教學大綱 Syllabus

科目名稱：現代世界的宗教與政治

Course Name: Religion and Politics in the Modern World

學年學期：112-2 Spring Semester, 2024
科目代碼：926829001 Course No.926829001

修別：選

Type of Credit: Elective

3.0

學分數

Credit(s)

預收人數

Number of Students

課程資料Course Details

開課單位：亞太碩一、亞太碩二 Course Department:International Master's Program in Asia-Pacific Studies/M/1&2
授課老師：DeasyRumondang Prisc Instructor: Deasy Rumondang Priscilla
先修科目：無Prerequisite(N/A)
上課時間：五234 Session: fri09-12

課程簡介Course Description

Notes:

Essays: Students write 6 short essays (1 page (500 words) each) during the 18 weeks. Students choose for themselves 6 topics for these short essays. Each essay is submitted during the week of the class in which the topic is discussed.
Final paper: Students choose for themselves one topic for their final papers (5,000 words).
Presentations: each student presents twice, one on the weekly topic of their choice and the other on the framework of their final papers, towards the end of the semester.
The course includes stimulating activities such as debates, games, simulations, and analyzing a film. Film Title: “The Venerable W” (2017), a documentary about Ashin Wirathu, a prominent monk propagating Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar. Director: Barbet Schroeder.

Most humanities and social sciences scholars believed that as of late twentieth century secularism has won, and the separation of religion and politics had become increasingly synonymous with the conquest for a modern, rational, and democratic governance. However, the dynamics over the course of the century have indicated that religion continues to challenge such endeavor, even in “mature” democracies. Moreover, the current rise of fundamentalism, extremism and violence, both perpetrated by the states and non-state actors, have illustrated a “backlash” against such conquest for “modernity” and ultimately necessitate a revisit of the said narrative of secularism.

This course aims at encouraging a deeper understanding on two dimensions of the nexus of religion and politics in the modern world: firstly, the contemporary debates on religion and politics, framed as a comparative study across various contexts around the globe, highlighting the link between religion and politics in democracies and non-democracies. We will explore themes such as secularization, “civil religion”, religion as a salient identity, religion as a “fluid” category, religious civil and “uncivil” societies, and the connection between religion, politics and nationalism among modern nation-states.

The second dimension focuses on the rise of transnational religious networks, religious fundamentalism, and religious nationalism as they emerged globally in the twentieth century. We will examine how “religion” poses challenges in the US, Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East, by looking at religious nationalism and fundamentalism, e.g., Hindu nationalism in India, Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar, Christian nationalism in the US, and others.

The course is therefore divided into two parts: the first examines key concepts of religion, religious politics, secularism, church-state separation and nationalism; and the second explores aspects of religious nationalism and fundamentalism by examining the case studies from countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Turkey, Iran, Israel and the US

On Week 11 we will watch a documentary film “The Venerable W” (2017, Filmmaker: Barbet Schroeder) about Buddhist nationalist monk Ashin Wirathu of Myanmar.

核心能力分析圖 Core Competence Analysis Chart

能力項目說明

課程目標與學習成效Course Objectives & Learning Outcomes

After completing the course, students will:

Understand the debates behind key themes of secularization, “civil religion”, religion as part of other salient identities such as ethnicity, religion as a “fluid” category, religious civil and “uncivil” societies, and the connection between religion, politics and nationalism among modern nation-states.
Understand how these themes embellish the relations between religion and politics in the modern world.

Understand the interaction and complex relations between these key concepts and their role in shaping religious nationalism and fundamentalism in different countries.

每周課程進度與作業要求 Course Schedule & Requirements

教學週次Course Week	彈性補充教學週次Flexible Supplemental Instruction Week	彈性補充教學類別Flexible Supplemental Instruction Type
16+2週16+2 weeks	第 11 週 Week 11	其他（請參閱每週課程進度與作業要求）Other (Please refer to the weekly course schedule and learning requirements)
16+2週16+2 weeks	第 18 週 Week 18	完成指定課後作業或作品Completion of designated after-course assignment or work

Course Week	Flexible Supplemental Instruction Week	Flexible Supplemental Instruction Type
✔ 16 +2 weeks	Week 18	〇Course-related online learning 〇Capstone self-learning ✔ Completion of designated after-course assignment or work 〇Participation in on-campus or off-campus learning activities or community service related to the course 〇Other (Please refer to the weekly course schedule and learning requirements)
✔ 16 +2 weeks	Week 11	〇Course-related online learning 〇Capstone self-learning 〇Completion of designated after-course assignment or work 〇Participation in on-campus or off-campus learning activities or community service related to the course ✔ Other (Please refer to the weekly course schedule and learning requirements)
〇17 +1 weeks	Week	〇Course-related online learning 〇Capstone self-learning 〇Completion of designated after-course assignment or work 〇Participation in on-campus or off-campus learning activities or community service related to the course 〇Other (Please refer to the weekly course schedule and learning requirements)
〇18 weeks	No flexible supplemental instruction week

Week	Topic	Content and Reading Assignment	Teaching Activities and Homework
1	Introduction	Syllabus Evaluation Criteria Class Regulations	Introduction of syllabus and regulations Students choose the 6 (six) weeks in which they want to submit their individual essays. No Homework
2	What is religion? What is politics? Defining religion in the modern world	Required Readings Fox, Jonathan. An introduction to religion and politics: theory and practice. New York: Routledge, 2013. Ch.1 Jeffrey Haynes, ed. Routledge handbook of religion and politics, New York: Routledge, 2008, Chapter 1 Additional Grzymala-Busse, Anna. "Why comparative politics should take religion (more) seriously." Annual Review of Political Science 15 (2012): 421-442	Lecture Essay (only for those who chose to submit it) Presentation of the readings (only for one or two students who chose to do it) Other activities: games, simulation, debates.
3	Religion & Secularism	Required Readings Moro, Renato. "Religion and politics in the time of secularisation: The sacralisation of politics and politicisation of religion." Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions 6.1 (2005): 71-86 Bruce, Steve. "Secularisation and politics." Routledge handbook of religion and politics. Routledge, 2008. 157-170. Additional Talal Asad, “Thinking about Religious Belief and Politics,” in Cambridge Companion to Religious Studies, ed. Robert Orsi (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), pp. 36-57	Lecture Essay (only for those who chose to submit it) Presentation of the readings (only for one or two students who chose to do it) Other activities: games, simulation, debates.
4	Multiple Secularisms	Required Readings Asad, Talal, “Trying to understand French secularism.” In: de Vries H, Sullivan LE (eds) Political Theologies. New York, NY: Fordham University Press, 2006, pp. 494–526 Keyman, E. Fuat. "Modernity, secularism and Islam: The case of Turkey." Theory, culture & society 24.2 (2007): 215-234 Additional Bhargava, Rajeev, and T. N. Srinivasan. "The distinctiveness of Indian secularism." The future of secularism (2007)	Lecture Essay (only for those who chose to submit it) Presentation of the readings (only for one or two students who chose to do it) Other activities: games, simulation, debates.
5	Religion and Democracy	Required Readings Stepan, Alfred. "Religion, democracy, and the" twin tolerations"." Journal of Democracy 11 (2000): 37-57 Habermas, Jürgen. “Religion in the Public Sphere.” European Journal of Philosophy 14 (1) 2006: 1-25. Additional Habermas, Jürgen. “Notes on Post-Secular Society.” New Perspectives Quarterly 25 (4) 2008: 17-29.	Lecture Essay (only for those who chose to submit it) Presentation of the readings (only for one or two students who chose to do it) Other activities: games, simulation, debates.
6	Civil religion: “non-religious”-ness and the myth of tolerance	Required Readings Bellah, Robert, “Civil Religion in America.” Daedalus 96, 1, 1967: 1-21. McCargo, Duncan. "The Politics of Buddhist identity in Thailand's deep south: The Demise of civil religion?." Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 40.1 (2009): 11-32 Additional Yamashita, Yoko. "Islam and Muslims in “non-religious” Japan: caught in between prejudice against Islam and performative tolerance." International Journal of Asian Studies 19.1 (2022): 81-97.	Lecture Essay (only for those who chose to submit it) Presentation of the readings (only for one or two students who chose to do it) Other activities: games, simulation, debates.
7	NO CLASS Children’s Day, Qingming Festival	NO CLASS	NO CLASS
8	Religious Nationalism and Fundamentalism	Required Readings Juergensmeyer, Mark. (2010) "The global rise of religious nationalism." Australian Journal of International Affairs 64.3: 262-273. Grzymala-Busse, Anna. (2019). “Religious nationalism and religious influence.” In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics Juergensmeyer, Mark. "Why religious nationalists are not fundamentalists." (1993): 85-92. Additional Brubaker, Rogers. (2012). Religion and nationalism: Four approaches. Nations and nationalism, 18,1, 2-20.	Lecture Essay (only for those who chose to submit it) Presentation of the readings (only for one or two students who chose to do it) Other activities: games, simulation, debates.
9	Religion and violence	Required Readings Gorski, Philip S., and Gülay Türkmen-Dervişoğlu. "Religion, nationalism, and violence: An integrated approach." Annual Review of Sociology 39 (2013): 193-210. Brubaker, Rogers. (2015), "Religious dimensions of political conflict and violence." Sociological Theory 33.1: 1-19. Additional Cavanaugh, William T. "The invention of fanaticism." Modern Theology 27.2 (2011): 226-237.	Lecture Essay (only for those who chose to submit it) Presentation of the readings (only for one or two students who chose to do it) Other activities: games, simulation, debates
10	Islamophobia and nationalism in Myanmar and Thailand	Required Readings Kyaw, Nyi Nyi. "The role of myth in anti-muslim buddhist nationalism in Myanmar." Buddhist-Muslim Relations in a Theravada World. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore, 2020. 197-226. Tonsakulrungruang, Khemthong. "The Revival of Buddhist Nationalism in Thailand and Its Adverse Impact on Religious Freedom." Asian Journal of Law and Society 8.1 (2021): 72-87. Additional Chowdhury, Arnab Roy (2020) “An ‘un-imagined community’: the entangled genealogy of an exclusivist nationalism in Myanmar and the Rohingya refugee crisis”, Social Identities 26:5, 590-607	Lecture Essay (only for those who chose to submit it) Presentation of the readings (only for one or two students who chose to do it) Other activities: games, simulation, debates
11	FILM WEEK	We will be watching The Venerable W (2017). Director: Barbet Schroeder. Schroeder focuses on the life of Ashin Wirathu, an influential monk who propagated hatred against Islam in Myanmar. This film is Schroeder’s last film in his “Trilogy of Evil” consisting of General Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait (1974) and Terror’s Advocate (2007).	Watch Film Discussion
10	Modernism and Nationalism: Iran and Turkey	Required Readings Findley, Carter Vaughn. "Turkey, Islam, nationalism, and modernity." Turkey, Islam, Nationalism, and Modernity. Yale University Press, 2010. Marashi, Afshin. "Paradigms of Iranian Nationalism: History, Theory, and Historiography." Rethinking Iranian nationalism and modernity. University of Texas Press, 2021. 3-24. Additional Skocpol, Theda. "Rentier state and Shi'a Islam in the Iranian revolution." Theory and society 11.3 (1982): 265-283.	Lecture Essay (only for those who chose to submit it) Presentation of the readings (only for one or two students who chose to do it) Other activities: games, simulation, debates
12	Islamic nationalism and “uncivil” society in Indonesia	Required Readings Menchik, J. (2014). Productive intolerance: Godly nationalism in Indonesia. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 56(3), 591–621 Simandjuntak, Deasy (2021) "Disciplining the Accepted and Amputating the Deviants: Religious Nationalism and Segregated Citizenship in Indonesia." Asian Journal of Law and Society 8.1: 88-107 Additional Hefner, Robert W. "Islam and institutional religious freedom in Indonesia." Religions 12.6 (2021)	Lecture Essay (only for those who chose to submit it) Presentation of the readings (only for one or two students who chose to do it) Other activities: games, simulation, debates
14	Militant nationalism in India and Israel	Required Readings Van der Veer, P. (2021). “Minority Rights and Hindu Nationalism in India.” Asian Journal of Law and Society, 8(1), 44-55 Yadgar, Yaacov, and Noam Hadad. "A post-secular interpretation of religious nationalism: the case of Religious-Zionism." Journal of Political Ideologies 28.2 (2023): 238-255. Additional Chacko, Priya. (2019). “Marketizing Hindutva: The state, society, and markets in Hindu nationalism.” Modern Asian Studies, 53(2), 377-410	Lecture Essay (only for those who chose to submit it) Presentation of the readings (only for one or two students who chose to do it) Other activities: games, simulation, debates
15	Christian Nationalism in the US	Required Readings Whitehead, Andrew L., Samuel L. Perry, and Joseph O. Baker. "Make America Christian again: Christian nationalism and voting for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election." Sociology of Religion 79.2 (2018): 147-171. Perry, Samuel L., Cyrus Schleifer. "My country, white or wrong: Christian nationalism, race, and blind patriotism." Ethnic and Racial Studies 46.7 (2023): 1249-1268 Additional Armaly, Miles T., David T. Buckley, and Adam M. Enders. "Christian nationalism and political violence: Victimhood, racial identity, conspiracy, and support for the capitol attacks." Political behavior 44.2 (2022): 937-960	Lecture Essay (only for those who chose to submit it) Presentation of the readings (only for one or two students who chose to do it) Other activities: games, simulation, debates
16	Conclusion & Presentation Week	Presentation Week Juergensmeyer, Mark. "Religious nationalism in a global world." Religions 10.2 (2019): 97.	Student Final Presentation
17	Presentation Week	Presentation Week	Student Final Presentations
18	FINAL PAPER Week	Final Paper Submission NO CLASS	NO CLASS

授課方式Teaching Approach

30%

講述 Lecture

25%

討論 Discussion

30%

小組活動 Group activity

10%

數位學習 E-learning

其他： Others:

評量工具與策略、評分標準成效Evaluation Criteria

Evaluations

Attendance and active participation : 10%
2 Presentations (1 essay review, 1 final) : 30%
Weekly short essays (6 essays) : 30%
Final paper : 30%

Criterion

Attendance and active participation: quality and frequency of contribution to class discussions and intervention. Excellence is marked by continuous contributions to class discussions and interventions which show high levels of analysis. Students should complete the assigned readings prior to the meetings and therefore are prepared to discuss the readings.
Presentations: Students present twice: the first one is on the essay topic of their choice, the second one is on the outline of their final paper. Evaluation is based on the quality of argument, evidence of research, presentation structure and cohesiveness, speech flow and quality of oral delivery. Excellence is marked by structured delivery, clear and analytical arguments, fluent speech and use of power point or other tools.
Weekly short essays: students choose 6 weekly topics on which they would like to write essays. Students write a one-page essay (400-500 words) on at least 2 (two) of the readings, based on 2-3 key points that they deem important to discuss, thus not only a summary of the readings. Short essays are submitted at the end of each meeting.
Final paper: The final paper is 5,000 words, focusing on a case study which is analyzed using the theories and concepts learned in the class. Students should consult the instructor about the topics at least four weeks before the paper is due. Evaluation is based on the quality and structure of the written piece, evidence-based and conceptually grounded argument, adequate literature review. The usage of relevant additional materials not listed in this syllabus is encouraged. Excellence is marked by analytical argument, usage of relevant theories and concepts, understanding of current events and well-argued position.

***The use of generative AI is prohibited. The essays and papers for this course will be evaluated based on how we express our understanding of theories based on our discussions in the classroom, and how we can use these theories to analyze contemporary case studies. Written pieces generated by AIs do not reflect such understanding or connection between theories and case studies as they do not capture the classroom discussions.***

指定/參考書目Textbook & References

Please see the course weekly schedule

已申請之圖書館指定參考書目圖書館指定參考書查詢 |相關處理要點

課程相關連結Course Related Links

NA

課程附件Course Attachments

課程進行中，使用智慧型手機、平板等隨身設備 To Use Smart Devices During the Class

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