Department of Religious Studies
Courses for Fall 2005
REL 101.01, Introduction to Religious Studies
SOPPER, TR, 9:30-10:45, Graham 313
Credits: AE/CAE; GEC: PRE, GL
This course introduces students to the academic study of religion through a survey of the major beliefs, values, ritual practices, sacred writings and historical developments of the major western religions, namely, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. We approach these religions as things that humans do. In other words, we look at religion as an aspect of the societies, cultures and behavior of those human beings (past and present) who describe themselves as Jews, Christians and Muslims. Our main goal is to learn more about the different ways Jews, Christians and Muslims have thought, felt and acted over the course of their long histories. While we may have religious commitments and questions of our own, in this class we are not asked to “be religious.” Rather we are asked to be thorough investigators seeking to know, understand and appreciate our chosen subject matter. The course will consist mainly of regular lectures on relevant topics; regular assigned readings and periodic exams which require students to demonstrate detailed knowledge of the material presented in lectures and assigned readings.
Required Texts: weekly readings from text book chapters and scholarly articles and essays accessed from the library e-reserve system.
REL 101.02, Introduction to Religious Studies
GORVINE, TR, 12:30-1:45, Stone 217
Credits: AE, CAE, GL, GPR, H
How can one understand ‘religion’ as a meaningful category in a cross-cultural environment? This course introduces fundamental approaches to the study of religion by focusing on ‘shamanistic’ traditions. In particular, we will critically examine various ways in which anthropologists, historians of religion and others have attempted to categorize and interpret the worldviews, myths and ritual practices of communities once deemed ‘primitive’. To that end, we will utilize case studies of peoples from sub-saharan Africa, Native North and South America, and the Tibetan Himalaya, learning about and discussing subject matter such as traditional healing, religious experience, and social/environmental relations.
REL 109.01, Religion and Contemporary Culture
SOPPER, TR, 2-3:15, Ferg. 251
Credits: AE, CAE, GPR, Grogan
This course is designed as a large group introductory course in contemporary issues in western religious thought. In this course we will study such topics as religion and social change, the religious roots of race, class, gender and sexuality, new understandings in psychology and spirituality, and contemporary religious movements. The course will be run primarily as a discussion course, with occasional brief lectures.
REL 109.02, Religion and Contemporary Culture
MACKINNON, MWF, 9-9:50, Graham 212
Credits: AE, CAE, GPR
Understandings of religion as shaped by contemporary social institutions, the arts, politics, and philosophy.
REL 109.03, Religion and Contemporary Culture
MACKINNON, MWF, 10-10:50, McIver 028
Credits: AE, CAE, GPR
Understandings of religion as shaped by contemporary social institutions, the arts, politics, and philosophy.
REL 111.01, Non-Western Religions
GRIEVE, W, 6-8:50, Library 32
Credits: CNW, GN, GPR, NW
This course introduces you to the study of non-Western religions and their contributions to modern religious self-understanding, focusing critically and evaluatively n such patterns of expression as myth, ritual, and social forms. Concentrating on Buddhism and Hinduism, the course uses a nonsectarian, unbiased approach that employs various methods and theories to understand the religious life of others.
Required Texts:
Flood, Gavin An Introduction to Hinduism
Trainor, Kevi Buddhism: An Illustrated Guide
REL 111.02, Non-Western Religions
GRIEVE, TR, 12:30-1:45, Science 460
This course introduces you to the study of non-Western religions and their contributions to modern religious self-understanding, focusing critically and evaluatively n such patterns of expression as myth, ritual, and social forms. Concentrating on Buddhism and Hinduism, the course uses a nonsectarian, unbiased approach that employs various methods and theories to understand the religious life of others.
Required Texts:
Flood, Gavin An Introduction to Hinduism
Trainor, Kevi Buddhism: An Illustrated Guide
REL 131.01, Religions in
LEVINSON, TR, 1100-1215, McIver 028
Credits: CMO, GHP, GMO, HP
This course is an introduction to a great variety of religious traditions and movements including diverse Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Christianities that first emerged in the Near East, Western and Eastern Europe and Eurasia; as well as Christianities that began in the United States, including Latter Day Saints, Christian Scientists, Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses; as well as Judaism, Humanism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and New Age and Self-help movements. Special topics will include: responding to religious diversity, studying and describing religions, the role of religion in public life, alternative themes in American Christianity, African-American Christianity, and religion as an individual and cultural problem.
REL 202.01, Hebrew Scriptures
HAUS, MWF, 10-10:50, Graham 402
Credits: CPM, GHP, GPM, HP
In this course students will explore the history and literature of the Hebrew Bible through the study of selected texts. Close readings of short biblical narratives, broader discussions of biblical themes, and an overview of biblical scholarship and methodology will all be incorporated in this course. Readings will include English translations of the biblical texts as well as a scholarly discussions of the historical context in which the narratives unfold. Students will also gain a basic grounding in the vocabulary and religious foundations of the biblical tradition.
REL 202.01, Hebrew Scriptures
HAUS, MWF, 11-11:50, Graham 402
Credits: CPM, GHP, GPM, HP
In this course students will explore the history and literature of the Hebrew Bible through the study of selected texts. Close readings of short biblical narratives, broader discussions of biblical themes, and an overview of biblical scholarship and methodology will all be incorporated in this course. Readings will include English translations of the biblical texts as well as a scholarly discussions of the historical context in which the narratives unfold. Students will also gain a basic grounding in the vocabulary and religious foundations of the biblical tradition.
REL 212.01, Christianity from the Reformation to the Present
MCKINNON, R 6-8:50, Foust 111
Credits: CMO, GHP, GMO, HP
This course is a survey of Christian thought from the Protestant Reformation(s) to the present, focusing primarily on Protestant and Roman Catholic theology in Europe and
REL 215.01, Judaism
STAFF, TR, 9:30-10:45, McIver 232
Credits: CMO, GHP, GL, GMO, HP
This course explores the development of Judaism from its ancient origins until the present. We will discuss the biblical foundations of Judaism and the impact that its different historical contexts have produced on its rituals and beliefs. This approach raises a number of questions, which we will keep in mind throughout the course: What is Judaism? Who are the Jews? What is the relationship between Judaism and “being Jewish?” How have historical circumstances shaped this relationship? What has changed and what has stayed the same, and why?
REL 215.01, Judaism
STAFF, TR, 2-3:15, Graham 313
Credits: CMO, GHP, GL, GMO, HP
This course explores the development of Judaism from its ancient origins until the present. We will discuss the biblical foundations of Judaism and the impact that its different historical contexts have produced on its rituals and beliefs. This approach raises a number of questions, which we will keep in mind throughout the course: What is Judaism? Who are the Jews? What is the relationship between Judaism and “being Jewish?” How have historical circumstances shaped this relationship? What has changed and what has stayed the same, and why?
REL 221.01, Buddhism
GORVINE, MW, 2-3:15, Science 200
Credits: CNW, GN, GPR, NW
Introduction to the origin, development, and impact of Buddhism in Asian cultures. Focus on religious doctrines, forms of community, religious practices, techniques, art and iconography, and the implications of the Buddhist perspective for the contemporary world in both Asia and the West.
REL 221.02, Buddhism
GORVINE, MW 3:30-4:45, Petty, 219
Credits: CNW, GN, GPR, NW
Introduction to the origin, development, and impact of Buddhism in Asian cultures. Focus on religious doctrines, forms of community, religious practices, techniques, art and iconography, and the implications of the Buddhist perspective for the contemporary world in both Asia and the West.
REL 250.01, Religion and Traditional Care of the Earth
HEADINGTON, TR, 11-12:15, Petty 219
Credits: CNW, ENV, GN, GPR, NW
This course introduces the student to the study of religion by focusing on the ways that various religious traditions view and treats the natural world. Religious rituals, symbols, stories, and ethical systems generate different cultural and social responses to nature. In our present age, when species and natural systems are threatened with extinction, we need to understand the biases of various religious traditions, especially those of the West, and offer proposals for an ethic of sustainability. We will study indigenous people and western and eastern religions. We will also look at current attempts in the West to fashion a more life-enhancing ethic.
Our study will take up three major themes: The Great Work, Food, and Simple Living. Each will comprise a third of the course.
For each theme or third of the course, you will have a test on the material we’ve covered in class and readings, and you’ll have two projects to complete on Food and Simple Living. Thus, you’ll have a theoretical and an experiential way of understanding the material.
REL 259.01, Philosophy of Religion: Marx, Nietzsche, Freud
HART, TR, 11-12:15, Foust 111
Credits: GPR, SI, WI, H
Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Sigmund Freud are “masters of suspicion.” We shall explore their suspicions, that is, why they think that religion is detrimental to human dignity and conduct.
REL 259.02, Philosophy of Religion: Marx, Nietzsche, Freud
HART, TR, 11-12:15, Foust 111
Credits: GPR, SI, WI
Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Sigmund Freud are “masters of suspicion.” We shall explore their suspicions, that is, why they think that religion is detrimental to human dignity and conduct.
REL 309.01, Spirituality and Culture in the West
ROGERS, MW, 2-3:15, Foust 111
Credits: AE/CAE
This course introduces students to Christian spiritual and mystical authors with an emphasis on medieval sources. Topics will include: 1) Religious experience. How is individual religious experience shaped by religious communities, practices, and texts? 2) Human growth. How do the authors think human beings change and develop? Where do they think human life leads and ends? 3) Grace and free will. Christian authors in the West have tended to raise the following chain of questions: If part of my salvation is up to me, and God can be relied upon to do God's part, then doesn't everything really hang on what I do, so that effectively I end up saving myself? Or if it is really God who saves me, am I left out of the process of my own salvation, so that it's hard to tell that it's really me getting saved? Or are those somehow false alternatives? 4) Social meaning. How do Christian texts and practices attempt to render time, suffering, misfortune, joy, anger, pathology, failure and other things socially useful? 5) Gender and sexuality. How do spiritual writers seek to use sexual and gendered images for God and for themselves? How do their images differ from modern ones? How do the authors seek to incorporate feelings of desire, longing, consummation, and union into spiritual growth?
REL 310.01, Christianity and Construction of Gender
KRUEGER, W, 6-8:50, Foust 111
Credits: WGS, WI
This course examines ideas of "maleness" and "femaleness" in the history of Christianity, particularly in antiquity and the Middle Ages. Emphasis will be placed on the construction of gender in narrative literatures, especially apocryphal acts, martyrdom accounts, saints= lives, and romances, as well as in theological treatises. Such writings did not so much describe the lives of men and women as prescribe them, providing models for emulation and asserting cultural norms. Our task will be to interpret and decode these models to understand how gender was conceived as both a barrier and a pathway to holiness and salvation. The texts selected provide idealizations and even fantasies of gender, designed to engage an audience's desire even while encouraging Christians to abandon many of their desires. Along the way we shall consider how gender and sexuality intersected with Christian notions of authority, leadership, and hierarchy. We will encounter a range of Christian attempts to understand human embodiment, and address the impact of various Christian ideologies of gender on actual men's and women's lives.
This course is cross-listed with Women's and Gender Studies and receives Writing Intensive credit.
This course is designed for undergraduate Religious Studies and Women=s and Gender Studies majors and others with a strong interest the topic. Class will be run as a seminar discussion with everyone expected to contribute to our common task of interpreting the assigned texts. This course is writing intensive; it is also reading intensive. Reading assignments will average 125-150 pages per week. Students should expect to spend 5 or 6 hours a week preparing for our class meetings.
REL 313.01, Topic in Ancient Judaism: Hebrew Language
NATKIN, TR, 9:30-10:45, Foust 111
Credits:
This course is designed to provide students with the tools to read and understand most biblical texts. It teaches reading and writing the Hebrew alphabet, and progresses to word and sentence level in preparation for reading actual texts from the Bible. Hebrew grammar is introduced as well, enabling the student to understand how Biblical Hebrew works.
REL 323.01, Religious Movements/Communities
HAUS, W, 2-4:45, Foust 111
Credits: Majors
The history of Jews in the Diaspora has largely been a history of movement. Sometimes by choice and sometimes by necessity, Jews have circulated all over the world during the last 2000 years. This course will explore issues in the migration of Jews at different points in history, examining factors specific to each migration and ultimately comparing the different migratory experiences. During the coming semester, we will study the causes and consequences of migration, and its political, social, and economic impact upon the religious lives of Jewish immigrants and their hosts. The course will draw upon diverse source material, including primary and secondary historical documents, literature, and film.
REL 328.01, American Religious Thought III
LEVINSON, M, 6-8:50, 807 Seven Oak Drive
Credits: GPR, WI
Course Description: We'll read writings by William James about his personal moral/religious crisis as well as his arguments for religious belief and variation. We will also Josiah Royce.
REL 332.01, Contemporary African American Religious Thought
HART, T, 6-8:50
Credits: WI, AFS
We shall explore the issues raised in the religious autobiographies of four African Americans: Malcolm X, Julius Lester, Jan Willis, and Avey Johnson (a fictional person) whose religious journeys take them, respectively, from Christianity into the religious worlds of Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and Vodun. We shall think through several theoretical questions (about identity, ethics, politics, and transformation) associated with the very idea of “Black Religion.”
REL 351.01, Religion and Traditional Societies
GRIEVE, R, 6-8:50, Graham 310
Credits: CNW, GN, NW, WI
A mandala is a Hindu or Buddhist graphic cosmological image, which in its most basic pattern is usually in the form of a circle divided into four separate sections. We will study manalas both in their in situ use, and also how they have “translated” into American society. REL 351 is designed as a writing intensive workshop in which you bring in your own “raw materials” to be crafted and refined by your engagement with the theories and data discussed in the course. As a member of the workshop you will also be responsible for evaluating and critiquing each other’s written work and oral presentations.