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School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Religious Studies


 
Mission Outcomes Assessment Faculty Student Work

RELIGIOUS STUDIES PROGRAM OBJECTIVES:
 
  • OBJECTIVE I: Students will be able to communicate their ideas about religion and related subjects with good writing skills that also exhibit critical thinking.
    • Objective A: In each upper-division course, students will be able to write a paper without major writing errors, develop their ideas in a logical fashion, and support their conclusions.
    • Objective B: In each upper-division course, students will be able to answer examination essay questions without major writing errors. They will be able to organize their answers clearly and support their conclusions.
  • OBJECTIVE II: Students will be able to describe, interpret, compare, and explain the most important beliefs and practices of the major religions of the world, using appropriate scholarly methods.
    • Objective A: Students will be able to describe the difference between the academic study of religion, as it is taught and researched in universities, and the practice of religion that is intended to establish and reinforce the norms of a religious community.
    • Objective B: Students will be able to describe, interpret, compare, and explain the beliefs, practices, and histories of the major religious traditions of the world.
    • Objective C: Students will be able to identify some of the general characteristics that most religions share in common.
    • Objective D: Students will learn the concept of critical tolerance. They will become aware of diverse cultural perspectives and religious practice.
  • OBJECTIVE III: Students will be able to describe the historical origins of religions, their transformation through the historical process, and the emergence of novel religious forms and practices. They will be able to employ the major theories and methods of the academic study of religion.
    • Objective A: Students will be able to describe the historical sources of major religious traditions and their evolution
    • Objective B: Students will be able to employ social scientific methodology in analyzing and interpreting beliefs and practices of the major world religions
    • Objective C: Students will be able to use textual analysis to interpret the literature of the major religious traditions
    • Objective D: Students will gain knowledge of scholarly discussions of race, gender, and ethnicity as they pertain to the nature and meaning of the major religious traditions.
  • OBJECTIVE IV: Students will be able to describe, interpret, and explain the moral, experiential, doctrinal, and ritual dimensions of religion.
    • Objective A: Students will be able to provide comparative examples of the ways religion influences thought and action in relation to important social issues.
    • Objective B: Students will be able to discuss interpretations of religious experience comparatively.
    • Objective C: Students will be able to describe differences in doctrine between a minimum of one western and one Asian religious tradition
    • Objective D: Students will be able to provide examples of religious rituals and to explain what they mean to the communities from which they originate.



ASSESSMENT PORTFOLIO

Nearly every major at CSUB requires both a senior seminar and some sort of assessment in addition to course grades. In the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, senior seminar and assessment are combined. Assessment includes a portfolio, which students will assemble. The Department urges students to begin assembling materials for their portfolios as soon as they declare a major. Students should keep duplicate copies of everything they put in their portfolio, because it will not be returned. The portfolio will not be graded, but it must be completed before a grade is given for the senior seminar

The portfolio will consist of two sections: (1) an assessment and (2) supporting evidence.

In the first section, students will include a personal assessment of at least 1,000 words of the religious studies program and their educational experience. The faculty want to know what its majors think of the program, how it has contributed to their educational goals and what recommendations for change they would make. The student statement should be a thoughtful assessment of the program and of the student's own educational progress. The faculty want students to address each of the goals and objectives listed above as they write their assessments and indicate whether, in their opinion, the goals of the program have been met. In addition, students may wish to address other questions and issues that are important to them and will help the faculty improve the program of study. Before students write their assessments, the faculty recommend that they review the courses they have taken including the examinations, projects, and papers.

If students take senior seminar before they complete all major requirements, they may update their self-assessments at any time before graduation. The assessment should be submitted in a sealed envelope. It will not be opened until after the student has graduated. This procedure is intended to encourage an honest evaluation of student progress and of the religious studies program.

The second section of the portfolio should include copies of at least four papers students have written in connection with their major, either at CSUB or at other institutions. This material should provide evidence supporting both the students assessment of the program and their educational progress. The faculty recommend that students not necessarily include only their best papers or those with the highest grades; rather students should pick examples from various stages in their college career, which demonstrate abilities in the various facets of the religious studies major, as well as papers that indicate whether or not students have improved their skills in writing, critical thinking, and constructing persuasive arguments.