INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Leslie R. James, Ph.D.
SEMESTER: Spring 2003
LOCATION: 104 Harrison Hall
TIME: 7-8:50 PM TR
OFFICE: 213 F Harrison Hall
Tel. #: (765) 658-4887
E-MAIL: James@depauw.edu
OFFICE HOURS: 1:30-3:30 PM MW, 9:30-11:30 AM TR or by Appointment.

The Caribbean is the United States of America’s neighbor. But how much do Americans know of the Caribbean in its rich and varied complexity? This course is a vehicle for understanding the Caribbean region and culture through religion. It explores the relationship between Caribbean religious traditions and culture through the lens of history, economics, music, literature, festivals, art, and architecture. The course will offer students a kaleidoscope of the major world religious traditions (African, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism) as they have been reformulated in the lives of Caribbean peoples of Amerindian, African, European, and Asian descent consequent on slavery, emigration, colonialism, globalization, and other events in world history. It will help students understand how religion and spirituality shape and function in the lives of Caribbean peoples, how its shapes their sense of space, functions in the conflict of cultures and in creating integration. Through this course students will discover their own quest for meaningful modes of being and be able to apply frameworks of understanding learned to other regions and questions.

The Caribbean is a rich laboratory for the study of religions. The major world religions have been re-located to the Caribbean consequent on the emergence of modern Atlantic Civilization. African Traditional Religions/Worldviews, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and other religious traditions have functioned in the construction of Caribbean societies and cultures. They have also played a pivotal role in the negotiation of Caribbean and Latin American identity. These received religious traditions merged with those of the First Nations Peoples, Caribs, Arawaks, and others, to create indigenous and other Caribbean and New World religious traditions. A comparative methodology, based on the dynamics of Caribbean history and culture, in conjunction with other methods (historical, functional, structural, ideological) and interpretation of religious worldviews can provide rich and relevant insights into the study of Caribbean Religions and Culture. The study of Caribbean religions is therefore significant in the interpretation of Caribbean and other related New World societies. Such study can lead to the understanding of the interrelationship between religion and social change as well as the relationship between peripheral and metropolitan societies. As an island bridge between North and South America study of the interface between Caribbean religions and culture will serve as a critical point of departure for understanding, comparing, and reconceptualising religion is North and South America. Other pedagogical goals of this course include:

1. To help students to appreciate the implications of the cultural clashes which resulted in the Columban encounter with the Caribbean world in 1492. What did it mean for the Caribbean to be drawn into the European cultural orbit in 1492? How did the Columban encounter affect the nature of Caribbean, American, and European societies? What role does religion play in the definition of and the structuring of the relationships between the various peoples who encountered each Other in the fifteenth-century? How have these patterns remained or changed? Students will be challenged to critically examine themselves, their traditions and culture, human existence, and humanity using the Caribbean Diasporic experience as a departure point for critical reflection.

2. To challenge students to examine their capacity to establish solidarity, recognition of, and concerns for others within and without their group.

3. To challenge students to explore the rhetoric and narrative imagination of various Caribbean religious/secular thinkers and movements, and to engage history with liberative, open, and creative consciousness.

4. To help students appreciate the role of religion in the dialectic between colonization, genocide, displacement, slavery, immigration, and freedom in the Caribbean experience. In other words, to give students a contrastive/comparative view how various Caribbean religious traditions emerged as social institutions in different areas of the Caribbean region.

5. To help students understand the role of religion in the formation and maintenance of Caribbean culture, polity, and Caribbean identity which is constructed on the religious and cultural legacies of all the continents.

The hope is that this course will demonstrate the importance of the Caribbean experience for understanding the emergence of the modern world, the role of Caribbean religions in social construction, transformation, and the construction of plural society.

Instruction will consist of four basic components: (1) assigned readings, (2) lectures/seminars, (3) class discussions, presentations, exercises, videos, et al, (4) written assignments. Reading assignments are to be completed before the class period for which they are assigned because lectures/seminars, class discussions and other activities will proceed on the assumption that their contents are known. Instructor’s lectures will primarily focus on introducing major themes and concepts of the course, synthesizing of readings, generating and facilitating critical reflection/discussion, and clarifying issues raised by readings rather than summarizing their contents. The course is expected to be highly interactive. Class dialog and exercises are designed to promote students’s insights into the dynamics which have impacted Caribbean societies in their search for identity, integration, political autonomy, and cultural flourishing.

Students must bear in mind that the fundamental method of teaching in the course is that of the discussion. Discussion will therefore play an important role in this class. Discussion reminds us of the importance of speech (S) in human existence, community and sustaining the democratic process. Writing (W) reminds us of the importance of the hands in expressing our ideas, grasping, shaping the material world around us, and adapting to our environment. "To write is to transform." Quantitative reasoning (Q) reminds us that the mind is critical to the examination of life and that "a mind is a terrible thing to waste." This course has much to do with the construction of a various forms of Caribbean religious consciousness.

II. REQUIRED TEXTS:

1. Dale Bisnauth. History of Religions in the Caribbean. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1996.

2. Desmangles, Leslie. The Faces of the Gods: Vodou and Roman Catholicism in Haiti. Chapel Hill, & London: The University of North Carolina Press, 1992.

3. Forsythe, Dennis. RastafarI: For Healing of the Nations. New York: One Drop Books, 1999.

4. Klass, Morton. Singing With Sai Baba: The Politics of Revitalization in Trinidad. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc., 1991.

5. Books, essays, videos, and other material resources specially related to this course are on reserve at the Roy O. West Library. Students are required to obtain these materials under the reserve policy for class preparation and other use related to the course. Students must bear in mind that all class members have to use the material and should therefore seek to facilitate fellow students’use of them.

I. COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

1. Class Attendance Policies:

Regular attendance and class participation is required. Absences will be governed according to the University attendance policy (see current Student Handbook). University policy requires that advance notification be given only when an absence due to medical reasons will result in the student being unable to fulfill academic responsibilities such as papers and examinations. Notification is to be given by calling the departmental or Instructor’s office.) Irregular attendance will result in the lowering of course grade. Note will be taken of students’s class attendances.

You are responsible for active participation in class at all times. Amongst other things constant active participation in class, and other course related activities, is essential to the recognition of your presence and voice in the course.

2. Course Grading:

The course grade will be assigned according to the following formula: Class Participation=20%; Exams=50% [aggregate of exams (mid-term, final, quizzes, et al)]; Class Presentation=15%; Final Paper=15%.

3. Academic Integrity Policy:

Students must scrupulously observe DePauw University policy regarding academic integrity (plagiarism, etc.). This is a serious matter and requires students’s attention and careful consideration. See Student Handbook (2002-2003) on this matter. Students must also bear in mind the academic expectations of the University.

Students must also bear in mind the academic expectations of the University. For further guidance on the issue of cyberplagiarism/plagiarism visit the following website: http://acad.depauw.edu/~reflib/cyberplagiarism.htm.

4. Outside Class Discussions:

Students’s conversations/dialogues/discussions with Instructor beyond the prescribed class times are critical to students’s overall performance in course. Some of these are required in fulfilling course requirements; whereas they are not to be treated as extra tuition they are nevertheless to be treated as part of the Instructor’s pedagogy. Students are strongly advised to meet with the Instructor at the commencement of the semester to discuss the course. In addition students are required to keep set times for conference with Instructor and to be co-operative in working with peers on collaborative projects. A community environment is important to the success of the course. You are welcome to make an appointment with instructor to discuss any areas of difficulty you might be having understanding aspects of the course.

5. Assignments:

Assignments are identified in the syllabus, others will be announced in class. Assignments are due on dates specified at the beginning of the class period. Late submission of assignments will result in the reduction of seminar grade. Computer and other problems which may arise at time assignments (papers, etc.) are due will not be considered acceptable for late submission of work. You are required to pay attention to and respect dates specified in the syllabus as well as official dates in the DePauw calendar.

6. You are Welcome:

You are always welcome to make an appointment with me to discuss any problems you might be have understanding any part of the course. It is critical that you address such areas in a timely fashion. Enjoy yourself as you learn about and explore new ideas and concepts, revisit and see old ones in new ways in the course of this seminar.

Students will be divided into groups (5-6 per group). Members of each group will meet to discuss and define possible group project/topic related to the course from which they will create a group presentation to be presented to the class on the date specified in the syllabus. After the group has defined its project it will appoint one or two representative of the group to meet with the Instructor to discuss and have the group project approved/disapproved/revised. A formal group report/text describing the group’s work/project must be submitted at the beginning of the presentation. The deadline for submission/discussion of project with Instructor is April 2, 2003. Presentation must best twenty-five (25) minutes long; followed by period of class discussion on the presentation. You are highly encouraged to use technology in the preparation, production, and dissemination of their group projects. The following criteria will be used in evaluating presentations:

1. Relevance of topic to course
2. Evidence of quality preparation and knowledge of subject
3. Organization and method of presentation
4. Delivery, exposition, and clarity
5. Leading discussion and coordination between presenters
6. Meeting with Instructor to discuss presentation
7. Submission of outline of presentation one week in advance of presentation
8. Formal group report/document describing and outlining the group’s project. To be submitted at the beginning of the presentation.

Students are encouraged to use the S Center at DePauw in preparation of their Group and other presentations. Other useful resources include the Q (Quantitative Reasoning) Center at DePauw in preparation and enhancing the quality of their work. The Q, S, and W centers are all in proximity to each other on the second floor of Harrison Hall. Presentation dates: (1) April 29: 1 & 2 ; (2) May 1: 3 & 4. Dates are also listed in the "schedule of classes" section of this syllabus.

2. Final Research Paper:

Ten (10)- eleven (11) pages. (10 pages of text, plus one(1) page of bibliography. Typed, double-spaced, style=Turabian/MLA (or any recognized style) on regular bond paper. One inch (1") margin on left, right, and bottom sides; one-and-a-half inch (1.5") margin on the top side. Paper, including bibliography must be typed in 12pt font size. The bibliography must be one (1) page long. Sources listed in the bibliography must be cited in standard academic format, cited in single space but with space between each citation. Type your name and the assignment due date in the top right hand corner of the first page. Do not use a title page! Pages must be numbered and stapled together! Presentation of work in the finest quality is important!

This research paper must be on any topic related to specific section/topic/aspect of the course. It must have a clear and well-defined focus and clear title (and subtitle). Paper title will be centered, in proper format, in the upper portion of the first page of the paper below name of author, course title, Instructor’s name, date due. Students are required to meet for conference with the Instructor and to have topic approved by him before beginning formal work on the paper. Failure to meet with Instructor to discuss and have paper approved by him (in timely fashion) will result in a paper not been accepted from you when papers are due or thereafter. In addition students must follow any other guidelines the Instructor gives. A selected bibliography must be submitted to the Instructor in the initial stages of preparing the paper. You should finish this process by the end of the Spring 2003 Break (April 1, 2003).

Students are advised to start, without delay, listing prospective topics/ ideas toward formulating a paper. You are encouraged to take advantage of all available resources at DePauw, including the Academic Resources Center (ARC) in producing your work. Services include the W-Center (Writing), the S-Center (Speech), and the Q-Center (Quantitative Reasoning). The ARC should be contacted at least two (2) weeks in advance to maximize its assistance in producing the final draft of the paper. Students must bear in mind the extent of the ARC’s responsibilities with respect to the writing of papers. DePauw’s Roy O. West Library, Media Center, and other facilities also provide useful help in making this particular class successful. Always plan and book facilities well in advance of time needed. Due Date: April 29, 2003.

A high degree of inter-action, participation, and discussion is required in this course by all class members. Class preparation is essential to this process. Consequently, all class members are required to prepare for classes according to guidelines outlined in the syllabus. The process will include, amongst other things, doing all required readings. Some of the readings are indicated on the appropriate section on the syllabus. For other readings and directions you are required to click on the appropriate link on the course web page which will take you to the appropriate class preparation file. You will be required to follow instructions given there. Completion of the required instruction implies that you will be empowered to participate In actual class with confidence.

Preparation is essential to your participation in this seminar. Readings are fundamental to this process. Students will be given necessary preparation guidelines at the latest by the end of each class to adequately prepare them for the following class. The course Discuss site is also organized to address the issue of class preparation.

4. Discussion Leaders:

All students must be prepared to fulfil various assigned roles in discussions throughout the course as requested and to meet with Instructor for necessary seminar preparation. Assign roles include: group leader, recorder/reporter, redactor, postulator, "devil’s advocate," etc. Fulfillment of such tasks will be taken into consideration in evaluating course participation grade.

5. Expectations for Class Discussion:

Developing good discussion skills is a major goals of this course. These skills are critical to your success during your college career and life. Opportunities will be provided throughout the course for you to develop your discussion skills in small groups and with the whole class. It is impossible to do well in this course without regular participation in a meaningful and creative way. There are different kinds of contributions you can make to discussion. You are expected to work on these during the semester:

1. Framing and expressing a response to discussion questions given to guide your reading.
2. Presenting an original idea related to the topic under discussion (thinking outside the ball-park).
3. Constructively, and respectfully, critiquing an idea offered in the readings or by a fellow class member, Instructor, or other person.
4. Listening intensely to your fellow class colleagues to build on what has already being said and to develop the process of the discussion.
5. Raising questions that advance or give added texture to the discussion.
6. Drawing on, making connections with material in the wider space of life to support or challenge ideas (data, media, personal experience, etc.).
7. Indicating how comments/ideas advanced in discussion support or contradict each other.
8. Intentionally playing the "devil’s advocate" to call into question or "subvert" key positions advanced by others in discussion.
9. Asking colleagues, instructor, and other to clarify ideas or comments which are unclear.
10. Summarizing main/core ideas that have emerged during discussion.
11. Use of Discuss site related to course as directed by Instructor. The use of

One can never stop developing one’s discussion skills. The process of dialogue challenges us to focus on the critical issues related to our search for individual and communal wholesomeness. Responsive opennes will therefore be a major way of being and contributiing to a creative and sustaining class environment. Through dialog In a changing world there are new situations, experience, and encounters with people we are meeting for the first time, as well as with those with whom we are already familiar, that require new approaches to discussion and communication. So let us work on discussion during this course and discover the "miracle" of dialogue as we explore various themes and issues related to Caribbean Religion and Culture. Attendance at classes will not be considered sufficient for you to do well in terms of participation. You must be active and interactive in the course. Without dominating other class members your voice is to heard.

1. January 28: Introduction to Caribbean Religion and Culture

2. January 30: Indigenous Religions of Latin America and the Caribbean: European and Indigenous Roots in Conflict

Class Preparation:

Readings:

I. Bisnauth. History of Religions in The Caribbean, Chap I,

pp. 1-10.

3. February 4: The Atlantic Slave Trade and Traditional Religions in the Caribbean: African and European Roots of Caribbean Religion and Culture

Class Preparation:

Readings:

I. Bisnauth. History of Religions in The Caribbean, Chap. III- IV,

pp. 31-79, 80-100, .

4. February 6: African Diasporic Religion in the Francophone Caribbean: Haitian Vodun--African and European Roots in Conflict

Class Preparation:

Readings:

I. Bisnauth. History of Religions in The Caribbean, Chap. VII: pp.165-180.

II. Leslie G. Desmangles. The Faces of the Gods: Vodou and Roman Catholicism in Haiti, pp. 1-16, 17-59.

5. February 11: African Diasporic Religion in the Francophone Caribbean: Haitian Vodun--African and European Roots in Conflict

Class Preparation:

Readings:

I. Leslie G. Desmangles. The Faces of the Gods: Vodou and Roman Catholicism in Haiti, pp. 60-91, 93-130.

6. February 13: African Diasporic Religion in the Francophone Caribbean: Haitian Vodun--African and European Roots in Conflict

Class Preparation:

Readings:

I. Leslie G. Desmangles. The Faces of the Gods: Vodou and Roman Catholicism in Haiti, pp. 131-169, 170-181.

7. February 18: African Diasporic Religion in the Hispanophone Caribbean:Systematic Remembering--La Regla de Ochas [Cuban Santería]

Class Preparation:

Readings:

1. Joseph M. Murphy. "Symbiosis," "The Religion," in Joseph M. Murphy, Santería: African Spirits in America, (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993), pp. 116-125, 126-143.

2. María Margarita Castro Flores, "Religions of African Origin in Cuba: A Gender Perspective," in Patrick Taylor, ed., Nation Dance: Religion, Identity and Cultural Difference in the Caribbean, (Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2001), pp. 55-62.

8. February 20: EXAM ONE: FEBRUARY 20, 2003

Week 5:

9. February 25: African Diasporic Religion in the Anglophone Caribbean-- (The Recovery of the Lost Self in Caribbean Religion)

Class Preparation:

Readings:

I. Forsythe. For the Healing of the Nations. Chaps. 1-3, pp. 1- 10,11-44, 45-90.

10. February 27: African Diasporic Religion in the Anglophone Caribbean-- (The Recovery of the Lost Self in Caribbean Religion)

Class Preparation:

Readings:

I. Forsythe. For the Healing of the Nations. Chaps. 4-6, pp. 91-129, 131-150, 151-190.

11. March 4: African Diasporic Religion in the Anglophone Caribbean-- (The Recovery of the Lost Self in Caribbean Religion)

Class Preparation:

Readings

I. Forsythe. For the Healing of the Nations. Chaps. 7-8, pp. 191-221, 223-268.

12. March 6: Asian Diasporic Religious Traditions in the Caribbean ( Religion and the Politics of Revitalization)

Readings:

1. Bisnauth. History of Religions in The Caribbean. Chap. VI. 140-164.

2. Morton Klass, Singing With Sai Baba. Chaps. 1-4, pp. 1-68.

Week 7:

13. March 11: Asian Diasporic Religious Traditions in the Caribbean ( Religion and the Politics of Revitalization)

Readings:

1. Morton Klass, Singing With Sai Baba. Chaps. 5-8, pp. 69-128.

14. March 13: Asian Diasporic Religious Traditions in the Caribbean ( Religion and the Politics of Revitalization)

Readings:

1. Morton Klass, Singing With Sai Baba. Chaps. 9-11, pp. 129- 172.

Week 8:

15. March 18: Asian Diasporic Religious Traditions in the Caribbean ( Religion and the Politics of Revitalization)

Class Preparation:

Video: Re-citing/re-membering Hindu Traditions Through Festival in the Caribbean: Ramleela. BL 1139.25. R 35

16. March 20: EXAM TWO

[PAPER PROPOSAL DUE]

Week 9:

17. April 1: Islam in the Caribbean

Class Preparation:

Readings:

1. Bisnauth. History of Religions in The Caribbean. Chap. VI. 140-164.

2. Ali A. Mazrui, "Islam and the Black Diaspora: The Impact of Islamigration," in Isidore Okpewho, Carole Boyce Davies, Ali A. Mazrui, eds., The African Diaspora: African Origins and New World Identities," (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1999), pp. 344-349.

18. April 3: Islam in the Caribbean

Class Preparation:

Video: Re-citing/re-membering Islamic Traditions Through Festival in the Caribbean

[GROUP PRESENTATION PROPOSAL DUE]

Week 10:

19. April 8: The Jewish Diaspora in the Caribbean

Class Preparation:

Readings:

Bisnauth. History of Religions in The Caribbean. Chap. III, pp. 69-77.

20. April 10: The Cultic Milieu in the Caribbean: The Spiritual Baptists and The Shango Traditions in the Caribbean

Class Preparation:

Readings:

1. Stephen D. Glazier, "African Cults and Christian Churches in Trinidad: The Spiritual Baptist Case"

21. April 15: Caribbean Religion and Art

Class Preparation:

Readings:

1. Suzanne Preston Blier, "Vodun Art, Social History, and the Slave Trade," in Suzanne Preston Blier, African Vodun: Art, Psychology, and Power, (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1995), pp. 23-54.

2. Laënnec Hurbon, " American Fantasy and Haitian Vodou" In Donald J. Consentino, ed., Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou, (Los Angeles, California: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 1995), pp. 181-197.

3. Video: Vodun and the Catholic Church in Haiti. BL 1139.25. R 35.

22. April 17: Caribbean Religion and Cinema

Class Preparation:

Movie: The Harder They Come. H 3 74.

Readings:

1. To be assigned

23. April 22: Religion and Music in Caribbean Culture: Reggae Rhythms

Class Preparation:

Readings:

1. Robin Sylvan, "Theoretical, Structural, and Historical Background: The Connection between Music and Religion, West African Possession Religion and American Popular Music," in Robin Sylvan, Traces of the Spirit: The Religious Dimensions of Popular Music, (New York and London: New York University Press), pp. 15-75.

24. April 24: Carnival and Calypso

Class Preparation:

Readings:

1. Richard M. Dorson, "Material Components in Celebration," in Victor Turner, ed., Celebration: Studies in Festivity and Ritual, (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1982), pp. 33-57.

25. April 29: Class Presentations: 1-2

FINAL PAPER DUE: APRIL 29, 2003

26. May 1: Class Presentations: 3-4

Week 14:

27. May 6: A Taste of Caribbean Cuisine

28. May 8: Last Day of Classes: Course Review

FINAL EXAM: MONDAY, MAY 12, 2003: 6:00-9:00 PM