Rel370: Religious Extremism Wofford College, Spring 2009
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REL370: Religious ExtremismWofford College, Spring 2009TTh, 2:30-3:50Main, 206Dr. Dan MathewsonOffice: Main 207 Phone Extension: 4560 Email: mathewsondb@wofford.edu
Though Muslim extremists currently dominate the airwaves, every religion has had, and continues to have, its own extremists, both high profile and relatively unknown. Over the last couple decades, Jewish extremists, for example, have been responsible for the assassination of Israel's Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin; the massacre of dozens of Muslim worshippers at the Mosque of Ibrahim in Hebron; and the planned, but thwarted attempt to blow up the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Christian extremists have been responsible for the bombing of abortion clinics, gay nightclubs, a Jewish day-care center, the Olympic Park at the 1996 Atlanta games, and the Oklahoma City Federal Building in 1995. Buddhists extremists perpetrated the 1995 nerve gas attack on commuters in the Tokyo subway system, and have had a key role in the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka between the Sinhalese and Tamils. Hindu extremists have been responsible for the mass killings of Muslims in the state of Gujarat, India; for the 1992 destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, India; and for numerous instances of caste violence. Sikh extremists have been responsible for the 1995 bombing of the Secretariate Building in the state capital in Chandigarh, India; and for the 1984 assassination of the Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. Certainly many more examples could be cited. The fundamental premise of this course is that in order to understand fully many of the violent conflicts that flood the airwaves today, one must first of all be conversant in the language of religion and be cognizant of religion's role in these conflicts. With this premise forming the backdrop of the course, the following are some of the course’s main objectives: To gain a fuller understanding of some of the recent instances of violence/terror/militancy promulgated by religious groups associated with one of the three Western religions; To examine the reasons that otherwise normal, ethical, and even good religious people view violence as an acceptable and oftentimes necessary course of action; To develop the vocabulary and theoretical categories necessary in order to discuss the issue of whether religions are inherently violent; whether religions are inherently peaceful, but often corrupted by wrong-minded adherents and used for violent means; whether religions are inherently both peaceful and violent at the same time; or whether there is another alternative; To monitor the media for news concerning ongoing religious conflict throughout the world. With these objectives in mind, the course is divided up into three parts. First, we will examine some introductory matters concerning religion, violence, extremism, and terror. Second, we will familiarize ourselves with some of the more high profile instances of recent religiously motivated acts of violence among Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Third, we will examine the theories of several notable scholars about what drives religious people to commit horrific acts of violence. READINGSRequired: Mark Juergensmeyer, Global Rebellion: Religious Challenges to the Secular State, From Christian Militias to Al Qaeda Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence Many other readings to be distributed or read online. Recommended: Gabriel A. Almond, R. Scott Appleby, and Emmanuel Sivan, Strong Religion: The Rise of Fundamentalisms around the World Talal Asad, On Suicide Bombing Hector Avalos, Fighting Words: The Origins of Religious Violence Richard T. Antoun, Understanding Fundamentalism: Christian, Islamic, and Jewish Movements Gershom Gorenberg, The End of Days: Fundamentalism and the Struggle for the Temple Mount Charles Kimball, When Religion Becomes Evil: Five Warning Signs Oliver McTernan, Violence in God's Name: Religion in an Age of Conflict Bryan Rennie and Philip L. Tite, Religion, Terror and Violence Jessica Stern, Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill Christoph Reuter, My Life Is a Weapon: A Modern History of Suicide Bombing Bassam Tibi, The Challenge of Fundamentalism: Political Islam and the New World Disorder COURSEWORK AND GRADES Class Attendance and Participation: Class participation is vital to the success of this course. You must be prepared to discuss the readings assigned for each class session. I will grade your participation for each class on a scale of 0-10. In assigning this grade I am looking for several things: level of enthusiasm demonstrated; quality of class participation; readiness to answer questions; demonstration that you completed the assigned readings and have monitored the news (see below). If you do not come to class, you will receive a grade of 0 (though you are permitted one unexcused absence). If you come to class but do not participate and are obviously not interested, you will receive a grade of 6. An average level of class participation will yield a grade of 8.5. Attendance and participation comprise 22% of your final grade. Media Watch Throughout the semester I want you to monitor the media for stories that pertain to religious extremist activity. Each class will begin with a discussion of these stories. Your participation in this discussion will be factored into your attendance and participation grade. Reflection Papers At several points throughout the semester short papers (4 pages, approximately) will be due. I will discuss the topics of these papers in class, but in every case, no extra research need be done before writing these papers. These papers ought to involve your own thoughts and ideas about the assigned topic, which in each case will involve the topic under consideration in the assigned readings. The reflection papers will be worth 22% of your final grade. Group Presentations You will work in groups of two or three to research and then give a short, 7-10 minute presentation about a religious extremist group. You are not limited to extremist groups connected to Western religions. You may select either a contemporary group (like Hamas or the Khalistan Commando Force) or a memorable group from the past few decades (like Aum Shinrikyo or the Branch Davidians). Your presentation should provide a basic introduction to the extremist group, including the following: General information: You should answer questions such as: Who is this group? Where did it come from? What religious tradition is it affiliated with? What sets it apart from other groups within its religious tradition? Extremist activities: You should provide a description of the extremist activity of this group. Have there been recent and/or notable violent episodes involving this group? Is there an ongoing, protracted conflict involving this group? Analysis: You should offer your own analysis on the cause(s) of religiously motivated violence, and especially, the explicit role that religion plays in the conflict. Group Presentations will be worth 12% of your final grade. Class Project: Five class sessions toward the end of the semester will be devoted to a group analysis of a current crisis involving religious extremists. As a class we will decide which group to examine, and collectively we will decide exactly what we need to educate ourselves about. We will divvy up work (research, short presentations, collection of documentaries, audio clips, and so forth), but at the end of the three weeks, we should have produced a collective body of work that will have allowed us to become much more informed and attuned to the complexities (especially of the religious variety) of whatever crisis we choose. Throughout the three weeks, and likely in the weeks leading up to these, we will, as a group, monitor the major media outlets (especially newspapers) for news about the crisis, and we will discuss current world events in class. Your contributions to the class project will comprise 22% of your final grade. Final Exam There will be a final, take-home exam worth 22% of your final grade. Grading Breakdown: Attendance/Participation 22% Reflection Papers 22% Presentation 12% Class Project 22% Final Exam 22% PART ONE: INTRODUCTION TO RELIGION AND VIOLENCE
PART TWO: RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM IN THE WESTERN RELIGIONS
PART THREE: THEORIES OF RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE
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