What Makes the Sacred Sacred? The Consequences of the Ultimate Comparison
CHUM 336
Spring 2016
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
RELI 291, ARHA 239 |
| Certificates: International Relations, Middle Eastern Studies |
| Course Cluster: Christianity Studies |
What are the political, social, and religious consequences when the term "sacred" is used to describe an object, place, time, or person? Using examples such as Jewish, Christian, and Muslim views of Jerusalem, Lakota Sioux recognition of wicasa wakan (medicine men), and Hindu engagements with divine images, this seminar will explore this question as well as the translatability of the word for non-Christian and non-Western views of social and cosmic order.
Sacred, sacrifice, sacrament, saint, consecrate, sacrilege, desecrate. The many words associated with it demonstrate how the idea of sacredness pervades the English language. "Sacred" serves as a common qualifier that implicitly suggests a similarity in the structure of religious practices, experiences, and worldviews, while describing a difference between the mundane and the spiritual or religious. European imperialism projected such a universal use of the notion, whitewashing important divergences with non-Christian religions. So what makes the sacred sacred? And how do communities used notions like (and unlike) sacrality to know and engage natural, human, and superhuman environments?
This course is made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this seminar do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS CHUM |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (GSAS)(MEST-MN)(MUST-MN)(RELI-MN)(RELI)(STS) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 75% - 89% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Vine Deloria, SACRED LANDS AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Raymond J. DeMallie and Hilda Neihardt, THE SIXTH GRANDFATHER: BLACK ELK'S TEACHINGS GIVEN TO JOHN G. NEIHARDT
Diana L. Eck, DARSAN: SEEING THE DIVINE IMAGE IN INDIA (3rd Edition)
Mircea Eliade, THE SACRED AND THE PROFANE
Motti Inbari, RELIGIOUS ZIONISM AND THE TEMPLE MOUNT DILEMMA-KEY TRENDS
Seth Kunin, GOD'S PLACE IN THE WORLD
Jonathan Z. Smith, TO TAKE PLACE: TOWARD THEORY IN RITUAL
Ann Taves, SPECIAL THINGS AS BUILDING BLOCKS OF RELIGIONS
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Examinations and Assignments:
Weekly journal entries, three short papers (3 pages), one research paper (10-12 pages) |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course satisfies the "Thematic Approach" or "Method & Theory" requirement for the religion major. |
| Instructor(s): Gottschalk,Peter S. Times: ..T.R.. 01:10PM-02:30PM; Location: RSCSEM; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 2 | JR major: 2 | | |
| Seats Available: 11 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 4 | JR non-major: 4 | SO: 3 | FR: X |
| Web Resources: Syllabus |
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