Time Schedule:
Stevan Harrell
ANTH 447
Seattle Campus
Chinese religions, including folk, popular, and new religions, viewed from an anthropological perspective. Prerequisite: either ANTH 202, ANTH 204, ANTH 208, ANTH 321, ANTH 370, ANTH 421, or JSIS B 202, or JSIS A 370, JSIS A 454.
Class description
About the practices and beliefs of religious traditions of China, including folk religion, Buddhism, Daoism, religious aspects of Confucianism, imported Near Eastern religions such as Christianity and Islam, and syncretic religious sects and cults. About the history and current practices of all these traditions.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Lectures: despite the unfashionability of lectures in current pedagogical research, the topic does not much lend itself to free discussion. Paper topics: students are asked to address controversial topics and, though writing on these topics, to learn reasoning and writing skills in addition to the course material.
Recommended preparation
Come to class, be attentive, read the material early, spend time on your writing.
Class assignments and grading
Students will have a paper assignment each week from the first to the eighth week, in each case due two weeks after it is handed out. Students will be required to complete at least four of the eight assigned papers. Each assignment will consist of a choice of questions designed to get the student thinking about issues in the study of religion. Papers will be from 5-8 pages long.
Course grades are the average of the grades on the papers handed in. Class participation is not graded. There are no exams.
