World Religions in Greater Indianapolis: An NEH Bridging Cultures Project
FAIN: ME-228623-15
Trustees of Indiana University (Bloomington, IN 47405-7000)
Edward E. Curtis (Project Director: August 2014 to July 2018)
Arthur Farnsley (Co Project Director: March 2015 to July 2018)
A two-year study course for fifteen faculty members at Ivy Tech Community College, in partnership with Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, on contemporary religious traditions in greater Indianapolis.
Ivy Tech Community College (ITCC), in collaboration with Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), conducts an exploration of contemporary religious traditions in the greater Indianapolis area. Guided by religious studies scholars Edward Curtis and Arthur Farnley (both IUPUI), and humanities program chair John J. Cooney (ITCC), fifteen Ivy Tech faculty members, over the course of two years, study five world religious traditions that reflect the changing demographics and religious diversity of the city: Jews from the former Soviet Union, Russia, and Ukraine; Spanish-speaking Roman Catholic Christians from Latin America; Muslims from West Africa; Hindus from India; and Buddhists from Vietnam. Explorations of each world faith tradition follow a pattern of three sessions held over a period of three months. To begin, visiting scholars engage participating faculty in a seminar-style discussion of the history, sacred texts, and practices of the tradition in question. A second meeting the following month focuses on the same tradition in its American contexts. The third meeting then focuses on contemporary manifestations of the tradition in greater Indianapolis, with visits to a local religious institution to engage in dialogue with practicing members of that particular faith. Guest lecturers/discussants in religious studies include Jason Mokhtarian and Sarah Imhoff (both Indiana University, Bloomington) on Judaism; Peter Theusen and Arthur Farnsley (both IUPUI), and Arthur Canales (Marian University) on Christianity; Edward Curtis (IUPUI) and Waseema Ali (Muslim Alliance of Indiana) on Islam; Chad Bauman (Butler University) and Andrea Jain (IUPUI) on Hinduism; and Heather Blair (Indiana University, Bloomington) and Sister Ange (An Lac Vietnamese American Buddhist Association) on Buddhism. Primary readings include Mary Pat Fisher, Lived Religions; Hasia Diner, A New Promised Land: A History of Jews in America; David Wills, Christianity in the United States; Jane I. Smith, Islam in America; Sunil Bhatia, American Karma: Race, Culture, and Identity in the Indian Diaspora; and Richard Hughes Seager, Buddhism in America. The fifteen participants are expected to produce ten course modules each to incorporate into existing history, world civilizations, world literature, art and culture, and anthropology courses at the college. In a final public meeting (March 2017) at IUPUI, each of the participants gives an account of his or her experience offering one of the new modules.
Associated Products
NEH Bridging Cultures Projects 2015-2017: World Religions Course Modules (Course or Curricular Material)Title: NEH Bridging Cultures Projects 2015-2017: World Religions Course Modules
Author: Edward E. Curtis IV
Author: Arthur Farnsley II
Author: John Cooney
Author: Jonathan Arbuckle
Author: Al Atkins
Author: Rachel Barrett Knight
Author: Courtland Blade
Author: Jeff Dodge
Author: Amy Guess
Author: Doug Hammerling
Author: • Audrey Jefferson
Author: Barry LeBlanc
Author: Tanya Martin
Author: Josh Phillippe
Author: Janet Rhodes-Carlson
Author: Joe Skvarenina
Author: Allen Smith
Author: Joanna Wos
Abstract: These 140 course lesson plans for various community college humanities classes offer readings, study questions, and assignments for teaching about Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism and their immigrant practitioners in the history and life of the United States. Edited by Edward E. Curtis IV and Arthur Farnsley II, the lesson plans were composed by Ivy Tech Community College instructors who were NEH scholar participants in the "World Religions in Greater Indianapolis: An NEH Bridging Cultures Project" from 2015 to 2017.
Year: 2017
Primary URL:
http://raac.iupui.edu/teaching-resources/neh-bridging-cultures-projects-2015-17/Primary URL Description: This is the landing page for the lesson plans written for the "World Religions in Greater Indianapolis: An NEH Bridging Cultures Project."
Secondary URL:
http://raac.iupui.edu/professional-development/2015-2017-world-religions-greater-indianapolis-neh-program/Secondary URL Description: This is the landing page for the "World Religions in Greater Indianapolis: An NEH Bridging Cultures Project."
Audience: Undergraduate