PS 399 Gods and Governments
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Fall 2009 |
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4 credits MW 2-3:20 Deady Hall
208 |
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Professor
Karrie Koesel |
GTF: Kathryn Miller |
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Department of
Political Science PLC 920 (541)
346-4623 office Office Hours: Monday
9:00-11:00 Tuesday
9:30-10:30 |
McKenzie 440 Office Hours: TBA |
Course Summary
God
is dead or so claimed Nietzsche. Yet,
religion remains a powerful political force across the globe. In this course we explore the relationship,
and often tension, between religion and politics. This course is not a class on theology or
belief systems; but rather an attempt to describe, write about, and explain how
religious beliefs and organizations affect political outcomes and
vice-versa. The course will focus on various major
religions/civilizations of the world, with particular attention given to the
role of religion in inciting violence, encouraging revolution and popular
protest, and challenging and defining political systems. The course is organized around weekly themes
of religion in contemporary global politics with empirical examples and
readings drawn from several countries, including Russia, China, Pakistan,
Poland, Iran, and the United States.
Course Materials
All
required books are available at the bookstore and other course readings will be
on the Blackboard (http://blackboard.uoregon.edu/). Copies of the required books are also on
reserve at the Knight Library.
Christian Smith. Disruptive Religion: The Force of Faith in
Social Movement Activism. New York: Routledge, 1996.
C. Christine Fair. The Madrassah Challenge. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of
Peace Press, 2008.
Marjane Satrapi. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. New York: Pantheon, 2003.
Expectations
I
have high expectations of my students. This
course integrates lectures, in-class discussion and a heavy dose of reading. Throughout the term I expect you to come to
class having read critically, thought about the weekly reading questions, and
demonstrate an understanding of the material.
During class I expect you to actively participate in discussions, which
includes making contributions and being
a good listener (responding to other students, asking questions of them, and
listening attentively).
Your attendance
and participation will be essential to your learning and to the success of the
course. Students are expected
to attend all class sessions and to submit work on a timely basis, unless
documentation is given excusing an absence or late submission for medical,
religious or personal reasons, or for official university business. Students must notify me as soon as possible
(preferably, in advance) of the reason for the absence.
Papers and assignments are due at the beginning of
class. An assignment is a day late if
you bring it in after class. Late papers
are marked down half a grade per day (that is, a B becomes a B minus after one
day).
Please check your email and the course Blackboard
daily. I will frequently send you information
regarding lectures, links to additional readings, questions to help guide
discussion, and other important messages.
Academic Integrity
Any
form of plagiarism or cheating will not be tolerated. Don’t do it!
Plagiarism, or academic theft, is passing off someone
else’s work as your own. When you hand in an assignment, make
sure that everything in it is your own work and that you have made the
appropriate references where necessary. Please review the following UO websites
for clarification: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/guides/plagiarism/students/
http://studentlife.uoregon.edu/StudentConductandCommunityStandards/ConductCode/tabid/69/Default.aspx.)
Special Needs
If you have any special needs that will
affect your ability to learn in this class, please contact Disability Services, 164 Oregon
Hall, at (541) 346-1155 and have them advise me as to how to best accommodate you.
Classroom Etiquette
Laptops
– You may bring your laptops to class for taking notes. However, please refrain from sending emails, IM-ing,
playing games and surfing the Net (including social networking sites) during
lecture.
Cell
phones – Please remember to silence
your cell phone before class. If you
need to take an important call please leave the room so as not to disrupt the
classroom environment.
Respect – Given
the contentious nature of the topics we are exploring I expect our discussions
to be lively affairs. Please treat everyone in the class with respect—when
participating in a discussion, listen with an open mind and speak with
prudence. Stay focused on the ideas
being offered, and never make ad hominem arguments or other personal attacks.
Assessment
Your
grade will have four components:
1. Quizzes (10%) Three classes will begin
with unannounced quizzes, which will cover readings and lectures since the
previous quiz. There will be no make-ups for missed quizzes. Your grade will include only your top two
scores, so missing one will not affect your grade. Those taking all three quizzes will have
their lowest score dropped.
2. Midterm exam (30%) The in-class mid-term will include essay,
short-answer and IDs.
3. Paper (20%) A 5-7 page essay that requires you to
synthesize material from the course readings.
Essay questions will be handed out well in advance.
4. Final exam (40%) The in-class final will
include essay, short-answer and IDs. Final Exam is scheduled for Thursday, December
10th – 3:15pm
Schedule
Week 1: Orientation and Overview
9/28
– no class in observation of Yom Kippur
9/30
– no readings
Mahatma
Gandhi once said, “Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do
not know what religion is.” What is religion? How does it intersect with politics? How do religious actors affect political
outcomes, and how do governments attempt to shape and constrain religion? Is religion inherently political? Is it possible to separate religion from
politics and vice versa? What are the incentives, resources and
opportunities for religious groups to participate in the political sphere?
Week 2: Social Science Approaches to Religion and
Politics
10/05
10/07
What
is meant by “Secularism”? “Modernity”? “The Protestant Ethic?” In the Social Sciences, modernity and
secularism are big topics when it comes to religion. The secularists contend that modernity is
replacing religion, making it obsolete. Some empirical evidence demonstrates that as a
country modernizes participation in formal religion declines. Yet, religion is on the rise across Africa, Latin
America, and newly industrialized countries such as South Korea. For instance, Anglicans in Africa outnumber
their counterparts in Britain; Mormons in Latin America outnumber their
counterparts in the U.S. Why is this
geo-religious shift happening? Is the
world becoming increasingly secular or more religious? Is conflict between different religions
inevitable?
Berger, Peter L. "The
Desecularization of the World: A Global Overview," in Peter L. Berger,
ed., The Desecularization of the
World: Resurgent Religion and World Politics, Washington, D.C.:
Ethics and Public Policy Center, 1999, 1-18.
Jelen, Ted Gerard and Clyde Wilcox.
“Religion: The One, the Few, and the Many,” in Ted Gerard Jelen and Clyde
Wilcox, eds. Religion and Politics in Comparative Perspective, New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1-19.
Smith, Christian. “Correcting a Curious Neglect, or Bringing
Religion Back In.” Disruptive Religion: The Force of Faith in
Social-Movement Activism, New York: Routledge, 1996, 1-25.
Week 3: God and Cesar
10/12
10/14
Is there a relationship between regime type and
religion? Are all, or only
some, of the world’s religious systems politically compatible with democracy?
The United States and
Western Europe share many commonalities—longstanding, modern, liberal
democracies that have embraced capitalism and free markets—yet, religion plays
a pervasive role in US political life while Europe is largely secular? What explains this difference? Is the US the norm or an exception?
In
political theory, a positive correlation is posited between economic
development and democratic forms of governance.
Can Islam be viewed as primarily promoting an autocratic/patriarchal
form of governance or low levels of economic development? What about levels of educational attainment
or the gender gap in education?
Wald,
Kenneth D. “A Secular Society?” Religion and Politics in the United States,
Fourth Edition, Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield, 1-22.
Stepan, Alfred. "Religion,
Democracy, and the 'Twin Tolerations.” Journal of Democracy 11, No. 4 (October 2000): 37-57.
Fish, Steven. 2002. “Islam and
Authoritarianism.” World Politics 55 (October):
4-37.
Week 4: Fundamentalism, Militancy and Extremism I
10/19
10/21
– short paper topics announced
What is “religious
fundamentalism”? Why is “religious
fundamentalism” often regarded as “anti-modern”? What do the religious fundamentalisms
associated with Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Islam share in common, and
how do they differ?
What explains the rise and
spread of madaris across Pakistan? What
are the demographic of students attending madaris? Popular accounts of madaris tend to depict
them as schools of last resort for the poor and disenfranchised, factories of
ideological indoctrination, and even military training centers for terrorist
organizations. What sort of empirical
evidence does Armstrong provide to counter these assumptions? Is her evidence convincing in dispelling the
link between madaris and militancy?
Appleby, R. Scott and Martin E. Marty.
“Fundamentalism.” Foreign Policy
128 (January/February 2002): 16-22.
Armstrong, Karen. “Resisting Modernity:
The Backlash Against Secularism.” Harvard International Review (Winter
2004): 40-45.
Fair, C. Christine. The Madrassah
Challenge: Militancy and Religious Education in Pakistan. Washington D.C.:
United Institute of Peace. (entire)
Film: “Camp Jesus”
Week 5: Fundamentalism, Militancy and Extremism II
10/26
10/28
– Mid-term
Exam
Aho, James. “Popular Christianity and Extremism in the
United States.” Disruptive Religion, Christian Smith ed., New York:
Routledge, 1996, 198-203.
Film continued:
“Camp Jesus”
Week 6: Religion and Political Violence
11/02
11/04
Eric Hoffer said “Mass
movements can rise and spread without a belief in God, but never without belief
in a devil.” Are religion and violence
interconnected? Do you agree that inter-religious
conflict or the “Clash of Civilizations” inevitable?
Are
religious terrorists more dangerous than secular ones? How much does socio-economic background and
current economic conditions enter in as a motivating factor for religious violence? Does ethnic identity enter into religious
violence more than cultural identity?
Huntington, Samuel P. "The Clash
of Civilizations?" Foreign
Affairs 72, No. 3 (Summer 1993): 22-49.
Hoffman, Bruce. 1995. “‘Holy Terror’: The Implications of Terrorism
Motivated by a Religious Imperative.” Studies
in Conflict and Terrorism (18): 271-284.
Week 7: Religion and Social Change
11/09
11/11
– Short
Papers Due in class
Religion
often serves a basis for political and social activism, mobilizing people to
become political or politicized. What
aspects of religion lend itself to political mobilization? Why, in some cases, does this take the form
of contentious politics? What resources
do religious groups use to influence and participate in the political sphere?
*Skim* Smith,
Christian. “Correcting a Curious
Neglect, or Bringing Religion Back In.” Disruptive Religion: The Force of
Faith in Social-Movement Activism, New York: Routledge, 1996, 1-25.
Morris,
Aldon. “The Black Church in the Civil Rights Movement.” Disruptive
Religion, Christian Smith ed., New York: Routledge, 1996, 29-46.
Film – TBA
Week 8: Religion and Revolution
11/16
11/18
What was the political and
economic climate in Iran in the late 1970s?
Why was Iran’s revolution so significant internationally?
In an interview, Marjane
Satrapi said, “The only thing I hope is that people will read my book and see
that this abstract thing, this “Axis of Evil,” is made up of individuals with
lives and hopes.” In her introduction to
Persepolis, she explains that the book will show that Iran is not only a
country of “fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism.” How does Satrapi go about challenging this
myth? How does Persepolis contest
or confirm your views on Iran?
How did the Iranian Revolution
exert power and influence over so many people, including many educated and
middle class people like Satrapi’s parents? Why did so many people leave after the Revolution? Why do you think Marji’s parents sent her off
to Austria while they stayed behind in Tehran?
Salehi,
M.M. “Radical Islamic Insurgency in the Iranian Revolution.” Disruptive
Religion, Christian Smith ed., New York: Routledge, 1996, 47-63.
Satrapi,
Marjane. Persepolis: The Story of a
Childhood. New York: Pantheon, 2003.
(entire)
Week 9: Religion, Communism and Collapse
11/23
11/25
Problems
of legitimacy and legitimation of authority have long been the focus of
political scientists. In what ways can
religious groups challenge or enhance the legitimacy of those in power? What are the similarities and differences
between “Solidarity” in Poland and “Falun Gong” in China? Why was Solidarity largely successful in encouraging
regime change while Falun Gong faced severe state repression?
Many
have argued that newly empowered political elites attempt to borrow legitimacy
from the previous political system by nurturing old rituals and redirecting
them to new purposes. How did Soviet and
Chinese communist regimes attempt to manage religion and ritual? What is “Scientific Atheism?” How did the treatment of religion change over
time? Are there any similarities between
Marxist-Leninist and Maoist Thought and organized religion? Some suggest that China and Russia are facing
an ideological vacuum, has religion or certain religious groups attempted to
fill this void?
Osa,
Maryjane. “Pastoral Mobilization and Contention: The Religious Foundations of
the Solidarity Movement in Poland.” Disruptive Religion,
Christian Smith ed., New York: Routledge, 1996, 67-85.
Beatrice Leung. “China and Falun Gong:
Party and Society Relations in the Modern Era.” Journal of Contemporary
China 11, No. 33 (2002): 761-784
Madsen, Richard. “China’s Confounding Religious Revival.” Current
History 16, No. 701 (September 2007), 288-295.
Froese, Paul. “After Atheism: An Analysis of Religious Monopolies
in the Post-Communist World.” Sociology of Religion 65, No. 1 (Spring
2004): 57-75.
Warhola, James A. “Religion and
Politics Under the Putin Administration: Accommodation and Confrontation within
‘Managed Pluralism.’” Journal of Church and State 49, No. 1 (Winter
2007): 75-95.
Week 10: Summary and Conclusions
11/30
12/02
– Review