Untitled Document

S Y L L A B U S

COURSE: Anth 444 SPIRITUAL ECOLOGY (Theory) 3 credits

TIME: 1:30-4:00 Tuesdays, Fall Semester 2004

PLACE: 209 Kuykendall Hall, University of Hawai`i at Manoa

INSTRUCTOR:

Dr. Les Sponsel, Professor
Ecological Anthropology Program

Office: Saunders Hall 317
Office hours: 1:00-4:00 Thursdays
Office phone: 956-8507
Email: sponsel@hawaii.edu

Web site: http://www.anthropology.hawaii.edu

ORIENTATION:

During the 1970s, developments like Earth Day, The Ecologist magazine, Friends of the Earth, Green Party, Greenpeace, and the Stockholm Environment Conference reflected a marked increase in international awareness, concerns, and actions about the growing environmental crisis in the world. However, after more than three decades the crisis is even worse with the discovery of new environmental problems like acid rain, global warming, and biodiversity loss. Apparently the usual remedies are insufficient--- environmental science, technology, education, government, and politics. Since the 1990s, an accelerating number of diverse individuals and organizations have been turning to religion as a last resort. This movement is not offered instead of previous approaches, but in addition to them as a complement and to hopefully finally turn things around for the better. No particular religion is designated as the solution. Instead, scientists, scholars, educators, clerics, adherents, politicians, and others are each looking deeply into their own religion and/or spirituality for elements to construct more viable environmental worldviews, attitudes, values, and practices for themselves and others.

An exciting and promising whole new transdisciplinary field of spiritual ecology has been developing since the 1990s which may be defined as follows: a complex and diverse arena of spiritual, intellectual, and practical activities at the interface of religions on the one hand and on the other ecologies, environments, and environmentalisms. Accordingly, in 1995, David Kinsley published the first major textbook on this subject, Ecology and Religion: Ecological Spirituality in Cross-Cultural Perspective, while a year later Roger S. Gottlieb edited a monumental benchmark anthology, This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment, now available in an expanded second edition.

A series of ten conferences on the world's religions and ecology were held at the Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR) in the Harvard University Divinity School from May 1996 to July 1998. They were organized by Dr. Mary Evelyn Tucker and Dr. John Grim of the Department of Religion at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. These multidisciplinary and international conferences were collectively attended by more than 700 individuals. Most of the conferences were focused on a particular religion in relation to ecology and environmentalism: Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Daoism, Hinduism, Indigenous Traditions, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, and Shinto. Subsequently a substantial anthology with an extensive bibliography was published as a result of each conference by Harvard University Press (see below). The primary goal of these conferences and books is to outline the contours of a new multidisciplinary field of study in religion that also has implications for contemporary environmental ethics, public policy concerns, and related matters. In addition, three culminating conferences in the autumn of 1998 were held at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the United Nations in New York City invited by the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), and at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The Forum on Religion and Ecology (FORE) arose out of the ten conferences at the CSWR and was announced to the press at the United Nations following a symposium reporting on the conclusions of the Harvard series. FORE is now housed at the Harvard University Center for the Environment(http://environment.harvard.edu/religion).

A second major initiative is the 2-volume Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature, Dr. Bron Taylor, Editor-in-Chief, to be published by Continuum Press in March 2005. With 518 authors and 1,000 entries, this definitive reference work of global and comprehensive scope recapitulates and defines the parameters of discussion regarding nature religion, the natural dimensions of religion, and related matters including spiritual ecology. Beyond the printed encyclopedia, the ongoing website for this project provides most extensive online resources (http://www.religionandnature.com,see “Introduction and Reader’s Guide”). Furthermore, Dr. Taylor and colleagues in the Department of Religion at the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, have launched an exciting new concentration on religion and nature in their Ph.D. program (http://web.religion.ufl.edu). It is one of two such concentrations, the other being the Spiritual Ecology Concentration within the Ecological Anthropology Program at UH which is available to undergraduate as well as graduate students (http://www.anthropology.hawaii.edu). [Please click here for EAP and here for SEC].

It is also noteworthy that since 1997 an entire international refereed academic journal focuses on aspects of spiritual ecology: Worldviews: Environment, Culture, and Religion (BL 65 .N35 W675) The purpose of this scholarly journal is to offer an interdisciplinary exploration of the environmental understandings, perceptions and practices of a wide range of different cultures and religious traditions. Disciplines represented include anthropology, environmental studies, geography, philosophy, religious studies, philosophy, sociology, and theology (http://www.brill.nl). Also a popular periodical, EarthLight: The Magazine of Spiritual Ecology, has been published for more than a decade now (http://www.earthlight.org).

Proponents of religion as one important factor in reducing or resolving environmental problems argue that the root cause of the ongoing environmental crisis resides in choices and concerns which are ultimately moral, and that religion and/or spirituality can be decisive factors. Thus, this is not simply an academic matter. Indeed, practical action is underway in a remarkable number and variety of substantial programs and projects. As just two examples, since 1995 the Alliance for Religion and Conservation in association with the Worldwide Fund for Nature in the United Kingdom has developed numerous projects focusing on the linkage between sacred places in nature and biodiversity conservation (http://www.wwf.org.uk), while in 1999 the United Nations Environmental Programme sponsored publication of the monumental inventory Cultural and Spiritual Values of Biodiversity co-edited by Darrell Addison Posey of Oxford University and others
(http://www.unep.org/Biodiversity). (Also below see Earth and Faith: A Book of Reflection and Action coedited by Bassett, et al.).

The present advanced seminar is a systematic, thorough, in-depth, and critical exploration and analysis of this flourishing, exciting, and promising new subject as a frontier for research, teaching, and activism. Spiritual ecology is approached predominantly from the academic, scientific, and anthropological perspectives encompassing holism, culture, cross-cultural comparisons, and ethnographic fieldwork. Furthermore, this is a core course for the optional Spiritual Ecology Concentration within the Ecological Anthropology Program (http://www.anthropology.hawaii.edu).

The term spiritual ecology is used simply because it is more inclusive than religion, referring to ideas and actions in this domain by individuals as well as organizations, and because it parallels the names of other primary approaches within ecological anthropology like historical ecology and political ecology.

FORMAT:

This course is primarily a seminar. While a few lectures will be given by the instructor on selected topics, most of the meetings will be focused on discussion by the class as a whole, subgroups, and panels. This class will systematically and thoroughly cover the most important literature on the subject through a division of labor among students in which each individual may select a combination of books to read from a set of the major textbooks and readers as well as case studies, the latter to discuss in class as part of a series of panels. Beyond a common core of readings this freedom of choice in other readings allows individual students to pursue their particular interests yet share their findings with the class as a whole.

Each panel will focus on a particular religion based on one of
the books in the Religion and Ecology Series published by Harvard University Press (see below for the list of books in the series plus the web site: http://environment.harvard.edu/religion). Panels work best if they are composed of four students, although this will vary depending on individual interests and class size. Ideally each panelist should read the entire book; however, some of the titles are quite substantial, thus a division of labor may be necessary. Still, all members of the panel should read the introductory chapter by the editor(s) as well as their own fair share of other chapters in the book.

The panel has three obligations: (1) summarize the entire book as an example of spiritual ecology, (2) critically evaluate it, and (3) relate it to the course as a whole. It is not sufficient to merely summarize the book. The panel presentation should include an introduction, discussion, and conclusion comprising about 50 minutes in total. At least 15 minutes should be available for general class discussion and the instructor’s comments.

Panelists need to meet together outside of class at least three times to coordinate and prepare their presentation. The second meeting should be arranged with the instructor to report the panel’s plans and obtain some feedback.

After the oral presentation in class the members of the panel should collaborate together in co-authoring an essay of about 15 pages (typed, double-spaced) which should be turned in at the last class meeting (December 7th). Drafts can be circulated by email among co-authors for comments and revision. Each member of the panel should do their fair share, and if someone falters this should be reported to the instructor to take into account in reducing the negligent individual’s final course grade.

The panel presentation consumes a substantial portion of one weekly meeting and together with the panel essay comprises half of the final grade; thus, it is an especially important component of the course. Also, the panel is a vital part of the active, collaborative learning approach in this course. However, if any student does not wish to participate in team work, then he or she can see the instuctor to develop an acceptable equivalent project.

Students are required to be open minded as well as courteous and professional in class. Any student can say anything as long as it is relevant, concise, and polite. Being concise is important because time in class is very limited and therefore precious, and because everyone who wishes should have an opportunity to contribute to discussion, rather than one or a few persons dominating the class for an entire semester. The ideals of freedom and democracy apply in this class, even if they are restricted elsewhere.

The only prerequisite for this course is 200 Cultural Anthropology, although 415 Ecological Anthropology and/or 422 Anthropology of Religion would be helpful. However, most of all, the student simply needs an open mind together with intellectual curiosity and commitment.

OBJECTIVES:

The three primary goals of this course are to:

1. provide a thorough, systematic, and in-depth cross-cultural survey of the relationships between religions and nature with an emphasis on a holistic anthropological perspective;

2. allow each student to penetrate especially deeply into the ecology of the religion of her or his choice with an emphasis on its cultural and natural contexts; and

3. provide an inventory of key resources on spiritual ecology including books, periodicals, articles, reference works, videos, and internet web sites for present and future study and research.

GRADING:

The final course grade will be calculated as follows:

1. panel discussion (25%) and co-authored term essay (25%) on one of the books in the Religion and Ecology Series from Harvard University Press (see Schedule);

2. mid-term take-home essay examination (20%); and

3. final take-home essay examination (30%).

Student work will be evaluated for:

1. general knowledge of all required reading assignments and of all material presented and discussed in the syllabus and in class including all panels;

2. clear, concise, logical, analytical, and critical thinking,

3. achieving the three objectives of the course; and

4. regular, active, and meaningful participation in class discussions.

Undergraduate and graduate student work will be graded separately, and greater sophistication is expected for the latter. Graduate students are also expected to undertake extra readings of their choice in pursuing their own topical and regional interests.

Class attendance will be taken at each weekly class meeting. Students are expected to arrive on time to class, to stay and remain attentive through the whole period (1:30-4:00), and to come to every single class meeting throughout the entire semester. An absence requires a convincing written excuse from an official source such as a medical doctor. Two unexcused absences will result in the lowering of the final course grade by one letter.

Any students who wish to sleep or to carry on private conversations should do so outside of the classroom to avoid distracting other students and the instructor. In short, like the instructor, students are expected to take this class seriously. Anyone who does not is wasting the time of other students and of the instructor; thus, they should drop the course immediately.

Extra credit may be earned by writing a one-page reaction (not summary) to a video, journal article, book chapter, lecture, or panel discussion from any of the material covered in the syllabus or class. Five high quality extra credit papers can make the difference for a borderline course grade (e.g., B+ to A-), while ten such papers can elevate the course grade to the next higher level (e.g., B to A). Other alternatives for more extra credit include writing a review of an extra book or a report based on library or field research, but, in any case, the specifics have to be approved in advance by the instructor. Thus, in principle, with enough high quality work any student can earn an A in this course.

READINGS:

Each student is required to read and discuss four books of their choice from these combinations: (1) either Gardner or Tucker as an introduction, (2) either Kinsley or Tanner-Mitchell as the primary text, and (3) either Foltz or Gottlieb as a reader. Every student is required to read and discuss the UNEP booklet by Bassett as an example of applied aspects of spiritual ecology.

Bassett, Libby, John T. Brinkman, and Kusumita P. Pedersen, eds., 2000, Earth and Faith: A Book of Reflection for Action, New York, NY: United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Interfaith Partnership for the Environment ($15.00 new/$11.40 used). Govt Doc UNEP Ea76

Foltz, Richard C., ed., 2003, Worldviews, Religion, and the Environment: A Global Anthology,Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning ($61.55 new/$46.80 used). [This is supposed to be on order for Sinclair Library Reserve].

Gardner, Gary, 2002, Invoking the Spirit: Religion and Spirituality in the Quest for a Sustainable World, Washington, D.C.: World Watch Institute Paper 164 ($3.95 new/$3.00 used). GE 195.7 .G37 2002 (Available online free to read or print out from website:
http://www.worldwatch.org/pubs/paper/164/

Gottlieb, Roger S., ed., 2004, This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment (Second edition), New York, NY: Routledge ($42.95 new/$32.65 used). [This is supposed to be on order for Sinclair Library Reserve].

Kinsley, David, 1995, Ecology and Religion: Ecological Spirituality in Cross-Cultural Perspective,Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall ($51.35 new/$39.05 used). GF 80 .K54 1995

Tanner, Ralph, and Colin Mitchell, 2002, Religion and the Environment, New York, NY: Palgrave ($75.00 new). GF 80 .T36 2002

Tucker, Mary Evelyn, with Judith A. Berling, 2003, Worldly Wonder: Religions Enter Their Ecological Phase, La Salle, IL: Open Court ($17.95 new). BL 65 .N35 T83 2003

Copies of the above books should be on One Day Reserve in Sinclair Library.

These texts should be available in the UH Bookstore for anyone who may wish to purchase some of them. Furthermore, the UH Bookstore now makes available purchases online at:

http://www.bookstore.hawaii.edu

(successively click on Manoa, textbooks, Anthropology, 444 Spiritual Ecology, and Sponsel).

These books may also be available through local bookstores (e.g., Barnes and Noble, Borders) or an internet bookseller such as the following:

http://www.amazon.com

http://www.booksamillion.com

http://www.alibris.com

http://www.abebooks.com.

Students may reduce the cost of texts by purchasing used copies, reselling them at the end of the semester to the UH Bookstore or another outlet, or sharing them.

In addition, each student is required to select one of the following books for a report or panel discussion from the Religion and Ecology Series published by Harvard University Press in connection with the Forum on Religion and Ecology:

Bernard, Rosemarie, 2003, Shinto and Ecology. [This book is in press].

Chapple, Christopher Key, ed., 2002, Jainism and Ecology: Nonviolence in the Web of Life. BL 1375 .H85 J35 2002

Chapple, Christopher Key, and Mary Evelyn Tucker, eds., 2000, Hinduism and Ecology: The Intersection of Earth, Sky, and Water.
BL 1215 .N34 H56 2000

Foltz, Richard, Frederick Denny, and Azizan Baharuddin, eds., 2003, Islam and Ecology. BP 190.5 .N38 I85 2003

Girardot, N.J., James Miller, and Liu Xiaogan, eds., 2001, Daoism and Ecology: Ways Within a Cosmic Landscape. BL 1923 .D36 2001

Grim, John A., ed., 2001, Indigenous Traditions and Ecology: The Interbeing of Cosmology and Community. GN 470.2 .I53 2001

Hessel, Dieter T., and Rosemary Radford Ruether, eds., 2000, Christianity and Ecology: Seeking the Well-Being of Earth and Humans. BT 695.5 C49 2000

Tirosh-Samuelson, Hava, ed., 2002, Judaism and Ecology: Created World and Revealed Word. BM 538 .H85 J85 2002

Tucker, Mary Evelyn, and John Berthrong, eds., 1998, Confucianism and Ecology: The Interrelation of Heaven, Earth, and Human. B127 .C65 C64 1998

Tucker, Mary Evelyn, and Duncan Ryuken Williams, eds., 1997, Buddhism and Ecology: The Interconnection of Dharma and Deeds.
BQ 4570 .E23 B83 1997

The following are optional recommended reference resources:

Forum on Religion and Ecology based at Harvard University
http://environment.harvard.edu/religion.

Glazier, Stephen D., ed., 1999, Anthropology of Religion: A Handbook, Westport, CT: Praeger. GN 470 .A55 1997

Gottlieb, Roger S., ed.,2004, This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment, New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 745-755.

Molloy, Michael, 1999, Experiencing the World’s Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change, Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Co.

Posey, Darrell Addison, ed., 1999, Cultural and Spiritual Values of Biodiversity, London, UK: Intermediate Technology Publications/UNEP. Folio GF 21 .C858 1999 (Available free online at: http://www.unep.org/Biodiversity/).

Scupin, Raymond, ed., 2000, Religion and Culture: An Anthropological Focus, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Taylor, Bron, Executive Editor, 2005 (March), Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature, New York, NY: Continuum Press. (See project web site: http://www.religionandnature.com).

Warms, Richard, James Garber, and John McGee, eds., 2004, Sacred Realms: Essays in Religion, Belief and Society, New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Worldviews: Environment, Culture, Religion (BL 65 .N35 W675)
http://www.brill.nl

In addition, some books, book chapters, and periodical articles will be recommended in the syllabus below and in class as optional reading. Students are encouraged to pursue their individual interests in exploring this literature as well as in viewing extra videos and surfing web sites as suggested by the instructor.

Students who take advantage of as many of the resources provided in this course as feasible will obtain a systematic and thorough overview of the subject. Those who do not do so are short-changing their own education and future. Students who are not prepared to make a substantial investment of time and effort in this class should drop it immediately rather than wait until the end of the semester to receive a poor grade or even fail.

If any student feels the need for reasonable accommodations because of the impact of a disability, then they should contact the KOKUA Program in QLCSS 013 (phones 956-7511 or 956-7612), or speak to the instructor in private to discuss specific needs. The instructor is quite willing to collaborate with any student and KOKUA about needs related to a documented disability.

SUMMARY:

This course provides a systematic and thorough survey of spiritual ecology from an academic and anthropological perspective as well as some in-depth acquaintance with the ecology of a particular religion. Although a few lectures will be presented, the course is predominantly conducted as a seminar through general class discussion, group discussions, and panels. The grade will be based on mid-term and final take-home essay examinations together with a panel presentation and follow-up co-authored essay. Students are required to read and discuss a combination of five books from the class list, four of their choice, while one (Bassett, et. al.) is required for every student.

In conclusion, this course requires a substantial amount of time and effort as a senior level class and as the core course for the Spiritual Ecology Concentration within the Ecological Anthropology Program (see http://www.anthropology.hawaii.edu). Anyone who is not prepared or inclined to make such a commitment should withdraw from the class immediately rather than wait to receive a poor or failing grade at the end of the semester.

SCHEDULE OF TOPICS IN BRIEF:

August
24 Introduction31 Approaches

September
7 Historical and Recent Trends
14 Continued (Gardner & Tucker-Berling)
21 Action (Bassett, et al.)
28 Sacred Places

October
5 Discussion
12 Indigenous Spiritual Ecology
19 Buddhist Ecology and Environment (PowerPoint lecture series)
26 Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism

November
2 HOLIDAY: Election
9 Daoism, Confucianism, and Shintoism
16 Open
23 Panel essay coordination
30 Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

December
7 Critiques, Rebuttals, & Conclusions, also Panel Essay due
14 Final Essay Examination due

SCHEDULE IN DETAIL:

PART I - INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

August 24 Introduction

Syllabus briefing and discussion

Video: “Spirit and Nature” (VHS 5326, 88 min.)

Caution:

Check ahead in the Schedule to plan and read accordingly, starting with Gardner and/or Tucker-Berling to discuss on September 14

Recommended reading:

Cousineau, Phil, 2003, The Way Things Are: Conversations with Huston Smith on the Spiritual Life, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Milton, Kay, 2002, Loving Nature: Towards an Ecology of Emotion, New York, NY: Routledge.

Rockefeller, Steven C., and John C. Elder, eds., 1992, Spirit and Nature: Why the Environment Is a Religious Issue, Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

Recommended periodicals:

Earth Ethics: Evolving Values for an Earth Community
http://www.crle.org

EarthLight: The Magazine of Spiritual Ecology
http://www.earthlight.org

Environmental Ethics GF 80 .E59

Resurgence Magazine
http://resurgence.gn.apc.org

Talking Leaves: A Journal of Our Evolving Ecological Culture
http://www.talkingleaves.org

The Trumpeter: Journal of Ecosophy [Deep Ecology] QH 540.5 .T8
http://trumpeter.athabascau.ca

Worldviews: Environment, Culture, Religion BL 65 .N35 W675
http://brill.nl

Recommended DVD:

Baraka (DVD 1930, 104 min.)

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August 31 Approaches

Conclusion of video “Spirit and Nature”

PowerPoint Presentation:

“An Intellectual Journey from Indiana to Thailand and in between”

Required reading:

Kinsley - Preface & Introduction
Foltz - Preface & Introduction

Bron Taylor, 2005,”Introduction and Reader’s Guide,” and the two links “Environmental Ethics” and “Religious Studies and Environmental Concern in The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature at: http://www.religionandnature.org.

Sponsel, L.E., 2001, "Do Anthropologists Need Religion, and Vice Versa? Adventures and Dangers in Spiritual Ecology," in Human
Dimensions of Environmental Change: Anthropology Engages Issues, Carole Crumley, ed., Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, pp. 177-200 (four copies on reserve in Sinclair Library).

Recommended reading:

Beek, Wouter E.A. van, 1995, "Cultural Anthropology and the Many Functions of Religion," in Theory and Method in Religious Studies: Contemporary Approaches to the Study of Religion, Frank Whaling, ed., New York, NY: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 385-397.

Beyer, Peter, 1992, "The Global Environment as a Religious Issue: A Sociological Analysis," Religion 22:1-19.

Caldwell, Sarah, 1999, "Transcendence and Culture: Anthropologists Theorize Religion," Religious Studies Review 25(3):20-33.

Hultkrantz, Ake, 1987, "Ecology," Encyclopedia of Religion 4:581-585.

Oosten, Jarich, 1995, "Cultural Anthropological Approaches," in Theory and Method in Religious Studies: Contemporary Approaches to the Study of Religion, Frank Whaling, ed., New York, NY: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 351-384.

Altman, Nathaniel, 1994, Sacred Trees, San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club Books.

Altman, Nathaniel, 2002, Sacred Water: The Spiritual Source of Life, Mahwah, NJ: HiddenSpring/Paulist Press.

Crapo, Richley H., 2003, Anthropology of Religion: The Unity and Diversity of Religions, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Haught, John F., 1990, What Is Religion? An Introduction, New York, NY: Paulist Press.

Nye, Malory, 2003, Religion: The Basics, New York, NY: Routledge.

Saler, Benson, 2000, Conceptualizing Religion: Immanent Anthropologists, Transcendent Natives, and Unbounded Categories, New York, NY: Berghahn Books.

Smith, Huston, 2001, Why Religion Matters: The Fate of the Human Spirit in the Age of Disbelief, San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco.

Suzuki, David, 1997, The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature, Vancouver, British Columbia: The Douglas & McIntyre Publishing Group.

Recommended reading:

Hart, John, 2004, What Are They Saying About Environmental Theology? Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.

Passmore, John, 1974, Man's Responsibility for Nature: Ecological Problems and Western Tradition, New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

Spring, David, and Eileen Spring, eds., 1974, Ecology and Religion in History, San Francisco, CA: Harper and Row, Publishers.

Armstrong, Edward A., 1973, Saint Francis: Nature Mystic: The Derivation and Significance of the Nature Stories in the Franciscan Legend, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Le Goff, Jacques, 1999, Saint Francis of Assisi, New York, NY: Routledge.

Nothwehr, Dawn M., ed., 2002, Franciscan Theology of the Environment, Quincy, IL: Franciscan Press.

Sorrell, Roger D., 1988, St. Francis of Assisi and Nature: Tradition and Innovation in Western Christian Attitudes toward the Environment, New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

World Wildlife Fund International, 1986, The Assisi Declarations: Messages on Man and Nature from Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, Geneva, Switzerland: WWFI.

Albanese, Catherine L., 1990, Nature Religion in America From the Algonkian Indians to the New Age,Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Albanese, Catherine L., 2002, Reconsidering Nature Religion, Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International.

Bourne, Russell, 2002, Gods of War, Gods of Peace: How the Meeting of Native and Colonial Religions Shaped Early America, New York, NY: Harcourt, Inc.

Recommended videos:

Brother Sun, Sister Moon (VHS 14703, 26 min.)
St. Francis of Assisi

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September 14 continued

Discussion of Gardner and Tucker-Berling by subgroups followed by a discussion by the whole class of the required readings

Video: Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Self (VHS 14703, 26 min.)

Recommended reading:

Fisher, Andy, 2002, Radical Ecopsychology: Psychology in the Service of Life, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Fox, Warick, 1995, Toward a Transpersonal Ecology: Developing New Foundations for Environmentalism, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Metzner, Ralph, 1999, Green Psychology: Transforming Our Relationship to the Earth, Rochester, VT: Park Street Press.

Montgomery, Pam, 1997, Partner Earth: A Spiritual Ecology, Rochester, VT: Destiny Books.

Rozak, Theodore, 1992, The Voice of the Earth: An Exploration of Ecopsychology, New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

Messer, Ellen, and Michael Lambek, eds., 2001, Ecology and the Sacred: Engaging the Anthropology of Roy A. Rappaport, Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

Rappaport, Roy A., 1968/1984, Pigs for the Ancestors: Ritual in the Ecology of a New Guinea People, New Haven,CT: Yale University Press.

Rappaport, Roy A., 1979, Ecology, Meaning, and Religion, Richmond, CA: North Atlantic Books.

Rappaport, Roy A., 1999, Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Recommended web sites:

Green Earth Foundation
http://www.rmetzner-greenearth.org

World Watch Institute
http://www.worldwatch.org

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September 21 Action

Class Discussion: Bassett, et. al., Earth and Faith: A Book of Reflection for Action (required reading)

PowerPoint Presentation: “Three Cases of Religious Environmentalism”

Video:

A Sense of Place: What is the Appropriate Relationship Between Humans and the Whole Living System?

Required reading:

Kinsley - Ch. 17
Tanner-Mitchell - Ch. 12
Foltz - pp. 431-455, 554-560
Gottlieb - Part VII, pp. 647-650

Recommended reading:

Cohen, Michael J., 1997, Reconnecting with Nature: Finding wellness through restoring your bond with the Earth, Corvallis, OR: Ecopress.

Easwaran, Eknath, 1989, The Compassionate Universe: The Power of the Individual to Heal the Environment, Tomales, CA: Nilgiri Press.

Edwards, Jo, and Martin Palmer, 1997, Holy Ground: The Guide to Faith and Ecology, Northhamptonshire, UK: Pilkington Press.

Gyallay-Pop, Peter, and Ruth Bottomley, eds., 1998, Toward an Environmental Ethic in Southeast Asia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia: The Buddhist Institute.

Halifax, Joan, 1993, The Fruitful Darkness: Reconnecting with the Body of the Earth, San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco.

Henning, Daniel H., 2001, Tree Talk and Tales, New York, NY: Xlibris.

Hill, Julia Butterfly, 2000, The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods, San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco.

Kaza, Stephanie, 1996, The Attentive Heart: Conversations with Trees, Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, Inc.

Macy, Joanna, and Molly Young Brown, 1998, Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World, Gabriola Island, British Columbia: New Society Publishers.

Montgomery, Pam, 1997, Partner Earth: A Spiritual Ecology, Restoring Our Sacred Relationship with Nature, Rochester, VT: Destiny Books.

Nollman, Jim, 1990, Spiritual Ecology: A Guide to Reconnecting with Nature, New York, NY: Bantam Books.

Palmer, Martin, and Victoria Finlay, 2003, Faith in Conservation: New Approaches to Religions and the Environment, Washington, D.C.: World Bank.

Webb, Benjamin, 1998, Fugitive Faith: Conversations on Spiritual, Environmental, and Community Renewal, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.

Recommended videos:

Butterfly (Julia Hill and Luna) (VHS 18644, 80 min.)
Mount Shasta: Cathedral of Wilderness

Recommended web sites:

Alliance of Religion and Conservation
http://wwf.org.uk

Circle of Life Foundation
http://www.circleoflifefoundation.org/

Ecozoic
http://www.ecozoic.com

Foundation for Global Community
http://www.globalcommunity.org

Institute of Global Education
http://www.ecopsych.com

Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center/SaveMount Shasta
http://www.mountshastaecology.org

The Spiritual Naturalist
http://www.portalproductions.com/spiritnature

II. Comparative Survey

September 28 Sacred Places

PowerPoint Lecture: “Sacred Places: A Worldwide Photographic Pilgrimage”

Required reading:

Kinsley - Conclusion
Tanner-Mitchell - Chs. 2-6
Foltz - pp. 81-89
Gottlieb - Part II, Part VI

Also, students should read the brief summary for each of the religions covered during the remainder of the course which is available on the FORE web site at:

http://environment.harvard.edu/religion).

Recommended reading:

Callicott, J. Baird, 1994, Earth's Insights: A Multicultural Survey of Ecological Ethics from the Mediterranean Basin to the Australian Outback, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Crowe, Ellie, and William Crowe, 2001, Exploring Lost Hawai`i: Places of Power, History, Mystery & Magic, `Aiea, HI: Island Heritage.

Hamilton, Lawrence S., ed., 193, Ethics, Religion and Biodiversity: Relations Between Conservation and Cultural Values, Cambridge, UK: The White Horse Press.

Holm, Jean, and John Bowker, eds., 1994, Sacred Place, New York, NY: Pinter Publishers.

Holm, Jean, and John Bowker, eds., 1994, Attitudes to Nature, New York, NY: Pinter Publishers.

Park, Chris, 1994, Sacred Worlds: An Introduction to Geography and Religion, New York, NY: Routledge.

Selin, Helaine, ed., 2003, Nature Across Cultures: Views of Nature and Environment in Non-Western Cultures, Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Swan, James A., 1990, Sacred Places: How the Living Earth Seeks Our Friendship, Santa Fe, NM: Bear and Co.

Tucker, Mary Evelyn, and John A. Grim, eds., 1993, Worldviews and Ecology, Lewisburg, PA: Bucknell University Press.

Recommended reading:

Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo, 1976, "Cosmology as Ecological Analysis: A Vew from the Rainforest," Man 11(3):307-318.

Anderson, Eugene N., 1996, Ecologies of the Heart: Emotion, Belief, and the Environment, New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Bierhorst, John, 1994, The Way of the Earth: Native America and the Environment, New York, NY: William Morrow and Co., Inc.

Cunningham, Scott, 1995, Hawaiian Religion and Magic, St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications.

Hughes, J. Donald, 1983, American Indian Ecology, El Paso, TX: Texas Western Press.

McFadden, Steven, 1991, Profiles in Wisdom: Native Leaders Speak About the Earth, Santa Fe, NM: Bear and Co.

McGaa, Ed (Eagle Man), 1990, Mother Earth Spirituality: Native American Paths to Healing Ourselves and Our World, San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco.

McPherson, Robert S., 1992, Sacred Land, Sacred View: Navajo Perceptions of the Four Corners Region, Salt Lake City, UT: Brigham Young University Charles Redd Center for Western Studies/Signature Books.

Nelson, Richard K., 1983, Make Prayers to the Raven: A Koyukon View of the Northern Forests,Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Perkins, John, and Shakaim Mariano Shakai Ijisam Chumpi, 2001, Spirit of the Shuar: Wisdom from the Last Unconquered People of the Amazon, Rocherster, VT: Destiny Books.

Rajotte, Freda, 1998, First Nations and Ecology, London, UK: Cassell.

Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo, 1971, Amazonian Cosmos: The Sexual and Religious Symbolism of the Tukano Indians, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Smith, Nigel J.H., 1996, The Enchanted Amazon Rain Forest: Stories from a Vanishing World, Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press.

_________________________________________________________________

Recommended videos:

From the Heart of the World (Kogi, Colombia) (VHS 6070, 90 min.)
Ho`oku`ikahi: To Unify As One (Hawaiian) (VHS 15693, 47 min.)
Listen to the Forest (Hawai`i) (VHS 9093, 55 min.)
Shark Callers of Kontu (VHS 4411, 54 min.)
The Way of the Shaman (Michael Harner) (VHS 5262, 30 min.)

Recommended web sites:

African Ritual and the Environment Conference
http://www.ru.ac.za/anthro2003

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October 19 Buddhist Ecology and Environmentalism

PowerPoint Lectures:

“Images of Buddhism in Nature”

“Natural Wisdom: Meditations on Buddhist Ecology”

“Buddhist Ecology and Environmentalism in America”

“Sacred Caves, Bats, and Forests in Thailand”

Required reading:

Kinsley - Ch. 7, 11, 17
Foltz - Ch. 5, pp. 434-446, 568-576
Gottlieb - pp. 134-144, 330-350, 471-508, 515-516

Recommended reading:

Sponsel, L.E., and Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel, 2003, "Buddhist Views of Nature and the Environment," in Nature Across Culture: Views of the Environment in Non-Western Cultures, pp. 351-371.

Badiner, Allan Hunt, ed., 1990, Dharma Gaia: A Harvest of Essays in Buddhism and Ecology, Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press.

Batchelor, Martine, and Kerry Brown, eds., 1992, Buddhism and Ecology, London, UK: Cassell.

De Silva, Padmasiri, 1998, Environmental Philosophy and Ethics in Buddhism, New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press.

Habito, Ruben L.F., 1991, Healing Breath: Zen Spirituality for a Wounded Earth, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.

Henning, Daniel H., 2002, Buddhism and Deep Ecology, Bloomington, IN: 1stBooks.

James, Simon P., 2004, Zen Buddhism and Environmental Ethics, Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co.

Jones, Ken, 1993, Beyond Optimism: A Buddhist Political Ecology, Oxford, UK: Jon Carpenter Publishing.

Kaza, Stephanie, and Kenneth Kraft, eds., 2000, Dharma Rain: Sources of Buddhist Environmentalism, Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications.

Macy, Joanna, 1991, World As Lover, World as Self, Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press.

Martin, Julia, ed., 1997, Ecological Responsibility: A Dialogue with Buddhism, Delhi, India: Tibet House.

Titmus, Christopher, 1995, The Green Buddha, London, UK: Insight Books/Wisdom Publications.

Recommended videos:

Bhutan: The Last Shangri-La
Buddhism, Man and Nature (Alan Watts) (VHS 1371, 14 min.)
The Greening of Thailand (VHS 13274, 52 min.)
Ladakh: In Harmony with the Spirit (VHS 11602, 86 min.)
Mini Dragons II: Thailand (10571, 60 min.)
Mount Kailas: Return to Tibet
Mountains and Rivers: Mystical Realism of Zen Master Dogen (John Daido Loori)

Recommended web sites:

Buddhist Resources on Vegetarianism and Animal Welfare (Ron Epstein)
http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/

Earth Charter, Buddhist Contributions
http://brc21.org

Earth Sangha: Buddhism in Service to the Earth
http://www.earthsangha.org

Journal of Buddhist Ethics
http://jbe.gold.ac.uk

Mountains and Rivers Order of Zen Buddhism (Tremper, NY)
http://www.mro.org

Suan Mokkh: The Garden of Liberation (Thailand)
http://www.suanmokkh.org

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October 26 Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism

Required reading:

Kinsley - Part Two Introduction, Ch. 5
Foltz - Ch. 4-5, 413-420
Gottlieb - pp. 130-157, 300-315, 438-448, 695-711

Recommended reading:

Chapple, Christopher Key, 1993, Nonviolence to Animals, Earth, and Self in Asian Traditions, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Dwivedi, O.P., and B.N. Tiwari, 1987, Environmental Crisis and Hindu Religion, Delhi, India: Gitanjali Publishing House.

Gossling, David L., 2001, Religion and Ecology in India and Southeast Asia, New York, NY: Routledge.

Lansing, J. Stephen, 1991, Priests and Programmers: Technologies of Power in the Endangered Landscape of Bali, Princteon, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Narayan, Rajdeva, and Janardan Kumar, eds., 2003, Ecology and Religion: Ecological Concepts in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, Christianity and Sikhism, New Delhi, India: Deep & Deep Publications.

Nelson, Lance E., ed., 1998, Purifying the Earthly Body of God: Religion and Ecology of Hindu India, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Prime, Ranchor, 1992, Hinduism and Ecology, London, UK: Cassell.

Recommended videos:

The Eleven Powers (VHS 4047, 60 min.)
The Goddess and the Computer (Stephen Lansing in Bali)(VHS 4047, 55 min.)

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November 2 HOLIDAY: Election Day

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November 9 Daoism, Confucianism, and Shintoism

Required reading:

Kinsley - Ch. 6
Foltz - Chs. 6-7
Gottlieb - pp. 316-329

Recommended reading:

Nelson, John K., 1996, A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine, Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press.

Nelson, John K., 2000, Enduring Identities: The Guise of Shinto in Contemporary Japan, Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai`i Press.

Palmer, Martin, 1996, Travels Through Sacred China, San Francisco, CA: Thorsons.

Recommended reading:

Rose, Aubrey, 1992, Judaism and Ecology, London, UK: Cassell.

Berry, Thomas, 1988, The Dream of the Earth, San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club Books.

Berry, Thomas, 1991, Befriending the Earth: A Theology of Reconciliation Between Humans and the Earth, Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications.

Breuilly, Elizabeth, and Martin Palmer, eds., 1992, Christianity and Ecology, London, UK: Cassell.

Christiansen, Drew, and Walter Grazer, eds., 1996, And God Saw That It Was Good: Catholic Theology and the Environment, Mawah, NJ: Paulist Press.

Lane, Belden C., 1998, The Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality, New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Rasmussen, Larry L., 1996, Earth Community, Earth Ethics, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.

Kader, Abou Bakr Ahmed Ba, 1995, Environmental Protection in Islam, Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Khalid, Fazlun N., and Joanne O'Brien, 1992, Islam and Ecology, London, UK: Cassell.

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, 1993, The Need for a Sacred Science, Albany, NY: State University of New York.

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, 1996, Religion and Order of Nature, New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Recommended web sites:

Evangelical Environmental Network
http://www.creationcare.org

Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences
http://www.ifees.org/

National Council of Churches Web of Creation
http://www.webofcreation.org

National Religious Partnership for the Environment
http://www.nrpe.org

PART III - CONCLUSIONS

December 7 Critiques, Rebuttals, & Conclusions

Lecture followed by discussion

Required reading:

Kinsley - Part Four Introduction, Chs. 12-17, Conclusion
Tanner-Mitchell - Ch. 13
Foltz - pp. 143-160, Part Three & Appendix: The Earth Charter (pp. 591-596)
Gottlieb - Part IV, 695-711

Co-authored Panel Essay due

Recommended reading:

O'Leary, Stephen D., 1996, "Cyberspace as Sacred Space: Communicating Religion on Computer Networks," Journal of American Academy of Religion LXIV(4):781-808.

Alley, Kelly D., 2002, On the Banks of the Ganga: When Wastewater Meets a Sacred River, Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

Ayres, Ed, 1999, God’s Last Offer: Negotiating for a Sustainable Future, New York, NY: Four Walls Eight Windows.

Barbour, Ian G., 2000, When Science Meets Religion: Enemies, Strangers, or Partners? San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco.

Barnhill, David Landis, and Roger S. Gottlieb, eds., 2001, Deep Ecology and World Religions: New Essays on Sacred Ground,Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Carroll, John E., and Keith Warner, eds., 1998, Ecology and Religion: Scientists Speak, Quincy, IL: Franciscan Press.

Crosby, Donald A., 2002, A Religion of Nature, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Elkins, David N., 1998, Beyond Religion: A Personal Program for Building a Spiritual Life Outside the Walls of Traditional Religion, Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House/Quest Books.

Hartmann, Thom, 1999, The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: Waking up to Personal and Global Transformation, New York, NY: Three Rivers Press.

Harvey, Graham, 1997, Contemporary Paganism: Listening People, Speaking Earth, New York, NY: New York University Press.

Hopman, Ellen Evert, and Lawrence Bond, 1996, People of the Earth: The New Pagans Speak Out, Rochester, VT: Destiny Books.

Kellert, Stephen R., and Timothy J. Farnham, ed., 2002, The Good in Nature and Humanity: Connecting Science, Religion, and Spirituality with the Natural World, Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Mander, Jerry, 1991, In the Absence of the Sacred: The Failure of Technology and the Survival of the Indian Nations, San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club Books.

Matthews, Clifford N., Mary Evelyn Tucker, and Philip Hefner, eds., 2002, When Worlds Converge: What Science and Religion Tell Us about the Story of the Universe and Our Place in It, La Salle, IL: Open Court/Carus Publishing Co.

McGrath, Alister, 2002, The Reenchantment of Nature: The Denial of Religion and the Ecological Crisis, New York, NY: Doubleday/Galilee.

Merchant, Carolyn, 1992, Radical Ecology: The Search for a Livable World, New York, NY: Routledge.

Sheldrake, Rupert, 1994, The Rebirth of Nature: The Greening of Science and God, Rochester, VT: Park Street Press.

Tobias, Michael, and Georgianne Cowan, eds., 1996, The Soul of Nature: Celebrating the Spirit of the Earth, New York, NY: Penguin Books/Plume.

Whelan, Robert, Joseph Kirwanl, and Paul Haffner, 1996, The Cross and the Rain Forest: A Critique of Radical Green Spirituality, Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Recommended videos:

The Rebirth of Nature (Rupert Sheldrake) (VHS 4316, 122 min.)

Recommended web sites:

California Institute of Integral Studies
http://www.ciis.edu

University of Florida, Department of Religion, Fields of Study, Religion and Nature
http://www.religion.ufl.edu

University of Hawaii, Spiritual Ecology Concentration (Please click here for SEC)
http://www.anthropology.hawaii.edu

Institute for Cultural Ecology
http://www.cultural-ecology.com

The Metanexus Institute (includes online magazine and forum)
http://www.metanexus.org

Schumacher College
http://schumachercollege.gn.apc.org/

Tribes of Creation
http://www.tribesofcreation.com

December 14 Final Essay Examination due by 4:00 p.m.

PUBLISHERS (frequent titles on spiritual ecology):

Bear & Co.
Cassell
Destiny Books
Ecopress
Franciscan Press
Harvard University Press
New Society Publishers
Open Court
Orbis Books
Parallax Press
Paulist Press
Routledge
Sierra Club Books

MID-TERM AND FINAL EXAMINATIONS

For the mid-term examination, answer two questions of your choice from the list below, and for the final examination answer an additional three questions of your choice. In other words, your essays should address five different questions.

Your examinations must be turned in on time. One letter grade will be deducted for each day a mid-term examination is late, and a late final examination is not acceptable. The mid-term is due on October 12 at the beginning of class, and the final on December 14 by 4:00 p.m.

About five pages (typed, double-spaced) should be sufficient to answer each question; however, some students may need or prefer more. Be sure to include subheadings, an introduction, and a conclusion in each essay. It is important to document sources for specific information with citations in the essay and a bibliography of References Cited at the end. It is not necessary to cite textbooks in the bibliography, but in the text they should be cited (e.g., Kinsley, pp. 15-16). For literature beyond the textbooks and citations in the syllabus, indicate the author, year, and page in your essay (e.g., Smith 1909:7-8) as well as the full citation in the bibliography.

Your essays must prove that you have digested the material in the course, including lectures, discussions, videos, panels, and handouts as well as the required readings. However, your essay should be more than a mere summary, it must be a critical analysis and include your original ideas as well (insights, comments, reactions, criticisms, questions, and so on).

You are welcome to consult any persons including other students and professors, just be very careful to appropriately acknowledge sources for specific information or ideas (e.g., Marco Polo, personal communication). However, ultimately your essays must be the product of your own scholarship and creativity. Any plagiarism will lead to the automatic failure of the course and a report to the Dean.

The instructor is willing to read and comment on an outline or draft of an essay if it is provided as a printed copy (no emails or faxes will be accepted).

If you wish to have your final examination, panel essay, and any other remaining papers returned to you at the end of the semester, then be sure to include a self-addressed and stamped mailing envelope of sufficient size when you turn them in.

1. How has nature or a specific environment influenced a particular religion and/or the related behaviors of individual adherents and society, and/or the converse?

2. Compare the similarities and differences among the perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and values of three or more distinct religions in relation to nature and environment.

3. Several parallel themes or underlying common denominators in the spiritual ecology of world religions have been identified from various sources in the course. Write an essay elaborating on one or more of these themes for one or more religions.

4. Describe and explain how a particular religion is responding to the contemporary ecocrisis, and how this in turn is affecting that religion.

5. Why do discrepancies arise between the religious ideals and the daily actions of followers, and how might the discrepancies be reduced?

6. How has interfaith dialogue on spiritual ecology generated environmental action from the national to the international levels?

7. Is the study of spiritual ecology an academic, scientific, and/or religious or spiritual matter?

8. What is the relationship between the natural and the supernatural in spiritual ecology?

9. How do politics enter into spiritual ecology?

10. How is spiritual ecology influencing “secular” components of culture and society?

11. What role has spiritual ecology played in the history of ecology, environmentalism, and/or conservation in the U.S.A. and/or elsewhere?

12. Argue the pros and/or cons of spiritual ecology, or analyze its contributions (actual and potential) as well as limitations.

13. Develop a course syllabus and/or training program for spiritual ecology in a university or college. (You may also elect to critique and/or revise the syllabus for this course and/or the description of the Spiritual Ecology Concentration at UH).

14. Develop a research design and/or grant proposal for a specific project of fieldwork in spiritual ecology. (See the instructor for guidelines on standard contents).

15. Write a critical book review essay on one of your texts.

16. What were the three most surprising, interesting, and/or important things that you learned in this course? (This question is an option only for the final).

17. Write your own question (with approval of the instructor) and answer it. (This question is an option only for the final).