Language and Religion:
Topics Course: E103 (Section #15546)
February 19, 2007
Link to Oncourse
Click on `IUB' and enter login and password.
Assistant Instructor: Mark VanDam
mvandam@indiana.edu
Course Goals:
1. To examine ways in which
religion and language influence each other: specialized speech styles (chant,
prayer, speaking in tongues, etc),
2. Study the influence of
literacy and writing on sacred texts and the resulting problems of translation.
3. Learn various ways religions
use language to implement religious ideals.
4. Learn something about
unfamiliar religious, although studying the beliefs of specific religions is a
secondary goal.
General Procedures
1. A midterm exam and a final exam.
2. Five (5) brief unannounced quizes will be given in lecture.
3. There will be 5 graded homeworks.
4. Students will write a
report about a religion they are not familiar with. Details coming
soon.
5. This syllabus will be updated on the course webpage regularly. Keep checking it.
Other Basic
Information
Syllabus
Week 1. (Jan 8, 10)
What is a Religion? The case of Shinto
Read: Burke, 1-12.
Overview of topics
How
can we talk
about religion in class?
What
is a religion? Do they all share a common purpose?
Read on the web (required):
Shinto
page at `ReligiousTolerance.org'.
A nice quick summary of many features. (about 5 pages)
Port’s
lecture
notes on Shinto.
Week 2. (Jan
15, 17)
What is language? How do they work?
Read:
Design Features of Language (by Port revised from C. Hockett)
Listen to Abbot and Costello's
`Who's on First?'. This comedy
skit reminds us how ambiguous language is and should make you think about how
amazing it is that we can somehow use this system for reliable communication.
Lecture Slides
Week 3. (Jan 22-MLKday- 24) Writing
Week 4.
(Jan 29, 31) Hinduism
Read Burke, Chapter 1,
Hinduism, pp. 15-38 and Bhagavad Gita
excerpts, pp. 51-60.
Recommended additional material.
-
Child's Intro to HinduismThis poses a series questions
by a hypothetical American-born child of Hindu parents about the religions
along with `mother's' short answers (by Gangadhar Choudhary).
- `Some simple mantras,
if you are just starting out', by Thomas Ashley-Farrand. Listen to the short recording of `Om
Sri Rama, Jaya Rama, Jaya jaya Rama'. Of course,
one should repeat it dozens of times.
Week 5. (Feb 5, 7)
Indo-European Language Family and Oral `literature'
Read Why do languages change? Edited
Read Reconstructing the Proto-Indoeuropean language (or
PIE) Edited
Chart of Indo-European language family: simple, more
detail Neither chart shows Sanskrit on the Indic branch.
Week 6. (Feb 12, 14) Buddhism in General and in Tibet.
Week 7
(Feb 19, 21) Confucianism
First Midterm Exam Wednesday -
covers through week 5 (not Buddhism or Confucianism)
Read: Burke
Chapter 4, pp. 121-140 (Confucianism) and Confucian texts, pp. 143-154
Week 8
(Feb 26, 28)
Taoism, Zen Buddhism and Language
Read: Burke, Chapter 5 (156-171) and 6 (Chinese and Zen Buddhism) pp 189-200.
·
Linguistic distortion of reality: Defending Zen on language (by R. Port)
·
A page
of Koans (by R. Port)
Zen approach
to swordplay (A couple paragraphs from D. T. Suzuki `Zen and
Japanese Culture', 1952
Week 9
(March 5, 7)
Islam and Arabic Language
Required readings:
Burke chapter 8, pp. 265-285
·
Introduction to Islam.
(a website at ReligiousTolerance.com), Parts 1 and Part 2.
·
Sufi Poetry
Reading on Arabic
language from Wikipedia. Read `Varieties of Arabic'
Homework on Islam, due March 10.
Recommended: For
information on the population size and growth of major world religious
movements, see:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/worldrel.htm
Spring Break
(March 12, 13)
Week 10 (March
19, 20) Judaism
Required readings: Burke
Chapt 7. pp 213-241.
Week 11
(March 26, 28) Christianity Sketch
Read: Burke: chapter 9,
312-341
Week 12-13
(April 2, 4, 9, 11)
Protestantism and the `Great Awakening’ in
America
Read: Article about The Great Awakening
Week 14-15 (April 16, 18, 23, 25)
Translation of Sacred Texts
Read:
Revised Standard Version: Acts
2 and Mark 16
(especially the last few verses, 11-20)
A
Pentacostal Revival by Jeff Todd
Titon (excerpts)
Read:
Comparing Bible translations.
Port's notes "The
Problem of Translation
Zondervan Bibles, Inc: Scale
of Literalness of Translation.
Homework about translation
Final Homework on Instinct due before the end of the week.
Recommended: These
readings are part of a collection of
good essays on Bible translation by Scott Munger.
http://www.gospelcom.net/ibs/niv/munger/ Read Sections 5.0-5.4 (in 5
successive web pages)
Another good reading is by Herbert Wolf: `When literal is not
accurate'.
http://www.gospelcom.net/ibs/niv/mct/12.php
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