| 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 | Bhagavad Gita Introduction | Bhagavad Gita Sacred Text Analysis | Sep. 11: Ch. 3 Quiz; Bhagavad Gita; Hinduism Stream & Discuss |
| 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, Lecture 5 Dhammapada workshop introduction · slides 10–17 |
Dhammapada Sacred Text Analysis | Sep. 25: Ch. 5 Quiz; Dhammapada; Buddhism Stream & Discuss |
| Chapter 7: Daoism and Confucianism | |||
| Tue Sep 29 | Daoism & Confucianism Documentary | Chapter 7, Lecture 1 Confucianism: ethics, ritual & social self · slides 1–33 |
Documentary introduces Chinese traditions |
| Thu Oct 1 | Confucius: Words of Wisdom | Chapter 7, Lecture 2 Daoism: Laozi, Dao, De & wu-wei · slides 1–10 |
Supplemental video follows the Confucianism lecture |
| Tue Oct 6 | Chapter 7, Lecture 3 Zhuangzi and Daoist freedom · slides 11–20 |
Chapter 7, Lecture 4 Mencius, Xunzi, Han & examinations · slides 1–14 |
Exam 1 opens |
| Thu Oct 8 | Chapter 7, Lecture 5 Neo-Confucianism, religious Daoism & spread · slides 15–29 |
Chinese Traditions Sacred Text Analysis | Oct. 9: Ch. 7 Quiz; Chinese Traditions Sacred Texts; Stream & Discuss |
| Chapter 10: Judaism | |||
| Tue Oct 13 | Judaism Documentary | Chapter 10, Lecture 1 | Exam 1 due Oct. 13 |
| Thu Oct 15 | Chapter 10, Lecture 2 | Chapter 10, Lecture 3 | |
| Tue Oct 20 | Chapter 10, Lecture 4 | Chapter 10, Lecture 5 | |
| Thu Oct 22 | Chapter 10, Lecture 6 | Hebrew Bible & Rabbinic Wisdom Analysis | Oct. 25: Ch. 10 Quiz; Sacred Texts; Judaism Stream & Discuss |
| Chapter 11: Christianity | |||
| Tue Oct 27 | Christianity Introductory Video / Spoken Lecture | Chapter 11, Lecture 1 | Christianity documentaries remain homework |
| Thu Oct 29 | Chapter 11, Lecture 2 | Chapter 11, Lecture 3 | Nov. 1: Haunted History enrichment + video quiz |
| Tue Nov 3 | Chapter 11, Lecture 4 | Chapter 11, Lecture 5 | |
| Thu Nov 5 | Chapter 11, Lecture 6 | Chapter 11, Lecture 7 | |
| Tue Nov 10 | Chapter 11, Lecture 8 | New Testament & Nicene Creed Analysis | Christianity classroom unit ends |
| Chapter 12: Islam | |||
| Thu Nov 12 | Islam Documentary | Chapter 12, Lecture 1 | Islam begins; Christianity coursework due Nov. 13 |
| Tue Nov 17 | Chapter 12, Lecture 2 | Chapter 12, Lecture 3 | |
| Thu Nov 19 | Chapter 12, Lecture 4 | Chapter 12, Lecture 5 | |
| Tue Nov 24 | Chapter 12, Lecture 6 | Qur'an Sacred Text Analysis | Final Islam classroom meeting |
| Thu Nov 26 | Thanksgiving Break — College Closed | ||
| Mon Nov 30 | — | — | Ch. 12 Quiz; Qur'an; Islam Stream & Discuss due |
| Chapter 13: New Religious Movements | |||
| Tue Dec 1 | Chapter 13, Lecture 1 | Chapter 13, Lecture 2 | New Religious Movements |
| Thu Dec 3 | Chapter 13, Lecture 3 | Course Synthesis / Exam 2 Preparation | Last regular class meeting |
| 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 |
| Judaism, Ch. 10 | Full documentary | 6 | Hebrew Bible & Rabbinic Wisdom |
| Christianity, Ch. 11 | Your video/spoken introduction | 8 | New Testament & Nicene Creed |
| Islam, Ch. 12 | Full documentary | 6 | Qur'an analysis |
| New Religious Movements, Ch. 13 | — | 3 | Course synthesis |
Each major religion unit follows a consistent documentary-first, sacred-text-last sequence:
The Nov. 12 transition from Christianity into Islam is the only place where the next religion begins before the previous religion's Canvas coursework is formally due, but it is a clean transition: Christianity's classroom instruction ends Nov. 10, its work is due Nov. 13, and Islam begins with the documentary on Nov. 12. This avoids compressing Islam because of Thanksgiving while preserving the complete documentary-first / sacred-text-last architecture.