There are two types of assignment you can do for extra credit this quarter. The first type is to attend an event on campus tied to the study of religion, scripture or Jesus, and write a report on it. The second type is to do a small research project on an artifact associated with the historical Jesus, using resources available on Camino, and to write up your results, much like you'll do for your ITP project. Only one person in class can write a report on each artifact, so you'll need to sign up for the topic you're interested in, and they will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Directions for each type of project follow.
Various groups on
campus will organize events during the quarter which are related to our course
or to the study of religion in our world. You are encouraged to attend, both as
a citizen of the University and as a student of religious studies this term.
You will receive extra credit if all of your regular assignments are submitted
and if, in addition to attending the event, you analyze and reflect on it in a
2-3 page paper that you turn in within a week of the event. Introduce the speaker, date, and title of the event in the first
paragraph. In the body of your paper, explore the speaker's career more fully
(use links below) and summarize and analyze the presentation. To do this successfully,
break out paragraphs that address the following questions:
What has the speaker published, and/or with what organizations is the the
speaker affiliated?
What were the central points of the presentation?
What
insights did the speaker offer?
In what ways do the speaker's points relate
to our course?
In the final paragraph of your paper, evaluate
the speaker's presentation. What did you appreciate most? What did you learn?
Was there anything that was problematic about the presentation, or any points
you would argue with? Why?
This paper should follow the formatting directions
for a short assignment available at Style
Sheet. Again, the paper must be submitted within a week of the event. Upload it in Microsoft Word format to the Extra Credit Assignments folder on Camino.
Each assignment is worth at most 2 points, so students usually do 2 to get the
maximum grade.
The following events are eligible for extra credit in
this class. The list will be updated weekly, so check back in regularly. If you
learn of any events that might be appropriate for extra credit, propose them to
the professor beforehand for approval.
The Power of Practice for Justice, Rev. angel Kyodo Williams
California Mission Room, Benson
Called "the most intriguing African-American Buddhist" by Library Journal, angel Kyodo Williams has been bridging the worlds of spirit and justice since her critically acclaimed book, Being Black:
Zen and the Art of Living With Fearlessness and Grace. Her book was hailed as "an act of love" by Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker and "a classic" by Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield. In 2016, Rev. angel published her second book, Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation. Now one of only three black women Zen senseis or teachers, she applies wisdom teaching to social issues and is a leading voice for Transformative Social Change. In recognition of her work, angel Sensei received the first Creating Enlightened Society Award from Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. Both fierce and grounded, she is known for her willingness to both sit with and speak uncomfortable truths. angel notes, "Love and Justice are not two. Without inner change, there can be no outer change. Without collective change, no change matters." Whether in writing, teaching or speaking, her voice is unique.
April 24
Monday
3:30–4:30 pm
The Feminist Struggle Over Representation, Power, and Voice at the United Nations,
Dr. Sylvanna M. Falcón
St. Clare Room, 3rd floor Library
Antiracist feminist engagement at the UN have strived for meaningful structural and discursive changes. Falcón's research considers how these changes offer new insights about how power operates at the
UN. Further, her research centers the deepened political significance of human rights and representation for marginalized communities excluded from the 1945 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Falcón is Associate Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at UC Santa Cruz. This event is sponsored by the Women's and Gender Studies Department and the Critical Gender Studies Research Initiative.
April 24
Monday
5:30–7:00 pm
Interfaith Relations and Shariah Law: Muslims, Christians, and Buddhists in Aceh Province, Indonesia,
Dr. David Pinault
Williman Room, Benson Pinault is a Professor of Religious Studies at SCU and director of the Arabic, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies Program (AIMES). His research ranges from the Arabian
Nights to Sufi mysticism to the Islamic Jesus and interfaith efforts to protect endangered animal species in Indonesia. His travels in the near east and southeast Asia inform this lecture, bringing the inter-religious dynamics in the world's largest Muslim country to light at a fraught time in our national conversation about Islam. Co-sponsored by the AIMES program and the Religious Studies Department.
April 26
Wednesday
3:30 pm
rsvp required; no walk-ins
Poverty Simulation
Locatelli Student Activity Center
In a time of growing inequality, how well do we empathize across the growing divide between rich and poor? This event, organized by staff of Catholic Charities, Step Up Silicon Valley, and SCCAP, invites all participants to consider more concretely the decisions and constraints of living in poverty. There will be discussion, exercises, work with campus visitors who have been living without a home, and more.
April 26
Wednesday
4:00-5:30 pm
Art Interpreting Scripture: Opening Reception & Panel Discussion
Norman F. Marin, S.J. Reading Room, 3rd floor Library and Learning Commons This reception and panel conversation inaugurate the newest Archives & Special Collections (A&SC) exhibit, Art Interpreting Scripture: Characters in and Creators of the Bible. This exhibit focuses on artistic interpretations of the Bible in book form, from medieval illuminated manuscripts to contemporary visual art. How does the Word become “enfleshed” in paper, vellum, leather, glue, and ink?
Panelists include Jonathan Homrighausen, A&SC student assistant, exhibit co-curator, and M.A. student in Biblical studies at the Jesuit School of Theology; Dr. Kathleen Maxwell, a scholar of medieval illuminated Bibles and professor of art history; and Su-Chi Lin, who recently earned her Ph.D. in art and religion from the Graduate Theological Union, focusing on Asian Christian art.
Wine and light refreshments will be provided. Formal remarks and panel discussion will begin at 4:15 p.m.
May 2
Tuesday
4:00–5:30 pm
The Margins and Morals of Poverty and Prosperity,
Dr. Nicky Santos, SJ
St. Clare Room, Library and Learning Commons
What are fair and just business practices when engaging with impoverished populations? This lecture will propose and explore the integrative justice model (IJM), an ethical framework that provides guidelines for "fair" and "just" engagement with impoverished populations. In
contrast with the traditional exploitation of poor and vulnerable groups, this integrative justice model proposes conditions for business involvement that can result in a win-win for all parties but particularly for the poor. Santos is Assistant Professor of Marketing at Marquette University, a Jesuit priest, and co-director of the University's Social Innovation Initiative as well as co-chair of the Catholic Relief Services Global Campus initiative. He has degrees in philosophy, theology and business and has practical experience in both for-profit and non-profit organizations. This Bannan Memorial Lecture is sponsored by the Bannan Institute of the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education.
May 4
Thursday
5:30–7:00 pm
Save the World...Or Savor It? Keynote on being reached by the widow, orphan and stranger,
Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ
Locatelli Center
Boyle is the founder and director of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles. After ordination in 1984, his first U.S. parish was Dolores Mission Church in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of East LA. There, after the 1992 LA riots and after
burying too many young people killed in gang violence, Boyle started a bakery and other industries that offered an alternative future to former gang members. His book, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion, was a 2010 New York Times bestseller, and he is the current recipient of the University of Notre Dame Laetare Medal awarded to those who enrich humanity and illustrated the ideals of the Catholic Church. This talk will offer a reflective consideration exploring: inclusion, non-violence, unconditional loving-kindness and acceptance. Co-sponsored by the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, the Johnson Scholars Program and SCCAP.
May 5
Friday
12:00-1:00 pm
Truth, Trump, and Postmodernism: Ethics and the Challenge of Objectivity, Christopher Kulp
Wiegand Room, Vari Hall Kulp is Professor of Philosophy, and will address the underlying issues and high stakes of our current loss of confidence in the truth. Part of the Ethics at Noon series sponsored by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
May 8
Monday
5:30–7:00 pm
Muslim-Buddhist Relations in Burma: The Situation in 2017 and Prospects for the Future,
Yasmin Vanya
Williman Room, Benson
Vanya, born in Rangoon, Burma, graduated from Florida Institute of Technology with MS Computer Science. She is now working for a Silicon Valley high tech firm in Software Management. She is a member of the Board of Directors and Secretary
of South Bay Islamic Association. Yasmin is also affiliated to the Burmese American Women Alliance and Burmese Muslim Association, and works with Burmese refugees in the Bay Area. In her talk, she will discuss some of the contested issues between Muslims and Buddhists in Burma today, including the persecution of the Muslim-minority Rohingya. Co-sponsored by the AIMES program and the Religious Studies Department.
May 9
Tuesday
4:00-5:15 pm
Book of the Quarter: University Ethics, Jim Keenan, SJ
St. Clare Room, Library and Learning Commons
Keenan, world-renowned Jesuit moral theologian and director of The Jesuit Institute, Boston College, explores themes from his new book: University Ethics: How Colleges Can Build and Benefit from a Culture of Ethics. Co-
Roundtable Dialogue on Economic Justice
Williman Room, Benson
This roundtable dialogue features contributions from the economic justice and the common good faculty collaborative:
New Methodologies in Visualizing Data: Identifying Patterns and Solutions for Culture under Threat, Katie Paul
Economic and socio-political destabilization since the Arab Spring has launched an unprecedented acceleration of antiquities looting and destruction across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In this video, Katie Paul of the Antiquities Coalition presents her paper at the 2016 ASOR Annual Meeting. She introduces resources the Antiquities Coalition has developed for visualizing the destruction of cultural heritage by DAESH/ISIS or by virtue of other crises.
14.32
An example of the resources the Coalition has produced include the Cultural Piracy Map, below.
Any day
Any time
Is There a Common Good in Our Common Home?
Integral: A Weekly Podcast Series Sponsored by the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education Economic Justice and the Common Good
The following podcasts are being published this quarter. Each podcast counts as one event; the paper you would write based on a single podcast is due on Camino before class on the final class meeting date—Thursday, June 8.
Sundstrom is a professor of economics at Santa Clara University. His research looks at the causes and consequences of poverty and income inequality in the Silicon Valley region, as well as relevant policy responses. In this week's episode he examines the often competing values that underwrite current U.S. economic practice, proposing three economic principles to advance the common good: security, opportunity, and fairness.
Sarkar is an assistant professor of communication at Santa Clara University. Does access to Information Technologies lead to the leveling or breaking down of inequalities? Drawing from approaches in global communication, feminist studies, and critical policies studies, her ethnographic research seeks to understand how economic development is experienced by urban, marginalized communities who have complex and intersecting identities of class, caste, religion, and gender.
Nichols is an associate professor of sociology at Santa Clara University and director of the Core Curriculum. In her podcast, she discusses the barriers and bridges for first-generation college students today. What supports are necessary? Does the Jesuit Catholic mission of a place like Santa Clara University uniquely shape the experience of first-generation college students?
Ifcher is an assistant professor of economics at Santa Clara University.In this podcast, he asks whether classical economic models teach us to privilege our own self-interest as the most efficient means to the good.
Baker is an assistant professor of political science at Santa Clara University.
Artifact Analysis
For this project, you'll choose an artifact ostensibly associated with the historical Jesus or another gospel figure or site and do a small research project on it. This must be an artifact other than the one you'll cover in your final paper. You'll describe the artifact accurately, note the circumstances of its discovery, and evaluate its historicity using the criteria we've been developing in class.
A list of twenty-nine artifacts is available on every course web page from the Artifact Analysis tab. Click on the artifact you're interested to find a description and list of sources. Many (though not all) of these sources are available on Camino from the Files tab: go to the Artifact Analysis folder and find the folder for your artifact. You should select 3 professional sources to read. Be sure to cite them in your paper in the format stipulated for notes on the Style Sheet. In a short paper like this (in contrast to your final paper), you don't need to include a bibliography page, since the footnotes will convey the full citation the first time you cite the source. Add page numbers, and upload the paper to the extra credit assignment site on Camino by 10:20 a.m. on Thursday, June 8 in Microsoft Word format.
