ContemporaryReligiousThought(REL24001,Fall2012) WisterHall304 [MWF11:00am11:50am] Instructor:Dr.AnthonyPaulSmith(smithanthony@lasalle.edu) McShainHallRoom211 7739319570(cell) Officehours:MWF10:0011:00am,T11:00am12:00pmorbyappointment CourseDescription WhereisGod?WhereisHe?someonebehindmeasked... Formorethanhalfanhour[thechildinthenoose]stayedthere,struggling betweenlifeanddeath,dyinginslowagonyunderoureyes.Andwehadtolook himfullintheface.HewasstillalivewhenIpassedinfrontofhim.Histongue wasstillred,hiseyeswerenotyetglazed. Behindme,Iheardthesamemanasking: WhereisGodnow?

w? AndIheardavoicewithinmeanswerhim: WhereisHe?HereHeisHeishanginghereonthisgallows....ElieWiesel Miserystheriveroftheworld.TomWaits Theexperienceofsufferingisoneofthemostprofoundinallofcreation.Peoplewho undergosufferingoftentrytofindmeaninginwhytheyaresuffering.Someturnto religionforthatmeaning,othersturnawayafterfeelingthatthemeaningofferedthere ishollow.Butineachcase,thereissomerelationshipbetweenabstractthoughtand suffering,betweentryingtomakesenseofwhatallofthisisandtheoverwhelming experiencethatseemstooutrunourabilitytoaccountforit.Thiscoursewillexamine theproblemofsufferingandabstractthoughtbylookingatthebookofJob(thoughtto bethefirstoftheHebrewScripturestobewritten)andcontemporaryresponsestothat ancienttext.Theclassisecumenicalinthegreatestsenseofthatword,meaningweare notjustgoingtoreadChristiansresponses,butwillreadtheresponsesofContemporary Jewish,Muslimandsecularthinkersaswell.Wemaynotfindanyanswerforour suffering,butwemayhave,bytheendofitall,createdsomethinginthemidstofit. LearningOutcomes Uponcompletingthecoursethestudentshouldbeableto: engagewithavarietyofreligiousdiscoursesandpractices; understandandusedifferenttheoreticalmethodsinreligiousthought; identifyandexplainthedifferentethicalandsocialpositionsarisingoutof variousformsofreligiousexperience; beabletoidentifythecentralthemesandargumentsofthetextsandstatethem inaclearandsympatheticwayinclassdiscussionthroughparticipationand leadingthediscussion; beabletoformulatecriticismsinawaythatisattentivetotheoriginalauthors intentandargumentation. GradeSummary Therewillbetwotests(comprisedofshortanswerquestionsandessayquestions),
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discussions,leadingaclassseminarandpreparingaprotocol,andafinalpaper(10 pages,doublespaced).Eachtestwillcountfor20%(foratotalof40%)ofyourfinal grade,leadinggroupdiscussionwillcountfor20%,thefinalpaperwillcountfor30%, andfinally10%forclassparticipation(whichincludesattendance). Itisimportantthatyoudonotmissaclassandespeciallyanexam.Anymakeupforthe inclassexamswillonlybegivenduetoextremesituations,andthisisdoneveryrarely. Youmusthavepriorpermissionfromtheinstructoricaltotakeamakeup. ThepaperisdueviaBlackboard(informationonhowtosubmitwillbegivenlaterinthe semester)bytheendoftheday(11:59PM)onFriday,May10th.Thepaperistobe submittedelectronicallyonly.IpreferthatthepaperbeaPDF.Detailsconcerningthe paper(itsformatandcontent)willbepassedoutafterthefirstexam.Latepaperswill notbeaccepted.Cheating/plagiarismwillbedealtwithastheseriousinfractionsthat theyare,possiblyleadingtofailure;seetheAcademicIntegrityPolicyfordetails (availableontheportal). Thegradescaleisasfollows:10095=A,9490=A,8987=B+,8684=B,8380=B, 7977=C+,7674=C,7370=C,6967=D+,6664=D,6360D,59andbelow=F CellPhone,LaptopandTabletPolicy WhileIunderstandtheaddictiontocellphones,especiallysmartphones,thematerial wearestudyingisverydifficultandthereforerequiresyourundividedattention.Ifyou arecaughtusingyourphoneduringalectureyouwillbegivenonewarning(either verballyorbyemail).Ifyouarecaughtasecondtimeormoreyouwillfaceareduction offivepointsforeachoffensefromyourhighestscoringpieceofcoursework.Pleaseturn allcellphonesoffduringthelecture.IfIcandoit,socanyou. Laptopsandtabletsareacceptableintheclass,butfornotetakingonly.Ifyouappear nottobepayingattentionbecauseyouredistractedbysomethingnonlecturerelated onyourlaptopthenIwillaskyoutoreadthelastlineofnotesyouhavejustwritten.If youcantthenyouwillbegivenawarning(eitherverballyorbyemail).Ifyouare caughtasecondtimeormoreyouwillfaceareductionoffivepointsforeachoffense fromyourhighestscoringpieceofcoursework. Blackboard PleasemakesurethatyouchecktheemailattachedtoyourBlackboardprofile.Iwillbe sendingemailstothataddress.Allcoursedocuments,powerpoints,audiooflectures, andotherhelpfullinkswillbeavailableontheBlackboardcoursepage. RemarksonLectures,Readings,Films,andClassroomDiscussions Wearedealingwithadultthemesandarangeofdifferentbeliefsystemsinthisclass. Youwillbeexposedtodifferentwaysofthinkingbothinthereadings,thelectures,and discussionsinclass.Attimesyoumayfindyourselfoffendedbyoneormoreoftheideas presentedandwhenyouarenotoffendedafellowclassmatemaywellbe.Thisisok! Whileofcourseverbalorphysicalabuse(namecalling,useofhatespeechdirectedat anotherstudent,etc.)isstrictlynottolerated,wehavetogiveeachotherpermissionto beoffensive(withintheboundsofrespectfuldiscourse)andtobeoffended.By remaininginthiscourseyouareagreeingtohaverespectfulconversationsaboutawide rangeofdifferentbeliefswhichmaysometimesbecomeheated. Thisgoesespeciallyforthefilmsandclipswewillwatchinclass.AttimesIhavechosen materialthatmaybeoffensivetosome.SomefilmswillberatedRandsomeclipsfrom TVshowswillberatedTVMA.Byremainingenrolledinthisclassafterthefirstsession
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youareenteringintoanonverbalagreementthatyouunderstandandacceptyouwill beaskedtowatchthesefilmsandclips. RequiredTexts(Alltextsareavailablefromthebookstore,thoughsometimesmaybe cheapertobuythemonline.Pleasechecktomakesureyouarebuyingthecorrectedition.) CourseReader(pdfsonBlackboard): o ElieWiesel,MessengersofGod o MartinBuber,ThePropheticFaith o PhilippeNemo,JobandtheExcessofEvil o RenGirard,JobasFailedScapegoat TheBookofJobinRobertAlter(trans.),TheWisdomBooks(Norton) CGJung,AnswertoJob(Princeton) AntonioNegri,TheLaborofJob(Duke) GustavoGutirrez,OnJob(Orbis) NavidKermani,TheTerrorofGod(Polity)

OutlineofCourseandReadingSchedule Readingslistedaretobereadforthatclassperiod.IfthereadingislistedunderSeptember 14th,itistobereadpriortotheSeptember14thsessionofclass.Thescheduleand proceduresforthiscoursearesubjecttochangeintheeventofextenuatingcircumstances; changeswillbeannouncedinclass. Eachclasswillconsistoflectureandorganizedgroupdiscussionofthetext. January14th Introduction January16th Job,pp.1170. January18th Job,pp.71126 January21st NoClassMLKJrDay January23rd Job,pp.127179 January25th Wiesel,pp.211236(onBlackboard) January28th Buber,pp.183202(onBlackboard) January30th Nemo,pp.8199(onBlackboard) February1st SeminarGroup1 February4th Gutirrez,pp.xi10 February6th Gutirrez,pp.1130 February8th Gutirrez,pp.3149 February11th Gutirrez,pp.5166 February13th Gutirrez,pp.6781 February15th Gutirrez,pp.82103
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February18th February20th February22nd February25th February27th March1st March4th8th March11th March13th March15th

SeminarGroup2 Jung,pp.329 Jung,pp.2956 Test#1 Jung,pp.5782 Jung,pp.82108 NoClass(MidSemesterHoliday) Girard(ArticleonBlackboard) Girard(articleonBlackboard) SeminarGroup3

March18th Kermani,pp.230 March20th Kermani,pp.3057 March22nd Kermani,pp.5793 March25th Kermani,pp.93126 March27th Kermani,pp.126155 March29thApril1stNoClassEasterBreak April3rd Kermani,pp.155179 April5th Kermani,pp.180206 April8th Kermani,pp.206222 April10th SeminarGroup4 Negri,pp.xvii9 April12th Negri,pp.929 April15th FilmTBA(usethesedaystogetaheadonyourreadingaswell) April17th FilmTBA April19th SeminarGroup5 April22nd Negri,pp.2947 April24th Negri,pp.4869

April26th April29th May1st May3rd May10th FinalPaper

Negri,pp.6991 Negri,pp.91107 SeminarGroup6 Test#2 FinalPaperdue(bymidnight)

Thepaper(2500words,whichisaround10pages,normal12ptfont,double spaced,normalmarginswithcitations)(informationonhowtosubmitwillbegiven laterinthesemester)bytheendoftheday(11:59PM)onFriday,May10th.Thepaper istobesubmittedelectronicallyonly.IpreferthatthepaperbeaPDF.Youcansavethe paperasaPDFinWordbyclickingSaveasandselectingPDFwhereitsaysSaveas type.Latepaperswillnotbeacceptedexceptforextremesituations. Cheating/plagiarismwillbedealtwithastheseriousinfractionsthattheyare,most likelyleadingtofailure;seetheStudentHandbookfordetails.

Prompts: 1. CompareindetailanytworeadingsoftheBookofJobwevereadinthe course.Forexample,butnotlimitedtotheseexamples,thispapercan lookatthedifferencebetweentheChristianandJewishreadingsby focusingonGutierrezandWeisel,oreventhedifferencebetweenthe ChristianreadingofGutierrezandGirard,orthedifferencebetween NegrissecularreadingscomparedwithKermanisIslamicone. 2. WriteanessayonthequestionoffaithandtheBookofJobthatengages withoneofthereadingswevediscussedinclass.Thispapershould investigatethemeaningoffaith(sowhatdoesitreallymeantohavefaith inGod)anditsrelationshiptosuffering.Job,remember,doesnotsimply accepthissuffering,butdemandsaresponsefromGod.Thislooksvery differentfromasimplyfideisticfaith. 3. Writeanessayontheologicalmethodthatexaminesthewaywedo theologybycomparingthemethodspresentinthespeechesofJobs friendsandJobsresponseswiththemethodpresentinoneortwoofthe bookswehaveread.Thiswillrequireyoutoanalyzethesetexts themselvestoseehowtheyengagewiththeirtradition,reason,and sufferingpresentintheworld. 4. Chooseyourownadventure(mustspeak/email/meetwithmepriorto beginningresearchonyourtopic).
Youmustengagewithtextsinyourpaperandhaveabibliography!Citationsare necessaryandextraresearchwillalsobenecessary.Inyourbibliographyyoumust includeatleastonejournalarticle.Usewhateversystemofcitationyouarecomfortable withbutitmustremainconsistent.Ifyouareunfamiliarwithcitationsusethesystem ontheothersideofthispaper.Agoodruleofthumbisthatyoushouldhaveatleasttwo citationsperpage.
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Thisisauniversitylevelresearchpaperandyoumusttreatitassuch.This meansyoumustreadBOOKS.DonotquotefromDictionary.com,Biography.com,or aboveallWikipedia.com.ThiswillresultinanautomaticCasthehighest gradeforthepaper.Ifyouareunfamiliarwithbooks,gowheretheylive,inthe library,andtalktoalibrarian.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutappropriate sourcespleasecontactme.

Rememberanessayhasabeginning,amiddle,andanend.Itshouldhaveaclearthesis statement.Itshouldtakeeverythingitisarguingandrelateitbacktothatthesis statement.Youshouldalsofeelfreetotryandwritecreativelyaslongasyoustaywithin theboundsofpresentinganargument.Istronglyencourageyoutosetupmeetings withmetotalkaboutyourpaperatleasttwoweekspriortoitsduedate.

Citations: Book Oneauthor (Firsttimecitinginafootnote):MichaelPollan,TheOmnivoresDilemma: ANaturalHistoryofFourMeals(NewYork:Penguin,2006),99100. (Afterthefirstcitation):Pollan,OmnivoresDilemma,3. (Bibliography):Pollan,Michael.TheOmnivoresDilemma:ANatural HistoryofFourMeals.NewYork:Penguin,2006. Twoormoreauthors 1.GeoffreyC.WardandKenBurns,TheWar:AnIntimateHistory,1941 1945(NewYork:Knopf,2007),52. 2.WardandBurns,War,5961. Ward,GeoffreyC.,andKenBurns.TheWar:AnIntimateHistory,1941 1945.NewYork:Knopf,2007. Fortranslatedbooks 1. Gabriel Garca Mrquez, Love in the Time of Cholera, trans. Edith Grossman (London: Cape, 1988), 24255. 2. Garca Mrquez, Cholera, 33. Garca Mrquez, Gabriel. Love in the Time of Cholera. Translated by Edith Grossman. London: Cape, 1988.

Journal article
In a note, list the specific page numbers consulted, if any. In the bibliography, list the page range for the whole article. 1.JoshuaI.Weinstein,TheMarketinPlatosRepublic,ClassicalPhilology 104(2009):440. 2.Weinstein,PlatosRepublic,45253. Weinstein,JoshuaI.TheMarketinPlatosRepublic.ClassicalPhilology 104(2009):43958.