Sacred Narratives and Texts

Religious Studies 584
Winter 2003

Sacred Narratives and Texts is one of the core courses for Interdisciplinary Ph.D. students with Religious Studies as either their coordinating or their co-discipline. In this course we will be examining numerous issues related to the oralization, textualization, re-oralization, and/or performance of sacred narratives. How religious communities identify and modify sacred texts, how they articulate, communicate, and commemorate these sacred narratives is a vital component in a more complete understanding of the traditions themselves.

As for all of our courses in Religious Studies, our motto for this class was given to us over a century ago by the eminent philologist, Max Müller: "He who knows one, knows none" (recalling, of course, that we mean both "he" and "she").

Please note changes to the original schedule.

Required Reading | Class Schedule | Coursework and Evaluation | Nota Bene | Academic Honesty

Required Reading
(Nb., these are listed in bibliographic order. Textbooks for the class may be purchased from the UMKC bookstore, or other outlets at the student's convenience. See the course syllabus below for the order in which we will be reading and discussing them.)

Barlas, Asma. 'Believing Women' in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Quran.
Ehrman, Bart D. The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament.
Farr, Carol Ann. The Book of Kells: Its Function and Audience.
Givens, Terryl. By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a World Religion.
Graham, William A. Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion.
Hauptman, Judith. Rereading the Rabbis: A Woman's Voice.
Holler, Clyde, ed. The Black Elk Reader.
Lüdemann, Gerd. The Unholy in Holy Scripture: The Dark Side of the Bible.
Maskarinec, Gregory G. The Rulings of the Night: An Ethnography of Nepalese Shaman Oral Texts.
Mathews, Thomas F. The Clash of Gods: A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art.
Mizuno, Kogen. Buddhist Sutras: Origin, Development, Transmission.
Neihardt, John G. Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux.
Richman, Paula, ed. Many Râmâyanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia.
Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. What is Scripture? A Comparative Approach. (Nb., this text has gone out of print. Numerous used copies are available online, however, at outlets such as Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble Online, abebooks.com, or others, and students are still expected to have it.)

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Class Schedule

There will be one assigned text per week (with the exception of April 15). Students will be expected to have read the entire text carefully, and to come to class well prepared to discuss issues raised by the author(s). This class will be conducted in seminar format; the readings for each week will be introduced by student presentations. Rather than simply a précis of the work, students will be expected to discuss intelligently the issues and questions raised in the work by the author(s). This includes, but is not limited to: (a) the major issues addressed by the author(s) and conclusions reached; (b) the theory and method(s) employed in the study; (c) a critical evaluation of the strengths and limitations of the work; and (d) the significant questions or issues which are raised by the study. Click here for a sample worksheet based on these key questions.

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