradition) we've studied around one of the four C's (creed, code, cultus, communityÑthese terms will make sense after you read Albanese's introduction). The second essay should compare & contrast one Christian and one non-Christian tradition in terms of one of the four C's. The essays are also worth 140 points each. The following table indicates how letter grades for essays will be converted to points and how many points are necessary for each level in your grade for the course as a whole.

Send mail to richard.mahon@rcc.edu with questions or comments about this web site.