Sacred Journey

Integrated Seminar 101

Scheduled of Class Topics, Assignments and Readings

Tentative, Subject to Change

August 25 thru September 8 - Class Topic: Equipping Ourselves for the Journey (5)

• Topics: Starting point for your journey: re-telling your own journey.  

  • The Questions: 

    • A. Who are you? Where did you come from?  Why are you here?  Where are you going? 

    • B. What do we seek to understand?   How should we approach that which we seek to know?   What should we do with that which we come to know? 

  • Huckleberrying and Sweat House - Eye Juggling" skills, for critically interpreting religious symbols, values and scared texts; issues of ethnocentrism and bias; an appreciation of another's point of view, and the example of the Burnt Face Story Text; and the difference between a theological and academic approach to the Journey.   Issues of theological/spiritual and academic/scientific epistemologies.  Nature of Religious Stories - as "Texts": art and design, architecture, ritual behavior, narrative, speech, song, etc.; sacred boundaries and transcendence.  The Humanities and Social Sciences: "Sailing the Four Cs"

• Readings: 

  1. Pilgrimage Edicts  Begin immediately

  2. Eye Juggling:  A Methodology for Interpreting Religious Texts (ol)   Begin immediately

  3. "Burnt Face," as told by Tom Yellowtail   (ol)  Begin Sept 1

• Activity:

  1. First Reflective Write   Done during the first class session, August 25

  2. Four Orientations and Groupings -  Align by Tuesday Sept 8 

• You will need an Adobe Reader to access PDF printable files,

September 10 - Common Read Discussion and Common Read Second Reflective Write/Essay (due Sept. 18)

September 14 - Common Read Keynote Address 6:00 pm International Ballroom of the Bruce Pitman Center

September 15 - Third Reflective Write Essay (due Oct 1.)

September 18 - Common Read Second Reflective Write/Essay due.

September 15 thru October 8 - Class Topic: The Schitsu'umsh (the Coeur d'Alene) and the Apsáalooke (the Crow) and Pilgrimage to the Mountain  (8)

• Topics: The Texts: Oral Traditions.  Creation and the Animal Peoples.  The Gifts and key religious teachings.  The Spiritual Goal and Means to reach it - rites of passage.  The Sun Dance and Vision Quest.  The "wagon wheel" and the many paths to the Creator.  Medicine, its efficacy and the power of story, and its applications - Burnt Face Revisited.   Outline of Lectures and Key Terms

• Readings:  

  1. Salmon Always Goes Up River, Begin immediately Sedna and Soul Food and Inuit Art, By September 22  Dine Creation Account and Dine (Navajo) Landscape and Healing By October 1

  2. Frey's Stories That Make the World, pp. 5-37 (Introduction, "Four Smokes" and "Couple Befriended by the Moon"), pp. 39-45, 52-61 and 63-75, (Text: Themes, Motifs, "Coyote and Swallowing Monster" and "Coyote and the Rock"), pp. 141-158 and 162-167 (Texture, Orality and Literacy, and "Coyote and the Green Spot"), pp. 169-177 and 179-182 (Context and "Elk and the Young Man"), pp. 214-216 (Conclusion).  Begin immediately

  3. UPDATE   Spiritual Values of the North American Indian Begin immediately

  4. Rites of Passage (ol) and Rites of Passage Diagram  By September 29

  5. "If all these great stories were told, great stories will come!"  By October 1

  6. Schitsu’umsh ł Sqigwts (example of current research) By October 8

• Video Options: 

  1. The Living Stone (32 min., this 1958 National Film Board of Canada classic illustrates key Indigenous religious values, told in narrative form)

  2. Sun Dance Way and Vision Quest (57 min. and 4 min., great overview of this key ceremony, as told by Tom Yellowtail; filmed during the June 1989, in honor of Tom Yellowtail)

  3. Billy Yellow (18 min., intimate look into the Dine (Navajo) Healing Ceremony; introduced by anthropologist David Mayberry-Lewis, as part of his Millennium Project, 1992)

  4. Oral Narratives of Lawrence Aripa    (Introduction by Cliff SiJohn, from the Lifelong Learning Online Project 2002)

• Supplemental Materials: 

  1. Nimíipuu Landscape

  2. Crow Sundance (still images) and Tom Yellowtail (Crow elder; background on)

  3. Background on the Schitsu'umsh and on "Heart Knowledge" (discussion with Cliff SiJohn, Coeur d'Alene elder, in 12 video clips)

  4. Key Terms

• Guest Speaker: Roger Vielle   September 15 

October 1 - Third Reflective Write Essay due

October 12 - Tipi Setup at 8:30 and Take-down at 4:00 (on lawn east of Commons; depending on weather)   Indigenous People's Day (aka Columbus Day)   Tipi Photo Gallery; printable enlargements of Crow Style Tipi and Blackfoot Style Tipi

·         Vandal Nation opening song (8:30 AM)

·         Sammy Matsaw, guest speaker

·         Rodney Frey, brief outline of tepee history and set up process

·         Tepee set up by class and interested participants.

October 12 - Study Session Monday  5-7:30 PM in the Food Court Lower Commons   Orientation   Groupings

October 13 - First Exam  - See Study Guide  

October 15 - November 5 - Class Topic: Hinduism and the Pilgrimage to Benares  (7)

• Topics:  The Texts: the Bhagavad Gita (1) or Bhagavad Gita (2) (YouTube) and the Upanishads. The Goals: The Paths of Desire - kama and artha, and the Paths of Renunciation - dharma and moksha.  The Landscape: divinity, the cosmos, and the self.  The Process - Karma and Samsara.  The Means: Yogas - raja (way of meditation), jnana (way of knowledge), karma (way of action), and bhakti (way of devotion).   The Gods and Goddesses.  The Pilgrimage.   

• Readings:  

  1. Shri Swami's Bhagavad Gita - Introductions (pp. ix-xxii), and Chapters 1 and 2 and Exercise  Begin immediately - and Chapters 3 - 13 Begin by October 20

  2. The Upanishads (selected writings) Begin by October 27

  3. Pilgrimage Notes and the Pilgrim's Journey Diagram  By October 29

• Activity:

  1. Four Orientations  -  Yoga Groups

• Video Options: 

  1. Soul of a People (29 min., a 1971 film by Huston Smith and Elda Hartly on the central themes of Hinduism, and the paradoxes found in Indian and in the notion of the "Infinite Mind")

  2. Hinduism: Faith, Festivals and Rituals (50 min., nice overview of Hinduism and its ritual life; 1995 Films Media Group)

  3. Ganges: River to Heaven (52 min., an insightful look into Hinduism and the role the Ganges River plays within it, full of powerful images and authentic situations.  This award-winning 2003 film follows the journey of four families as they prepare for the death and cremation of loved ones at Kashi, also known as Varanasi or Benares, on the Ganges River.  It presents the rituals, realities, and challenges associated with this key rite of passage.)

  4. Benares: Steps to Heaven (30 min., a 1984 film introducing this sacred city of Benares, also known as Varanasi or Kashi, and the pilgrimages associated with it.)

  5. Three Worlds of Bali (58 min., this 1979 film introduces to the arts and religions of Bali, with particular reference to Wayang Shadow Puppets and the world renewal ceremony of Eka Dasa Rudra)

  6. Loving Krishna (37 min., a 1985 film about the meaning of Bhakti devotion as expressed toward Krishna in the town of Vishnapur in West Bengal.

  7. The Lover and The Beloved: A Journey into Tantra (70 min., awarding winning 2012 film by Andy Lawrence offers one man's journey across northern India and his search enlightenment, searching for meaning in holy shrines, coming close to death in a cremation grounds and enjoying the chaos of the Aghori seekers.  Offers a dramatic insight into Tankrik ideas of the life cycle, particularly death, and how we seek knowledge in Tankrik Hinduism.

• Supplemental Materials:  

  1. Shri Swami's Bhagavad Gita - Chapters 14 - 18

  2. Raja Yoga - the way of meditation (Nadi Pathways);  Aum image and sound - Om Asato Ma Sad Gamaya chant (from yogaclass.com) - examples; Dhrupad Music

  3. Jnana Yoga - the way of knowledge; Karma Yoga - the way of action; Bhakti Yoga - the way of devotion, pilgrimage, and the Gods and Goddesses

  4. The Cow

  5. Balinese Time and Balinese Arts and Dance (and "Wayang Shadow Puppets" YouTube)

• Guest Speaker: Abhilash Reddy Maramreddy October 15

October ?? -Exercise See Study Guide  (instead of written exam; oral presentation criteria)

October 27-  Visit the Librarian, and explore your research options for your Participatory Paper.   You will not meet in our classroom at 8:00 but rather in the Library Classroom, 212A.   Diane Prorak, reference librarian, will meet with us.   If you have a laptop computer, please bring it.  She will also have a sign-in sheet on which you will list some of the sources you explored in the library workshop.  Link to Resources.

November 3 - Proposal due for your Personal Quest - Participatory Paper

November 10 - Second Exam

November 12 - December 10 - Class Topics: Islam and the Pilgrimage to Mecca (7)

• Topics:  Muhammad, Ibrahim (father of the "Three"), and the Qur'an ("a Eucharist moment," not Bible; recited and orality).  Imam.  Basic Theology - God-Allah, Sin (contrast Judaism and Christianity), Atonement.  The Five Pillars of Islam.  

Principles of Islamic Art and Images of the Mosque, Art and Calligraphy.  Personal Journey - the Pilgrimage: The Hajj and the Hajj Stations (Nature of Pilgrimage; Diagram of Pilgrim's Journey)  Theology: Landscape, Goal  and Means

• Readings:

  1. Abraham - Patriarch of Monotheism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  Passages from the Hebrew Bible: Genesis 12-25  (on Abraham and the Covenant)  

  2. Passages from the Qur'an:   Begin immediately

     • Surah 1 The Opening (view image illustrating the calligraphy of the Qur'an; listen to the Qur'an)

     • Surah 16 The Bee (on Ibrahim); Surah 2 The Cow (on Ibrahim and the pilgrimage to Mecca ); additional Surahs on Ibrahim

     • various Surahs on the Prophets and Jesus

     • Surah 53 The Star (on the divine visionary experience of Muhammad)

     • Surah 2 The Cow (on nature of Allah)

     • Surah 4 The Women and 17 The Night Journey (some key Islamic Values)

     • Surah 90 The City (on social justice),

     • various Surahs on Jihad and war 

  3. "Pilgrims at Heart" by Ebrahim Moosa 

  4. On Pilgrimage  

• Videos:

  1. Inside Islam (a great introduction to Islam and its basic teachings, including the Five Pillars.  History Channel 2002)

  2. Inside Mecca  (56 min., a great overview of the Hajj, from the perspectives of three pilgrims, an Indonesia, a South African, and a Texan, National Geographic 2003)

  3. Islamic Mysticism - The Sufi Way  (25 min., an insightful introduction to Sufism.  A 1971 film by Huston Smith and Elda Hartly on Sufism)

  4. Rumi: Poet of the Heart (56 min., one of the most translated poets, the poetry of Rumi is a wonderful introduction to the esoteric dimensions of Islam and to Sufism.  Magnolia Films 1998, 2004) 

  5. Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain (a Robert Gardner 2007 film. An examination of a time during the Middle Ages when Christians, Jews and Muslims peacefully coexisted in southern Spain; and then what led to the disintegration of that society. Included are reenactments, as well as a wonderful glimpse into the region's Islamic architecture.)

  6. Isis in Afghanistan   (PBS Frontline November 17, 2015; 35 min)

• Guest Speaker:  Yousef Bayomy  November 12

• Supplemental Materials:

  1. Listening to the Qur'an from the Qur'an Explorer, an interactive audio translation. 

  2. Qur'an an article by Seyyed Hossein Nasr in the Encyclopedia Britannica Online

  3. Music of Mohammad Reza Shajarian

  4. Rumi's Words Continue to Inspire (NPR September 28, 2007 broadcast)

  5. Islam and Violence (Wikipedia)

  6. Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights

  7. Seminar Notes (part)

• Out-of-class Activities:

  1. Moscow Islamic Center (316 S Lilley Street, Moscow) on a Nov 18 Arrive at 6:45 for the 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm (for sunset prayers) - Dress modestly and appropriately for a religious place.

November 17 -  Outline draft due for your Personal Quest - Participatory Paper

November 23-27 - Fall Recess - No Classes

December 11 - Personal Quest - Participatory Paper is due by Friday December 11th by 5:00 pm in my office Phinney 116  (I'm in the office from 7:30 to 10:00 am and 1:30  to 3:00 pm)

December 18  - Course Evaluation is due (can do right now!)

December 16 - Final Exam (PDF) - See Study Guide  Can be turned in anytime earlier - hard copy or attached with e-mail.  Due by: December 16th    Time: 9:30 am      Place: my office, Phinney 116