Please note: this is a preliminary version of the syllabus and may be subject to modifications.
Course Aims
- To introduce the student to religious and cultural traditions differing from his or her own.
- To examine the religious traditions of selected indigenous peoples in their historical and cultural setting
- To observe the religious situation of native people in the modern world and their presence in Euro-American peoples.
Learning Outcomes
- At the end of the course students will have an appreciation of some of the major forms of religious experience found in a selection of indigenous cultures and how this experience has shaped their societies.
- At the end of the course students will have appreciated a range of perspectives from which religions other than their own can be viewed.
- At the end of the course students will have a better understanding of the complex relationship which exists between indigenous religions and modern Euro-American culture.
Course Assessment
- Full participation in classroom discussion
- An oral presentation to the class based on assigned readings on a selected topic.
- A fifteen page (double spaced) paper on a topic related to the subject matter of the course, and agreed upon by the student and professor. The paper should combine insights from readings and lectures along with personal reflections by the student.
Text books
Bahr, Ann Marie Indigenous Religions. Philadephia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2005.
Harvey , Graham Indigenous Religions: A Companion. New York: Cassell, 2000.
Recommended reading
Harvey Graham Readings in Indigenous Religions. New York: Continuum, 2002
Beck, Peggy V. & Walters, Anna L. The Sacred: Ways of Knowledge, Sources of Life. Arizona: Dine
College Press, 1977.
Gill, Sam Native American Religions: An Introduction. California: Wadsworth, 1982
Ray, Benjamin C. African religions: symbol, ritual and community. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000.
Mbiti, John, S. Introduction to African Religion (2 nd Ed). New Haven: Heinemann, 1991.
