Myth, Ritual and religious symbolism (REL 2620)

 

Lecturer: Dr. Stephen Palmquist

 

“... the beautiful is the symbol of the morally good ...” — Immanuel Kant

 

“One of the gravest problems of our day is the lack of commitment to common symbols.... But more mysterious is a wide-spread, explicit rejection of rituals as such.” — Mary Douglas

 

“I suspected that myth had a meaning which I was sure to miss if I lived outside it ... I was driven to ask myself in all seriousness: ‘What is the myth you are living?’ I found no answer ... So I took it upon myself to get to know my ‘myth’, and I regarded this as the task of tasks.” — Carl G. Jung

 

 

 

Objectives

 

      Review of Year I. As a religious studies major student, you have been introduced to philoso­phy in both the western (RP 1010) and eastern (REL 1250) traditions. You have also had the opportunity to compare the various world religions (REL 1210) and to learn how various types of “scientists of religion” have developed phenomenological, psychological, and sociological methods of studying religion (REL 1260). In addition, you have done an initial survey of Chinese religious practices (REL 1220) and of the Bible (REL 1230).

      Overview of Year II. In your second year you are expected to go deeper into many of these same areas of study, and to begin engaging in comparative and socio-critical inquiries. Classes on Buddhism (REL 1240 and 2220) and Christianity (REL 2231-2, 2240, and 3250) take students deeper into these two religious traditions, while the elective and complementary studies subjects (e.g., the RP 2000 level classes) prepare students for critiquing comparative and social issues in the third year.

      The present elective (REL 2620) is distinct from the other second level subjects in that it will give students a more in-depth look at the basic ingredients of any religion. As such, it can be re­garded as a stepping stone that links REL 1260 (the “science” of religion) to REL 3210 (the “philosophy” of religion). Although this subject will require some discus­sion of both scientific and philosophical approaches to religion, the main emphasis will be on understanding the actual experience of religion. Science looks at religion concretely and objec­tively. Philosophy looks at it abstractly and subjectively. This course will require you to combine these by taking a subjective look at concrete forms of religious thought and behaviour.

      Religious symbols have power. In order to understand them properly, students will therefore need to put themselves in the place of the religious people who really perform/believe the rituals and myths that utilize the various symbols we will be studying. Each student must try to imagine what it is like to be religious in various ways—even those who do not regard themselves as religious “believers”. The ultimate objective of this rather unusual approach will be to provide the opportunity to experience the powerful “unity in diversity” (i.e., levels of sameness and difference) revealed in the world religions.

 

Requirements and Grade Assessment

 

      Attend lectures, participate in the tutorials, and do the readings! Suggested readings will be placed on “one day” reserve in the library throughout the semester (see separate list).

 

      Project: 50% of your grade will be based on a project, which will include both a group and an individual component. Each project should focus on one of the three main areas addressed in this class (i.e., either myth, ritual, or symbolism). I encourage you to be open-minded in thinking up creative ideas for relevant projects. The only strict requirement will be that the project must be both theoretical and practical. That is, it must both explain some ideas behind some particular kind of myth, ritual, or symbol, and apply those ideas to your own personal life. The grade assessment for the project will come in two stages, as follows:

      A. Group work: The class will be divided into three tutorial groups. Each tutorial group will meet twice every three weeks, in my office (see separate sheet for schedule), and will consist of three discussion groups (with 3-4 students each), one representing each of the three main areas in the class. Each discussion group will be responsible for leading two of its tutorial group’s eight meetings during the semester. The main purpose of the tutorials will be to discuss ideas related to the class (not to repeat ideas already presented in the lectures), so the students responsible for leading a given tutorial should plan to (a) give a brief description of their project, and (b) present questions, problems, issues, etc., to the whole group for discussion. Each discussion group will need to write a short (one-page) summary of what they plan to do, and give it to me by 9am on the day of the discussion. Some Cantonese may be used in tutori­als where everyone present speaks Cantonese, provided you keep in mind my limited ability!

      B. Individual work: You must write your own report on the project. The report should include a brief description of the group work done during the semester, including any relevant information relating to the two tutorial sessions you helped lead. However, most of the report should be devoted to the task of relating the theories or case studies examined by your group to your own personal situation. The main text of the report should be typed in a standard term paper format, and should be between 1500 and 2500 words and between 6 and 10 pages long (not including appendices, bibliography, and footnotes; but do include in the word count any text added to footnotes). The report can refer to all three aspects of this class, but it should focus on one.

      Timing/grading method: Students should form groups, choose a preferred area (myth, rit­ual, or symbolism) and a proposed topic, and hand in their choices by 9am on Thursday, 1 February. The official list of tutorial and discussion group assignments will be handed out during that day’s lesson. All project reports will be due at the beginning of class on Thursday, 26 April. Late papers will be penalized. No reports will be accepted after 9am on Wednesday, 2 May. Reports submitted on time will be returned on the last day of class. Project grades will be determined by the following criteria (10 marks each): for tutorials,    (1) the clarity of and interest generated by your discussion group’s two discussion sessions (including the one-page written summaries), and (2) your individual participation in your own and other students’ tutorials; and for the project report, (1) clarity, (2) completeness, and (3) creativity.

 

      Examination: 50% of your grade will be based on the final exam, which will probably consists of one long essay question (worth 30%) and four short essays (worth 5% each).

 

Tentative Lecture Schedule

 

I. Introduction: review of past classes; some tentative definitions (18 January)

 

II. Symbolism and its nature (philosophical and psychological aspects)

   1. The epistemological (spiritual) basis of symbolism (1 February)

   2. The “unity in diversity” of analytic a posteriori knowledge (1 February)

   3. Tillich on faith and religious symbolism (8 February)

   4. Language and the symbols of love (8 February)

   5. Jung on dreams and unconscious symbolism (15 February)

   6. Perception and the symbols of art (15 February)

 

III. Ritual and its function (sociological and anthropological aspects)

   1. The natural (bodily) basis of ritual as symbolic action (22 February)

   2. Alienation and the rejection of ritual in modern society (22 February)

   3. Rites of passage: birth and maturity (1March)

   4. Rites of passage: marriage and death (1 March)

   5. Tantric sex rituals (8 March)

   6. Spatial relations in the manipulation of ritual objects (8 March)

 

IV. Myth and its meaning (religious and comparative aspects)

   1. The psychological (mental) basis of myth as symbolic belief (15 March)

   2. When is “demythologization” necessary? (15 March)

   3. Myths of creation, birth, and life (22 March)

   4. Myths of maturity: love and marriage (22 March)

   5. Myths of destruction: suffering and death (29 March)

   6. Myths of renewal: healing and resurrection (29 March)

 

V. Myth, Ritual and Symbolism in the world’s religions: some case studies

   1. Case #1: to be announced later (12 April)

   2. Case #2: to be announced later (26 April)    **project reports due**

 

VI. Conclusion (3 May)    **graded project reports returned**

 

Office Hours (and other ways of contacting the lecturer outside of class)

 

            I will announce my office hours by the second week’s first class session. I will (normally) be in my office (CEC905) during those hours, so you may come without a prior appoint­ment if you wish to discuss anything with me. If you need (or would prefer) to see me at a different time, please make an appoint­ment first (phone: 2339-7289). Alternatively, you may send ques­tions or comments to me by email (stevepq@hkbu.edu.hk)—though if my response is relevant to the whole class, I might wait to answer your question until the next class session. Alternative­ly, I might reply by email to the whole class, using the special address set up for that purpose (i.e., &REL2620-00001@net1.hkbu.edu.hk). NOTE: submitting classwork by email is NOT ALLOWED; please use email only as a method of communicating, not to hand in assignments.

 

 

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This page was last updated on 20 June 2002.