Course Description

How do we know a religion when we see it?

One goal of this course is to interrogate the concept of religion by examining the ways religion has been “discovered” by travelers and described in travel texts. From early Christian pilgrimage to modern religious tourism, definitions of religion and the religious often emerge through the representation of others. “Our” religion emerges through representations of “them.”

In the first half of this course we examine some methodological and theoretical perspectives on religion(s) and representations of others: from the semi-scientific methods of cultural anthropology (and its critiques) to the explicitly political endeavors of postcolonial studies. We then look at a variety of travelling texts that define the religion of the self (explicitly or implicitly) through the religion of an/the other.

Course Requirements

Class Participation: 20%

This course will operate as a seminar: although the professor will act as “group leader,” it is the job of every participant in the seminar to contribute actively and vocally in every class session. This means coming to class prepared to discuss the materials of the day, to ask questions (both of the material and of your fellow students), and to engage creatively and productively with the issues at hand. Attendance in every class session is mandatory. Students are also encouraged to participate outside of the classrom thorugh the Discussion Board and Weblog capabilities on the Blackboard site for this course ([link removed]).

Class Presentation: 20%

Every week, at least one student (depending on the number of students enrolled) will be responsible for presenting a supplementary text for discussion to the rest of the class, and guiding part of the discussion based on his or her presentation. (For long texts, student groups of two or three may present a single text.) Students will pick their presentation texts at the beginning of the quarter, and are encouraged to come prepared with any supplementary materials they feel are necessary to facilitate understanding and discussion of their text (handouts, summaries, etc.).  Student presenters may also post preliminary questions or background on the Blackboard site before class.

Midterm Assignment: 20%

Every student will complete a directed analysis of a single travel text (distributed in class in Week Four), using the insights gained from course readings. The assignment is take-home, and will be due in class in Week Six.

Final Paper: 40%

By Week Six, every student must also have chosen a topic for a final term paper, due during finals week. Students are encouraged to choose a paper topic that combines the methodological and theoretical insights of the course with their own scholarly interests. All final papers should be between 10-20 pages, and should employ the critical insights of the scholarly analyses of representation(s) gained throughout the quarter. Specific guidelines can be found here, and students are encouraged to meet at least once with the professor to consult on their progress. Please do not wait too long to decide on a topic!

Course Materials

The following books have been ordered and are available at UCR Bookstore, and should be on reserve at Rivera Library. The links below will take you to Amazon.com, where most of these books are also available. You can also try online used book stores (such as http://www.abebooks.com/ or http://www.alibris.com/), but you should order sooner rather than later.

They are listed here in the order in which we are reading them:

Mark Taylor (ed.), Critical Terms for Religious Studies

Edward Said, Orientalism

David Chidester, Savage Systems

Rodger Kamenetz, The Jew in the Lotus

John Hayman, ed., Sir Richard Burton’s Travels in Arabia and Africa: Four Lectures from a Huntington Library Manuscript

Bartolomé de las Casas, Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies

In addition, photocopied readings are available in electronic format online (accessed through the Blackboard website [[link removed]] and in hard copy in a binder in the Department Library). If you are already logged into iLearn, you can access the photocopied readings (marked with an asterisk [*] in the paper syllabus) directly from the Schedule of Readings page on this website.