DROP
POLICY: You must log into
the class by Thursday of the
first week to
avoid being dropped. To
log into the
class,
simply click on its name
after you have logged into the Moodle online course system at classes.lanecc.edu. If you can
see the course page and a weekly outline of topics, you have
successfully
logged in to the class. If
you are logging in the first day and don't see the class or the weekly
outline appears blank, try logging in later, as the new course may not
be up yet. For help logging in,
click here
or contact the
Student
Help Desk (SHeD)
at 463-3333. Logging in to the course counts as first week attendance
for
the
purpose of instructor drops.
However,
please
check
your MyLane or schedule before Sunday 11:59pm to make sure you are not registered in any
unwanted classes, as there is
no guarantee any instructor will drop
you for non-attendance. You
will be charged for any class you do not drop by Sunday, October 3, 11:59pm.
To
drop a class, go to mylane.lanecc.edu
and
click the myEnrollment tab, then Add/Drop Classes. You
should also check your schedule the second week to make sure you have
not been dropped from any of your classes,
as there is a
$100 "add grade" fee
for registering
for a course after grades have been issued for the term.
Being able to log into the course in Moodle
does not mean you are still
officially registered; check your
myLane
student schedule to see the classes in which you are officially
enrolled.
The last day to
drop without a refund
(or
change your grading option
to pass/no pass or letter grade) Friday, November 19
at
5pm (the end of the 8th week). If you do
not
drop by this deadline, you will
receive a grade. For students
who forget to drop and do not complete the course, this grade will be an F.
| WEBSITE |
teach.lanecc.edu/borrowdalej
(note that there is no "www" in this address). You can also
find it by searching for "philosophy," "religion," or "Borrowdale"
using
the Search Lane feature in
the upper left corner of the
main campus web page at lanecc.edu |
MOODLE
MESSAGING
|
Preferred
form of communication. To send me a message, click on the word Messages in the Message block, click the Search tab, enter "Borrowdale" in
the Name field and click the
search button. Click on my name, and then click the words Add Contact. Then just type your
message and click the Send
button. When I respond, you will see an indicator in the Messages
block. To use Moodle messaging, make sure your
web browser's pop-up blocker is off or is set to allow lanecc.edu. The SHeD can help you with
this. If you leave the Messages
pop-up window open, it will
automatically check for new messages every minute; otherwise, you will
only see
new messages when you click on something in the course or log in to the
course again.
You can also set your profile to receive email notifications of new
Moodle messages. |
| EMAIL |
borrowdalej@lanecc.edu Second
preferred form of contact, after Moodle instant messaging,
described above; please use descriptive
subject
lines and include your class
(e.g. REL 203, "Mideast class"and "TR 1:00" or "online") and full name
in your email. Note that emails with no subject or subject lines like
"Hey" "Test" or
"Hi there!" will probably be filtered out by the Digitar spam filter
and may never be read. |
| PHONE |
463-5434. Least
preferred form of contact. On
voicemail messages please give your name and call-back number clearly
and slowly
so I can write them down correctly. Phone messages are answered last,
after I've answered all incoming Moodle instant messages and
email
and are generally not checked evenings, weekends, or
holidays. |
| OFFICE |
CEN 410 J (Enter
through
Hallway B, next to the interior North stairs, across from the
restrooms) |
| OFFICE
HOURS |
M
3:30-4:30pm, Tu 5-6pm, W 1-2, Th 10-11 in CEN 410J and F 3-4pm Moodle
messaging only |
| SUBJECT
MATTER |
This
is
a course in three dominant religious
traditions originating in the Middle East: Judaism, Christianity and
Islam.
Our focus will be on the early historical development of these
traditions and their sacred texts, essential beliefs, basic practices
and major sects. As time permits, we will discuss ways in which these
religions affect (or are affected by) contemporary culture, geopolitics
and daily life.
|
| TEXT |
Borrowdale, Religions of the Middle East: An
Anthology
of Sacred Texts from Judaism, Christianity and Islam, 5th
Edition (available at the LCC Titan Bookstore)
|
REQUIREMENTS
RELIGIOUS
SERVICE
OR
FAITH INTERVIEW REPORT |
Friday,
November 19 before 11:55pm
|
10%
of grade
|
| FIRST
MIDTERM
EXAM |
Begins:
Thursday,
October 21 at 3pm
Ends: Thursday, October 28 at 7pm |
30%
of grade |
SECOND
MIDTERM
EXAM
|
Begins:
Tuesday November 9 at 3pm
Ends: Thursday November 18 at 7pm
|
30%
of
grade
|
| FINAL
EXAM |
Begins: Monday, December 6 at
8am
Ends: Thursday, December 9 at 5pm
|
30%
of grade |
COURSE OBJECTIVES: The objectives for this course
are that each student
(1) know how each of the major traditions was founded and developed,
and what their essential beliefs and practices are today (2) see
how these
beliefs and practices have influenced world history and continue to
affect social and political dimensions of the modern world (3) acquire
or sharpen critical and analytical reasoning skills, particularly those
involving hermeneutics (textual analysis and interpretation) (4) see
the fallacies which underly subjective, mystical, conspiratorial,
extra-terrestrial, Marxist and other misinterpretations of religious
texts (5) be
able to see the world from the perspective of another religious
tradition (6) understand both conservative and liberal interpretations
of religion (7) grapple with the problem of religious pluralism (8)
come to some conclusions about which, if any, of the beliefs studied
are true, or nearest the truth, and more generally about the nature of
religion itself.
READING:
It is important to read the
material in order to
participate
intelligently in class discussion and perform well on exams.
CLASSROOM STUDENTS: If you are in the classroom section (CRN
#
21389), it
will
be very difficult
to succeed in this class without regular attendance. Some
material may appear on the exams which is not covered in the text, and
students with sporadic attendance almost always do poorly on exams. After
the
first week, do not burden the
instructor with messages about absences
of one or two class days due to illness or
other
contingencies. The rate of
absenteeism being what it is, such "courtesy" calls or emails are a
nuisance. On the
other hand, if you must be absent for an extended period of time due to
serious illness, military service, business
travel, family emergency, and so on, don't hesitate to contact me if
you must take an exam at a later date or require other help. If you
don't require special accommodation, please simply get notes from
another student and
check for any new announcements or handouts on Moodle. Note: There will be no
class Thursday,
November 11 (Veterans Day). The campus will be closed.
If you are
sick, please stay home and rest. Coming to class sick will prolong your
own illness and infect others. Also, please refrain from visiting my
office if you still have flu or cold symptoms; it is a small, confined
space and I do not want to contract your illness. You can reach me by
phone during office hours if you need to speak with me.
ONLINE STUDENTS: If you are in
the online section (CRN #
24174)
, you will be listening to class
recordings on mp3, supplemented by powerpoints and whiteboard notes
posted to Moodle. To succeed in this course will require you to keep up
with the recordings. Class sessions clarify and elaborate on the text
and some material is covered in class recordings which is not in the
text.
COMPUTER USE:
This
course requires you to use (but not
necessarily
own)
a computer. Testing, distribution and archiving
of
notes and handouts, outside-of-class
communication and
reporting and
calculation of grades are
all done via Moodle. Campus
labs are staffed with people who can help you if you
are
new to computers or have difficulty using them. Visit
the
Student Help Desk
(SHeD) website at
lanecc.edu/icl/shed.html,
call
them at 463-3333 or visit them in person at the Library Circulation
Desk on the 2nd floor of the Center building for
assistance. Campus computer lab hours may be found at
http://lanecc.edu/icl/labhours.htm Please make sure your
current
email address is in your myLane account and Moodle profile.
EXAMS: You will have a window of several days during
which you
must take each exam in the
Social
Science
Testing Lab in
CEN 456 on the Main Campus or at the
Cottage
Grove Center. You will need a photo I.D. and to
know your L Number and myLane PIN to log into the test. The exam
format
will be multiple choice and true/false questions.
During
the
exam you may use a 3 x 5 card note card (both sides) or a
piece of paper measured with a ruler and cut to the
same size. The
final
will
not be
comprehensive. The exact start and stop times of exams will be
announced in class, put in
a Moodle announcement and may also be seen by clicking on the exam
name in
the main course view as soon as the date is set. Lab hours for the
Social Science Testing Lab
are posted at
http://teach.lanecc.edu/timmerst.
You must
arrive one hour before closing.
MAKE-UP EXAM POLICY: Since you
will have at least four or five days to take the exam, you will be
expected to meet the deadline. You must contact the instructor
before the deadline via Moodle messaging or
email
to request an extension without penalty.
PENALTIES FOR CHEATING: Students caught cheating
will be given an F in the course.
RELIGIOUS SERVICE OR FAITH INTERVIEW
REPORT: Students will
either
interview a person of an unfamiliar faith or visit an unfamiliar
religious service and sum up their experience in report due the Monday
of the last week of classes. These reports will be graded on a
credit/no credit basis, though partial credit may be assigned in cases
where the report does not follow the directions, is of insufficient
length or is late. Keep in mind that
10% is the equivalent of a letter grade. If you do not turn in the
report, your grade will be one letter grade lower.
Before beginning the assigment,
click on it in Moodle
and
read the directions.
Plagiarism
of any kind will result in an F in the course.
GRADING: At
the end of the
term, the class will be graded on the
following absolute scale. Extra
credit
work does not count towards the A+.
| A+ 97% -100% |
A 93% - 96%
|
A- 90% - 92% |
| B+ 87% - 89% |
B 83% - 86% |
B- 80% - 82% |
| C+ 77% - 79% |
C 73% - 76% |
C- 70% - 72% |
| D+ 67% - 69% |
D 63% - 66% |
D- 60% - 62% |
| |
F 0% - 59% |
|
AVAILABILITY
OF
THE INSTRUCTOR: I am
available by Moodle messaging, Moodle ChatZone, email, phone, or
in-person office visits.
If
you are having difficulties with the class, please contact me as
soon
as possible; I am here to help. If you performed poorly on your
first exam, please come by office hours or make an appointment to see
me to see what we can do to improve your next exam score. I am also
available to discuss
any issue
in
the class which has piqued your intellectual curiosity, or which you
find
interesting or important, outside of the realm of assignments and
testing.
DISABILITY
SERVICES: If you need support
or assistance because of a disability, you may be eligible for academic
accommodations through Disability Service. For more information,
contact the Disability
Services at (541) 463-5150 (voice) or 463-3079 (TTY), stop by Building
1,
Room 218, or contact Nancy Hart (541) 463-3010. You may also want to
check
out Lane's On-Line
Resource Page
for students with disabilities.