Dear Colleagues,

The attached poster is intended to alert students to a new course in
Philosophy and Religion entitled "Evil, Witchcraft, and Satanism." The
potential for misunderstanding such a course is great, and so I wanted to
alert you to that possibility, especially for your students. This is not a
"how to" course. Not to teach oncology in medical school because nobody wants
to get cancer is much like not wanting to teach a course of this sort. Our
subject matter is out there, and the only issue becomes,"Are we going to deal
with it or are we going to ignore it?" Besides, mapping the central focus of
any discipline often involves exploring that discipline's outer edges, ragged
and fearful though they may sometimes be. Understanding the limits of religion
requires an understanding of its more disturbing limits and their expressions.
Here's hoping that if students ask you about the course, these few comments
will help you to interpret what the course intends to be. No orthodoxy will
hold sway; critical inquiry will be basic.

Bill Harman

William Harman, Head
Department of Philosophy and Religion (# 2753)
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
232 E Holt Hall // 615 McCallie Avenue
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403
(423) 755-4334  // fax (423)755-4153

Residence: 936 Mountain Creek Road, A-3
           Chattanooga, Tennessee 37405
           (423) 876-3471