Portland State University
Fall 2010
All linked pages are (c) John S. Ott

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Office: Cramer Hall 441-M (Department of History)
Office hours: By e-mail appt. only
Office phone: 503.725.3013 (ott@pdx.edu)
Mentor: Michael Phelps (pizzamj32@gmail.com)

Course description

FRINQ 104A: Faith and Reason pursues a year-long inquiry into two of the foundational ways of knowing and explaining the experience of what it is to be human.  “Faith” and “reason” have been understood and characterized in different ways over the course of many millennia, and have been differently valued and favored in different cultural and historical contexts.  Although by no means its only context or application, faith is frequently associated with modes of knowing or inquiry we refer to as “religion” or “spirituality,” while reason is often attached to modes of knowing and inquiry we label as “science” or “philosophy.”  Our goal this year will be to approach and appreciate some of the cultural and historical contexts, from antiquity to the present day, in which faith and reason are expressed, co-exist, and, sometimes, clash.  In particular, “faith and reason” will be employed in this term as a lens by which to examine human cosmologies, or ways of representing the world and universe, found in the premodern western tradition.

Course organization and objectives

Each term will be structured around a series of chronologically presented, primary source readings which will serve as a springboard to class discussions, assignments, lectures, and mentor sessions.  Fall term will examine “faith and reason” from antiquity to the seventeenth century; winter term will cover the period from the seventeenth century to the early twentieth; and spring term will cover the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

Each week of the course will have two class and two mentor section meetings.  Mentor sections are lead by a trained, advanced undergraduate student, and will supplement classroom activities, assignments, and discussions.  Our year-long course goals will be:

• to gain an introduction to a historical range of ideas addressing the nature of faith and reason;
• to gain exposure to and eventual mastery of University Studies’ four learning goals: (1) inquiry and critical thinking; (2) communication; (3) personal and social ethics; and (4) the diversity of human experience;
• to develop academic and audience-oriented writing skills, including a spring-term research project;
• to gain first-hand familiarity with university learning resources, above all Millar Library and its collections and electronic databases.
  

Course materials

Students are required to obtain the following materials for the course.  Books may be purchased at the PSU Bookstore. 

• Apuleius, The Golden Ass, trans. Patrick Gerard Walsh (Oxford University Press, 1994/2008);
• Ways of Writing. A Guide to College Composition, 2d ed. (PSU Writing Center, 2009);
• Additional course readings will be found on-line and on E-Reserve at Millar Library.  See syllabus for details.
  

Student evaluation

Students will be evaluated according to the following criteria.  Assignment guidelines will be linked on the on-line syllabus.  Refer there for details.

• Attendance and active participation in class discussion – 25%.  As this course will be largely based on discussion of ideas and assigned readings, it is imperative that students come prepared daily to contribute actively to class discussions and mentor sections.  This means reading the assigned work in advance of class and being prepared to offer quality observations, comments, and/or critiques gleaned from the texts.  An attendance sheet for students to sign will be circulated in all class and mentor sections.  Half of your participation grade will be based on attendance, half on the level and quality of your participation.  Please note: Excellent attendance without oral participation will usually be assessed a grade of “C.”  Satisfactory attendance with little or no participation will be assessed a grade of “C-” or lower.
• In-class writing assignments and reading checks – 15%.  Throughout the term, students will complete an array of brief writing assignments based on the day’s readings, and/or will take random quizzes on the contents of the reading.  If missed, they may not be made up.  | Assignment: Technology "fast" guidelines |
  
• Primary-source based response essay (about 4 pp.) – 25% (5/20%).  Due in class or mentor session in two stages on: (1) Tuesday, October 12 (3-4 pp.); and (2) Tuesday, November 2 (4-5 pp.). | First Draf t Guidelines | Final version guidelines |
  
• Comparative, primary-source based analytical essay (about 7 pp.) – 35% (10/25%).  Due in draft form Tuesday, November 30, in mentor session.  Due in final form in mentor session on Thursday, December 2.  | Guidelines |
  

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Use of personal technology in the classroom

Throughout the year, our classroom will be a personal-technology free space.  Students are kindly asked to silence and stow their mobile phones, iPods/iPhones, Blackberries, and laptops before class begins.  The policy will also apply in mentor sections, which are conducted in computer-furnished classrooms.

Plagiarism policy

Plagiarism, intentional or unintentional, is an intolerable infraction in any setting where ideas are exchanged and discussed.  It is also a violation of the PSU Student Code of Conduct, and egregious or multiple cases may be grounds for suspension or expulsion from the university.  Thanks to recent software advances, detecting plagiarism is extremely easy.  Papers that can be shown to have been plagiarized will automatically receive an “F” grade (or “0”).  Students will be required to resubmit their papers, and will be automatically deducted in their grade an amount appropriate to the late paper policy given in the assignment guidelines.  Our mentor will discuss plagiarism at the start of Fall term.  Remember, ignorance is no excuse!  The PSU Code of Student Conduct considers as plagiarism work submitted for other courses and turned into me as original, and I will ask students to submit new, original work in addition to taking the penalities above.

Students with disabilities and other resources

Students with disabilities who need additional consideration for the timely completion of any of the course requirements should speak to the instructor at the beginning of the term, and must be registered with PSU’s Disability Resource Center.  The following resources may also be of interest/use to students: Undergraduate Advising and Support Center; Student Health and Counseling; the Career Center; the Writing Center.

E-mail policy

E-mail can be a superb tool by which students communicate with the course instructor about the course material, content, and assignments.  It is especially useful for providing feedback to student ideas and for commenting on student theses or paper topics.  But please bear in mind the following:

• I consider 48-72 hours to be a reasonable period in which to respond to inquiries.  I am usually much faster than this, but not always.
• I will not, in general, respond to student e-mails received after 5:00 p.m. until the following day(s), nor will I generally respond to student e-mail sent after 5:00 on Friday until Monday morning.  Please plan accordingly.
• Please remember to identify yourself in your e-mail and state your query as clearly as possible.
• I will not fill in students who miss class on the details of a particular lecture, discussion, or in-class exercise.  Please seek that information from your fellow students.

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Syllabus

Tuesday, 9/28 – Introduction to course theme. What is faith? What is reason?

Thursday, 9/30 – On the creation of the universe and deep reading of texts | Reading Guide: Theogony and Timaeus |


Tuesday, 10/5 – The Platonic universe


Thursday, 10/7 – The Platonic universe: time and matter


Tuesday, 10/12 – The Hebrew Creation Stories  | Reading Guide: Hebrew Tanakh (Genesis) |



Thursday, 10/14 – Serious fun in the classical Roman world: mortals, gods, and magic | Reading Guide: The Golden Ass |


Tuesday, 10/19 – Conversion and identity


Thursday, 10/21 – Aspects of faith in the monotheistic tradition: Judaism | Reading Guide: Hebrew Tanakh (Job) |


Tuesday, 10/26 – Aspects of faith in the monotheistic tradition: Christianity  | Reading Guide: Gospel of John |
   

Thursday, 10/28 – Aspects of faith in the monotheistic tradition: Islam  | Reading Guide: the Qur'an, sura "The Table" |


Tuesday, 11/2 – Closures and continuities of the ancient world in religion and science



Thursday, 11/4 – Religion and experience in the late Roman world: Augustine of Hippo  |Reading Guide: Augustine's Confessions |


Tuesday, 11/9 – Autobiography and conversion


Thursday, 11/11 -- NO CLASS -- VETERANS' DAY HOLIDAY

Tuesday, 11/16 – The medieval cosmos: causes  | Reading Guide: Hildegard of Bingen, Holistic Healing |


Thursday, 11/18 – The medieval cosmos: cures


Tuesday, 11/23 – The challenge of belief and science  | Reading Guide: Galileo Galilei, Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina |


Thursday, 11/25 – NO CLASS – THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

Tuesday, 11/30 – Reorienting the cosmos
   


Thursday, 12/2 – Last day of class: conclusions, considerations, paths forward