| Date | Block 1 | Block 2 | Coursework / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter 1: Beginning Your Study of World Religions | |||
| Tue Aug 18 | Course Introduction / Orientation | Students Work on Mapping Worldview | Introduce Yourself due Aug. 18 |
| Thu Aug 20 | Chapter 1, Lecture 1 Foundations · slides 1–15 |
Chapter 1, Lecture 2 Building Blocks: definitions · slides 1–10 |
|
| Tue Aug 25 | Chapter 1, Lecture 3 Building Blocks: myth, ritual & sacred · slides 11–25 |
Chapter 1, Lecture 4 Theories & Methods: core approaches · slides 1–16 |
|
| Thu Aug 27 | Chapter 1, Lecture 5 Theories & Methods: critical application · slides 17–27 |
Sacred Noodle Practice Workshop | Aug. 28: Ch. 1 Quiz; Mapping Your Worldview; Sacred Noodle practice |
| Chapter 3: Hinduism | |||
| Tue Sep 1 | Hinduism Documentary | Chapter 3, Lecture 1 Historical foundations: Indus Valley · slides 1–14 |
Documentary introduces Hinduism |
| Thu Sep 3 | Chapter 3, Lecture 2 Vedic foundations, caste & transition · slides 15–30 |
Chapter 3, Lecture 3 Core beliefs and paths to liberation · slides 1–14 |
|
| Tue Sep 8 | Chapter 3, Lecture 4 Bhakti, deities, Goddess traditions & Tantra · slides 15–27 |
Chapter 3, Lecture 5 Bhagavad Gita & contemporary applications · slides 1–17 |
|
| Thu Sep 10 | Video Documentary: Sacred Journeys with Bruce Feiler, Episode 5: Kumbh Mela · purchased on Amazon Prime | Entire class period | |
| Chapter 5: Buddhism | |||
| Tue Sep 15 | Buddhism Documentary | Chapter 5, Lecture 1 Foundations, Sangha, spread & Theravada · slides 1–25 |
Documentary introduces Buddhism |
| Thu Sep 17 | Life of the Buddha | Chapter 5, Lecture 2 Mahayana, Pure Land & Zen · slides 1–14 |
Video precedes the Mahayana lecture |
| Tue Sep 22 | Chapter 5, Lecture 3 Vajrayana · slides 15–24 |
Chapter 5, Lecture 4 Symbols, statuary & mindfulness · slides 1–9 |
|
| Thu Sep 24 | Chapter 5: Buddhism Lecture (continued) |
Buddhism video | Sep. 25: Ch. 5 Quiz; Dhammapada; Buddhism Stream & Discuss |
| Tue Sep 29 | No Class — Instructor Personal Day | ||
| Thu Oct 1 | Chapter 5: Buddhism Buddhism unit completed |
Buddhism classroom unit ends | |
| Chapter 7: Daoism and Confucianism | |||
| Tue Oct 6 | Confucius: Words of Wisdom | Chapter 7, Lecture 1 Confucianism: ethics, ritual & social self · first half |
Exam 1 opens; schedule revised Oct. 6 |
| Thu Oct 8 | Chapter 7, Lecture 1 (continued) Confucianism: ethics, ritual & social self · finish |
Chapter 7, Lecture 2 Daoism: Laozi, Dao, De & wu-wei · slides 1–10 |
|
| Tue Oct 13 | Chapter 7, Lecture 3 Zhuangzi and Daoist freedom · slides 11–20 |
Chapter 7, Lecture 4 Mencius, Xunzi, Han & examinations · slides 1–14 |
|
| Thu Oct 15 | Chapter 7, Lecture 5 Neo-Confucianism, religious Daoism & spread · slides 15–29 |
Judaism Documentary Chapter 10: Judaism begins |
Chinese Traditions Sacred Text Analysis is now homework Oct. 16: Ch. 7 Quiz; Chinese Traditions Sacred Texts (homework); Stream & Discuss |
| Chapter 10: Judaism | |||
| Tue Oct 20 | Chapter 10, Lecture 1 | Chapter 10, Lecture 2 | Exam 1 due Oct. 20 |
| Thu Oct 22 | Chapter 10, Lecture 3 | Chapter 10, Lecture 4 | |
| Tue Oct 27 | Chapter 10, Lecture 5 | Chapter 10, Lecture 6 | |
| Thu Oct 29 | Hebrew Bible & Rabbinic Wisdom Analysis | Christianity Introductory Video / Spoken Lecture Chapter 11: Christianity begins |
Nov. 1: Ch. 10 Quiz; Sacred Texts; Judaism Stream & Discuss; Haunted History enrichment + video quiz Christianity documentaries remain homework |
| Chapter 11: Christianity | |||
| Tue Nov 3 | Chapter 11, Lecture 1 | Chapter 11, Lecture 2 | |
| Thu Nov 5 | Chapter 11, Lecture 3 | Chapter 11, Lecture 4 | |
| Tue Nov 10 | Chapter 11, Lecture 5 | Chapter 11, Lecture 6 | |
| Thu Nov 12 | New Testament & Nicene Creed Analysis | Islam Documentary Chapter 12: Islam begins |
Christianity classroom unit ends; Islam begins; Christianity coursework due Nov. 13 |
| Chapter 12: Islam | |||
| Tue Nov 17 | Chapter 12, Lecture 1 | Chapter 12, Lecture 2 | |
| Thu Nov 19 | Chapter 12, Lecture 3 | Chapter 12, Lecture 4 | |
| Tue Nov 24 | Chapter 12, Lecture 5 | Chapter 12, Lecture 6 | Final Islam classroom meeting |
| Thu Nov 26 | Thanksgiving Break — College Closed | ||
| Tue Dec 1 | Qur'an Sacred Text Analysis | Chapter 13: New Religious Movements Single lecture · begins |
Qur'an analysis follows Thanksgiving; New Religious Movements begins |
| Chapter 13: New Religious Movements | |||
| Thu Dec 3 | Chapter 13: New Religious Movements Single lecture · continued |
Course Synthesis / Exam 2 Preparation | Last regular class meeting Dec. 3: Ch. 12 Quiz; Qur'an; Islam Stream & Discuss due |
| Sat Dec 5 | — | — | Service Learning extra credit due |
| Sun Dec 6 | — | — | Ch. 13 Quiz due |
| Thu Dec 10 | Final Exam | 10:00 – 11:50 a.m. | Exam 2: Abrahamic Traditions |
| Unit | Introductory Material | Lectures | Closing Activity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter 1 | Course orientation + Mapping Worldview | 5 | Sacred Noodle practice |
| Hinduism, Ch. 3 | Full documentary | 5 | Bhagavad Gita introduction + analysis |
| Buddhism, Ch. 5 | Documentary + Life of the Buddha | 5 | Dhammapada analysis |
| Chinese Traditions, Ch. 7 | Documentary + Confucius: Words of Wisdom | 5 | Sacred Text analysis (homework) |
| Judaism, Ch. 10 | Full documentary | 6 | Hebrew Bible & Rabbinic Wisdom |
| Christianity, Ch. 11 | Your video/spoken introduction | 6 | New Testament & Nicene Creed |
| Islam, Ch. 12 | Full documentary | 6 | Qur'an analysis |
| New Religious Movements, Ch. 13 | — | 1 class period · 2 blocks |
Course synthesis |
Each major religion unit follows a consistent documentary-first, sacred-text-last sequence:
The Nov. 12 transition from Christianity into Islam happens within a single class meeting: Christianity's classroom instruction ends with the New Testament & Nicene Creed Analysis in Block 1, Islam begins with the documentary in Block 2, and Christianity's coursework is due Nov. 13. Islam's six lectures run Nov. 17–24, and the Qur'an Sacred Text Analysis follows Thanksgiving on Dec. 1, with Islam coursework due Dec. 3. This keeps Islam intact around Thanksgiving while preserving the documentary-first / sacred-text-last architecture.