Syllabus

This online section of Introduction to Religion will use a multimedia approach to explore the basic concepts in the study of religion. This format's scope includes the exploration of concepts such as deity, theodicy, cosmology and ritual and others such as religious social implications in society. The student will be introduced to each concept through the textbook, videos, and PowerPoint presentations by members of the Religious Studies faculty, each in their own research specialization. Throughout the course the student will also be exposed to specific rituals, myths, doctrines, ethics and symbols from various different world religions and cultures. Students will be tested on this material through time-restricted quizzes and exams. Two research papers will develop the student’s critical thinking skills and writing abilities. For the site visit essay, the student will conduct field research by attending a religious service outside of their own tradition.

This course fulfills the Gordon Rule requirement; you must earn a “C” or better to receive credit for this course.

Students will be able to:

• Global Awareness: Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the interrelatedness of local, global, international, and intercultural issues, trends, and systems.

• Global Perspective: Students will be able to conduct a multi-perspective analysis of local, global, international, and intercultural problems.

• Global Engagement: Students will be able to demonstrate willingness to engage in local, global, international, and intercultural problem solving.

This is a Global Learning Foundations course that counts towards your Global Learning graduation requirement.

Please review the FIU's Policies webpage. The policies webpage contains essential information regarding guidelines relevant to all courses at FIU, as well as additional information about acceptable netiquette for online courses.

Late Papers

• Late papers will not be accepted. Students are responsible for reading their canvas messages and all announcements posted by the instructor. The instructor also reserves the right to make changes to the syllabus by means of announcements or messages with ample time allowed for students to respond and adjust appropriately. 

Plagiarism

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarism, or attempting to pass off another's work as your own, falls into three different categories:

• A written work that is entirely stolen from another source;
• Using quotations from another source without properly citing them; and
• Paraphrasing from another source without proper citations.

Students are expected to understand the definition of plagiarism. See the University Code of Academic Integrity if you need further clarification. Offenders will receive a grade of F for the plagiarized assignment, and possibly the course.

**Students may not submit work from a previous semester or from another class for this assignment or any other assignment in this course. It will be flagged for plagiarism by Turnitin.

Quiz resets

• Resetting quizzes after they have passed will require a serious and verifiable reason (death in the family, hospitalization, serious accident, etc.). The correct answers for quizzes will not be released to students. Students will be able to see their submitted answers only. Students should refer to their course materials for the correct answers.

One of the greatest barriers to taking an online course is a lack of basic computer literacy. By computer literacy we mean being able to manage and organize computer files efficiently, and learning to use your computer's operating system and software quickly and easily. Keep in mind that this is not a computer literacy course; but students enrolled in online courses are expected to have moderate proficiency using a computer. Please go to the "What's Required" webpage to find out more information on this subject.

This course will utilize the following tools:

• Turnitin: Please visit our Technical Requirements webpage for additional information.

The Disability Resource Center collaborates with students, faculty, staff, and community members to create diverse learning environments that are usable, equitable, inclusive and sustainable. The DRC provides FIU students with disabilities the necessary support to successfully complete their education and participate in activities available to all students. If you have a diagnosed disability and plan to utilize academic accommodations, please contact the Center at 305-348-3532 or visit them at the Graham Center GC 190.

Please visit our ADA Compliance webpage for information about accessibility involving the tools used in this course.

For additional assistance please contact FIU's Disability Resource Center.

If you are looking for help for yourself or a fellow classmate, Panthers Care encourages you to express any concerns you may come across as it relates to any personal behavior concerns or worries you have, for the classmate’s well-being or yours; you are encouraged to share your concerns with FIU’s Panthers Care website.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) offers free and confidential help for anxiety, depression, stress, and other concerns that life brings. Professional counselors are available for same-day appointments. Don’t wait to call 305-348-2277 to set up a time to talk or visit the online self-help portal.

Florida International University is a community dedicated to generating and imparting knowledge through excellent teaching and research, the rigorous and respectful exchange of ideas and community service. All students should respect the right of others to have an equitable opportunity to learn and honestly to demonstrate the quality of their learning. Therefore, all students are expected to adhere to a standard of academic conduct, which demonstrates respect for themselves, their fellow students, and the educational mission of the University. All students are deemed by the University to understand that if they are found responsible for academic misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic Misconduct procedures and sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook.

Academic Misconduct includes: Cheating – The unauthorized use of books, notes, aids, electronic sources; or assistance from another person with respect to examinations, course assignments, field service reports, class recitations; or the unauthorized possession of examination papers or course materials, whether originally authorized or not. Plagiarism – The use and appropriation of another’s work without any indication of the source and the representation of such work as the student’s own. Any student who fails to give credit for ideas, expressions or materials taken from another source, including internet sources, is responsible for plagiarism.

Learn more about the academic integrity policies and procedures as well as student resources that can help you prepare for a successful semester.

There are no prerequisites for this course.

This is an online course, which means most (if not all) of the course work will be conducted online. Expectations for performance in an online course are the same for a traditional course. In fact, online courses require a degree of self-motivation, self-discipline, and technology skills which can make these courses more demanding for some students.

Students are expected to:

• review the how to get started information located in the course content;
• introduce yourself to the class during the first week by posting a self introduction in the appropriate discussion forum;
• take the practice quiz to ensure that your computer is compatible with Canvas;
• interact online with instructor and peers;
• review and follow the course calendar.

Communication in this course will take place via Messages

Messages is a private and secure text-based communication system which occurs within a course among its Course members. Users must log on to Canvas to send, receive, or read messages. The Messages tool is located on the Course Menu, on the left side of the course webpage. It is recommended that students check their messages routinely to ensure up-to-date communication. 

Visit our Writing Resources webpage for more information on professional writing and technical communication skills.

Each week, beginning with the second week of class, there will be discussion questions posted for you to respond to. These discussions are meant to stimulate critical thinking about how religions manifest in our globalized world. The responses in the discussions should be well thought out and written in standard American English (that is to say, use correct spelling and proper punctuation and capitalization). Blogs are an open communications tool for students to share their thoughts. Your blogs should contain a mix of text and other content, i.e., images, graphs, maps, videos, article and media site links, and other attachments to strengthen your positions on particular issues.

The topics will be posted in "Discussions" folder in the Course Content. Students must post well thought-out comments based on the required work throughout the semester. Participation is required. Both the quantity and the quality of your posts will contribute to your grade. Please see the sample blogs and blog rubric to review the expected components. All students are required to participate in all of the topics (at least 200 words). Blogs must be posted during the period they are assigned and are due by 11:59 pm on the Monday after the end of the lesson.

Once you have composed your original posting, take some time to carefully review other postings within your discussion group. Pick two that are most interesting to you and provide meaningful, detailed, and constructive feedback. Altogether, you need to have three posts. 

In responding to others, it is important to be courteous and respectful. If you disagree with something that has been said, that is fine. But be sure to explain why and where appropriate support your own view with evidence. Also, it is fine to ask questions that are related to our topic to extend the discussion. But please make sure the questions are relevant. Please remember that this is an academic forum.

Blog topics will be open from Monday to Monday of each week that a blog topic is posted. See the course calendar for the weeks that have blog topics posted. Do not wait until late on Monday to post, otherwise, you are really not contributing to a conversation. 

Keep electronic and paper copies of all written work. For your own protection, keep a copy of your turnitin.com electronic receipt (confirmation of assignment submission) until you have received your final grade for the course.

Late work will not be accepted

QUIZZES

A time-restricted, online quiz will be given on each week's religious concept. You can take each quiz twice, and the highest of the two attempts will be recorded. Even if you do well on the first attempt, it is advisable to use both attempts. There is a large database of quiz questions so many of the questions in your second attempt will be new to you since the computer randomly chooses the questions. The three lowest grades will dropped from your average.

For the quizzes, you will have 30 minutes to complete 10 questions. Each quiz will be open for one week, from Monday to Monday until midnight, and you can take it on any of those days at any time. 

In order to mitigate any issues with your computer and online assessments, it is very important that you take the "Practice Quiz" from each computer you will be using to take your graded quizzes and exams. It is your responsibility to make sure your computer meets the minimum hardware requirements. Assessments in this course are not compatible with mobile devices and should not be taken through a mobile phone or a tablet. If you need further assistance please contact FIU Online Support Services.

Note: Quiz resets will not be granted for technical issues. You will receive two attempts to complete each quiz, if you are logged offline or you have technical failure while attempting the quiz, then you still have the second attempt to complete the quiz. Resetting quizzes after they have passed will require a serious and verifiable reason (death in the family, hospitalization, serious accident, etc.). The correct answers for quizzes will not be released to students. Students will be able to see their submitted answers only. Students should refer to their course materials for the correct answers.

EXAMS

There will be two non-cumulative exams based on the readings and materials covered throughout the course. Each exam will be worth 15% of your final grade. All exams consist of multiple choice, fill-in-the-blanks, true/false, and short essay questions. Exams must be taken during the availability period unless arrangements are made with the professor BEFORE the due date. Once you open an exam, you will have 75 minutes to complete and submit it. You will only have one chance at each exam.

RESEARCH PAPER 1 - SITE VISIT ESSAY

• All Essays, ‘Research Paper 1 -Site Visit (Draft & Final Copy)’ and ‘Globalization Essay’ and ‘Written Exam 1’ and ‘Written Exam 2’, will be checked for plagiarism using Turnitin.com via a link in Canvas. It is not necessary to create a separate Turnitin account. Review the detailed Turnitin Instructions on how to submit your assignments and how to review the Grademark comments (feedback) from your professor.
• DRAFT: Your first submission will be a draft version of the site visit (30 points of assignment total). This section does not need to include all of the supplementary research you will do on the religion you chose to explore. The draft should include your experience at the actual site and be approximately 600-750 words.
   
• FINAL COPY: The final copy of the Site Visit should include a works cited page that DOES NOT include Wikipedia (or any other encyclopedic web sites), all of the research you completed as related to all rituals, symbols, and theology as well as the information from the actual site visit. The final copy should be 1800-2000 words.

RESEARCH PAPER 2- GLOBALIZATION ESSAY

• READ: “Religion and Globalization: New Possibilities, Furthering Challenges” by Daniel Golebiewski
   
• WATCH:  “Listening to Global Voices” Ethan Zuckerman
  ​
• WRITE: Essay Prompt - Golebiewski writes about the interaction between globalization and religion in contemporary society.  He points out there have been mixed results and various groups have been impacted in different ways.  Write an essay where you explore the relationship between globalization and religion, looking at specific responses both positive and negative. Does globalization present more positive or negative outcomes in your opinion? What is the greatest challenge for traditional world religions today? What is the greatest opportunity for positive growth? Support your ideas with specific examples.  What are your predictions for the future? 
   
• Guidelines:
  • Format: MLA Format Required
  • Length: 1000 Words, Not Including Your Works Cited Page
  • Double –Spaced, 12-Pt Font, Arial Or Times New Roman Font
  • Sources: Attached Article And Other Resources

• Students SHOULD NOT Submit Work From previous Semester Or From Another Class For This Assignment Or Any Other Assignment In This Course. It Will Be Flagged For Plagiarism By Turnitin.

Please note that the following information applies to your course as it requires the use of Turnitin to submit your assignments.

• Review the detailed Turnitin instructions on how to submit your assignments and how to review the Grademark comments (feedback) from your professor

Turnitin

Read Turnitin's Privacy Policy 

Accessibility Statement