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"Elements of Religion"

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Schedule - Unit 2

All readings in this schedule should ideally be completed by the day under which they are listed, although this requirement is only assessed during TRAs and team application exercises. All numbers in the schedule are page numbers unless otherwise noted.

CAUTION: I reserve the right to make revisions to these on-line materials prior to their discussion in class at the relevant point in the semester. Therefore WAIT until that time to print out materials you wish to have on hand, such as terms, excerpts and assignment guidelines.

Unit 2: Food, Farming & the Sacred in the Pre-Modern West

Dates Tasks Readings
Mon, Oct 1 Ganesh Puja with
Shri Rama Sharma from
Siddhi Vinaya Cultural Center

LOCATE details re: assigned TERMS & EXCERPTS in primary sources:

  • excerpts from the Tanakh (RDR, 73-105)
  • Gospel of John 6 & Gospel of Matthew 13 (online)
  • Bynum, “Fast & Feast"..."Food in the Writings of Women Mystics” (RDR, 106-131)
  • "Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry:"
    Folios 1-12, 25 & 29 (online)
  • "The Forager," "The Omnivore's Dilemma"
    "The Ethics of Eating Animals"
    & "The Perfect Meal (TOD, 277-333, 391-411)
LOCATE additional details re: assigned TERMS in these overviews:

VIEW/BROWSE images/videos related to terms & sources:

Wed, Oct 3

orientation to readings
& unit 2 reading guide
(print & annotate for extra credit)

BRING PRINTED COPY of WORKSHEET FOR
**Worship Report**
(PDF/MS Word)
@ beginning of class
on **Monday**

(deadline extended:)
SUBMIT FINAL PRODUCT
(
in Assignments tab of SacCT)
by **WEDNESDAY 10/10, midnight**)

Mon, Oct 8

TRA #2

 

Wed, Oct 10

Application Exercise #2a

(*PREPARATION PAGE REQUIRED* - optional worksheet: PDF | MS Word)

BRING PRINTED COPY of
*Worship Report*
@ beginning of class
& SUBMIT by midnight
(
in Assignments tab of SacCT)

REVIEW IN DEPTH:

  • excerpts from the Tanakh (RDR, 73-105)

PREPARE NOTES addressing the following focus:

Your co-worker Frederico, who you know attends regular study groups and studies what he calls the Old Testament (the Tanakh), has heard from you that this part of the Bible is included in your class readings.

"My heart feels so pained about the ancient Jews," he tells you, "having to follow all of those Laws given by God, without having the direct personal connectionto Him that Jesus Christ made available when he came to earth."

You have had several conversations with him before and know that he is genuinely interested in understanding the Bible, and you think he has missed something important about the way ancient Jews felt personally connected to God through their prescribed ritual practices, especially food offerings at the temple. (See Lev 22-24, I Kings 8, Ezra 3 & Neh 8-10.)

Considering from ALL FOUR SECTIONS (a)-(d) outlined for this source in the reading guide, identify scenes (characters, events & words in a setting) or prescriptions (actions, objects, recited words at a particular locale/time) that show thoughts & feelings about intimate connection to YHWH heightening engagement in Jewish ritual practices.

*MAKE SURE TO CITE PAGE NUMBERS FOR EACH EXAMPLE*

Mon, Oct 15

Application Exercise #2b

(*PREPARATION PAGE REQUIRED* - optional worksheet: PDF | MS Word)

 

REVIEW IN DEPTH:

PREPARE NOTES addressing the following focus:

Your friend Kathleen grew up Catholic, but has in recent years grown estranged from her family religious tradition.

"All the emphasis on blood & sacrifice seems morbid to me," she says, "and many people I know just seem to be going through the motions without thinking much about it." Knowing you have studied medieval Christianity in one of your classes, she asks you what you think about the eucharist in particular: "It just seems weird--pretending to eat Jesus's flesh & blood every Sunday! And everything is controlled by men who don't marry!!"

While you have no interest in pressuring her to get re-involved in Catholic practice, you would like to convince her that something more meaningful is going on.

Use the assigned readings to address Kathleen's concerns. Considering ALL THREE SECTIONS of the Bynum reading outlined in the reading guide, gather evidence of Medieval European Catholics' intentional thoughts & feelings about Christ that meaningfully engage them in eucharistic practice. Make sure to identify

  • ideas, visions, and emotional responses that show reflection (consider also the influence of the assigned gospel passages);
  • people, especially people & women, involved in such reflection; and
  • objects, actions, recited words, use of space involved in their practice of the eucharist (see especially p.54-56 and consider the locales shown in the "Tres Riches Heures")

*MAKE SURE TO CITE PAGE NUMBERS FOR EACH EXAMPLE*

Wed, Oct 17

Application Exercise #2c

(*PREPARATION PAGE REQUIRED* - optional worksheet: PDF | MS Word)

SUBMIT WORKSHEET
(
in Assignments tab of SacCT)
for Unit 1-2 **Source Analysis**
(PDF|MS Word)
by **SATURDAY 10/20, midnight**

REVIEW IN DEPTH:

  • "The Forager," "The Omnivore's Dilemma"
    "The Ethics of Easting Animals"
    & "The Perfect Meal (TOD, 277-333, 391-411)
  • selected students' Observations Reports
    (download/ *PRINT* from the Learning Modules tab in SacCT)

PREPARE NOTES addressing the following focus:

Your uncle Ted gets most of his food from local farmer's markets, and hears that you are taking this course. You briefly describe what you've been reading, mentioning the emphasis on religion & reflection about the sacred, to which he responds:

"I'm glad that college professors are acknowledging the importance of food in the curriculum--but why bring religion into it? Religion is about narrow adherence to a system of beliefs, which discourages people to think for themselves. What we need today, on the other hand, is for people to think creatively, to come up with new ways to build alliances between local farmers and consumers who want to strengthen their local food cultures."

Without attempting any religious conversion, use the contemporary reports of food-related worship in Sacramento & Pollans' account of his quasi-religious "perfect meal" ritual (TOD, 391-411) to convince Uncle Ted that religion is more than narrow adherence to static beliefs, and that food-related religious practice and the reflection associated with it influence each other more dynamically & creatively than he assumes. Considering Pollan's account and at least TWO REPORTS from BOTH CATEGORIES of student reports (i.e., "Jews, Christians & Muslims" & "Hindus & Buddhists"), gather evidence that shows food-related religious practice and reflection influencing each other in dynamic and creative ways. Make sure to identify

  • participants’ explanations, interview quotes, informal comments, non-verbals, etc. that show reflection;
  • interviewees, other participants, and the observers involved in such reflection; and
  • objects, actions, recited words, use of space involved in the various practices described.

*MAKE SURE TO CITE PAGE NUMBERS FOR EACH EXAMPLE*

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