Part 1 of 2: Susan Power (Dakota/German) is the author of the national best-seller, The Grass Dancer. Ms. Power is originally from Chicago, and holds both undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard. Topics covered in this class include Indian boarding schools, the religious impact of Christianity on American Indians, an author’s relationship to “place”, and the occasional aggressiveness of white “helpers.” James Welch also makes a reappearance in this class via telephone.
Grade levels: Adult
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Guest Author Susan Power, Part 2
Part 2 of 2: Susan Power (Dakota/German) is the author of the national best-seller, The Grass Dancer. Ms. Power is originally from Chicago, and holds both undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard. Topics covered in this class include Indian boarding schools, the religious impact of Christianity on American Indians, an author’s relationship to “place”, and the occasional aggressiveness of white “helpers.” James Welch also makes a reappearance in this class via telephone.
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Guest Author Sherman Alexie, Part 1
Part 1 of 2: In these classes, students discuss the works of Sherman Alexie (Spokane/Coer d’Alene), a poet and novelist from the state of Washington. Topics include the politics of writing, a debate on the “cynical” and/or “funny” style of Alexie’s writing, and a discussion of the responsibilities inherent in writing from an ethnic viewpoint.
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Guest Author Sherman Alexie, Part 2
Part 2 of 2: In these classes, students discuss the works of Sherman Alexie (Spokane/Coer d’Alene), a poet and novelist from the state of Washington. Topics include the politics of writing, a debate on the “cynical” and/or “funny” style of Alexie’s writing, and a discussion of the responsibilities inherent in writing from an ethnic viewpoint.
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Religion: New Directions
Concludes the study of religion by looking toward the future. The lesson examines the role of religion and religious leaders in a world where society is becoming increasingly religiously pluralistic, and raises the question of how adherents of different worldviews might respond in an expanding religious landscape.
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Putting it all Together
In this follow-up review class, we revisit the six dimensions of religion and consider different ways of exploring the relationship between those dimensions. A second dimensional triangle has been added in order to more accurately present the relationship between the doctrinal, ethical, and social dimensions. We review key class themes such as boundary questions and rites of passage and discuss how real religion is common in all human experience, across temporal and cultural lines.
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Where the Dimensions Meet: Violence, Science and Spirituality
This class takes on three of the most important and challenging issues regarding religion, today: religion and violence, religion and science, and religion and spirituality. In this class, we try to track some of the changes that have spawned our unsettling times as we look to a future in which scientific knowledge and spiritual insight can form a partnership.
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Civil Religion
Analyzes the use of symbols, describes different types of symbolic activity, and observes how symbols play a key role in all human cultural activity, including religion. The class also explores Civil Religion, a form of myth that validates the social order. Key questions are posed about American myths, the “liturgical cycle” of American holidays, and other related issues.
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Contemporary Native American Authors – Series Overview
Students are introduced to series content and the course’s studio class members.
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Primal Religion 1
Offers perhaps the clearest view of the relationship between myth and ritual through an examination of primal religion – the worldview of approximately 200 million people. Thomas Drift, a Native American from the Ojibwa nation, discusses the basic characteristics of primal religion, the features of a primal religious worldview, ritual techniques, and the relationship between ritual practices and spirituality in Native American cultures.