PHIL 320

Philosophy of Religion

Dr. Jeff Johnson

	Louis Pojman		Annie (the springer)

IMPORTANT NOTICE!

What follows is so self-evident to me that I have never stated explicitly in words. But there seems to be a persistent misunderstanding, so here goes.  There are video-lectures that go with this course.  Viewing them is essential to doing well in the course.  They are a formal requirement.  Just as though you could hardly expect to do well in a course you never attended, trying to take this course without watching the video-lectures is just as foolhardy.

In this course you will be using a testing procedure requiring the use of a computer with Internet-access.

Contact the Division of Distance Education at http://www.eou.edu/dde/webadv/forms/testing.html or 1-800-544-2195 ext. 2 to  schedule a date for your exam(s).

PHIL 320 is a course in analytical philosophy of religion, not theology nor comparative religion. We will be exploring a number of fascinating and controversial issues this quarter. You should expect a lively exchange of ideas between the authors we will be reading, your peers in class, and your instructor. Although most of the specific content of the course will be new to most of you, the general themes and issues are familiar to most reflective adults. I assume, therefore, that all of you come into this class with some strong personal and religious attitudes. This will be part of what makes the course fun. You should expect to be intellectually challenged, both by the depth of these issues, and the responsibility for careful analytic reading and writing about such fundamental questions.

Our basic text for this course will be Louis P. Pojman's excellent anthology, Philosophy of Religion. In addition, analytical philosophy of religion is a research interest of mine, and we will be reading some of my own work in this area. You should expect that the reading will be difficult and time consuming. I wish this were not the case, but in fact, academic philosophy is very hard. Please be patient with the reading. You will find that it becomes easier as you begin to get used to it. Furthermore, I promise you that you will find these topics of value and worth your effort in trying to understand.

UWR Outcomes for Upper Division Writing Intensive Courses:

• Students will produce at least 5,000 words (including drafts, in-class writing, informal papers, and polished papers); 2,000 words of this total should be in polished papers which students have revised after receiving feedback and criticism.
• Students will practice the forms of writing and reflect upon the nature of the writing used by graduates and professionals in the discipline the course represents.
• Students will write at least one paper integrating information from more than one source, employing the appropriate documentation style for the discipline represented by the course.
• Students will draft, revise, and edit their formal written work.
• Students will seek assistance from a Writing Tutor in the Writing Lab when needed and when referred by the instructor.

Additional Outcomes:

• Understand the controversies and theories in philosophical theology.

• Read philosophical and theological texts critically and with understanding.

• Write effectively about philosophical controversies.

Means of Assessment and Grading:

• Open-book, non-proctored, timed (two hour) on-line essay mid-term examination (outcomes 1, 2, and 3) (33% of course grade).

• Open-book, non-proctored, timed (two hour) on-line essay final examination (outcomes 1, 2, and 3) (33% of course grade).

• A two to three thousand word original dialogue or analytical paper (outcomes 1, 2, and 3) (33% of course grade).

• Please note: a grade of at least C- is required in order for this course to count toward the University Writing Requirement 

LINK TO ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES

CALENDAR

I have kept the general structure of four lectures per week that was the format when the course was taught on-campus.  It is crucial that one-term, financial aid students come pretty close to the weekly time-table, though they are definitely free to accelerate the pace.