| Date | Block 1 | Block 2 | Coursework / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter 1: Beginning Your Study of World Religions | |||
| Tue Aug 18 | Course Introduction / Orientation | Students Work on Mapping Worldview | Introduce Yourself due Aug. 18 |
| Thu Aug 20 | Ch 1 · Lecture 1 · Beginning Your Study of World Religions Foundations · slides 1–15 |
Ch 1 · Lecture 2 · Building Blocks & Definitions Building Blocks: definitions · slides 1–10 |
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| Tue Aug 25 | Ch 1 · Lecture 3 · Building Blocks & Definitions Building Blocks: myth, ritual & sacred · slides 11–25 |
Ch 1 · Lecture 4 · Theories, Methods & Application Theories & Methods: core approaches · slides 1–16 |
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| Thu Aug 27 | Ch 1 · Lecture 5 · Theories, Methods & Application Theories & Methods: critical application · slides 17–27 |
Sacred Noodle Practice Workshop | Aug. 28: Ch. 1 Quiz; Mapping Your Worldview; Sacred Noodle practice |
| Chapter 3: Hinduism | |||
| Tue Sep 1 | Hinduism Documentary | Ch 3 · Lecture 1 · Encountering Hinduism Historical foundations: Indus Valley · slides 1–14 |
Documentary introduces Hinduism |
| Thu Sep 3 | Ch 3 · Lecture 2 · Encountering Hinduism Vedic foundations, caste & transition · slides 15–30 |
Ch 3 · Lecture 3 · Core Beliefs and Paths to Liberation Core beliefs and paths to liberation · slides 1–14 |
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| Tue Sep 8 | Ch 3 · Lecture 4 · Core Beliefs and Paths to Liberation Bhakti, deities, Goddess traditions & Tantra · slides 15–27 |
Ch 3 · Lecture 5 · The Bhagavad Gita and Contemporary Applications Bhagavad Gita & contemporary applications · slides 1–17 |
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| Thu Sep 10 | Video Documentary: Sacred Journeys with Bruce Feiler, Episode 5: Kumbh Mela · purchased on Amazon Prime | Entire class period | |
| Chapter 5: Buddhism | |||
| Tue Sep 15 | Buddhism Documentary | Ch 5 · Lecture 1 · From Awakening to Tradition Foundations, Sangha, spread & Theravada · slides 1–25 |
Documentary introduces Buddhism |
| Thu Sep 17 | Life of the Buddha | Ch 5 · Lecture 2 · The Mahayana Revolution Mahayana, Pure Land & Zen · slides 1–14 |
Video precedes the Mahayana lecture |
| Tue Sep 22 | Ch 5 · Lecture 3 · The Mahayana Revolution Vajrayana · slides 15–24 |
Ch 5 · Lecture 4 · Symbols & Sacred Texts Symbols, statuary & mindfulness · slides 1–9 |
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| Thu Sep 24 | Chapter 5: Buddhism Lecture (continued) |
Buddhism video | Sep. 25: Ch. 5 Quiz; Dhammapada; Buddhism Stream & Discuss |
| Tue Sep 29 | No Class — Instructor Personal Day | ||
| Thu Oct 1 | Chapter 5: Buddhism Buddhism unit completed |
Buddhism classroom unit ends | |
| Chapter 7: Daoism and Confucianism | |||
| Tue Oct 6 | Confucius: Words of Wisdom | Ch 7 · Lecture 1 · Encountering Confucianism Confucianism: ethics, ritual & social self · first half |
Exam 1 opens; schedule revised Oct. 6 |
| Thu Oct 8 | Ch 7 · Lecture 1 (continued) · Encountering Confucianism Confucianism: ethics, ritual & social self · finish |
Ch 7 · Lecture 2 · Encountering Daoism Daoism: Laozi, Dao, De & wu-wei · slides 1–10 |
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| Tue Oct 13 | Ch 7 · Lecture 3 · Encountering Daoism Zhuangzi and Daoist freedom · slides 11–20 |
Ch 7 · Lecture 4 · Historical Developments Mencius, Xunzi, Han & examinations · slides 1–14 |
|
| Thu Oct 15 | Ch 7 · Lecture 5 · Historical Developments Neo-Confucianism, religious Daoism & spread · slides 15–29 |
Sacred Texts – Chinese Traditions Confucianism & Daoism |
Chinese Traditions Sacred Texts in class (Block 2) Oct. 16: Ch. 7 Quiz; Chinese Traditions Sacred Texts; Stream & Discuss |
| Chapter 10: Judaism | |||
| Tue Oct 20 | Documentary: Religions of the World: Judaism Chapter 10: Judaism begins |
Exam 1 due Oct. 20 | |
| Thu Oct 22 | Ch 10 · Lecture 1 · Judaism: Origins, Exodus, Temple & Diaspora | Ch 10 · Lecture 2 · Judaism: God, Covenant, Holiness & Hope | |
| Tue Oct 27 | Ch 10 · Lecture 1 (continued) · Judaism: Origins, Exodus, Temple & Diaspora Judaism: Origins, Exodus, Temple & Diaspora · finish |
Ch 10 · Lecture 2 · Judaism: God, Covenant, Holiness & Hope Judaism: God, Covenant, Holiness & Hope · Section 1 |
Video shown: Understanding the Jewish Diaspora and the Roots of Antisemitism (instructor video) |
| Thu Oct 29 | Ch 10 · Lecture 3 · Judaism: Text, Worship & Sacred Practice Judaism: Text, Worship & Sacred Practice |
Hebrew Bible & Rabbinic Wisdom Analysis | Nov. 1: Ch. 10 Quiz; Sacred Texts; Judaism Stream & Discuss; Haunted History enrichment + video quiz Christianity documentaries remain homework |
| Man's Inhumanity to Man: The Holocaust & Genocide | |||
| Tue Nov 3 | Ch 10b · Lecture 1 · Man’s Inhumanity to Man: The Holocaust and Night and Fog The Holocaust |
Night and Fog (Alain Resnais, 1956, ~32 min) | Two-day unit following Judaism |
| Thu Nov 5 | Ch 10b · Lecture 2 · Man’s Inhumanity to Man: History of Genocide Genocide |
Ch 10b · Lecture 3 · Man’s Inhumanity to Man: The Problem of Human Evil The Question of Human Evil |
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| Chapter 11: Christianity | |||
| Tue Nov 10 | Ch 11 · Lecture 1 · Christianity: Origins & Historical Development Chapter 11: Christianity begins |
Chapter 11, Lecture 2 | |
| Thu Nov 12 | Chapter 11, Lecture 3 | Chapter 11, Lecture 4 | |
| Tue Nov 17 | Chapter 11, Lecture 5 | New Testament & Nicene Creed Analysis | Christianity classroom unit ends; Christianity coursework due Nov. 20 |
| Chapter 12: Islam | |||
| Thu Nov 19 | Chapter 12, Lecture 1 Chapter 12: Islam begins |
Chapter 12, Lecture 2 | Chapter 12: Islam begins; Islam documentary moves to homework |
| Tue Nov 24 | Chapter 12, Lecture 3 | Chapter 12, Lecture 4 | |
| Thu Nov 26 | Thanksgiving Break — College Closed | ||
| Tue Dec 1 | Chapter 12, Lecture 5 | Qur'an Sacred Text Analysis | Final Islam classroom meeting Dec. 4: Ch. 12 Quiz; Qur'an; Islam Stream & Discuss due |
| Chapter 13: New Religious Movements | |||
| Thu Dec 3 | Chapter 13: New Religious Movements Single lecture · begins |
Chapter 13: New Religious Movements Single lecture · continued |
Last regular class meeting |
| Sat Dec 5 | — | — | Service Learning extra credit due |
| Sun Dec 6 | — | — | Ch. 13 Quiz due |
| Thu Dec 10 | Final Exam | 10:00 – 11:50 a.m. | Exam 2: Abrahamic Traditions |
| Unit | Introductory Material | Lectures | Closing Activity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter 1 | Course orientation + Mapping Worldview | 5 | Sacred Noodle practice |
| Hinduism, Ch. 3 | Full documentary | 5 | Bhagavad Gita introduction + analysis |
| Buddhism, Ch. 5 | Documentary + Life of the Buddha | 5 | Dhammapada analysis |
| Chinese Traditions, Ch. 7 | Documentary + Confucius: Words of Wisdom | 5 | Sacred Texts – Chinese Traditions (in class) |
| Judaism, Ch. 10 | Full documentary (Religions of the World: Judaism) | 5 | Hebrew Bible & Rabbinic Wisdom |
| Man's Inhumanity to Man: The Holocaust & Genocide | — | 3 lectures + film · 2 class periods |
Night and Fog (film, Nov. 3) |
| Christianity, Ch. 11 | - | 5 | New Testament & Nicene Creed |
| Islam, Ch. 12 | Documentary (homework) | 5 | Qur'an analysis |
| New Religious Movements, Ch. 13 | — | 1 class period · 2 blocks |
— |
Each major religion unit follows a consistent documentary-first, sacred-text-last sequence (from Islam on, the documentary is homework):
Judaism is followed by the two-day Man's Inhumanity to Man unit (Nov. 3–5): The Holocaust and Night and Fog on Nov. 3, then Genocide and The Question of Human Evil on Nov. 5. Christianity's five lectures run Nov. 10–17, and its classroom instruction ends with the New Testament & Nicene Creed Analysis on Nov. 17, with Christianity's coursework due Nov. 20. Islam's five lectures run Nov. 19–Dec. 1, with the documentary assigned as homework; the Qur'an Sacred Text Analysis follows Thanksgiving on Dec. 1, with Islam coursework due Dec. 4. New Religious Movements takes the full final class meeting on Dec. 3. This keeps Islam intact around Thanksgiving while preserving the documentary-first / sacred-text-last architecture.