Goals and Learning Objectives

Learning Goal 1 [Knowledge]
Students will be able to describe religions' historical contexts

Objectives
a) Students will describe periods of the history of a religious tradition or traditions
b) Students will relate knowledge of religions’ history to other aspects such as rituals, texts, ethics, or beliefs

Learning Goal 2 [Comprehension]
Students will be able to differentiate major theoretical approaches to the study of religion

Objectives
a) Students will interrogate ways of understanding “religion”
b) Students will demonstrate use of various approaches to religion

Learning Goal 3 [Analysis]
Students will be able to analyze the social implications of religion

Objectives
a) Students will explain the inseparability of religion and its social context
b) Students will give examples of the links between religion and other dimensions of social life (gender, class, race, ethnicity, nationality, politics, economics, science, technology etc.)

Learning Goal 4 [Application]
Students will be able to interpret a variety of religious texts

Objectives
a) Students will demonstrate an acquaintance with a religious text or texts
b) Students will read religious texts critically

Learning Goal 5 [Evaluation]
Students will be able to evaluate religious phenomena

Objectives
a) Students will describe differences within religious traditions (e.g. conservative vs. reform movements), among different traditions (e.g. Catholic vs. Confucian) or between religions and movements not normally thought of as religious (e.g. science, nationalism, sport, gardening etc)
b) Students will express opinions formed by an engagement with scholarship in the field