First-Year Writing Seminar (104-8-1)

Topic

Schleiermacher's Speeches on Religion

Instructors

Christine Helmer
847/491-2616
Kresge Hall #3341
Office Hours: Wed 2-4 pm on zoom

Meeting Info

Shepard Hall B08/B09: Mon, Wed 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) was one of the most important writers and thinkers of his time. His innovations include the organization of the modern research university, his theory of the self, and his understanding of religion. We focus our attention in this course to his work from 1799, On Religion: Speeches to its Cultured Despisers, as we discuss how this foundational text in the study of religion is also a literary treasure, a model for the relation of religion to the state, and how religion is central to both self and community. Please purchase required text, translated by Richard Crouter with ISBN 978-0521479752, published by Cambridge University Press 1996 ($56) well in advance of the first day of class.

Registration Requirements

This a first-year seminar in the Weinberg College

Learning Objectives

To read a classic of German literature on religion as an entire book and with understanding.
To know the basic argument of the book and its constituent steps.
To appreciate the genre and rhetoric of the speeches.
To write a paper that is coherent, well argued, judiciously documented, and written in clear prose.

Evaluation Method

Attendance
Class participation
Group work
Homework
Other
Paper, final
Readings
Writing assignments

Class Materials (Required)

Friedrich Schleiermacher, On Religion: Speeches to its Cultured Despisers, translated by Richard Crouter (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996); ISBN 978-0521479752; $56

Class Attributes

WCAS Writing Seminar

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Weinberg First Year Seminars are only available to first-year students.
Add Consent: Department Consent Required