Proposal for the Initiation of a
New Instructional Program
Leading to the Religion and Culture Certificate in Philosophy
Oregon State University
College of Liberal Arts
Department of Philosophy
1. Program Overview
a. Proposed CIP number
b. Provide a brief overview of the proposed program, including a description of the
academic area and a rationale for offering this program at the present time.
The Department of Philosophy offers numerous courses in the academic study of
religions and religious experience resulting from the absorption of the Department
of Religious Studies into the Department of Philosophy in AY 1992. These
courses are among the most popular offerings in our department and are
customarily fully enrolled. The Philosophy Department is also the academic home
for the privately-endowed Hundere Endowment in Religion and Culture, which
provides both visibility and funding support for departmental and campus
programs in religious studies.
In the spring of 2006, the Department of Philosophy underwent an undergraduate
program review as coordinated by Academic Programs. The first recommendation
of the review team was that the courses with religious studies content should be
better integrated into the department’s curricular offerings. This proposal seeks to
enact that recommendation by developing an undergraduate certificate in religious
and culture: It will integrate religious studies courses currently offered by the
Philosophy Department, courses with religious studies content in humanities,
social science, and art departments in the College of Liberal Arts, and provide
orientation and depth in the academic study of religion through a new
introductory course. The proposed program will further the academic interests of
many students in our department and give a distinctive pedagogical function to
the religious studies courses offered by the department.
c. When will the program be operational, if approved?
We would hope to begin offering the Religion and Culture certificate in Fall 2008.
2. Course of Study
a. Briefly describe proposed curriculum. See following pages.
RELIGION and CULTURE CERTIFICATE
Philosophy (17 hours minimum)
Core: 7 required credits
PHL 202
Religious Studies (new orientation course)
PHL 160
Quests for Meaning: World Religions
3 credits
4 credits
Pluralism and Diversity: 7-8 credits required from the following:
3-4 in Western religions, 3-4 in Eastern religions
PHL 170
Idea of God
PHL 220
World Views and Values in the Bible
PHL 299X
Religious Pluralism
PHL 308
Buddhist Traditions
PHL 312
Asian Thought
PHL 371
Philosophies of China
PHL 430/530 History of Buddhist Philosophy
4 credits
4 credits
3 credits
4 credits
4 credits
4 credits
4 credits
Elective: 3-4 credits required from any of the following:
PHL 344
Pacifism, Just War, Terrorism
PHL 411/511 Great Figures:
PHL 436/536 Philosophy of Religion
PHL 443/543 World Views & Environmental Values
PHL 448/548 Native American Philosophies
PHL 455/555 Death and Dying
4 credits
4 credits
3 credits
3 credits
3 credits
3 credits
Religion in Liberal Arts Disciplines (12 hours)*
Religion in Culture (1 course)
CHN 331-3 Chinese Culture
3 credits
HST 462/562 American Thought and Culture
3 credits
JPN 331-3
Japanese Culture
3 credits
PS 201
Introduction to US Government and Politics
4 credits
SOC 205
Institutions and Social Change
3 credits
SOC 452/552 Sociology of Religion
4 credits
Religion in Literature (1 course)
ENG 207
Literature of Western Civilization: Classical World
ENG 213
Literatures of the Middle East
ENG 215
Classical Mythology
ENG 275
Bible as Literature
ENG 360
Native American Literature
ENG 470/570 Dante
3 credits
3 credits
3 credits
3 credits
3 credits
3 credits
Religious Diversity: (1 course)
CHN 331-3 Chinese Culture
ENG 215
Classical Mythology
ENG 360
Native American Literature
HST 387,388 Islamic Civilizations
3 credits
3 credits
3 credits
3 credits
2
HST 485/585
HST 486/596
JPN 331-3
PS 204
WS 420/520
WS 495/595
Politics and Religion in the Middle East
History of Christianity in Africa
Japanese Culture
Introduction To Comparative Politics
Hate, Resistance, and Reconciliation
Feminist Theology and Spirituality
Western Religious Experience: (1 course)
COMM 458/558
Rhetoric: AD 500 to 1900
HST 320
Ancient Near East
HST 425/525
The Holocaust in its History
HST 471,472/571/2 Colonial America
HSTS 423/5231
Science and Religion
MUS 101
Music Appreciation
MUS 121
Literature and Materials of Music
PS 361
Classical Political Thought
PS 370
Science, Religion, and Politics
3 credits
3 credits
3 credits
4 credits
3 credits
3 credits
3 credits
4 credits
3 credits
3 credits
3 credits
3 credits
3 credits
4 credits
4 credits
*Courses listed in more than one category may be used to fill only one requirement.
b. Describe new courses. Include proposed course numbers, titles, credit hours and
course descriptions.
There is one new course required by this proposal. It would be taught in the
Philosophy Department as an introductory course in the academic study of religion.
Proposed Course Number: PHL 102 (or possibly 202, as Intro. To Philosophy is PHL
201).
Title: Introduction to Religious Studies
Credit Hours: 3
Course Description: This course presents an introduction to the academic study of
religion and is a required course for the Religion and Culture Certificate. It examines
the concepts of religion and the sacred, approaches to the study of religion, ubiquitous
features of religious experience, including symbol, myth, ritual, and community,
understandings of the human condition in diverse religious traditions, and ways
religious communities address challenges of pluralism and secularization.
b. Provide a discussion of any nontraditional learning modes to be utilized in the
new courses, including, but not limited to: (1) the role of technology, and (2) the
use of career development activities such as practica or internships.
Not
applicable.
d. What specific learning outcomes will be achieved by students who complete this
course of study?
The Religion and Culture Certificate proposes to teach about religion, not to teach
religion. To that end, the following learning outcomes will be achieved:
3
Upon completion of the Certificate course of study, students will have acquired the
conceptual and analytical skills – critical thinking, writing, dialogue – that will
motivate a life-long quest for learning and self-examination.
Upon completion of the Certificate, students will have acquired awareness of the
ultimate questions confronted and embodied in religious traditions about human
origins, identity, and destiny, the significance of suffering and evil, and the meaning
of human mortality, and will be capable of identifying how these ultimate questions
play a role in contemporary religious experience and conflicts.
Upon completion of the Certificate, students will demonstrate that they have acquired
knowledge about the diversity of religious experience through the study of different
cultural and historical traditions of religious expression by articulate key defining
concepts.
Upon completion of the Certificate, students will have cultivated and applied various
skills of citizenship – awareness, dialogue, compromise, tolerance, accommodation,
responsibility, etc.— necessary to the task of living peaceably in the world with
others with whom one disagrees.
Upon completion of the Certificate, students will have the capacity to identify and
articulate the roles of religiosity in a secular democratic society, including
argumentation regarding traditions of religious liberty and government neutrality
towards religions.
While acquisition of many of the skills and outcomes delineated above are embedded
within the learning of specific course content, we will also adapt a test of “religious
literacy” developed by Boston University professor Stephen Prothero from his 2007
book, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know—and Doesn’t. This
adapted test will be administered to students upon enrolling in the certificate and
upon completion of their course of study to establish their proficiency in knowledge,
skills, and outcomes.
e. Is there a maximum time allowed for a student to complete this program?
Students would be expected to complete the certificate course of study in the time
frame allowed for the completion of their undergraduate degree.
3. Accreditation of the Program
a. If applicable, identify any accrediting body or professional society that has
established standards in the area in which the proposed program lies.
There is no accreditation body or standard curriculum in religious studies,
according to Kyle Cole, director of college programs, American Academy of
4
Religion (email communication, 9/19/2007). A survey of religion and theology
programs in the United States and Canada was conducted in 2001. The proposed
certificate in Religion and Culture has courses in almost all areas—both religious
traditions and topics--that would be covered in an institution offering a major in
religious
studies
(survey
may
be
located
at
http://www.aarweb.org/Programs/Department_Services/Survey_Data/Undergradu
ate/default.asp).
b. If applicable, does the proposed program meet professional accreditation
standards? Not applicable.
4. Evidence of Need
a. What evidence does the institution have of need for the program? Please be
explicit.
As mentioned in 1b above, discussion of an interdisciplinary certificate in religion
and culture was prompted through faculty, instructor, and student conversations in
advance of the Philosophy Department’s 2006 undergraduate program review
overseen by Academic Programs. These conversations revealed:
1) strong student interest and demand for courses in religious studies;
2) departmental commitment to be responsive to this interest;
3) sentiments of instructor faculty with experience teaching at multiple
institutions that “religious studies at OSU could be bigger and better”;
4) departmental faculty believed the department’s commitment to diversity
and pluralism is advanced through its course offerings in world religions.
These conversations, in conjunction with the undergraduate program review,
culminated in a five-year “looking forward” departmental commitment to offer a
set of courses in religious studies that “promotes departmental goals for its
students in general, and for those students that seek a more concentrated focus in
religious studies.”
Based on these departmental commitments as well as its own series of interviews,
the first recommendation of the undergraduate program review team to Provost
Randhawa was that “faculty members should engage in a conversation to
determine whether religious studies should be given a more structured role in the
undergraduate curriculum.” The review team suggested creating an
interdisciplinary religious studies certificate as one possible outcome of this
conversation.
b. Identify statewide and institutional service-area employment needs the proposed
program would assist in filling. Is there evidence of regional or national need for
additional qualified individuals such as the proposed program would produce?
5
The Religion and Culture certificate is not designed to meet employment needs;
nevertheless, it will provide students with skills that will serve them well in civic
engagement and offer a foundation for professional education or employment in
many areas. In this respect, the Religion and Culture certificate is designed to
function similarly to the Applied Ethics Certificate and the Peace Studies
Certificate programs in our department by expanding the breadth of educational
opportunities and skills available to students.
c. What are the numbers and characteristics of students to be served? What is the
estimated number of graduates of the proposed program over the next five years?
On what information are these projections based?
The Philosophy Department teaches over 1,000 different students each year in its
introductory world religions courses (PHL 160). By and large, these students take
PHL 160 (and other lower-division) religious studies courses to fulfill
baccalaureate core requirements. There is a smaller number of students
(approximately 250) that enroll in upper-division courses with religious studies
content, primarily but not exclusively as a means to receiving some credit towards
a philosophy major or minor.
Based on our experience with our other certificate programs that provide students
with a concentrated course of studies that is transcript-visible, we can project that
a Religion and Culture interdisciplinary certificate would be of interest to 25-30
students, with approximately 8-10 students receiving the certificate in any given
year.
d. Are there any other compelling reasons for offering the program?
The proposal offers educational breadth and diversity to OSU students at no cost
to the institution. It will allow the department to more fully integrate the Hundere
Endowment in Religion and Culture within the curricular offerings of the
department.
e.
Identify any special interest in the program on the part of local or state groups.
The Philosophy has not been invited to develop this program at the behest of a
specific constituency. However, we are aware that because of the unique
resources of the Hundere Endowment, the department has what was characterized
in our undergraduate program review as a “golden opportunity” to offer a wider
variety of courses in religion as conditioned by student demand;
e. Discuss considerations given to making the complete program available for parttime, evening, weekend, and/or placebound students.
Currently, some of the courses listed in the proposed course of study are available
to part-time students or distance education students through online course
delivery. However, it would pedagogically undesirable to present the complete
6
certificate program as an online offering. Moreover, the Philosophy Department
has no control over the availability and format of courses offered in other liberal
arts departments that are necessary to completing the full certificate.
5. Similar Programs in the State
a. List all other closely related OUS programs.
The University of Oregon has established a Department of Religious Studies that
offers a major in religious studies with a B.A. or B.S. option. The Department
consists of seven full-time faculty who have expertise in the Abrahamic faith
traditions--Judaism, Christianity, Islam—as well as Buddhism and Chinese
religions. See http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~religion/index.html . A liaison
communication with this department may be found at the end of the proposal.
Western Oregon University offers a humanities minor with a concentration in
religious studies.
The Religion and Culture certificate is distinctive among these other OUS
programs because of its focus on the civic and cultural manifestations of religious
life and experience, and its intentional integration of the academic study of
religions with other disciplines.
b. In what way, if any, will resources of other institutions (another OSU institution
or institutions, community college, and/or private college/university) be shared in
the proposed program?
The Religion and Culture certificate would invite faculty and instructors from
other institutions to provide guest lectures, as occurred in the Philosophy
Department’s 2007 Ideas Matter lecture series, “Does Religion Matter?,” and
otherwise drawn on expertise of such faculty who participate in the programs
sponsored by the Hundere endowment, but we do not anticipate sharing of fiscal
or administrative resources.
c. Is there any projected impact on other institutions in terms of student enrollment
and/or faculty workload? Not applicable.
6. Resources
a. Identify program faculty, briefly describing each faculty member’s
expertise/specialization. Separate regular core faculty from faculty from other
departments and adjuncts. Collect current vitae for all faculty, to be made
available to reviewers upon request.
7
Core faculty:
James Blumenthal, Ph.D., associate professor. Professor Blumenthal specializes
in the study of Asian religious traditions, and is a prominent scholar especially in
the historical study of Tibetan Buddhism.
Courtney S. Campbell, Ph.D., professor. Professor Campbell specializes in the
Abrahamic (western) religions, comparative religious ethics, and religious
pluralism.
Sharyn Clough, Ph.D., associate professor. Professor Clough specializes in
questions of religion and truth, and religious epistemology.
Hundere Endowed Chair in Religion and Culture. In 2007-08, the Philosophy
Department will search for a replacement for OSU Distinguished Professor
Marcus Borg to serve as the Hundere Endowed Chair in Religion and Culture. In
addition to teaching courses in the certificate, the Hundere Endowment provides
financial support for adjunct and visiting instructors for the Religion and Culture
certificate program.
Adjunct faculty
The following adjunct faculty have expressed commitment to participate in the
Certificate program. Professors Anderson, Arnold, and Vogt are instructors of
long-standing at OSU, each with teaching responsibilities of over ten years.
Professors Brodnicka and McCullough are recent additions to our faculty of the
past two years, hired through the funding of the Hundere Endowment to increase
the diversity of religions covered in our courses.
Richard Anderson, Ph.D., instructor. Professor Anderson specializes in
comparative and Asian religions, with a particular focus on Shinto and religious
traditions of Japan.
David Scott Arnold, Ph.D., instructor. Professor Arnold specializes in religion
and literature, particularly religion in novels and mythic traditions of the West. He
has been chair of the Dept. of Black Religion at Paul Quinn College.
Monika Brodnicka, Ph.D., instructor. Professor Brodnicka specializes in Islamic
religion and philosophy, and religion and philosophy in African cultures.
Winston McCullough, Ph.D., instructor. Professor McCullough specializes in
comparative religions, comparative religious figures (Jesus and Buddha), and
Asian religions.
Tony Vogt, Ph.D., instructor. Professor Vogt specializes in comparative religious
world views about nature and the environment
8
Affiliate faculty in Liberal Arts
Chris Anderson, Ph.D., Professor, Department of English. Professor Anderson is
an award-winning author and specializes in religion and literature, and the Bible
as literature.
Sally K. Gallagher, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology.
Professor Gallagher is an accomplished researcher, specializing in the sociology
of religion and in religion, community, and identity.
Susan M. Shaw, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director, Women Studies
Program. Professor Shaw is a university-honored teacher and researcher who
specializes in religion and feminism, and religion and difference.
b. Estimate the number, rank, and background of new faculty members who would
need to be added to initiate the proposed program in each of the first four years of
the proposed program. What commitment does the institution make to meeting
these needs?
The current array of faculty and instructors are sufficient to initiate the Religion
and Culture certificate. As noted in 4a, the Philosophy Department will select a
new Hundere Endowed Chair in Religion and Culture during the coming
academic year, but the resources for that hire come from private funds, not
institutional resources. Moreover, the Hundere Endowment has sufficient
resources to secure the stability of support for instructor hires.
c. Estimate the number and type of support staff needed, if any, in each of the first
four years of the program.
No support staff are required for this proposal, which will be supervised through
designated faculty, as is the case with the Philosophy Department’s certificate
programs in Applied Ethics and Peace Studies.
d. Describe the adequacy of student and faculty access to library and department
resources (including but not limited to: printed media, electronically published
materials, videotapes, motion pictures, CD-ROM and online databases, and
sound files) that are relevant to the proposed program.
As the OSU library has adequate resources to support the various classes within
and external to Philosophy that comprise the certificate, its resources should be
adequate to support the certificate program as a whole. In addition, the
Philosophy Department’s library has special sections dedicated to the memory of
past professors (Manuel Pacheco) or instructors (Viola Cordova) which provide
additional resources for the religious diversity components of the certificate.
9
e. How much, if any, additional financial support will be required to bring access to
such reference materials to an appropriate level? How does the institution plan
to acquire these needed resources?
We would like to provide additional resources for our certificate students
interested in the study of Islam, Asian religions, African religions, and religions
of indigenous cultures. The Department of Philosophy will make a proposal to
the Hundere Endowment in Religion and Culture for annual funding to acquire
supplemental resources regarding the religious traditions in these cultures.
f. Identify any unique resources (in terms of buildings, laboratories, computer
hardware/software, Internet or other online access, distributed education
capability, special equipment, media, and/or other materials), beyond those now
on hand, necessary to offer this program. How does the institution propose that
these additional resources will be provided?
The Religion and Culture certificate requires one new course, PHL 202, which
will be an introductory course to the academic study of religion. The course will
discuss the concepts of “religion” and “spirituality,” examine the methods
scholars use (social scientific, humanities, aesthetic, etc.) to study religious
experience and communities, and provide background into some of the universal
themes of religious life, including myth and narrative, ritual and symbol,
community and morality, and theodicy and mortality (the justification of a divine
presence in the face of the evil and suffering in the world).
PHL 202 will include guest lecturers from the various academic disciplines in the
course of study who will describe their scholarly methods in the study of religion,
as well as lecturers from diverse religious traditions represented in the Corvallis
community (especially, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism). Students will also be
required to do “field trips” to denominational worship services, including one
non-Christian service, in the Corvallis community, and to observe how the
universal themes identified above—myth, narrative, ritual, symbol, community,
ethics, teaching – manifest themselves in the course of the service.
10
RELIGION and CULTURE INTERDISCIPLINARY CERTIFICATE
APPENDIX A: LIAISON INFORMATION
1. Initial Inquiry: A first email of inquiry was sent to chairs in the College of Liberal Arts on July
13, 2006. Following a recommendation by Academic Affairs subsequent to a November 2007
meeting, a liaison inquiry was also sent to the Department of Religious Studies at the University
of Oregon. Where new faculty have assumed the chair role (Art, Ethnic Studies, Sociology), a
follow-up email was sent. The letter of inquiry was tailored to the specific courses of the particular
department, but in general had the following form (letter to chair of anthropology):
Hello, David,
I hope summer is treating you well. Last year, the philosophy department underwent an undergraduate program review
from Academic Affairs, and the first recommendation made by the review team is that we try to better integrate our
courses in religious studies in our curriculum and have them lead somewhere (a major, minor, certificate). So, our
faculty are interested in trying to develop a certificate program, which by institutional definition involves courses from
multiple disciplines.
In looking over the courses in Anthropology, there are clearly many with implications for the study of religion, but what
I’m uncertain about is how much attention might be given to religious contexts. For example, the course descriptions
for your 312-319 series “Peoples of the World” all list “religious ideology” as a course theme; ANTH 462, “Minority
Cultures of China,” specifies attention to Buddhism and Islam. I also suspect some of the courses taught by Sunil
Khanna would have some connections with religious themes.
In any case, I thought I would ask your advice as to whether you think any of the above courses, or other ANTH
courses I’ve overlooked, might be feasible for a religious studies certificate program. I will appreciate hearing from
you. Courtney Campbell
2. Departmental Responses: This letter of inquiry generated the following responses.
Anthropology (David McMurray, Chair);
7.15.2006
We have often talked about but never developed an “Anthropology of Religion” course. So you are right, nothing we do
fits nicely into your proposed program. The so-called “Peoples Courses” (312-319) have varying degrees of emphasis
on religion. The Middle East and South Asia courses usually spend around two weeks discussing the subject. In the
Europe and North America courses, almost no time at all is devoted to religion. I worry that including the courses
already on the books in our dept. might cause some of your program participants to be frustrated with what turns out to
be a relatively modest amount of time devoted to the subject. On the other hand, we have a faculty member, Deanna
Kingston, who has mentioned wanting to teach a course on religion within the department. Do you have room in your
proposal for future courses under development? This might be the incentive we need to turn her loose to develop the
course for 2006-2007. Hope that helps, davidmc
LIAISON RESULT: No anthropology courses are currently included in the proposal.
PHILOSOPHY AND ART (Jim Folts, John Maul, Chairs)
9.20.2007
Hello, John,
I sent the message above to Jim Folts in summer 2006, before I was aware there was a change in the chair position in
your department. In reviewing my correspondence, Jim never responded, and I suspect he probably didn't forward my
inquiry to you. So, with my apologies, I would like to ask you what I had asked Jim about whether any Art courses
would be appropriate for inclusion in the religion and culture certificate we are putting together in philosophy.
Nothing formally has been done with proposal yet, because I couldn't write it up last year with my chair duties, but now
relieved of them, I want to push ahead on this soon. I have attached the current proposed course of study; please let
me know if there might be some Art courses that would be fitting for the certificate. Thanks, Courtney
11
LIAISON RESULT: No response
PHILOSOPHY and ENGLISH (Tracy Daugherty, Chair)
7.26.2006
I'm now back from my travels and catching up on e-mail. I think you've identified the main courses in our department
that would have implications for the study of religion (though you’re right that religion would probably not be
foregrounded in any of these courses). A couple of others that would fit would be Chris Anderson's Dante course,
which he usually teaches under the ENG 470: Studies in Poetry designation, and Laura Rice's ENG 213: Literatures
of the Middle East, which usually includes some background on Islam.
Please keep me informed of your plans as you move forward with your certificate program, and good luck. Tracy
LIAISON RESULT: One course from a cluster of Religion and Literature courses is
required for the certificate.
PHILOSOPHY and ETHNIC STUDIES: (Erlinda Gonzales-Berry, Jun Xing, Chairs)
9.20.2007
Hello, Jun,
I sent the message below to Erlinda in summer 2006. In reviewing my correspondence, Erlinda never responded. So,
I would like to ask you what I had asked Erlinda about whether any Ethnic Studies courses would be appropriate for
inclusion in the religion and culture certificate we are putting together in philosophy. Nothing formally has been done
with proposal yet, because I couldn't write it up last year with my chair duties, but now relieved of them, I want to push
ahead on this soon. I have attached the current proposed course of study; please let me know if there might be some
ES courses that would be fitting for the certificate. Thanks, Courtney
9.20.2007
Thanks so much, Courtney, for sharing the document with us. Personally, I would love to see that we contribute to
your religion and culture certificate program. Our faculty will have our Fall retreat over this coming weekend and let me
touch bases with my colleagues. I will get back to you soon after that. Again, I appreciate you are reaching out to us!
Jun
9.26.2007
As promised, I am getting back to you re our dept. discussion about potential ES courses for the religion and
culture certificate program. Right now, ES448/548 is probably the most appropriate course we would
recommend to you. I know probably you already have it included since it is a cross-listed course. Our
faculty will make some major revisions in our curriculum and propose new courses over the next couple
years. I will let you know if we have other relevant courses approved in the process. Thank you. Jun
LIAISON RESULT: Native American Philosophies (PHL/ES 448/548) is included as an
elective course.
PHILOSOPHY and FOREIGN LANGUAGES: (Joseph Krause, Chair)
7.14.2006
Courtney,
The three culture sequences which you listed all thematically discuss the significance of religious philosophies and
institutions to the cultural history of China, Japan and Russia respectively. They could, I believe, be legitimately
integrated into the religious studies certificate proposal you are undertaking. I am copying Vreneli Farber, Shiao-ling
Yu and Richard Anderson: they may want to add some specific details to my message. The other culture classes
taught in the department containing components related to religion (French, Francophone, Iberian and Latin American)
are not taught in English. They may or may not be a concern. Best, Joseph
7.14.2006
Dear Prof. Campbell,
I am glad to hear that you are interested in including the three Chinese culture courses in your department's plan to
develop a certificate program in religious studies. My courses cover the major Chinese philosophies and religions
(Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, Buddhism) and also some local religious cults. The coming of European
12
missionaries to China and a rebellion inspired by Christian beliefs (The Taiping Rebellion) are also included. If you
would like to know more details, please do not hesitate to contact me. Shiao-ling Yu
7.14.2006
Joseph and Courtney,
I can only speak for the Japanese culture sequence (JPN331, 332, 333) - but there is a major religious component in
both 331 and 332 - and less so in 333 tho it is still there. In JPN331(600-1600) we focus on elites since they are the
only ones who have left us written records from that time period - and it is almost impossible to read this literature
without some knowledge of religion and folk belief systems. JPN332 (Tokugawa/Edo period 1600-1867) focuses on
Genroku life, art and literature - and again it would be impossible to understand this material without some knowledge
of Japanese religion - especially Confucianism, Buddhism and Shinto. In JPN333 (modern Japan - 1868-today) I focus
primarily on the rise of militarism, nationalism, WWII and its aftermath -- religion plays a part in all of this - especially
State Shinto - but religion is not as central as it is in 331 & 332. Hope that helps. If you have any more questions let me
know. richard
7.16.2006
Dear Courtney,
I do not have much to add to what Joseph said, quite correctly, about the Russian culture sequence. The courses
(perhaps 231 & 232 somewhat more than 233) would seem to fit legitimately into the religious studies certificate. Good
luck as you proceed….! Vreneli
LIAISON RESULT: Courses in Japanese and Chinese cultures are options in the required
Religion and Culture section of the certificate. We did not include courses in Russian
culture because we do not have any Philosophy courses addressing Orthodox Christianity
in Russian, whereas we do have Philosophy courses examining religions of China and
Japan.
PHILOSOPHY and HISTORY (Paul Farber, Chair)
7.14.2006
Off hand I would say that the following would be appropriate (i.e., have a significant discussion of religion in them):
HST 320 (Ancient Near East—Ferngren); HST 342 (Christianity in Russia—Husband, HOWEVER I am not sure he is
going to offer this regularly, so I would check with him first); HST 387, 388 (Islamic Civ—Katz); HST 425 (Holocaust—
Kopperman); HST 485 (Politics and Religion in the Middle East—Katz); HST 486 (Christianity in Africa—Rubert). And
HSTS 423 (Science and Religion—Ferngren).
The Colonial America course does not focus on religion, per se, but, of course, it is about Puritan New England and
religion is the backdrop to everything (HST 471-2). You might want to check with Mutschler to see what he thinks.
Also, American Thought and Culture (HST 462-4) has a LOT on religion, from Cotton Mather to secularization in the
19th century. That course is generally offered by Sklansky.
Sounds like a good idea to have a certificate. P
LIAISON RESULT: Courses in religion and historical study are included in both the
religious diversity and religion in western experience section of the certificate.
RELIGION AND MUSIC (Marlan Carlsen, Chair)
7.14.2006
Greetings, Courtney….
Thanks for imagining that music could be a part of a formal Religious Studies program, as a degree, a minor or as a
certificate. The reason I say, "thanks," is that music as an essential component of the knowledge base for people
serious about religion as a discipline is pretty much assumed in Germany and England, in contrast to the United
States……….a condition I've always found peculiar, frankly, given the power and importance of music in religious
traditions and rites. Yes, I definitely would encourage you and your faculty to think along these lines.
Some suggestions for levels of immersion and background.
LEVEL I
3 credits
13
For those students with little to no background in art music, little interest in music as a serious human endeavor and
pretty much satisfied with the commercial/pop music experience
MUS 101--Music Appreciation (3 credits)
Taught strictly as an online course, MUS 101 would be a good foundation course in order to get an overall feel for the
art music as it has developed in Western Europe over the last 500 years.
LEVEL II 6 credits
For those with 3-4 years of participation in music activities in high school, and who recognize the centrality of the music
experience as part of the human condition
MUS 101
MUS 121--Literature and Materials of Music (3 credits)
MUS 121 covers the basics for understanding music….theoretical, historical, aesthetic, etc. It would enable a person
to be able to communicate at a superficial level with music experts, such as ministers of music in a church,
knowledgeable amateur musicians, etc. and it would provide a person with a perspective of what they don't know about
music and what might be "out there" to learn on some kind of self-curiosity program. Keep in mind this course is taught
as the first course of our 9-term sequence for the music major. It would be a very challenging course for those with
weak musical backgrounds, average commitment and/or mediocre time management skills. The attrition rate in this
course is about 40% among students who elect the music major as entering freshmen.
LEVEL III
18 credits
For those who are VERY serious about the traditions and varieties of Christianity and who intend to make the
KNOWLEDGE of Christianity, not faith--American style, an important part of their lives. This level is only suitable for
the very serious student with a solid musical background and excellent study skills. Not for sight-seers.
Three terms of Literature and Materials of Music (121-124)
9 credits
Three terms of Music History (324-326)
9 credits
Note…MUS 324 covers music from about 1200 to 1750 and hence includes a great deal of sacred music. MUS 123 is
a prerequisite. In Germany and England, intimate knowledge of the music from this period is a given for anyone
serious about Christianity as an academic discipline. Mc
LIAISON RESULT: For purposes of greater breadth in the certificate, MUS 101 and MUS
121 are optional courses.
PHILOSOPHY and POLITICAL SCIENCE (Bill Lunch, Chair)
7.14.2006
Okay, now I understand somewhat better -- I would need to go through our course listings with you, but most of our
courses on American politics and, these days, international relations will have some mention, if not a substantial
amount on religion. For example, in our introductory American government & politics course (PS 201), my sense is that
all the professors have added material on religious divisions among American voters and public officials. Naturally,
we've always covered the First Amendment, the Constitutional separation of church and state, and a variety of other
topics that touch upon religion.
As I said, when you have a few moments, give me a call and I can describe the degree to which religion is a topic or
subtopic in a number of our courses. Bill
LIAISON RESULT: See section 3.
PHILOSOPHY AND SOCIOLOGY: (Becky Warner, Chair)
7.14.2006
I think the department would really like to be connected with this certificate program. The instructor for the 205 course
is on vacation, but I talked with Sally Gallagher (religion course) and she supports this. As you get a draft of the
certificate going, send it over. I'm not sure what other classes might fit, but if we see the whole we might find other
relevant courses. Becky
LIAISON RESULT: See Section 3.
14
PHILOSOPHY and SPEECH COMMUNICATION (Robert Iltis, Chair)
7.13.2006
You won’t find many explicit connections to religion in our courses. There’s nothing in the Interpersonal, Small Group
and Intercultural coursework. Some issues could be engaged in the intercultural courses (326 and 426), but I think it’s
a stretch. Moreover, we lost our intercultural specialist to Macquarie U. in Sydney, and who knows when we’ll be able
to search for the replacement. So that’s probably a dry hole for the time being.
Of the Rhetoric and Social Influence coursework COMM 456, 458 and 466 could offer some connections, although
more in terms of allied themes than in specific religious connections.
458 addresses medieval through 19th century rhetorical theory. We only teach the course every other year, and I’m the
only one teaching it so it sometimes gets stretched beyond every other year. I begin with a heavy dose of Augustine,
however. Students read all of De Doctrina Christiana. Unlike most rhetorical approaches to that text, which only focus
on Book 4 and the adaptation of Roman rhetoric to the Christian world, I focus heavily on Books 1 through 3 and the
Augustinian theory of symbols. He offers an interesting theory of invention grounded in interpretation. Late in the
course we deal with the new epistemology and the Scottish enlightenment rhetorics (George Campbell, Hugh Blair and
Richard Whately). Although most of those guys were churchmen, and explored the new epistemology’s implications
for religion (the Miracles controversy comes to mind), we don’t focus heavily on that material. Whately’s theory of
presumption in argumentation is relevant because he’s concerned with attacks on Anglican theology and practice.
456 deals with classical Greek and Roman rhetorics. Students read Plato (Gorgias and Phaedrus), Aristotle’s
Rhetoric, and excerpts from the sophists, Cicero and Quintilian. Students reflect on the nature of truth and the place of
rhetoric in facilitating judgment. The most immediate connection to religion would be Plato’s. (Legitimate Rhetoric
must animate philosophical truth for those incapable of finding it on their own.) Plato’s position is developed in the
course as the counterpart to the sophists’ view that rhetoric facilitates judgments of better and worse, not truth.
466 deals with the ethics of rhetoric. Religion and rhetoric aren’t addressed specifically, but thematic implications
should be obvious.
Come to think of it (and rethinking the earlier statement about the interpersonal side of the department), Public
Speaking, Argumentation, Interpersonal Communication, Intercultural, Small Group and Gregg’s courses on conflict,
mediation and dispute resolution ought to be useful for anyone interested in the ministry.
Apart from TA 121 (Oral Interpretation), which again could be useful for teachers and ministers), I’m hard pressed to
find connections in that area. If you’d like to talk more, call me. Robert
LIAISON RESULT: Comm 458 is an option to fulfill the required course in Western
religious experience.
PHILOSOPHY and WOMEN STUDIES (Susan Shaw, Director)
7.13.2006
Hi, Courtney, this looks great, and we certainly support your proposal; we've just added WS 4/595 Feminist Theology
and Spirituality and would love to have WS 495 listed as an option. You may also want to include in that same category
WS 420 Hate, Resistance, & Reconciliation. It has a fairly significant religious/spiritual component to it. Susan
Liaison Result: WS 420 and 495 were included as an option under religious diversity.
3. Second letter of confirmation. A second email was sent on September 11, 2007 to all chairs
in the College of Liberal Arts who had responded with interest to the first letter of inquiry to
confirm past correspondence and finalize course offerings. The letter was again tailored to the
specifics of the department but generally assumed the following form (letter to Political Science).
The letter asked for a reply by October 1 or agreement would be presumed.
Hello, Bill,
I hope you had a nice summer. Over a year ago, I contacted you about our department’s interest in putting together a
Religion and Culture interdisciplinary certificate as recommended by our undergraduate review team in Spring 2006. I
have not been able to follow up on our previous discussion until now.
15
In any event, we are ready to put together a draft proposal of the certificate, and so this email serves as a liaison
notice. Based on your last email on this, it seems there are several PS courses we might include in the certificate, but I
really have to rely on your judgment. We would like to include courses that complement some of our teaching in the
academic study of religion, and broaden the learning of students in general, so please feel free to suggest courses PS
courses that should be included. In the attached document is a rough draft of the course of study, so you can see
where we are at right now. Please let me know if you have any comments, concerns, or objections. If I do not hear
from you by October 1, I will presume your agreement with the proposal.
PHILOSOPHY and POLITICAL SCIENCE (Bill Lunch, Chair)
9.12.2007
Thanks for sending this along. It looks very worthwhile and I do think we have some courses that might be useful for
the certificate.
I need to check with a couple of faculty in the department, but suspect that we will recommend one of our introductory
courses that speak to questions of pluralism and diversity (most probably PS 201, on American politics and
government, in which pluralism is a major topic, or PS 204, the introduction to comparative politics, that covers
differences between political systems around the world and illustrates the diversity of political traditions, which are
often influenced by religious approaches and ideas).
At the upper division level, I am guessing that some of our courses on political theory, particularly those on classical
and what is called "modern" (really from the renaissance to the 19th century) political thought, would be useful for
students interested in the influence of religion on governing institutions and politics. There may be a couple of other
possibilities -- for example, my course on the modern civil rights movement (PS 375) includes a fair amount of
coverage of the link between black churches, particularly in the South, and the civil rights struggles of the fifties and
sixties -- but I need to ask some faculty here if they offer any courses they see as relevant. I'll get back to you as soon
as I get responses from them with more specifics. Thanks again, Bill
LIAISON RESULT: Professor Lunch communicated with me verbally on 9/18/07 the support
of his faculty for the certificate and the specific courses discussed in the emails. They
have been included in the certificate course of study as options to fulfill a requirement.
PHILOSOPHY and SOCIOLOGY (Sally Gallagher, Chair)
9.12.2007
I think the proposal looks terrific. My only concern is that the pairing of soc and ws with offerings in music, all under the
category of "culture" seems rather odd. I understand the general sense of each as related to "culture" broadly
speaking, but the content of the soc of religion course, as well as the 205 seem quite different than the options in music
within the same category. I also understand that there's a practical issue of having too many categories or too few
options within a category, and perhaps those things, rather than content, are what is behind this particular grouping.
otherwise, I'm fully supportive of the proposal and the inclusion of these two Soc classes. Sally.
LIAISON RESULT: The courses comprising the category of religion and culture were
revised per Prof. Gallagher’s observations.
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON (Judith Boskin, Chair)
1.18.2008
Please forgive my very late reply to your note of December 20. I was very interested to read your proposal and I am
impressed with your diverse faculty resources in various aspects of Religious Studies at OSU. We, too, have seen
enormous interest in Religious Studies at the University of Oregon and I am convinced that this is a trend that will
continue for some time to come. I don't see any conflicts in your proposal with the degree programs we have at UO.
Our approach is also interdisciplinary and broad but I think it is also different in direction and emphases. In particular,
we have the benefit of a full time faculty trained in Religious Studies all of whom share a focus on the formative
traditions of their particular specialities, whether Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism or Chinese religion and
thought. We also are in an academic setting that offers language and literature instruction in Biblical Hebrew, Greek,
Latin, Arabic, Japanese, and Chinese. Thus, we focus, particularly, with our upper level students on close readings of
16
the various documents produced within the religious traditions we study. Preparation for and participation in such text
study will be the focus of the M.A. program we hope to establish soon that we expect will provide students with the
backgrounds both linguistically and methodologically to go on to Ph.D. programs elsewhere.
I wish you great success with the acceptance of your proposal and with this new degree option for your students.
Judith
17