08.25
I mentioned in a previous post that I was planning on taking an online college class. I have actually started and it is going well, so far.
The class, offered completely online through UC Berkeley, is called, “Views of the Absolute in World Religions.” And no, it is not a “practical” class, designed to get me a job. I just wanted, after 10 years out of college, to take an interesting and intellectually stimulating class, and perhaps work my way back into school. 
The study of comparative religions and philosophy, which goes hand in hand with the study of culture, has been a lifelong interest of mine. I am looking forward to this course.
The class involves a lot of reading and writing. There is a message board, where you have to post on certain topics and reply to other students. Then you also email the professor directly with answers to essay questions after you read his lecture and the relevant sections from the required books.
There are three books for the class:
- “The World’s Religions” by Huston Smith
- “The World’s Wisdom: Sacred Texts of the World’s Religions” by Philip Novak
- “Teaching Spirits: Understaning Native American Religious Traditions” by Joeseph Epes Brown
I think it will be both enjoyable and informative. Our first unit was just a self-introduction and “warm-up,” but the second unit begins with a challenging topic: Islam. Islam is the one major religion that I am largely ignorant of, and that is a shame. If education is the first step to understanding and tolerance, then I hope somehow I can help make some (admittedly small) contribution towards that end.
I’ll also do some supplemental research online. As I go along, I’ll be saving relevant websites on my Delicious.com page. I’ll tag them with X10, which is the university course number for the course.
So once again, all the bookmarks I save for the course will be here: http://delicious.com/abuckingham/X10 Check them out, and enjoy.