Department of Religious Studies
Courses For Fall 2007
REL 101.01, Introduction to Religious Studies
SOPPER, TR, 9:30-10:45
(jrsopper@uncg.edu)
Credits: AE/CAE; GEC: PRE, GL, GPR
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 109.01, Religion and Contemporary Culture
SOPPER, TR, 12:30-1:45
(jrsopper@uncg.edu)
Credits: GPR
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 & Contemporary Culture: Religion, Pluralism, and Democracy in America
MCKINNON, MWF 10-10:50
REL 109.03 Religion & Contemporary Culture: Religion, Pluralism, and Democracy in America
MCKINNON, MWF 11-11:50
(mjmckinn@uncg.edu)
Office Hours: By appointment (108-C Foust Bldg.)
299-5574 (home)
Credits: GPR
This course is an attempt to understand the relationship between religion, pluralism, and democracy in America. We will begin with an historical investigation of the founding of the American nation and proceed to consider several important themes as they play out in contemporary society: the notion of America as a secular state and what this means for the practice of religion, the phenomenon of religious pluralism that characterizes our present context, private versus public religion, and the idea of a civic religion. We will also consider specific cases such as prayer in school, abortion, homosexual marriage, and the Pledge of Allegiance.
The course will include some lecture but will mainly consist of small and large group discussions. As such, it requires your active and regular participation. In addition, this course requires critical thinking—reading texts carefully, analytically, with a healthy dose of suspicion—and thinking about the issues discussed. It is not an easy task, and may not always (or ever) be fun. Then again, it might. But if you value intellectual growth, then it will be rewarding. However, you may be better off not taking this class if you are unwilling to think deeply about difficult issues, if you are unwilling to think critically about religious issues, if you think your soul is endangered by such critical thought, and/or if your position is simply: “God said it; I believe it; that settles it.”
REL 111.01, Non-Western Religions
DUCKWORTH, MWF, 10-10:50
REL 111.02, Non-Western Religions
DUCKWORTH, R, 6-8:45
(dsduckwo@uncg.edu)
Credits: CNW, GN, GPR, NW
This course is an introduction to three major religious traditions of Asia: the traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and religions of China. This course offers a window to these religious traditions in a historical perspective. The basic ideas and practices of these traditions will be presented in a way that students will have the opportunity to learn about important facets of these traditions while gaining familiarity with some of the tools of the academic discipline of Religious Studies. Through the course of the semester, students will become more familiar with these traditions and be challenged to think about religion in different ways.
REL 190.01, Studies in Scriptural Languages: Beginning Hebrew
NATKIN, TR, 930-1045
(yjnatkin@uncg.edu)
Credits: Minor
The first of two courses, Hebrew 190-01, is intended for beginners, with little or no knowledge of Hebrew. The course is for students interested in reading the Hebrew Bible and liturgy and also for those wanting to develop skills in contemporary conversational Hebrew. Prerequisite(s): - none
REL 202.01, Hebrew Scripture: Experiencing the Hebrew Bible
HASKELL, TR, 11-1215
Credits: GHP, GPM
This course offers an introduction to the Hebrew Bible and the religious culture of ancient Israel. The Bible is a complex document that speaks to us in many different voices. In this class we will focus on the ways in which these voices weave together history, theology and ideology to create a compelling world-view that forms the basis of Western spirituality. Through close critical readings and discussions, we will approach this text not only as a great work of literature, but also as the product of distinct cultural and historical environments.
REL 204.01, New Testament and Origins of Christianity
STAFF, MW, 3:30-4:45
REL 204.02, New Testament and Origins of Christianity
STAFF, M, 6-8:45
Credits: CPM, GHP, GL, GPM, HP
This course examines the origins of Christianity through its earliest literature, most of which is preserved in the New Testament. This examination will be geared toward asking historical questions about the nature of the diverse social groups which made up the earliest Jesus movement. Through close readings of the texts, we will attempt to extract details about the beliefs, social structures and practices of these groups. Our historical reconstructions will be illuminated by contextualizing them within their cultural milieu. By the end of the course, students will attain a general understanding of the types of literature produced by ancient Christian groups and a variety of issues and methods involved in the modern historical study of the New Testament.
REL 212.01, Christianity - Reformation to Present
RAMSEY, MWF, 11-11:50
REL 212.02, Christianity - Reformation to Present
RAMSEY, MW, 2-3:15
Credits: CMO, GHP, GMO, HP, GL , WI
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 America , but also including Eastern Orthodox and more recent “Liberation” movements. We will read and discuss important primary texts representative of various forms of Christianity that have arisen since the sixteenth century. While not a course on the history of the church, some attention will be given to the social context of our readings. Our concern will be the ways in which Christianity has changed from context to context, on the conditions and ideals that have influenced these changes, and on the problems that arise within these various movements.
REL 215.01, Judaism
BREGMAN, TR, 12:30-1:45
REL 215H.02, Judaism
BREGMAN , TR, 2-3:15
(m_bregma@uncg.edu)
Credits: GHP, GL, GPM
**02 credits include Honors**
This course provides an initial orientation to Judaism as a religion and as a culture. Students will be introduced to the development of basic Jewish practices, beliefs and institutions and to the major works of Jewish literature, concretized by focusing selectively on a number of specific texts, themes and topics.
REL 221.01, Buddhism
ORZECH , TR, 2-3:15
(cdorzech@uncg.edu)
Credits: GN, GPR, INS
This course is an introduction to the family of religions we call Buddhism, both in the past and in the present. This semester we will focus on classical Buddhism in South Asia and China. The last third of the semester will be devoted to Buddhism in the modern West, the emergence of “Socially Engaged Buddhism” and the application of Buddhist ethical principles to contemporary issues of war, terrorism, and ecological degradation. As we will see, our exploration of Buddhism will inevitably involve inquiry into our own culture and its religious traditions as reflected in our understanding (or misunderstanding) of Buddhism. The course makes extensive use of on-line resources and images. There will be a 15 minute mini-exam early in the term and two comprehensive tests, the first halfway through the semester and the second on the last day of class.
REL 223.01, Hinduism
GRIEVE , TR, 9:30-10:45
(gpgrieve@uncg.edu)
Credits: GN, GPR , WI
Through readings, lectures, discussion, and writing, this course investigates Hinduism through a nonsectarian, unbiased approach that uses various methods and theories to understand the religious life of others. The course will concentrate more on practice than philosophy, with attention to some of the myths, rituals, and images that inform the lives of Hindu women and men. The student will become familiar with significant features that contribute to Hinduism as a religion, including basic terms and common concepts, major deities and their myths, and forms of devotional expression, and will consider the significance of the teachings of key Hindu classics, such as the Veda, Upanishads, Puranas, and the Bhagavad Gita. An underlying but no less important objective of this course is to become familiar with a theoretical "tool box" for the academic study of religion in general, especially as it pertains to the study of South Asia .
REL 225.01, Islam, An Introduction to Islam: Concepts, Practices, and Debates
BUCAR, MW, 2-3:15
Credits: GN, GPR, INS, RCO
This course seeks to provide an introduction not only to the major concepts and practices of Islam, but also the assumptions and meta-narratives built into intra-Muslim debates. We will think about Islam in terms of its historical, geographical, and philosophical diversity by reading excerpts from primary texts and by focusing on a series of key debates in Islamic thought and practice from its early history to the present day. This course will meet two days a week.
Monday class meetings will be compromised of lectures, with some time for questions. These classes and their corresponding readings are meant to introduce central Islamic concepts and practices. Wednesdays are reserved entirely for class discussion. Wednesday’s readings and discussion will focus on intra-Muslim debates related to the concepts and practices introduced in Monday ’s lecture.
REL 229.01, Intro to African American Religions
ROSS, MWF, 12-1250
Credits: GHP, GMO, AFS
In this course we explore the rituals, performances, and practices of black religion.
REL 231.01, Religion in America
LEVINSON , TR, 11-12:15
(hslevins@uncg.edu)
Credits: 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 250.01, Religious Traditions and Care of the Earth
HEADINGTON, TR, 3:30-4:45
(headington@intrex.com)
Credits: ENV, GN, GPR
Religious traditions are significant cultural vehicles that mediate our understanding of others, the earth, and ourselves. Through their stories, rituals and ethics, they shape our attitudes and actions towards our environment. They can direct us in kindly or antagonistic ways, they can celebrate diversity or disdain it, and they can motivate us to act on behalf of others or to ignore them.
Our concern is the care of the earth. How are we to live on and care for this plenitude of life, this biosphere that goes six miles up and six miles down? We need to care because major systems of the earth—air, water, soil, major ecosystems and bioregions---and species are in trouble and in danger of collapse. The bias of this course is that we should be concerned and learn to care for the earth.
A big part of that effort will be to solicit the help and understanding of the major religious traditions. As we study them we want to understand their traditional means of relating to the earth. We can appreciate their ways of caring and critique its absence. We will also spend a significant time in contemporary reinterpretations that are more earth friendly. In the end we will have a new map, one that has strengthened the contributions of traditional religions and honors new contemporary voices and earth advocates.
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 258.01, Darwin, Evolution, and Human Nature
HART, TR, 2-3:15
(wdhart@uncg.edu)
Credits: GPR
This course explores the religious, philosophical, and ideological implications--including race, gender, sexuality, and class--of Darwin 's theory of evolution by natural selection.
REL 298, Thinking About Religion
GRIEVE, M, 6-8:45
(gpgrieve@uncg.edu)
Credits: WI
This course takes an imaginative and critical approach to introducing Religious Studies by focusing on case studies that illustrate how diverse religious ideas and practices may be interpreted as ways of map-making. Additionally, this course investigates how Religious Studies "maps" religious phenomena. Cases studies will be used to demonstrate how religious life in different times and places has been shaped by the dynamic interplay of social, political, economic, environmental, aesthetic, and personal factors, and by peoples' efforts to represent or "map" this interplay in order to bring meaning, purpose, and order to their personal and collective lives. In considering these religious mappings, the course will also attend to the ways in which students of religion are themselves map-makers and users. The course introduces the methods and materials that scholars, as students of religion, use to make sense of the religious worlds of their and other cultures.
This course is, therefore, not a survey of religious traditions, but rather an extended reflection on how scholars of religion imagine "religion" as an object of study, and how we frame our studies in a self-conscious and responsible way. This course is not, in the first instance, about description, though this is an essential part of the enterprise. It is, rather, about responsible interpretation—about how to productively approach the raw data of religious phenomenon and how to locate our perspectives in the larger context of humanistic inquiry. In short, this course is designed to introduce the problem of interpretation through selected case studies that challenge our assumptions and illuminate our subjectivity.
This course is designed as a seminar and writing workshop. Student participation is essential, and while the professor will lead discussion and occasionally lecture, student-led discussion will drive the course. Students will also engage in library research, as well as study the craft of writing academic research papers.
REL 311.01, Topics in Biblical Studies: Sacrifice of Isaac
BREGMAN , R, 6-8:45
(m_bregma@uncg.edu)
Credits: WI
This course will focus on one biblical narrative, “the Sacrifice of Isaac” (Genesis 22:1-19) that is foundational for both Judaism and Christianity. Students will learn how the biblical text can be approached both objectively and subjectively through classroom discussion and guided writing assignments.
REL 323.01, Religious Movements and Communities, Kabbalah
HASKELL, TR, 3:30-4:45
Credits: WI
This course provides an introduction to the history, literature and theology of Jewish mysticism, with special focus on the form of medieval mysticism known as Kabbalah. From the ancient world through the modern period, we will explore Jewish ideas about mindful prayer, mystical experience, the relationship between God and humanity, and mysticism in daily life.
REL 324.01, Philosophical Issues in Religion, Postmodernism and Religion
RAMSEY, TR, 12:30-1:45
(bhramsey@uncg.edu)
Credits: SI, WI
In this course we will be examining the importance of postmodern movement for the study and practice of religion. Readings will include writings by Lacan, Saussure, Foucault, Derrida, Keller, Bauman, Kristeva, Irigaray, Bell, Butler.
REL 327.01, American Religious Thought II: The Romantic Tradition
LEVINSON, T, 6-8:45, **807 Seven Oak Drive**
(hslevins@uncg.edu)
Credits: GPR , WI
This course pursues the religious reflections of a number of religious romantics, including Ralph Waldo Emerson [1803-1882], Henry David Thoreau [1817-1862], and Walt Whitman [1819-1892], long considered classic voices of the American Renaissance. Each one of them professed kinds of natural supernaturalism, as they mounted religious protests against quasi-established American Protestant Christianity. Thus, some interpreters have called them Protestant Protestants. Emerson’s Essays, Thoreau’s Walden and other books and essays, and Whitman’s poetry and prose, especially Song of Myself and Democratic Vistas, charted a course of religious thinking that both inherited and rebelled against the Reformed Protestant Christian theology of Puritans like Jonathan Edwards.
REL 365, Myth and Theory
ORZECH, W, 6-8:45
(cdorzech@uncg.edu)
Credits: WI
Myth and Theory is designed to introduce you to the study of mythology. Unlike many courses on myth, Religious Studies 365 does not seek to acquaint you with a "classical" mythic corpus. Rather, Myth and Theory is an exploration of the problem of myth, and of the methods of analysis and tools of interpretation available for the study of myth. We will examine theories of myth that argue for its centrality in all societies (evident in religion, ideology, politics, ethics, popular culture, and media), and others that see it as an artifact of our own inquiries. Our explorations will focus on analytical techniques developed from the nineteenth century through the present; techniques that include historical criticism, structuralism, hermeneutics, psychological theory, and postmodern critical theories. The readings and assignments are designed to engage you in analyzing myths and in considering the implications of your analysis. Emphasis will be on classroom and on-line discussion, group work, evaluation and analysis, and on the application of these skills to other areas of life. Thus, for instance, you may research mythic themes in a series of presidential speeches, in advertising campaigns, in movies, games, and so on. On completion of this course students will be able to articulate the major theories of myth and to discuss their contexts and implications. Students will be required to do weekly online posts to the class Discussion Forum and will compile a portfolio which will be developed into a major essay through a step-by–step process of writing, discussion, and revision.
REL 503, Special Topics: Islam, Gender, and the Politics of Dress
BUCAR, MW, 3:30-4:45
Credits: WGS , WI
This course will use hijab to explore the relationship between Islam, gender, and the politics of dress. The course is comprised of two units. First, we consider the theological grounds for a Muslim form of gendered dress in the Quranic and Hadith injunctions to veil, and how these injunctions are interpreted or critiqued by contemporary religious and feminist thinkers. Second, through text-based sources (including ethnographies and court cases), we consider how Muslim women and men perform hijab in a variety of countries. In this unit we will be concerned with understanding what wearing hijab “can do,” that is, its political power. Case studies to be considered include women’s practice of “bad hijab” within the context of compulsory veiling in the Islamic Republic of Iran; the new veiling movements among middle class women in Egypt; the unveiling of school girls in France; and the use of hijab by men such as warias in Indonesia and hijras in India.