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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "PL 329"
COURSE NAME: "Religion and Global Politics"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Fall 2015
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Michael Driessen
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
MW 11:30 AM 12:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
“Religion” is driving contemporary political events in multiple, multifaceted, and mysterious ways. This course is designed to help students to make sense of this phenomenon and to begin to understand why, and in what ways, religion influences global politics today. In order to do so, the course will address normative concerns about the proper relationship between religion and states in contemporary political societies; theoretical concerns about how various religious institutions and religion-state arrangements influence and are influenced by political processes; and empirical concerns about how, why and where individuals are religious across the globe, and in what ways their religious ideas and identities might influence their political decisions and behaviors. Throughout the course students will be introduced to a set of concepts used by scholars to understand the theory and practice of religion and politics today. They will then have an opportunity to employ and critique these concepts by researching and writing a term paper on a case of religion intersecting with international affairs today. Possibilities include, but are not limited to, the Iraq war debate; the EU vs. the Crucifix debate; the Islam and Democracy debate; and the US foreign policy debate over the engagement of the “global Muslim community.”
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
The course is divide
The course is divided into 7 sections. In the first section, we will define the key terms under study, including religious actors, ideas, institutions and traditions, and how these various terms relate to one another and politics. In the second section we will examine how social scientists measure the extent to which states, societies and individuals can be considered “religious” and why. In the third section we will consider recent work in political theory and philosophy over the proper relationship between religion and politics in modernity. We will discuss the meanings of Secularism, Public Religion and Multiple Modernities. Our fourth section begins with a look at the decade-long debate on the compatibility of Islam and democracy and goes on to explore how religious actors, institutions and ideas are shaping global democratic politics in general. The fifth section takes on the relationship between religion and war and violence. The sixth section explores the various ways religion acts as an inspiration for political development, reconciliation and peace. The final section examines religion as an element of foreign policy.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
As with many courses in the humanities, this course is designed to not only teach you something about religion and global politics but to teach you something about how to read and write scholarly works as well. To help you to read well, you will be required to write one-page reflections on a reading or set of readings from five sections of the course. Two of these five reflections may be substituted for one-page reportages on a significant “religion and politics” news item of the week. One of the goals of this course is to stimulate you to begin looking through the global media with the open eyes of an expert on religion and global politics. As a point of departure into religion and politics news, I have created a blogroll of what I consider to be intelligent blog analyses and media resources on the links page of my website (www.michaeldriessen.com) and encourage you to begin your monitoring there. We will discuss this activity in further detail in class. We will also be hosting at least one religion and politics speaker in class and going on at least one religion and politics field trip, both of which will be announced in the first weeks of the semester.
In lieu of a final exam, you are required to write a 15-20 page religion and world politics case study research paper. The paper’s grade will be based on several stages of evaluation, including 1) a one-paragraph paper proposal (5% of the final grade, to be handed in week four), 2) a 10-minute meeting with me (2.5% of the final grade, to be scheduled for the week after the proposal), 3) a two-page outline which introduces the argument and the paper’s components and includes a bibliography (10% of the final grade, to be handed in Monday, March 31st), 4) an in-class presentation of the research (to be scheduled during Classes 25, 26 & 27), 5% of the final grade 5) The Final Paper (30% of the final grade, to be turned in the penultimate week of class), 6) Revisions to the Final Paper (7.5% of the final grade, to be turned in by the time of our final exam slot).
Finally, as a seminar class, your physical presence and oral participation is imminently expected and will be graded (on quality but not necessarily quantity, although some quantity is still better than no quality). More than 12 unexcused absences may result in a failing grade.
PL 329H: Students taking this course for honor’s credit are required to read all the “recommended” readings; meet with professor Driessen 3 times outside of class to discuss them; write a reflection paper on at least one of them; and hand in a 20 page final paper.
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TEXTBOOK:
Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments | Format | Local Bookstore | Online Purchase |
Rethinking Religion and World Affairs | Shah, Stepan and Toft | Oxford University Press | ISBN13: 9780199827992 | | | | | |
God’s Century | Toft, Philpott and Shah | Norton | 978-0393069266 | | | | | |
Religion and Democratization | Michael Driessen | Oxford University Press | 978-0-19-932970-0 | | | | | |
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments |
The Power of Religion in the Public Sphere | Vanantwerpen | Columbia Press | 978-0231156462 | | |
Sacred and Secular (2012) | Norris and Inglehart | Cambridge | 978-0521839846 | | |
The Ambivalence of the Sacred | Scott Appleby | rowman and littlefield | 0-847-68555-1 | | |
Political Theologies: Public Religions in a Post-Secular World | De Vries and Sullivan | Fordham University Press | 9780823226443 | | |
American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us | Putnam and Campbell | Simon and Schuster | 978-1416566731 | | |
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
Short Reflections (5) | 1 page each, on any section of readings. Reading reflections must be turned in by the dates indicated in the syllabus. (NB: PL329H students are required to write 6 reading reflections). | 30% |
Paper | Proposal (5%); Meeting with Professor Driessen (2.5%); Outline and Bibliography (10%); Presentation (5%); Final Paper (30%); Revisions of Final Paper (7.5%). | 60% |
Participation | Participation, Attendance and Presence of Mind are mandatory for this class. The goal here is to advance towards the art of asking good questions. Quality, not quantity of participation is what counts, although some quantity is better than no quality. | 10% |
-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the cour BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments. CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings. DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail. FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
Grading:
A: 95-100
A-: 91-94.99
B+: 87-90.99
B: 83-86.99
B-: 79-82.99
C+: 75-78.99
C: 71-74.99
C-: 67-70.99
D+: 63-66.99
D: 59-62.99
D-: 55-58.99
F: 0-54.99
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Attendance is compulsory! Students shall read assigned materials before coming to class and shall participate to class discussions. Please refer to the above notes and the university catalog for the attendance and absence policy.
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ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic
dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred.
In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment,
may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of
academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student
who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from
the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation
to the President, who will make the final decision.
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STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap.
Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning
of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
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SCHEDULE
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Course Outline:
1. Introducing Terms: Religious Ideas, Actors, Institutions and Traditions
2. How do we measure religion and who and what is religious today?
3. Secularism, Public Religions and Multiple Modernities
4. Clash of Civilizations, Religions and Democracy
5. War, Violence and Terrorism
6. Reconciliation, Peace-making, Inter-faith Dialogue and Development
7. Religion and Foreign Policy
8. Prophetic Religion and Other Final Thoughts
Course Calendar
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1. Introducing Terms: Religious Ideas, Actors, Institutions and Traditions
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August 31
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Class 1
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Course Introduction
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September 2
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Class 2
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God’s Century, Chapter 1
Religion and Democratization, Introduction
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September 7
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Class 3
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God’s Century, Chapter 2
Appleby, 2000, The Ambivalence of the Sacred, pp.s 1-8, skim pp.s 9-34 Library Reserves
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2. How do we measure religion and who and what is religious today?
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September 9
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Class 4
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(Reading Reflection 1 due)
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Norris and Inglehart. 2012, Sacred and Secular, ch.1 Library Reserves
Recommended: Gorski and Altinordu. 2008, “After Secularization,” Annual Review of Sociology, (34) 55-85
Take a look at current levels of religiosity around the globe:
http://features.pewforum.org/global-christianity/map.php#/global,ALL
http://features.pewforum.org/muslim-population-graphic/
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September 14
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Class 5
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Michael Driessen, “Religion, State and Democracy,” Politics and Religion, (3), 2010
Recommended: Religion and Democratization, Chapter 1
Jonathon Fox and Deborah Flores. 2012. “Religions, Constitutions, and the State: A Cross-National Study,” The Journal of Politics. 71(4) 1499-1513.
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3. Secularism, Public Religion and Multiple Modernities
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September 16
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Class 6
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(Reading Reflection 2 due)
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Charles Taylor, (2010). “The Meaning of Secularism,” The Hedgehog Review
Jurgen Habermas, (2006). “Religion in the Public Sphere,” European Journal of Philosophy
Recommended:
You can read a conversation between Taylor and Habermas on these papers here: http://blogs.ssrc.org/tif/2009/11/20/rethinking-secularism-jurgen-habermas-and-charles-taylor-in-conversation/
We will also be talking about this guy in class:
Andrew March. 2013. “Rethinking Religious Justification in Public Reasoning,” American Political Science Review 107(3): http://www.polisci.ucla.edu/job-talks/pt-jb-papers/Religious-Reasons-by-Andrew-March.pdf
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September 21
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Class 7
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Ratzinger-Habermas Dialogue: pp.s 251-268 in De Vries, H. and L. Sullivan. 2006. Political Theologies: Public Religions in a Post-Secular World. New York: Fordham University Press. Library Reserves
Recommended : Pope Francis. 2015. Laudato Si’
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September 23
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Class 8
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(Research Proposal and Bibliography due)
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God’s Century, Chapter 3
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September 28
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Class 9
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Casanova, “Rethinking Public Religions,” chapter 2 in Rethinking Religion and World Affairs
Alfred Stepan, “Religion, Democracy and the Twin Tolerations,” chapter 4 in Rethinking Religion and World Affairs
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4. Clash of Civilizations, Religions and Democracies
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September 30
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Class 10
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(Reading Reflection 3 due)
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Samuel P. Huntington. 1993. “Clash of Civilizations,” Foreign Affairs Summer
Nader Hashemi. 2010. “The Multiple Histories of Secularism: Muslim Societies in Comparison,” Philosophy and Social Criticism. (36)2-3; 325-338:
Recommended: Olivier Roy. 2012. “The Transformation of the Arab World,” Journal of Democracy. (23) 3.
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October 5
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Class 11
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Islam and Democracy
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Robert Hefner, “Rethinking Islam and Democracy,” chapter 6 in Rethinking Religion and World Affairs
Amr Boubekeur. 2005. “Cool and Competitive: Muslim Culture in the West” & “For Ramadan, Courting the Muslim Shopper”
Recommended:
Religion and Democratization, chapters 5 & 6
Alfred Stepan. 2012. “Tunisia’s Transition and the Twin Tolerations,” Journal of Democracy
Danielle Lussier and Steven Fish. 2012.”Indonesia: The Benefits of Civic Engagement,” Journal of Democracy
Mark Tessler, Amaney Jamal and Michael Robbins. 2012. “New Findings on Arabs and Democracy,” Journal of Democracy 23(4) 89-103
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October 7
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Class 12
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Contemporary Politics of Christianity
(Sign up for Meeting with Professor Driessen)
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Robert Putnam and David Campbell, 2010, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. Simon and Schuster. Chapter 15. Library Reserves
Senator Obama (2006) Speech on Faith and Politics at Call to Renewal's Building a Covenant for a New America conference
Recommended:
Putnam and Campbell (2012) "God and Caesar in America," Foreign Affairs.
Dionne et al. (2014) Faith in Equality. Brookings Report.
The Onion, “Court: Man Can’t Sue Applebees for Burning Self on Fajitas while Praying,” (2015)
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October 12
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Class 13
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Political Catholicism
Kalyvas, S. and K. van Kersbergen. 2010. “Christian Democracy,” Annual Review of Political Science (13) 183-209. (skip last section on Islam and democracy):
Religion and Democratization, chapter 4, pp.s 100-117, 123-134
Recommended: Pope Pius XII 1944 Christmas Radiomessage
Franco Garelli. 2013. “Flexible Catholicism, Religion and the Church: The Italian Case,” Religions 4(1)
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October 14
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Class 14
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Hindu Nationalism and Engaged Buddhism
Rajeev Bhargava, “Can Anything be Learned from the Indian Model of Secularism?” Chapter 5 in Rethinking Religion and World Affairs
Kyaw Hlaing, 2008, “Challenging the Authoritarian State: Buddhist Monks and Peaceful Protests in Burma”
Recommended:
Sonia Paul, “Hindu Nationalism in the Age of Modi,” Vice News
Michael Jerryson, “Monks with Guns,”
“Buddhism and Self-Immolation: The Theology of Self-Destruction,” The Economist
The Telegraph. Burma’s Bin Laden of Buddhism
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October 19
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Class 15
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Israel, Jewish Democracy and Eastern Orthodox Revivals
Kristina Stoeckl (2015). “Political liberalism and religious claims: The human rights debate in the Russian Orthodox Church as a challenging case-study” (on myjcu)
Jonathon Fox and Jonathan Rynhold, “A Jewish and Democratic State?” Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions (2008) read pp.s 507- 518
Recommended:
Guy Ben-Porat (2000), “A State of Holiness: Rethinking Israeli Secularism,” Alternatives
New York Times “Soul-Searching in Israel after Bias Attacks,” (2015)
Al Jazeera, “Orthodox Church’s Power Play in Crisis Stricken Russia,” (2015)
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October 21
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Class 16
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Religion and Global Democratization Trends
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God’s Century, chapter 4
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5. War, Violence and Terrorism
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October 26
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Class 17 (Reading Reflection 4 due)
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William Cavanaugh. 2004. “The Violence of Religion: Examining a Prevalent Myth,” & Appleby’s review of Cavanaugh in Commonweal
Recommended:
Kyle Harper. 2013. Christianity and the Roots of Human Dignity. Georgetown Berkley Center.
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October 28
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Class 18
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Religious Hostilities Reach 6-Year High 2014 Pew Report
God’s Century, Chapter 5 (pp.s 121-135) & Chapter 6
Recommended:
Eliza Griswold “The End of Christianity in the Middle East?” New York Times Magazine (2015)
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November 2
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Class 19
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Graem Wood “What ISIS Really Wants,” The Atlantic (2015)
“Islamic
William McCants, “Islamic Scripture is not the Problem,” Foreign Affairs (2015)
Recommended:
Scott Shane, (2015) “Faulted for Avoiding ‘Islamic’ Labels to Describe Terrorism, White House Cites a Strategic Logic” New York Times
Mark Levine (2015) “Why Charlie Hebdo Attack is not about Islam,” Al Jazeera
Elizabeth Stoker Bruenig (2015) “Is ISIS Authentically Islamic? Ask Better Questions: The Pitched Battle of Religious Legitimacy” New Republic
Pew Global Report (2014), “Middle East Concerns about Islamic Extremism Grow,”
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6. Reconciliation, Peace-making, Inter-faith Dialogue and Development
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November 4
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Class 20 (Reading Reflection 5 due)
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God’s Century, Chapter 7
James Gibson. 2006. “The Contributions of Truth to Reconciliation: Lessons from South Africa,” Journal of Conflict Resolution:
Recommended:
Andrea Bartoli Interview
Dan Philpott, “What Religion Offers for the Politics of Transitional Justice,” Chapter 9 in Rethinking Religion and World Affairs
Dan Philpott Interview. 2009. America. “Lessons in Mercy.”
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November 9
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Class 21
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Politics of Inter-faith Dialogue
(Outline due)
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Fabio Petito, “In Defence of Dialogue among Civilisations,” Millenium Journal of International Studies (2011)
Recommended:
Pew Research. 2013. Initiatives and Actions Aimed at Reducing Religious Restrictions or Hostilities”
A Common Word Statement: http://acommonword.com/lib/downloads/CW-Total-Final-v-12g-Eng-9-10-07.pdf
Michael Driessen and Brandon Vaidyanathan, “Interreligious Dialogue and the State in Muslim Modernity,” Contending Modernities
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November 11
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Class 22
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Anthony Gill and Timothy Shah. 2013. “Religious Freedom, Democratization and Economic Development.” Association for the Study of Religion, Economics and Culture
Recommended:
Robert D. Woodberry. 2012. “The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy,” American Political Science Review 106(2)
Katherine Marshall, “Religion and Development,” chapter 12 in Rethinking Religion and World Affairs
Jeffery Sachs. 2013. “Sowing the Future: How the Church can help Promote Sustainable Development Goals,” America
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7. Religion and Foreign Policy
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November 16
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Class 23
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Pew Forum, 2003, Religion and American Foreign Policy: (Read Hehir, Walzer and Krauthamer’s contributions
Recommended: Bishop’s 1983 Pastoral Statement on Nuclear Weapons (sections 1-26, 66-79, 122-161, 200-244)
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November 18
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Class 24
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Walter Russell Mead, “God’s Country,” Chapter 16 in Rethinking Religion and World Affairs
Thomas Farr, “America’s International Religious Freedom Policy,” Chapter 17 in Rethinking Religion and World Affairs
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November 23
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Class 25
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President Obama’s Cairo Speech
John Kerry, "Religion and Diplomacy," America Magazine (2015): http://americamagazine.org/issue/religion-and-diplomacy
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. 2009: “Engaging Religious Communities Abroad” pp.s 5-27, 55-82
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8. Prophetic Religion and Other Final Thoughts
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November 25
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Class 26
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Final Paper Due
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PRESENTATIONS
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November 30
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Class 27
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PRESENTATIONS
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God’s Century, chapter 8
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December 2
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Class 28
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PRESENTATIONS
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Jeff Scarlet (2009) “The Supreme Love and Revolutionary Funk of Cornel West, The Philosopher of the Blues,” interview in Rolling Stone
Raboteau. 1988. “A Hidden Wholeness”:
Recommended (if you like Brother West): “Cornel West: The Fire of a new Generation” New York Times August (2015):
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Final Exam :
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Final Revisions Due
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