The purpose of this
assignment: This is an assignment I have had my students doing for many years. Students
are required to make a personal visit to a religion other than their own
- a religion they are entirely unfamiliar with in their personal
experience. This is to force them to move beyond their current "comfort
zone" and to realize, through direct interaction, that people in other
religions are really not that different from them and that there need be nothing
to fear about expanding one's horizons. Direct experience is the best way to
learn anything. It brings theory alive and makes it real.
The activity in brief: Students are expected to see the place, observe religious
activity, and dialogue with followers of the religion. Then they are to
write up or otherwise share a report on their experience, not only describing it
but also demonstrating how the experience has impacted on them in a more
personal way.
(Students are not required to actually participate in the religious
activity, though they are encouraged to do so to the extent that they are
comfortable.)
About this assignment, students have commented: Before I begin, I must admit that I initially felt burdened by the
Encounters & Dialogues assignment. My original mentality was to merely visit
another place of worship in order to maintain a good grade in the class. I
suspect that I am not the only member of the class that initially felt this way.
After visiting the Mormon Temple, however, in conjunction with attending the
Sunday worship services at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, my
entire perspective on Christianity had evolved.
Another student observes: I am thoroughly convinced of the need to experience something for myself
in order to better understand it or appreciate it... Now I understand that true
learning often necessitates taking a step outside of one's comfort zone.
Don't wait until the week before the report is due to make
your visit. Something may come up to delay your planned visit, leaving you
no time to reschedule.
Select a religion to visit
related to the religions you are studying (Eastern or Western). It should be a
religion you have never experienced before. Some
possible places to visit:
What kind of things should
you discuss with followers of the religion? Go beyond facts you can
learn from reading and focus on personal experience with the religion. Here's
a video of Unitarians answering questions about their experience with
their religion. See if you can formulate questions that generate this kind
of personal information: what the people like about their religion, how they
feel about it.
The Pluralism Project advises to...
Call well ahead of time to indicate your interest in
visiting the center or attending a religious service. Be sure to ask how
visitors should dress, as this varies with the religious tradition...
Explore the religious tradition of the place of worship you will be visiting.
Write down your own expectations before you go, and make a list of the
questions you have. From what you know now, what impressions do you have of
the people you are going to meet? What impressions do you imagine they have of
people like you? While you are there, observe carefully. If there is an
opportunity to ask questions, don't hesitate to do so. And when you return
from your visit, sit down as soon as you can to write a description of the
most interesting things you saw and learned.
You may buddy up with a classmate, or take a friend or family
member with you on your visit (this can ease any anxiety you may have). If you do
visit with a classmate, make sure that you write you own reports, independently
of one another. You and your buddy can make an oral presentation together but
each must share equally in the preparation and presentation (take turns
presenting).
Two more students note: I am so glad I had the opportunity to do these encounters &
dialogues! At first I thought that there was no way I was going to go to some
other religion's place of worship. But when I was doing it I felt so good and
it made me respect people so much more.
I will be very honest and say that I did not want to do
these assignments because I was being asked to do something VERY foreign to me
but I really have enjoyed them. I find the less I know about the
religion, the more interesting it is to sit in on a service
Observe what the physical setting is like:
the architecture and furnishings, the layout, art work (if any), hymnals,
reading material, etc. Are there special objects or symbols? Is there a
setting that seems to be the center of attention (e.g. a shrine or altar)?
Is the place ornate or simple?
Note what the people do: is there reading,
reciting, singing, movement, silence or meditation, manipulation of physical
objects (ritual), use of foreign language, sermon or lesson? Is there a
special person as leader? Do the people face a certain direction? Do the
people wear anything special? Are there children present?
What is the atmosphere like: solemn, reverent,
exciting, relaxed, peaceful, etc.?
What struck you as the most important element
of the setting and activity?
Try to talk to someone from the group.
Ask them questions, ask them to explain what you saw and heard. Focus especially
on their personal experience with and perspective on the religion.
Collect any informational flyers, brochures, or booklets that
may be available. You may include these with your report and share them with the
class during an oral presentation.
If you can, take pictures and include these in your
report/share with the class as well.
More student observations regarding the assignment: Just the simple task of leaving my own church's walls and making an
active attempt to visit with other faiths taught me how to interact with
people not like myself and helped me become more understanding [of others].
I was very surprised at how
much I enjoyed speaking to Rev. Nakata. It was amazing to
me how much more I took away from an experience that was only a small part of
my day, compared to my own reading and interpretation of Buddhist way of life....This
experience has given me the confidence I need to explore other beliefs that
are a part of our world.
You may be asked to compose a first person narrative and reflective report
describing your experience, give an oral presentation
on your experience to the class, and/or post your report to the class discussion
board.
So you do not forget what you experience, you are advised to
compose a rough draft (field notes) ASAP upon your return home
If you've given yourself
enough time, you should be able to take your time to do your best analytical
thinking and composition as you write your final narrative of the experience.
Your ability to discern the significance of what you observe (and include this
in your composition) is a "test" of your knowledge and understanding
of the religion in question. Your narrative is a report of your
experience so be sure to put yourself (your thoughts and feelings) into
the report If all you relate in your narrative is description of physical
observations, you will receive no more than half credit. Use a number of
rhetorical strategies as you compose this essay. Click
here for some suggestions.
Describe the religious activity you observed (minus
one grade level if you don't actually witness religious activity)
Discuss the content of dialogue you had with
followers of the religion (minus one grade level is you don't actually
have a substantive discussion with anyone of the faith)
Offer your reflections - thoughts and feelings -
about the experience and what you learned from it
Here's an example of the sort
of experience and report on the experience you might make:
In writing your report, be sure to discuss the process of
this experience, from the planning stages through reflections on personal
transformation:
In an opening paragraph, discuss your planning, anticipation,
and expectations for this experience:
Why did you pick this religion and this particular place to visit?
What kind of preliminary research did you do to
familiarize yourself with where you were planning to go? (e.g. visit their
Website or otherwise learn a little about the religion)
What did you do to try to make this the best experience
it could be (e.g. think about what questions you might ask, call ahead to
find out the best time to come)?
How did you feel in anticipation of the experience?
What expectations, if any, did you have: what did you
expect to see, hear and do during this experience, based on your limited
awareness of the religion in question?
Then move on to actualization, discussing the
experience itself (this will, likely, be the longest part of your report -
perhaps 50%).
Give a somewhat detailed description of the physical
surroundings, the people and activities you observe (the building, inside and out;
the people there - what they were like, what they did; the activities and words
used; sights, sounds, scents and other sensory impressions).
Discuss the conversations you have with the people
there: who did you talk with? what did you talk about?
Offer your thoughtful analytical and interpretive
reflections on the experience as a whole as well as on specific aspects
of what you see and hear, highlights of the conversations you have with the
people there (you are encouraged to make observations that
compare and contrast these first hand experiences to each other as well as
to any other religions with which you may be familiar)
In conclusion, reflect back on the experience, after the
fact, and discuss how you have been transformed, both intellectually and
emotionally, by the experience. Offer your personal thoughts and feelings regarding the
experience as a whole as well as specific aspects of what you encounter:
Were your expectations met or exceeded?
If not, why not? What could you have done differently to make this a more
productive experience?
What did you discover about, what impressions did you
get of this religion and the people who follow it?
How has this encounter changed your understanding and/or appreciation of the religion in
question?
What misperceptions or assumptions did you have about this religion and how did this experience help to clarify these for you?
What remaining or new questions do you have about this religion and how do you think you can find the answers?
Feel free to submit any pictures, brochures and other pertinent items with your
reports (ask permission before taking any pictures).
Here's an example of a
video report done by one of my students:
If you are giving an oral report, much
of the same content noted above applies although you will not need to compose a
formal, written report. You should still take notes either during and/or just
after the experience. You may reference these notes when you do your
presentation. Don't just talk about your experience. Share any printed
material or other "souvenirs" you may have picked up during your
visit, share any pictures or videos you may have taken during your visit. If the
place has a Website, share that with us as well, including any pictures they may
have on their site that relate to what you are talking about. Be prepared to
answer any questions from your classmates and mentor. Oral presentations should
be around 10 - 15 minutes. If you have made your visit with a classmate, both of
you should work on preparing and presenting your oral report, and both of you
should be able to respond to questions.
On-line students: So that you may all benefit from each other's experiences, these reports
will be shared on the course discussion board or as a blog (follow specific
guidelines you will find in the course site).
A few more student comments: The visits and conversations were very helpful for learning about other
religions. They were better than lectures in the classroom.
I
learned a lot more by visiting the temple and seeing how the people actually
react with each other and act toward each other than sitting in a classroom
and trying to imagine it.
It was a great learning experience and I would recommend
to anyone to visit any place of worship that is not your own religion. It
really is an eye opening experience and well worth conquering the initial
fear.
reflect an encounter with a religion the student was previously unfamiliar with
reflect an observation of (or participation in) religious activity
and discussion with a follower of the faith
be descriptive of the place (inside and
out), the people present, and activities witnessed (so that the reader can vividly imagine what it was like to be there)
include some details regarding the content of any discussions the student may have had with a follower of the faith in question (but will avoid being a mere transcript of what was said - simply summarize the more interesting comments)
be more than just descriptive - reflect the student's feelings and thoughts (comprehension, analysis, synthesis, insights, observations, evaluation) regarding what was observed and discussed
reflect a mature respect and appreciation
for what was experienced (focus on the positive more than on the negative)
reflect the encounter as a learning experience for the student (will comment on how the experience has changed the student's understanding and/or appreciation of the religion in question)
You can see examples of past student work at:
www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/project. I may ask some of you to submit an electronic version of your
report that can be added to
this website project (not all of these reports are "A" work; rather, they
represent a sampling of encounters with diverse communities).
