Missouri Western State College
Division
of Liberal Arts and Sciences
ENG
321: Literature and Religion
Class
meets 1 pm MWF in JGM 105
Fall
2003
Instructor
Information
Dr. Karen U. Fulton, Professor
Tel:
271-4317(work) 1-660-582-8830 (home)
Email:
fulton@griffon.mwsc.edu
Office:
Eder 222-H
Office
Hours: 10-11 MWF, 10-12 T; other hours by app.
Required
Texts
Applebaum,
Stuart, ed. Bhagavadgita. New
York: Dover, 1993.
Bulfinch,
Thomas. Bulfinch’s Greek&Roman... NY: Dover, 2000.
Diamant,
Anita. The Red Tent. New York:
Picador, 1997.
Eliot,
T.S. The Waste Land. . . N.Y.: Dover, 1998.
FitzGerald,
Edward. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. NY:
Dover, 1990.
Frobenius,
Leo and Douglas C. Fox. African
Genesis. NY: Dover, 1999.
Hesse,
Hermann. Siddhartha. New York:
Dover Thrift, 1999.
Jeffrey,
Arthur, trans. The Koran: Selected Suras. NY:
Dover, 2001.
Muller,
F. Max, trans. Wisdom of the Buddha. NY:
Dover, 2000.
Said,
Kurban. Ali and Nino. New York: Anchor, 1937.
Tagore,
Rabindranath. Gitanjali. New York:
Dover, 2000.
Other
Required Supplies
·
Access to word
processor with spell-checker; all submitted papers must be word processed.
·
Access to the internet
for reports.
·
A 3-ring binder (spine
no greater than 1/2") for submission of end of semester portfolio.
English 321
objectives:
1. Understand the ethical and cultural questions that
underpin the creation and reception of literature.
2. Appreciate the interconnectedness of literature and
religion in diverse times and diverse cultures.
3. Explore the internet as a source of information about
religion and literature.
4. Appreciate interconnectedness of recurring tropes
between religious/literary cultures.
English 321
means:
1.
Class discussion;
2. View and listen to video/DVD presentations of
material;
3. Individual oral report on assigned topic and short
written summary;
4. Panel oral report and subsequent publishable paper;
5. Two shorter out-of-class papers on assigned topics;
and
6. An end of semester portfolio.
Course Policies
Attendance
Policies
Class
attendance is critical; however, I do not record absences every day. I consider
3 recorded class absences reasonable; more than 3 absences (excused or not) may
result in penalty to the overall grade. More than 6 recorded absences places
the student in danger of failing the course. A student who is not prepared for
class is considered absent and will be so recorded.
The final session is
required (December 15, 2 pm). Missing it carries a heavy penalty--failure
for the course. (Instead of a traditional "final," you will write to
next semester's class, present your portfolio to this semester's class, and
receive your copy of the class publication.)
Academic
Honesty Policy
Students must
submit their own work. Students who are guilty of plagiarism or cheating in any
form will automatically receive a zero for the assignment involved and will
place themselves in jeopardy of failing the course.
Student
Disability Policy
Students who have a
disability that might prevent their maximum performance in the class should
make this known to the instructor immediately so that provisions may be made
for any assistance needed.
Grading Policies
Mid-term
grades
Mid-term
grades will be based on completed class attendance, completion of required
work, and class participation.
Final grade
The
grade will be determined on the basis of a portfolio submitted on November 21,
2003. This portfolio will consist of at least three finished and revised pieces
of writing (in addition to the self-reflective essay). One of the pieces must
have begun in response to a class assignment and be designated as the class
demonstration paper. All pieces may
initially have been class generated.
Portfolio
During
the first two weeks of class, more detailed portfolio specifications will be
handed out and previous portfolios will be brought to class.
You will self-grade
the portfolio when you submit it on November 21, 2003. I will meet with you
individually November 24 and 25 to grade the portfolio and we will tape that
conference. You then have the option of revising and resubmitting the portfolio
on or before the last class (December 8, 2003).
You have only one
opportunity to resubmit a portfolio.
Minimal Passing
Standards
In order to pass (grade of
"D") the class the student must
Failure to complete any one of these results
in failure for the course.
Learning Activities and Projects
Word
Processing
In
order to facilitate publishing, all drafts of papers (including the summaries of
the oral reports) must be word processed.
Deadlines for
oral reports
It is your
responsibility to have material by deadlines assigned. No provisions are made
to incorporate missed oral reports later in the semester. It is vital you are
ready to speak on the day assigned and that you have your summary ready at the
due date.
Deadlines for
written work
Papers are scheduled so I can do three
readings of your work and return a response to you as quickly as humanly
possible. If the work does not come in at the time assigned, it may not be
returned to you until the end of the semester. Credit will not be given until
the instructor has commented on the work.
Feedback Mode
Letter grades are
usually not given on the writing assignments. Instead feedback is given by way
of an audio-tape containing my spoken on your paper, written comments on your
paper, and a rough ranking (by thirds) of your paper in comparison to the other
papers submitted on the assignment.
Caveat
These indicators
are not convertible to letter grades. I welcome conferences with anyone who has
questions about the paper, the tape, or how the paper might fit into the final
portfolio.
Minimal Standards for Projects:a project will be returned unread and uncredited if
Short Oral
Presentation
From November
12 through November 19, we will be
studying diverse religious influences upon and within one literary text, T. S.
Eliot’s The Waste Land. Each
class period, 4 or 5 students will be assigned to present to the class an oral
report about an assigned topic. Cards
listing these assignments will be distributed at our third class so you will
have time to adequately prepare the materials.
In your report, you will talk about the results of your research to the
class without referring to notes or reading prepared remarks. Your job is to
share your insights into and evaluation of this text.
At your portfolio
conference, you must have a 1-2 page summation of your presentation to give to
the instructor, who will add it to the book.
Panel Oral
Presentation
At our third
session, you will be grouped with 3-4 other students to explore a
literature/religion relationship which we do not have time to cover. These reports will be presented to the rest
of the class in October, usually on a Friday and are listed in the calendar
attached. If you have a interest in a
specific area, drop me a note with your name on it and which panel you wish to
participate in. On November 7, 2003 you
will turn in a paper growing out of this presentation. This paper must be in correct form so that
it may be duplicated in a book to be distributed to other members of the
class.
Calendar
Week 1 M 8/25 Introduction, discussion of syllabus, rules for
class, hand-out of Genesis, Chapter 34 in multiple versions.
W 8/27 Prior to class, student must have
read the entire book of Genesis in any version they wish to use focusing on the
story of Dinah. Class will discuss this
text and the concept of midrash.
F 8/29 Genesis.
Week 2 M
LABOR DAY
W 9/3 The Red Tent
F 9/5 The Red
Tent
Week 3 M 9/8 The
Red Tent
W 9/10 The
Red Tent
F 9/12 Bullfinch/African Genesis
Week 4 M 9/15
Bullfinch/African Genesis
W 9/17 Paper #1 due on The Red Tent;
continue Bullfinch/African Genesis
F 9/19 Koran
“Selected Suras”; Ali and Nino
Week 5 M 9/22 Koran “Selected Suras”; Ali and Nino
W 9/24 Koran “Selected Suras”; Ali and
Nino
F 9/26 Koran “Selected Suras”; Ali and
Nino
Week 6 M 9/29 Koran “Selected Suras”; Ali and Nino; Fitzgerald,
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
W 10/1 Ali
and Nino; Fitzgerald, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
F 10/3
NO CLASS; Instructor will be
away.
Week 7 M10/6 Wisdom of
the Buddha; Hesse Siddhartha.
W 10/08 Wisdom of the Buddha; Hesse Siddhartha
F 10/10 Panel # 1 Confucian Philosophy and
Literature
Paper #2 due on Islam and the two texts we
have studied.
Week 8 M
10/13 Columbus Day NO CLASS
W 10/15 Wisdom
of the Buddha; Hesse Siddhartha
F 10/17 Panel #2 Lao Tze, Tao Te Ching, Taoism and New Age literature
Week 9 M
10/20 Wisdom of the Buddha; Hesse Siddhartha
W 10/22 Wisdom of the Buddha: Hesse Siddhartha
F 10/24 Panel #3
Religion and Literature of Native America (North and South)
Week 10 M 10/27 The Bhagavadgita and Tagore, Gitanjali
W 10/29 The
Bhagavadgita and Tagore, Gitanjali
F 10/31 Panel Report #4: Christianity and Literature
Week 11 M 11/3 The Bhagavadgita and Tagore, Gitanjali
W 11/5 The Bhagavadgita and Tagore, Gitanjali
F 11/7 Group written reports due. The Bhagavadgita and Tagore, Gitanjali
Week 12 M 11/10. Individual reports 1. Cumaean sybil, 2. The Burial of the Dead, 3. Son of Man, 4. The Tarot pack, and 5. the
Wheel of Fortune.
W 11/12 Individual reports 6. Fertility myths (Isis and Osiris), 7.
Cupidon and Eros, 8. Philomel, 9. Psalms, 10.
The Fire Sermon If Eliot.
F 11/14
Individual reports 11. Grail
legends,12. Tireseas,13. [St.] Magnus
Martyr, 14. Die Gotterdammerung 15. Dante’s Divine Comedy
Week 13 M 11/17 Individual
reports 16. St. Augustine, 17. Rock, 18. Water, 19. Trinitities and thirds, and
20. DA and the Upanishads.
W 11/19 Touch base class on the
portfolio. Continue individual reports
21-26
F 11/21
Portfolio due.
Week 14 M 11/24 No class—portfolio conferences (will also be meeting
tomorrow); Thanksgiving break begins Tuesday 11/25 at 4 pm.
Week 15 M
12/1 The Mysteries
W 12/3 View The
Mysteries
F 12/5 View The Mysteries
M 12/8
Last class. Last day to submit a
portfolio.
12/15
Class Final 2:00 pm. .