Syllabus: Science and the Sacred
RELS (541) 502 910 (Fulfills Distribution I: Society)
University of Pennsylvania
Department of Religious Studies
College of General Studies
First Summer Session 1998
Monday and Wednesday, 5:00-8:10
May 18 June 24, 1998
Logan Hall, Room 203
William Grassie, Visiting Lecturer
E-mail: <grassie@ccat.sas.upenn.edu>
This course will be an intensive exploration of the differences, similarities, and intersections between science and religion. The focus will be especially on the biophysical sciences and their implications for religious understanding in different faith traditions. This course will use debates about the meaning of evolution as the central theme for exploring these questions.
The class has an ambitious schedule of readings. Each student will be responsible for presenting a particular chapter of the assigned texts at each class. Students will present in-class summaries of their chapter assignment, including selected passages and appropriate discussion questions relevant to the reading. Depending on the size of the class and number of chapters to cover, each presentation will run 10 to 15 minutes.
The class will also make extensive use of email through a class-based listserv. Students are required to post two discussion pieces each week on the listserv in which they interact with their fellow-classmates and explore the assigned readings.
The final project will be to submit an abstract and annotated outline for a longer research paper on an approved topic. Students will have an opportunity to present these annotated outlines for feedback and discussion in the final week of class.
Concurrent with the class, there will be a number of opportunities to attend academic conferences dealing with science and religion issues. The conferences are in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, and Berkeley.