Community, Boundaries, and Covenants:
Schedule of Assignments

This page presents information on the reading journals, explanations of the major writing projects, the schedule of sessions displaying when reading journals and papers are due, and acceptable extra credit projects. You may return to the Community, Boundaries and Covenants main page or visit the Bibliography page.

Reading Journals for Community, Boundaries, and Covenants

Your textbooks are well worth reading from cover to cover. For purposes of class discussion, you are only required to read sections from each text as assigned in the class schedule (see below). You should bring to class typed (or handwritten) notes (of about a page or two) indicating your reactions to the assigned reading and the contribution you intend to make to the class discussion on that session's reading. Contributions include useful questions as well as opinions and applications. Do not outline the chapter. I am looking for signs of human intelligence in the journals. After class discussion, you must turn in your notes which will be evaluated and returned to you at the beginning of the next class session. The collection of reading journals will contribute 18% of your final grade in the course.

• The first textbook for the course is Stephen L. Carter, Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy. New York: Basic Books, 1998. This is an enjoyable, insightful, lucid argument in support of responsibility, courtesy, mutual helpfulness, and civilized living. This is a textbook worth keeping; no need to run to the bookstore after the semester to sell it back to the bookstore for the next set of students.
• The second textbook is Richard E. Wentz, The Culture of Religious Pluralism. Boulder: Westview Press, 1998. This book may not be as fun to read as the one by Prof. Carter, but Prof. Wentz has some valuable insights to share on the threats to pluralism in American society. The pluralistic hopes of the framers of the constitution, including such bold thinkers as James Madison, need not be surrendered.

Assignments to Explore Civility, Community, and Boundaries

Your four projects for the course should each be about three to four pages in length. Focus on the assigned subject so that you can address the topic in a direct, clear, and accurate fashion. You should establish the routine of proofreading your papers and correcting unclear statements and errors in spelling and grammar. Remember that you are communicating your insights and knowledge to others in your writing, which should flow smoothly and lead the reader through the subject in an orderly and interesting manner.

We expect or at least have the fond wish that your ability to organize your thoughts and to communicate your ideas clearly, correctly, and persuasively will greatly improve during your course of studies at the college. To join the circle of educated professionals, you must use American English in a professional manner. If you need help, please ask!

Your projects will be graded on the basis of a range of factors including grammatical and syntactic accuracy, flow of thought, creativity, energy, integrity (no plagiarizing!), and informative content. Please include page numbers. Even a short paper can benefit from headings and a thoughtful introduction and conclusion. Each of your projects contributes 18% of your final grade for the course.

• Discover Symbolic Boundaries: Discover the symbolic boundaries making up the religious self-identification of twelve persons with whom you are acquainted. What label or badge would properly identify each of them in their own words? Ask each person to explain briefly how they distinguish between those who belong to their religious group and those who are outside their religious group. Some of your respondents may not be comfortable with traditional denominational labels, but may prefer more general cultural badges. Inquire about who belongs to their circle and who would be excluded from their circle. Compare your different responses and give your assessment of these attempts at articulating symbolic boundaries. Allow people to be as specific or broad as they wish.
• What Do We Owe Each Other?: Choose what you consider to be the six most fundamental mutual obligations that members of your social world should honor and practice universally. You may use a broad context such as all Americans or be more specific, focusing on your own family, circle of friends, religious congregation, community association, or professional group. Briefly explain each of your choices and describe the practical value and impact of each obligation. You may look at Prof. Carter's list for some ideas, but do not blindly copy his opinions. What do you personally think about civility and responsibility?
• Defining Disloyalty: Among early Christians, the figure of Judas represented disloyalty and treachery against their group. Among Americans, Benedict Arnold has fulfilled this role. Choose a more-or-less contemporary person of some importance that you regard as a symbol of disloyalty to the group. Explain how this person betrayed their community or tradition. What actions, if any, would qualify for full restoration of this person and for granting respect and leadership again to this person? You may choose an ambiguous figure that some admire as a hero and others detest as a traitor.
• Assessing Community: Describe in some detail from your own perspective and in your own words the four most significant concepts, insights, principles, or areas of information provided by the class lectures.

Course Schedule

• Session One: August 31. Lecture: Introduction to the course. Defining Religion
• Session Two: September 7. Discussion of Carter, pp. 3-37. Lecture: Functions of Religion. Rosh Hashanah.
• Session Three: September 14. Discussion of Wentz, pp. 1-14. Lecture: What is community? Terminology and meaning.
• Session Four: September 21. Paper on Discover Symbolic Boundaries due. No reading. Lecture: Concepts of civil society.
• Session Five: September 28. Discussion of Carter, pp. 38-75. Lecture: What are symbolic boundaries?
• Session Six: October 5. Discussion of Wentz, pp. 15-27. Lecture: Displaying and reinforcing symbolic boundaries.
• Session Seven: October 12. Discussion of Carter, pp. 76-112. Lecture: Analyzing the tie that binds.
• Session Eight: October 19. Paper on What Do We Owe Each Other? due. No reading. Lecture: Analyzing the tie that binds continued.
• Session Nine: October 26. Discussion of Wentz, pp. 28-45. Lecture: The tie of collective conscience.
• Session Ten: November 2. Discussion of Carter, pp. 115-147. Lecture: Stabilizing forces.
• Session Eleven: November 9. Discussion of Wentz, pp. 46-58. Lecture: Stabilizing forces continued.
• Session Twelve: November 16. Paper on Defining Disloyalty due. No reading. Lecture: Stabilizing forces continued.
• Session Thirteen: November 23. Discussion of Carter, 148-185. Lecture: Destabilizing forces.
• Thanksgiving and Hanukkah celebrations. No class.
• Session Fourteen: December 7. Discussion of Wentz, pp. 59-68. Lecture: Destabilizing forces continued.
• Session Fifteen: December 14. Paper on Assessing Community due. No reading. Lecture: Destabilizing forces continued.

Extra Credit Projects

Here are several acceptable extra credit projects that you may prepare to improve your final grade.

• Prepare a reading journal from Wentz, pp. 78-94 or pp. 110-120. This project may be used to improve your final grade by a maximum of 3%.
• In the global context, tensions between different ethnic and religious groupings can make cross-boundary communication and construction of broader community impossible. Choose an example of such problems. How have the symbolic boundaries been constructed to maintain hostility and incivility? How might the symbolic boundaries be redrawn in a more constructive fashion to encompass a larger circle of acceptance? How would you mediate such conflict and bring seemingly irreconcilable groups together? How could cooperation, communication and community be fostered? This project may be used to improve your final grade by a maximum of 5%.
• Design and post a functional web page that would be helpful for someone interested in the subject matter of this course. You may include brief comments on relevant books (such as our textbooks), annotated links to reputable, useful information on the internet, and your own contributions to the subject. Respect copyright in the use of text and images. This project may be used to improve your final grade by a maximum of 3%.

You can find a few hints about writing style and a list of common writing errors to avoid at my help page on Good Composition You may return to the Community, Boundaries and Covenants main page or visit the Bibliography page.

Return to the Lecture Hall. Thanks for the visit! This page was edited on 30 August 2002. Email is welcomed by John R. Mitchell, Part-time Instructor in Religion. © 2000-2002 Erasmus Compositor, P.O. Box 25958, Baltimore, MD 21224. For an introduction to life at the center of the world forty centuries ago, visit an old Sumerian scribe at the Nippur Quay. You can also visit Villa Julie College.