Rosemary Gooden Course Syllabus
Prepared for the Center for the Study of Religion and American
Culture by:
Rosemary Gooden
Department of History
DePaul University
The Center is pleased to share with you the syllabi for
introductory courses in American religion that were developed
in seminars led by Dr. Katherine Albanese of the University
of California, Santa Barbara. In all of the seminar discussions,
it was apparent that context, or the particular teaching
setting, was an altogether critical factor in envisioning
how students should be introduced to a field of study. The
justification of approach, included with each syllabus,
is thus germane to how you use the syllabus.
For the personal use of teachers. Not for sale or redistribution.
© Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture,
1998
I. Syllabus Justification
The DePaul University undergraduate catalog describes "The
American Religious Experience" as follows: "Major
religious movements in America with emphasis upon the development
of religious pluralism. Impact of religious beliefs and
values upon American culture." Since I will have the
opportunity to teach this course at DePaul, I used this
course description as the basis for my syllabus. I also
considered the institution, student body, and time. DePaul
University is Catholic (Vincentian) and has a very diverse
student body. The catalog states: "From its inception,
DePaul has viewed itself as serving a heterogeneous grouping
of students drawn from an urban metropolis rich in ethnic
and social diversity, pluralistic in its cultural and religious
heritage." I expect that, given the diverse population
of metropolitan Chicago, students in this course will bring
both a personal religious heritage as well as some knowledge
of or exposure to other religious traditions one might find
in Chicago. I planned the syllabus with these assumptions
in mind and also with specific goals for the course enumerated
below. Also, DePaul is on the quarter system. This was a
major factor in determining the course syllabus. I discussed
with a colleague in Religious Studies the impossibility
of teaching American religious history in one course in
ten weeks. We will confer during the 1992-93 academic year
to discuss revising the introductory course to expand it
into three chronological periods. My approach to an introductory
course in American religious history is historical and reflects
my training in American Studies.
The primary goal of "The American Religious Experience"
is to examine the beliefs and practices of the major religious
traditions and movements in American history. Along with
acquiring certain factual information, another purpose of
the course is to critically analyze and understand the interaction
between religious beliefs and social, cultural, and intellectual
forces in American culture. These goals will be achieved
through lectures, class discussions, small group discussions,
careful reading of assigned texts and articles, and other
academic exercises.
II. Course Syllabus
Religious Studies 211
Dr. Rosemary Gooden
Autumn 1993
T,Th, 8:30-10:00
The American Religious Experience
Course Description
This course surveys major religious traditions, movements,
and themes in American history from the colonial period
to the present. Additionally, we will explore the relationship
between religious values and beliefs and other aspects of
American culture.
Required Texts
- Dickson D. Bruce, Jr. And They All Sang Hallelujah:
Plain-Folk Camp-Meeting Religion, 1800-1845. Knoxville:
University of Tennessee Press, 1974.
- Lis Harris. Holy Days: The World of a Hasidic Family.
New York: Summit Books, 1985.
- Richard E. Wentz. Religion in the New World: The Shaping
of Religious Traditions in the United States. Minneapolis:
Fortress Press, 1990.
Other assigned readings are on reserve in the library.
Recommended for Reference
- Sydney E. Ahlstrom. A Religious History of the American
People. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972.
- Catherine L. Albanese. American Religions and Religion.
2d. ed. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Publishing, 1992.
- Charles H. Lippy and Peter Williams, eds. Encyclopedia
of the American Religious Experience: Studies of Traditions
and Movements. 3 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,
1988.
- Martin E. Marty. Pilgrims in Their Own Land: 500 Years
of Religion in America. Boston: Little, Brown, 1984.
- Daniel G. Reid, et. al. Dictionary of Christianity in
America. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1990.
Course Requirements
- Critical reading of assigned books and articles:
You are expected to read the assigned material before
class and to come to class prepared to discuss the readings.
Although this is a lecture course, classes will occasionally
combine lecture and discussion. Some classes will be devoted
solely to discussion of assigned reading.
- Regular attendance and participation in discussions:
The material presented during lectures is not duplicated
in the assigned readings. It is imperative that you attend
all scheduled class sessions.
- Response papers (1-1/2 - 2 pages):
During the quarter, you will be asked to write short papers
of your responses and reactions to selected readings,
films, or other course material. Some of these response
papers will be in-class assignments; others written outside
of class must be typed, double-spaced, proofread, and
submitted on the due date. Late papers will receive reduced
grades.
- Midterm examination:
The midterm examination, October 13, will be comprehensive.
It will cover readings, lectures, and discussions. The
midterm is an essay exam and will combine shorter and
longer topics plus identifications. Exams must be written
in ink in bluebooks (8-1/2xll).
- Final examination:
The final examination, December 1, will be comprehensive.
It will cover readings, lectures, and discussions. Like
the midterm, the final will be an essay exam of shorter
and longer topics plus identifications.
Evaluation
Your course grade will be computed as follows:
- Response papers 25%
- Midterm examination 35%
- Final examination 35%
- Class participation 5%
Schedule of Classes and Readings
Sept. 17 Introduction: The Study
of Religion in American Culture
Sept. 22 Christendom and the Reformation
Reading: Wentz, 3-44.
Sept. 24 Native American Traditions
Reading: Wentz, 45-62.
Sept. 29 Puritanism as a Religious
Movement
Reading: Wentz, 63-96; Harry S. Stout, "Word and
Order in Colonial New England," in Nathan Hatch and
Mark Noll, eds. The Bible in America: Essays in Cultural
History (1982), 19-38.
Oct. 1 Catholicism in American Culture
Reading: Wentz, 129-150; Richard Rodriguez, Chapter Three,
"Credo," in Hunger of Memory: The Education of
Richard Rodriguez (1982), 77-110.
Oct. 6, 8 Methodists, Revivalism,
and The Great Awakening
Reading: Wentz, 151-189; And They All Sang Hallelujah:
Plain-Folk Camp-Meeting Religion, 1800-1845.
Oct. 13 MIDTERM EXAMINATION
Oct. 15 Public Expressions of Religion
Reading: Wentz, 190-206; Karen DeWitt, "Teacher Inspired
Clinton's 'New Covenant,"' The New York Times, July
17, 1992, A12; Stanley Elkin, "A Demonstration of Democrats,"
The New York Times, July 19, 1992, E17.
Oct. 20 Restoration and Millennarian
Movements
Reading: Wentz, 207-228; 299-312; Chapter Two, "Mormonism
and American Culture," in Klaus J. Hansen, Mormonism
and the American Experience (1981), 45-83.
Oct. 22 Utopian and Communitarian
Movements
Reading: Introduction and Chapter Four, "Shaker Doctrine
and First Residence at Watervliet" in Jean M. Humez,
ed., Gifts of Power: The Writings of Rebecca Jackson, Black
Visionary, Shaker Eldress (1981), 1-64, 197-228; Documentary
Film, "I Don't Want to be Remembered As a Chair."
Oct. 27, 29 Evangelicalism and Social
Reform Movements
Reading: Garth Rosell, "Charles G. Finney: His Place
in the Stream of American Evangelicalism" in Leonard
I. Sweet, ed., The Evangelical Tradition in America (1984),
131-147; Chapter One, "The Origins of Evangelical Sunday
Schools," and Chapter Two, "Sunday Schools and
American Education," in Anne M. Boylan, Sunday School:
The Formation of an American Institution 1790-1880 (1988),
6-59.
Nov. 3 African American Religion
Reading: Wentz, 268-283; Jualyne E. Dodson and Cheryl Townsend
Gilkes, "Something Within: Social and Collective Endurance
in the Sacred World of Black Christian Women," in Rosemary
Radford Ruether and Rosemary Skinner Keller, eds., Women
and Religion in America Volume 3: 1900-1968 (1986), 80-130;
"Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region in My Mind,"
in James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time (1963), 23-67.
Nov. 5, 10 Judaism in America
Reading: Wentz, 229-250; Chapter Two, "Historical
Sketch," and Chapter Five, "Individual and Community:
Affiliation and Disaffiliation," in Joseph Blau, Judaism
in America: From Curiosity to Third Faith (1976), 21-45,
91-110; Lis Harris, Holy Days: The World of a Hasidic Family.
Nov. 12 The Power of Positive Thinking:
Father Divine, Norman Vincent Peale, and Robert Schuller
Reading: Wentz, 284-298; Introduction, "Father Divine
and the Black Religious Tradition" and Chapter Three,
"The Peace Mission in Robert Weisbrot, Father Divine
and the Struggle for Racial Equality (1983), 3-8, 59-90;
Father Divine, "The Realness of God, to you-wards..."
in Milton C. Sernett, ed., Afro-American Religious-History:
A Documentary Witness (1985), 404-412; Douglas Miller, "Popular
Religion of the 1950s: Norman Vincent Peale and Billy Graham,
Journal of Popular Culture, 9 (Summer 1975), 66-76; Chapter
Four, "Twelve Principles for Managing Problems Positively,"
in Robert Schuller, Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People
Do (1983), 72-90.
Nov. 17 Fundamentalism and Neo-Evangelicalism:
Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell
Reading: Wentz, 313-328; Introduction and "Liberty
Baptist" in Frances Fitzgerald, Cities on a Hill: A
Journey Through Contemporary American Cultures (1987), 11-24,
121-202.
Nov. 19 New Religious Pluralism in
the United States: Ancient, Asian and Arabesque Traditions
and Santeria
Reading: Wentz, 329-350; George Brandon, "Sacrificial
Practices in Santeria, an African- Cuban Religion in the
United States" in Joseph E. Holloway, ed., Africanisms
in American Culture (1990), 199-147; Carol Rust, "The
Rhythm of the Botanica," Houston Chronicle Magazine,
Nov. 3, 1991, 6-9.
Nov. 24 NO CLASS
Nov. 26 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Dec. 1 FINAL EXAM
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