MCCCD Program Description

Religions Of Indigenous Peoples

Course: REL230

First Term: 1998 Fall

Lecture 3 Credit(s) 3 Period(s) 3 Load
Subject Type: Academic
Load Formula: S

Description: Sacred story as experienced in ritual and daily practice of various contemporary groups, such as African, Native American, Native Australian, Native South American, Icelandic and Japanese. Power of sacred story to create and re-create religious and social perspectives

MCCCD Official Course Competencies
1. Distinguish between study of myth and experience of sacred story. (I) 2. Identify various cultures in which the presentation of sacred story is primary vehicle of religious practice today. (I, II) 3. Identify numerous stories and the religious traditions within which they are presented. (II) 4. Describe historical development of sacred story within cultures. (II) 5. Describe types of sacred story common to living religious traditions, such as creation accounts, hero quests, and flood narratives. (I, II) 6. Examine the role sacred story plays in framing the perspective of communities and individuals within those communities. (I, II) 7. Distinguish between sacred story as collected in written documents and sacred story as presented in oral form. (I, II) 8. Compare the living religious traditions of sacred story and the practices of modern Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. (III)
MCCCD Official Course Competencies must be coordinated with the content outline so that each major point in the outline serves one or more competencies. MCCCD faculty retains authority in determining the pedagogical approach, methodology, content sequencing, and assessment metrics for student work. Please see individual course syllabi for additional information, including specific course requirements.

MCCCD Official Course Outline
I. Introduction to Sacred Story A. Sacred story as creator B. The false split between sacred and profane C. Human themes: creation/flood/the hero D. The work of anthropologists and folklorists II. The Living Traditions A. African tribal religion (e.g., Nuer/Dinka: Dogon: Yoruba: Ashanti) 1. The geographic, cultural and historical setting 2. The stories 3. The divine made real in the stories 4. The storytellers 5. The power (ceremonies) B. South American Native Religion (e.g., Quechua) 1. The geographic, cultural and historical setting 2. The stories 3. The divine made real in the stories 4. The storytellers 5. The power (ceremonies) C. Australian Native (e.g., Djanggawul; Wawalag) 1. The geographic, cultural and historical setting 2. The stories 3. The divine made real in the stories 4. The storytellers 5. The power (ceremonies) D. Icelandic History (Asatru) 1. The geographic, cultural and historical setting 2. The stories 3. The divine made real in the stories 4. Teachers as storytellers 5. Education as power E. Shinto 1. The geographic, cultural and historical setting 2. The stories 3. The divine made real in the stories 4. The storytellers (temple priests) 5. The power (ceremonies) F. North American Native Religion (e.g., Dine; Lakota; Inuit) 1. The geographic, cultural and historical setting 2. The stories 3. The divine made real in the stories 4. The storytellers (medicine men and grandmothers) 5. The power (sandpainting ceremony; kiva dances; sweat lodge; peyote) III. Dead Myths in Living Traditions A. Myth in Judaism B. Myth in Christianity C. Myth in Islam D. Myth in Hinduism

MCCCD Governing Board Approval Date: 5/26/1998

All information published is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information presented, but based on the dynamic nature of the curricular process, course and program information is subject to change in order to reflect the most current information available.