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Dr. Michael E. Nielsen
Office: MPP 2031
Phone: 681-5344
Email: mnielsen@georgiasouthern.edu
Class Meets: M, W, F 2:00 - 2:50 p.m.
Office Hours: M, W, F 11:00 - 11:50 p.m., and by appointment
Course Description & Objectives
This course is a survey of psychological perspectives on religious experience. We will examine the psychological research concerning religion and human development, mystical experience, conversion, new religious movements (cults), and mental health. Throughout the course, we will hear from several guest speakers about their diverse personal religious experiences. At the conclusion of the semester, students will understand the major research trends regarding religious experience, conversion, personality and religion, and religious behavior, and the theories on which that research is based. These objectives will be assessed by examinations, in-class activities, discussions, and two written projects.
Requirements and Grades
Required Texts
Grades will be based on the following exams and projects. More details on each of these will be given in class.
Exams (worth 300 points)
Three unit exams will be given during the semester. Each exam will be worth 100 points, and will include a combination of multiple choice, short-answer, and essay items. The final exam will be comprised of two essay questions taken at random from a set of several questions that you will receive during the last week of class. It will be worth 100 points, and will be cumulative. The final exam is cumulative not because I am an ogre, but because one of the goals of education is that students learn, remember, integrate and apply the material discussed in class. After all, if you can't remember the concepts after only a few weeks, what confidence can we have that you will recall it later on? Your three highest exam scores will count toward your grade for the course.
It is essential that students make every effort to take exams on the scheduled date. If you are on a university athletic team, are participating in a religious observance, or miss an exam for some other reason recognized by GSU, you must alert me to this conflict prior to the event in order to take the exam. If you do not discuss this with me prior to the exam, you will need to take the exam during the make-up exam date listed on the schedule. Likewise, if you are ill, mourning the death of a loved one, or miss an exam for any other reason, plan to take the exam during the make-up exam date shown on the schedule.
Papers (worth 100 points)
There are two papers required for this class. Each paper is worth 50 points. For the first paper, you have two options:
Option A consists of interviewing several people regarding their religious experience and beliefs. The paper will consist of summarizing the interviews using the perspective of one of the theories discussed in our class. If you choose to write this paper, the focus should be on the application of the theory to understand the experiences described by the people whom you interviewed.
Option B consists of your describing a psychological study that you would like to see performed regarding some aspect of religion. If you choose to write this paper, the focus should be on some empirically verifiable phenomenon.
Student presentations during the last week of class will be based on these papers. More details and guidelines will follow.
For the second paper you will describe your views regarding psychology and religion. In this paper, you will describe how these two fields of inquiry have affected you personally, and how they relate to each other. Be aware that in order to complete this paper, you should have developed solid conceptualizations of (a) psychology, (b) your own religious beliefs, and (c) how the two domains affect one another. This will be of primary importance for grading purposes.
The focus of the second paper is self-exploration. I will grade papers based on the evidence students provide that they have seriously and strenuously dealt with the subject. These are personal and important questions for which there is no single “right” answer, and it is not my intent to impose such an answer on students. It is, however, most important that students in this class grapple with the issues surrounding the thoughtful engagement of science and religion. This is the focus of the second paper.
I expect that these papers will be approximately 7 - 10 pages in length, typed, double-spaced, in a manner consistent with the APA style guide. More guidelines for the papers will be given during the second week of the course. Be aware that the date due, shown on the schedule, is the last possible date to submit the assignment. I am pleased to accept papers before this due date. I DO NOT accept late papers for any reason. I strongly recommend that you do not procrastinate.
Grades
The GSU Catalog describes undergraduate grades in the following terms:
The A grade may be interpreted to mean that the instructor recognized exceptional capacities and
exceptional performance.
The grade of B signifies that the student has, for any combination of reasons, demonstrated a
significantly more effective command of the material than is generally expected in the course.
The C grade is the instructor’s certification that the student has demonstrated the required mastery of
the material.
The student is graded D when his/her grasp of the course is minimal.
The F grade indicates failure to master the essentials and the necessity for repeating before credit
may be allowed.
Grades will be calculated by summing the points earned from your three highest exam scores (300 points, or 75% of course grade), and papers (100 points, or 25% of course grade). There are 400 points possible; grades are assigned according to the following minimal point scale:
Use this space to record your scores:
Remember to add only your four highest exam scores together with your papers when calculating your points!
Other Course Policies
Accommodations
If you have a documented learning disability or some other special need that requires accommodation of some type, be sure to discuss it with me before a problem arises.
Policy on Honesty
I have found that students sometimes do not understand what plagiarism means. If you have a question about plagiarism, ask me. This is one area where it is especially true that there is no such thing as a stupid question! The following excerpt from the Student Conduct Code summarizes important guidelines that you are expected to follow.
In other words, academic dishonesty includes giving or receiving assistance on an exam, unauthorized use of notes or books during an exam, falsifying information on an assignment or project, or claiming credit for an idea or statement that belongs to someone else. Academic dishonesty may result in an "F" for the course, and the student may be referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs. If you have questions about whether or not a specific act would be considered dishonest, please read the student conduct code and then discuss the matter with me!
Classroom Conduct
In this course we will examine a large amount of material in a fairly short time frame. Many students feel intimidated by the amount of material. As I outline in the section on study habits, it is best to read daily before class, and to follow class by rereading the material. You will do better if you keep up than if you procrastinate. If you have difficulty reading and studying 30 or more pages a day, I recommend that you (a) consider enrolling in a different course and (b) contact the Learning Resource Center, located in the library, for help.
I expect active participation in class. Come prepared every day to answer questions based on the previous day’s lecture and on the readings for the class. We will have activities, view videotapes, and do other activities that are designed to help you learn procedures, concepts or facts that are relevant to the class. Learning is an active process, not a passive one, and your involvement in these activities will help you understand the subject better. In the process, you may learn interpersonal skills that will serve you well in other contexts. If you prefer a class that allows you to quietly sit back and take notes, I recommend that you find another professor.
A good learning environment is one without distractions. Beepers, cellular phones, and other devices that make noise are disruptive, and are not welcome in class. If you have some unusual need for such a device, please discuss its use with me. Other practices that may be disruptive and are disallowed from class include such things as reading newspapers, books or other material unrelated to the course; writing letters or notes to someone; or copying someone’s class notes from days that you missed. Although I recommend that you obtain notes for days that you missed, copying them during class disrupts those around you, it limits your ability to pay attention during class, and I will ask you to refrain from doing this during class. Please do this outside of class, rather than during class. Likewise, I strongly discourage you from reading the text while you are listening to the lecture. I rarely lecture from the book,"" and I have found that the students who use this technique do more poorly than those who keep their books closed during lectures. Of course, I encourage you to ask questions and offer comments about the text, but habitually reading from the text during class is associated with lower exam performance. Use class time to focus on the lecture and activities, and use your individual study time to review the text.
If class is canceled because of bad weather or for some other reason, assume that we will continue with the material when class resumes. You also should be prepared with the regularly-scheduled material when class resumes. If class is canceled on a day that an exam is scheduled, plan to take the exam on the first day that class resumes. (Do you see the pattern here?!)
It is both distracting and disrespectful if you gather your things, close books, put on a jacket, etc., before class is over. If you need to leave class early, discuss this with me before class so that the disruption is minimal.
I reserve the right to change or add to assignments, and to make changes to this syllabus, with adequate notice, for good reason. I also reserve the right to move students from one seat to another, and to dismiss students whom I believe to be disruptive.
In sum, I expect you to treat your classmates, me, and our guest speakers with respect and consideration. Although you may not agree with someone, you should strive to phrase your view without attacking that person. Students who find this to be too difficult will be asked to leave so that others can enjoy the class.
Office Hours
If you have any difficulty with the course content, feel free to stop by my office during the hours indicated above, or by special appointment. Particularly after the first exam, but well before the last day to withdraw, be sure to see me if you are having problems. The week of final exams is obviously not the time to get serious about the course, so see me early. I am here to help! I use e-mail frequently, so you may find it convenient to contact me via e-mail. I will respond to your e-mail as quickly as I am able, usually within a few hours of receiving it.
Grading Disputes
I strive to grade projects and exams fairly and consistently. In order to ensure that each student’s work is graded in accordance with standards that apply to the entire class, if you have a question regarding a grade, you must meet with me within two weeks after the work in question is graded. No exceptions will be made to this policy. If the exam or assignment is re-scored, the entire exam or project will be graded again. This means that your score may increase or decrease.
Study Habits
A typical course load is considered to be 15 credit hours per semester. National accreditation committees--the people whose "stamp of approval" gives meaning to a university degree--base this on the assumption that students study at least two hours outside of class for every hour that they are in class. I base the course on this assumption. Thus, for a 3-hour class such as this, you should expect to work at least 9 hours each week (3 hours in class, 6 hours studying outside of class). Notice that a person who takes a standard, 15 hour course load is committing to be involved in school 45 hours each week, which is why 15 hours represents a full schedule--it is the equivalent of a full-time job, plus overtime. Each day, you should devote at least two hours to studying for this course. In order to be successful in this course, you should do the following:
While we're on the subject, here's something to think about. A colleague sent this to me, and although I do not know the original source, I believe the statistics are sound. If we could, at this time, shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look like this:
As you can see, being in college is a rare privilege. Make good use of this opportunity!
Tentative Schedule
The following schedule is an outline listing the topics that we will discuss, and the order in which we will discuss them. Be aware that this sequence may change in order to keep the class schedule flexible so that we can meet with our guest speakers, etc. Note that in order to know the details of the reading assignments, it is essential that you attend class. I will make any announcements that are necessary at the beginning of class. Such announcements might be regarding the details of our reading assignments, schedule modifications that might arise, or changes in exam dates. Be sure to ask a classmate what you missed if you do happen to come late to class.
Important Dates
Sep 17 Exam 1 (Chapters 1-4)
Oct 4 last day to withdraw without academic penalty
Oct 18 Exam 2 (Chapters 5-8)
Oct 22 Homecoming – no afternoon classes
Nov 22 Exam 3 (Chapters 9-13)
Nov 22 Paper 1 Due by beginning of class
Nov 29 Student Presentations Begin
Dec 3 Paper 2 Due by beginning of class
Dec 10 last day of classes (Get final exam; Do make-up exams)
Dec 13 2:00 p.m. Final Exam
Psychology 3231, Psychology of Religion, Fall 1999
I have received a copy of the syllabus for Psychology 3231, Psychology of Religion. I have read the syllabus and have been offered an opportunity to ask questions. I understand and agree to the requirements in this syllabus. I also have considered the benefits of academic honesty, and agree to the standards and procedures outlined in this syllabus.
Signed ________________________________ Date ______________
Name (Printed) _________________________
I would like my alias for posting grades to be: _____________
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