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What?
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This section of the Univesity
Honors "Common Book Experience" (CBE) focuses
on Timothy Beal's new book, Roadside
Religion: In Search of the Sacred, the Strange, and the Substance
of Faith (Beacon Press, 2005)--judged by Publishers
Weekly as one of the "ten best books on religion
of 2005." The course consists of discussion, student
presentations, and a final assignment, all geared toward introducing
students to how religion--in this case, as found in an assortment
of roadside attractions throughout the U.S.--is studied in
a public university.
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Who?
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The author is Timothy
Beal, a scholar of religion originally trained at Emory
University as a specialist in the Hebrew Bible, who is a professor
at Case
Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH.
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Why?
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Beal has an interest in what motivates the people who build
monuments of all sorts, and what those who visit such sites
gain from them. Roadside Religion, written for the
general reading public, looks at what Beal calls U.S. "outsider
religion"--a term that derives from "outsider
art," and which, as used by Beal, applies to folk
art collections and displays to elaborate Bible theme parks.
The book therefore provides an accessible introduction to
studying religion and popular culture in the U.S. and prompts
students to examine the boundary between the study of
religion and participation in religious practices.
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How?
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Fall
2006 Syllabus (PDF)
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When?
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2:00-4:40 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15; Friday, Sept. 22; Friday,
Oct. 6, 2006
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Where?
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211 Manly Hall
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Online Readings
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Enter your Bama ID to access readings on the "secure
server."
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Introductory
Handout (PDF)
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The
Problem of Definition (PDF)
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Are you new to the academic study of religion?
Then check out:
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Studying
Religion: An Introduction
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