Course Syllabus

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Instructor: James Underwood

Contact Information:

Course Information:

ICC Prefix Number:  PHI 2613

Credit Hours:  3 

Prerequisites:  There are no prerequisites for taking this course.

Course Description: Examination of the beliefs and development of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, and other religious traditions.

Textbook: William Young, The World’s Religion Worldviews and Contemporary Issues. 4 ed., Pearson Higher Education, 2013. ISBN-10: 0205917615   ISBN-13: 9780205917617

Unit Learning Outcomes

  1. The student will recognize the impact of human behavior over and in the context of culture and religion.
  2. The student will have cognizance of the role of individual, groups, and ideas in varied cultural, political, and social settings.
  3. The student will reocgnize the contributions and values of diverse human experiences (e.g. culture, ethnicity, gender, social class, religion).
  4. The student will comprehend major forces, events, influences, and ideas that shaped history and society.
  5. The student will identify governmental, historical, philosophical/religious, psychological, and sociological concepts associated with the behavioral/social science disciplines.

Student Learning Outcomes

  1. The student will understand the major theories of religious belief.
  2. The student will be able to identify the philosophical terminology of religious belief.
  3. The student will understand the basic history of the major faiths of the world, which in this course include Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, and minor faiths, which include Indigenous Religions, Jainism, Sikhism, Daoism, Confucianism, Shinto, and Alternative Religions.
  4. The student will comprehend the primary beliefs of the major faiths of the world, and be able to differentiate thse beliefs from those of the minor religions studied.
  5. The student will express the foundational elements of different religious belief and practices.

Teaching Strategies

  1. Lecture – The teacher will lecture on new topics everyday through notes and working examples.
  2. Group Work – Students will be placed in groups to explore lesson topics.
  3. Homework assignments – The teacher will assign daily homework for the students in order to reinforce topics covered in class.
  4. Technology – The teacher will use technology to enhance student learning through notes given in PowerPoint on projector; online quizzes, video tutorials, graphing utilities; and other various methods.

Plagiarism and Cheating

Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated.  Any plagiarism or cheating will result in a zero for the given assignment and the student will not be allowed to make up the assignment.  No sum of excuses, apologies, pity party reasons, or parental pressure will suffice to change the mind of this teacher.

 

Student Evaluation (Total of 1,000 points)

Reading Quizzes (10 points each, for a total of 250 points)

  • Students will be assigned readings from the textbook.  A calendar of readings may be found below.  If TCPS cancels school on a day for which a reading quiz is scheduled, the teacher will reschedule that quiz for the next day on which school meets.  Quizzes will always consist of five questions, the first of which will always be whether the student read the given assignment.  Students may use their books for the quiz.  The quiz, however, is timed and therefore a student should read all of the assigned pages.

Tests (75 points each, for a total of 300 points)

  • Tests will be given to cover periods varying from two to four weeks.

Research Paper (150 points) and Pre-Assignments (30 points each, for a total of 150 points)

  • The students must complete a five-page research paper, due before Thanksgiving break.  More details of the assignment are below. 

Semester Exam – (150 points)

  • Comprehensive semester exam for the course that will cover all topics from the semester

Extra Credit

There will be absolutely NO extra credit given.  A student must earn his or her grade through the means described above.  This includes cases where a student might even only lack 0.1 points to have a different letter grade.

Assignment List

 

Course Summary:

Date Details Due