WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION
Tuesday: The Religious Dimensions of America's Multiculturalism
AM: Multicultural/Multireligious America
What are the changing religious demographics of the U.S.? What are the ways in which difference is designated in the U.S.? What are the contestations, the controversies, the problems, and the opportunities of a more complex religious pattern in the U.S.? What difference does it make that the United States is now a "multireligious" nation?
Reading for Discussion: Diana L. Eck, "The Mosque Next Door: Neighboring Faiths," Harvard Magazine.
PM: On Common Ground: World Religions in America, An Orientation Workshop
Resources: Access On Common Ground from the Network
or from your own CD-ROM disk. Explore "A New Religious Landscape"
by selecting one city or region to investigate, and explore "America's
Many Religions" by selecting a religious tradition you know
little about and investigating the range of information contained
in the CD- ROM. If you want some guidance, you can access and
download the Guide for Teachers and Students . For background
on the Pluralism Project and its resources, visit our website:
http://www.pluralism.org
Thursday: Immigration and Pluralism
AM: Immigration: A Multireligious History
What encounters with religious difference have shaped the history of the United States? What is the early history of Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Muslim America? What are some of the ways in which diversity and unity, pluribus and unum, have been approached in the making of America? What have been some of America's strategies for defining and dealing with difference?
Resources: On Common Ground: Look at "Encountering Religious Diversity," especially the Historical Perspectives sections on Asians and Asian Exclusion; God's Melting Pot; The Right to be Different; Xenophobia: Closing the Door; A Three Religion Country. Specific documents for discussion include Senate Speeches from the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Debate, Selections from Israel Zangwill's play, "The Melting Pot," Selections from Horace Kallen's articles "Democracy Versus the Melting Pot." Additional Reading: Philip Gleason, "The Melting Pot: Symbol of Fusion or Confusion?"
PM: Session at the Pluralism Project Offices
Becoming acquainted with Pluralism Project files and the seminar room library resources. Explore reference materials available at the Pluralism Project Office: Student papers, profiles of religious centers, publications, news articles, and videos. Discussion of website resources. Discussion of field visits: What are the basics of arranging a field trip? What guidelines should one consider when visiting a mosque? A gurdwara? A Hindu temple? A Buddhist meditation center?
Friday Field Visits: Islamic Center of New England in Quincy for Friday prayers, followed by the Massachusetts Budhi Siksa Society, Inc.: The Thousand Buddha Temple in Quincy.
Saturday Field Visits: Abhishekha of Lord Vishnu at the Sri Lakshmi Temple in Ashland, followed by briefer visits to the Jain Temple in Norwood and the Sikh gurdwara in Millis.
Resources: Introduction, World Religions in Boston. Website: Pluralism Project Research Guidelines. Review Stuart M. Matlins, How to Be a Perfect Stranger
Sunday evening: Barbecue and discussion (Lowell House Masters' Residence)
WEEK 2: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, CHRISTIAN AMERICA, AND THE TRIPLE MELTING POT
Tuesday: Questions of Religious Freedom
AM: Native America--The Land, the "Frontier," the Encounter
What does "America" look like from the perspective of its Native peoples? What range of attitudes have shaped Native-Christian encounters?
Resources: On Common Ground : "Encountering Religious Diversity" Historical Perspectives, Section on Native Americans and Christians (Documents); "America's Many Religions" Native American Section
PM: Religious Freedom in the Courts
What were the issues at stake in the passage of the Native American Religious Freedom Act? The Smith Decision? The Lyng Decision? How has the issue of religious freedom been raised by Sikhs? By Santeria Practitioners? By Pagans?
Resources: "Encountering Religious Diversity," Today's
Challenges, Section on Encounter in the Courts. Specific Documents
to be discussed: The Majority and Minority Opinions in the Smith
Case. Additional Reading: Christopher Vescey, ed. Handbook
of American Indian Religious Freedom, Prologue; Chapters
1, 4, & 5.
Thursday: A "Three Religion Country" --Protestant, Catholic, Jew
AM: The American Christian narrative, Then and Now
What has it meant and what does it mean to speak of a "Christian America"? What was the Christian composition of the country in 1700? In 1850? In 1950? In 1990? What are the presuppositions and arguments over whether the United States is a Christian country?
Resources: On Common Ground: "America's Many Religions," Section on Christianity, especially looking at Christianity in America; "Encountering Religious Diversity," Sections on Establishment or Tolerance (Documents); The Free Exercise of Religion; African Religion in America. Additional Reading: Look at Robert T. Handy, Christian America (Ch. II- IV)
PM: A Growing Diversity: Catholic and Jewish Americans
How were questions of diversity first addressed with the coming of large Catholic and Jewish immigrant populations? How have these questions continued in American life? What did Will Herberg mean by the "triple melting pot?" or when he called America a "three-religion country?" How did John Courtney Murray address the question of Catholic participation in the American pluralist project?
Resources: On Common Ground: "Encountering Religious Diversity" Historical Perspectives sections on Catholic and Jewish Immigrants (Documents); Parliament of Religions 1893 (Documents: especially Hirsch) Xenophobia: Closing the Door (Documents); A Three Religion Country (Documents) Look especially at selections from Will Herberg, Protestant, Catholic, Jew; John Courtney Murray, We Hold These Truths.
Suggested Weekend Field Visits: Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline, Temple Beth Shalom (Tremont Street Shul) in Cambridge, Old North Church in the North End, Trinity Church in Copley Square, Tremont Temple Baptist Church in downtown Boston. See World Religions in Boston or Pluralism Project website. Sunday evening: Barbecue and field-reports (Lowell House Masters' Residence)
WEEK 3: BUDDHISM IN AMERICA
Tuesday: A History of Asian Buddhism in America
AM: Buddhism in America: The Immigrant Traditions
A look at the Shin Buddhist tradition (the Buddhist Churches of America); the Chinese Fo Kuang Buddhist Movement; other forms of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Buddhism. The ways in which these communities differ from the Southeast Asian communities, especially the refugee communities from Vietnam and Cambodia.
Resources: On Common Ground: "America's Many Religions" Section on Buddhism. Additional Reading: Stuart Chandler, "Chinese Buddhism in America: Identity and Practice," Alfred Bloom, "Shin Buddhism in America: A Social Perspective" in Charles Prebish and Kenneth Tanaka, eds. The Faces of Buddhism in America .
PM: Los Angeles: The World's Most Complex Buddhist City
A screening and discussion of the film "Becoming the
Buddha in LA," a documentary on the Buddhist tradition as
seen through the lens of the various Buddhist communities of
Los Angeles.
Thursday: Reshaping Buddhism in America
AM: The Traditions of "New Buddhists" in the United States
What forms and streams of Buddhism have been adopted and adapted by Euro-Americans? A look at Tibetan, Vipassana, and Zen practice and teachers in the U.S. context.
Resources: On Common Ground: "America's Many Religions" Section on Buddhism. Additional Reading: Rick Fields, How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America
PM: Buddhist Practice and American Pragmatism
What has been and continues to be the distinctive appeal of Buddhism to Americans not born as Buddhists? What aspects of the Buddhist tradition have become central? A look at the reshaping of Buddhism as it becomes an American religion.
Resources: On Common Ground: "America's Many Religions" Section on Buddhism. Additional Reading: Rick Fields, How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America
Suggested Sites for Field Visits During this Week: Independent visits to a session at one of the Buddhist meditation centers in Cambridge. For those who have cars, a visit to one of the Cambodian Buddhist centers in Lynn or Lowell, or to the Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Roslindale.
Resources: World Religions in Boston and the Pluralism Project website
WEEK 4: THE RELIGIONS OF INDIA IN AMERICA
Tuesday: A History of Hinduism in America
AM: Vivekananda, Yoga, and Krishna Consciousness
What forms of Hinduism were first introduced in the U.S. and how have they shaped American ideas about the Hindu tradition? How have Hindus of the "new immigration" responded to these earlier forms of Hindu presence in the U.S.?
PM: Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains in the United States
What are the forms of religious life being transplanted in the U.S. from South Asia? What new questions do Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs have to face in the American environment? What "adaptive strategies" do these communities use? How important is "religion?" "culture?" "ethnicity?"
Resources: On Common Ground: "America's Many Religions"
Sections on Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism. Additional Reading: Raymond
Williams, Religions of Immigrants from India: New Threads
in the American Tapestry
Thursday: Reshaping Hinduism in America
AM: Constructing Temples, Negotiating Identities
What are the kinds of temples and religious institutions being built by Hindus in America? What kinds of traditions do they reflect? How does the process of temple building create new forms of Hindu identity in the U.S. ? What are the challenges of Hindu continuity in America?
Resources: On Common Ground: Sections on Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism
Additional Reading: Raymond Williams, Religions of Immigrants from India: New Threads in the American Tapestry
PM: Hinduism in America: The Problematic of Pluralism
How do Hindus define themselves in the American context? Does the Hindu tradition of multiple gods and ways of religious life make positive and reinforcing contribution to the ideal of American pluralism?
Suggested Sites for Weekend Field Visits: The Ramakrishna Vedanta Society Sunday service, the Swaminarayan Temple in Lowell, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in downtown Boston, or a return visit to the Sri Lakshmi Temple in Ashland. Sunday evening: Barbecue and field-reports (Lowell House Masters' Residence)
WEEK 5: ISLAM IN AMERICA
Tuesday: A History of Islam in America
AM: African American Traditions
What are the major periods of African American Islam? What are its major streams today? What has been the strong appeal of Islam to African Americans?
Resources: On Common Ground: "America's Many Religions" Section on the Islamic Tradition; "Encountering Religious Diversity" Historical Perspectives Section on African Religion in America. Additional Reading: Aminah Beverly McCloud, African American Islam.
PM: Immigration and Contemporary Issues
When and from what parts of the world have Muslim immigrants
come to the U.S.? What concerns have shaped the American Muslim
community through the decades? In what ways have Muslims encountered
stereotypes about Islam?
Thursday: Reshaping Islam in America
AM: The Five Pillars of Islam in the American Context.
Screening and discussion of the film, "Islam in America."
Resources: On Common Ground: "America's Many Religions" Section on the Islamic Tradition. Additional Reading: Chapters from Yvonne Haddad, The Muslims of America. Selections from The Minaret; The AMC Report; Hassan Hathout et al., In Fraternity: A Message to Muslims in America.
PM: Islam in America: Democracy and Participation
How do Muslims understand their role as engaged participants in a pluralist society? What are some of the forms of Muslim political and civic participation today?
Resources: On Common Ground: "America's Many Religions" Section on the Islamic Tradition, special attention to Profiles section and the various Muslim organizations. A website exercise to explore the contemporary concerns of the Council on American Islamic Relations, the American Muslim Council, the Islamic Society of North America.
Suggested Sites for Friday Field Visits: Islamic Society of Greater Boston in Cambridge, Islamic Society of New England in Sharon, Islamic Center of Boston in Wayland. See World Religions in Boston or Pluralism Project website.
WEEK 6: PERSPECTIVES ON MULTIRELIGIOUS AMERICA
Tuesday: Pluralism in America
AM: Multiculturalism and Religious Pluralism: Sites of Contestation Today
A look at some of the specific sites of contestation and controversy: zoning boards, hospitals, public schools, the workplace. A discussion of case studies.
Resources: On Common Ground: "Encountering Religious Diversity" Today's Challenges: Selected Documents. Zoning: The Lotus Temple in Garden Grove, The Pagan Temple in Florida; Hospitals: "The Needs of a Muslim Patient;" Public Schools: Secretary Riley's guidelines, PTA guidelines; Workplace: New federal guidelines on "Religious Diversity in the Workplace"
PM: Interfaith America: Distinctive Issues of Religious Pluralism
How has the "interfaith" movement developed the United States? What are the public, private, and theological implications of the burgeoning of interfaith activities?
Resources: On Common Ground: "Encountering Religious Diversity" Today's Challenges: Selected Sections. Discussion of case studies.
Thursday: Forum on Religion in Multicultural America
AM/PM/ Evening: Presentations by seminar participants and discussion. Conference-style format in the Thompson Room of the Barker Center.
Friday: Seminar Wrap-up
Course Review. Discussion of challenges and opportunities for teaching about religion in the classroom. Presentation about on-going involvement in the discussion of these issues through the Pluralism Project Summer Seminar website.
Summer Seminar Resources:
Our primary resource for the course is On Common Ground: World Religions in America, a CD-ROM edited by Diana L. Eck and published by Columbia University Press, 1997.
This is the primary required reading for the course. If you access On Common Ground from the Harvard network, note that the button "About this CD-ROM" on the Home page contains some basic orientation.
How do you get access to On Common Ground?
1) It may be purchased at the Harvard Coop textbook section or
at the Harvard Divinity School (HDS) Bookstore in the basement of the Divinity School.
2) For those in FAS houses or dorms, On Common Ground may be accessed in your room from the FAS network. Use the instructions found on the Pluralism Project Summer Seminar website.
3) You will also have access to the computers in the Computer Center in the basement of the Science Center or at Harvard Divinity School in the basement of Andover Library, and in Lamont, Widener, Hilles, and GSD Libraries.
4) Many of Harvard's libraries and buildings also have computer rooms where you can log on to the FAS system. The Barker Center (2nd floor) has a computer room, for example.
Additional readings are on reserve in Andover, Lamont, and Hilles Libraries. When an article is assigned for reading or discussion, it will be handed out in class. Many of the additional readings have also been ordered for purchase at the Harvard Coop or the HDS Bookstore for the convenience of those of you especially interested in a topic or disinclined to read the occasional chapter or two on reserve. For those interested in focused work on Buddhism or Islam, for instance, you may find it helpful to invest in your own copy of one of these books.
Books ordered for those who may wish to purchase them include:
Diana L. Eck and Elinor J. Pierce, eds. World Religions in Boston: A Guide to Communities and Resources (Boston: Pluralism Project, 1998).
Stuart M. Matlins, How to Be a Perfect Stranger: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People's Religious Ceremonies (2 vol. Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing, 1997).
Christopher Vescey, ed. Handbook of American Indian Religious Freedom (New York: Crossroad, 1991).
Robert T. Handy, A Christian America: Protestant Hopes and Historical Realities (New York: Oxford University Press, 1971).
Ronald Takaki, Strangers from a Different Shore: History of Asian Americans (New York: Penguin, 1989).
Rick Fields, How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America (Boston: Shambhala, 1992).
Raymond Williams, Religions of Immigrants from India and Pakistan: New Threads in the American Tapestry (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988).
Aminah Beverly McCloud, African American Islam (New York: Routledge, 1993).
Yvonne Haddad, The Muslims of America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991).
Will Herberg, Protestant, Catholic, Jew: An Essay in American Religious Sociology (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, reprinted 1983).
Additional Readings: Robert Bellah (The Broken Covenant);
Michael Walzer (What it Means to be an American); Charles
Taylor and Amy Gutmann, (Multiculturalism and the Politics
of Recognition); Steven Carter (The Culture of Disbelief);
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. (The Disuniting of America); Nathan
Glazer (We are All Multiculturalists Now). [Source: http://www.pluralism.org/neh/syllabus.html
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