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002693 REL-400-56:
Social Justice and World Religions
(1.00 - 2.00 credits)
St. Cloud State
University.
Dates: 09/08/2004 to 10/27/2004 on Wednesdays
Time: 6:00pm to
8:00pm
Instructor: Nazareth, Malcolm
**For a second credit, attend sessions on Monday nights from 6pm -
8:45pm
in Centennial Hall Room 127.
UNIITE's Fall 2004 Interfaith Thematic Series "Social Justice and World
Religions":
UNIITE and its parent organization CIE (Center for Interfaith
Encounter)
successfully conducted a Jewish Dialogues series
"Jews-Dialogues-Beliefs"
at 6 area churches on successive Tuesday nights in
February-March 2004.
Generally a hundred people attended each session except
the fourth at First
Presbyterian Church where attendance peaked with 150
persons in attendance.
Along with an overwhelming number of mature adults, a number of
younger
adults attended these sessions in part because the program was
offered for
one college credit. Twelve SCSU students were registered for REL
400-56
"Dialoguing with Jews in St. Cloud" in spring 2004. An even better
turnout
may be expected for the fall series with the possibility of students
earning
up to two credits at SCSU. Arrangements for college credit have been
made
thanks to the Center for Continuing Studies, the Religious Studies
Program,
the Department of Philosophy, and the College of Fine Arts and
Humanities,
St. Cloud State University.
The "Social Justice and World Religions" series is part of an
overarching
dialogue series called "Interfaith Sacred Texts and Communities
Series"
envisioned by Faith Communities: Building Racial Harmony (FC:BRH)
which is
a segment of Create CommUNITY. Tying a college course to a St. Cloud
dialogue
series is thus another UNIITE venture in bridge building between
academic,
pastoral, and other civic institutions in this Central Minnesota
community
in a concerted effort to engender cultural competence, racial, and
religious harmony.
The fall 2004 series is different in that for the first time the focus
of
the dialogues will not be on a single religion but on a single theme.
CIE
focused on Christianity (summer 2000). CIE and UNIITE focused on Islam
(spring 2003) and Judaism (spring 2004). Besides, all three series
were
conducted exclusively at different church locations, both Protestant
and
Catholic. The fall 2004 series will be thematic. Academically
competent
practitioners of five world religions will each focus on a single
topic:
social justice. Some of these dialogues will be hosted by area
institutions
including a university, a MNSCU community college, and a
hospital, and some
by area churches.
When:
15 Sept. (opening night) and 20 Oct. (final night's dinner and panel)
and
all Wednesdays in between, from 6-8 pm.
The five speakers have been requested to address the following
questions
in their presentations:
1) What are some of the sacred texts or stories that shape your
tradition's
approach to social justice?
2) How do social justice themes appear in your tradition's worship or
rituals?
(If there are rituals that do this especially well, participants
might be
encouraged to incorporate these into their presentation.)
3) Are there particular social justice issues (e.g. racial equality,
economic
equality, human rights, women's rights, environmental
responsibility, peace,
anti-colonialism) that are especially important to
members of your tradition?
4) Conversely, are there particular social justice issues that your
tradition
has struggled to embrace?
5) How do members of your tradition understand the role of government
and
politics in pursuing social justice?
6) Are there individuals, groups, or movements, rooted in your
tradition,
that have pursued social justice in an exemplary manner?
Expectations from students seeking a single credit:
1. No prior academic study of world religions is required.
2. Attend introductory session 6-8.45 pm, Wednesday, 9/8, in Brown Hall
137,
SCSU campus. Bring your 500-750 word position paper to read out in
class:
"What do I understand by 'social justice'? Based on what I know prior
to the
course, how have world religions, in general, and any one world
religion,
in particular, addressed social justice issues?"
3. Attend all six Wednesday night sessions of the dialogue series
mostly
off-campus.
4. Submit a 500-750 word report (due Monday 6 pm following each
Wednesday
night dialogue in instructor's mailbox in the Department of
Philosophy,
Brown Hall 123) summarily describing
a) the process of each
dialogue session,
b) the content of the speaker's presentation,
c)
salient insights and concerns that emerged in the q & a session, and
d)
your overall comment.
5. Attend concluding session on 10/27, 6-8 pm, during which
a) concluding
reports will be read out by participating students and
b) student
evaluations of the course will be processed.
6. Basic Text: May Pat Fisher, Living Religions, 5th edition,
Prentice-Hall, 2002. ISBN: 0-13-099228-3; other recommended readings tba
Expectations from students seeking two credits:
Same as above. Besides:
7. Attend sessions in CH 127 on Mondays 6-8.45 pm on 9/13, 20, 27, 10/4,
11, and 18. During these additional on-campus sessions, via
powerpoint
presentation, video, and discussion, students will receive basic
orientation
to each of the world religions which will feature on Wednesday
nights
during the series. Students will present in class and discuss their
written
500-750 word reports on each of the dialogue sessions completed off
campus
on the previous Wednesday.
See link for
Dates, Speakers, Topics, Sponsors, Locations
Dr. Malcolm Nazareth, Adjunct Faculty
Community Studies (SH 334: Ph:
306-3947),
Ethnic Studies (CH 230; Ph: 255-4928), Philosophy
http://web.stcloudstate.edu/mjnazareth
St. Cloud State
University
Executive Director, UNIITE
320/230-6669
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