Religious Studies

 

Professors:  Brooks, Gallagher; Associate Professors:  Kim, Uddin; Assistant Professor:  Portnoff; Visiting Instructor:  Wellman; Professor Harlan, chair

 

The Major in Religious Studies

 

The major consists of at least nine courses in religious studies, including the following:

 

                1.  Course 114, 202, 203, or 204.

                2.  Course 205, 206, 207, 208, or 209.

                3.  Course 401, normally taken in the junior year.

                4.  One Advanced Study Seminar (493 or 494).

                5.  Two additional courses at the 300 or 400 level.

 

The details of the major program must be prepared in consultation with the major adviser.  One of the elective courses for the major may be chosen from another department with the approval of the major adviser.

               

Advisers:  R. Brooks, E. Gallagher, L. Harlan, D. Kim, S. Portnoff, S. Uddin

 

The Minor in Religious Studies

 

The minor consists of at least five courses in religious studies, including at least two at the 300 or 400 level.

 

Courses

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  112  RELIGION, MEMORY, TRADITION  An introduction to study of religion through examination of the ways in which religious traditions relate to the formation and sustaining of memory.  Students will engage with multiple religious traditions and develop religious literacy and repertoires.

                Enrollment limited to 40 students.  D. K. Kim

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  113  JUDAISM'S BIBLE  The origin, development, and character of the Hebrew Scriptures in their historical and religious context; their significance for the religions and culture of the West.

                Enrollment limited to 40 students.  Offered annually.  This course satisfies General Education Area 6.  Staff

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  114  THE NEW TESTAMENT  A study of the New Testament in its original setting in the early Christian community; its significance for the religious and cultural traditions of the West.

                Enrollment limited to 40 students.  Offered annually.  This course satisfies General Education Area 6.  Staff

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  158  HOLY BOOKS:  THE WESTERN SCRIPTURAL TRADITION  The origins, development, and uses of scripture in the West.  Focus on the Hebrew Bible, Christian Scriptures, and Qur'an, with attention to other texts, such as the Book of Mormon.

                Enrollment limited to 40 students.  This course satisfies General Education Area 6.  E. Gallagher

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  202  JEWISH TRADITIONS  An introduction to the long-existing monotheistic tradition of Judaism, its practitioners, and its identity.  The course is an overview of Jewish history, texts, traditions, practices, and beliefs.  We will emphasize the self-understanding of Judaism in continuity and change, on varieties of Judaism (“Judaisms”), and on the interplay between practice and doctrine.

                Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Offered annually.  This course satisfies General Education Area 6.  Staff

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  203  CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS  The major teachings of Christianity as developed in the early, medieval, and Reformation church.  Topics include the Trinity, the divinity and humanity of Jesus, sin and grace, reason and revelation, skepticism and mysticism, and the differences between Roman Catholic and Protestant doctrine.

                Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Offered annually.  This course satisfies General Education Area 6.  D. Kim

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  204  RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES  The diversity and depth of religious practice in the United States, from its original settlement by Europeans to the present.  Attention to those religions generally conceived to be "traditional" in the United States as well as those widely perceived as "non-traditional."  Themes include civil religion, religion and race and gender, and the dynamics of liberalism and conservatism.

                Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 40 students.  This course is not open to students who have received credit for Religious Studies 250.  This course satisfies General Education Area 6.  E. Gallagher

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  205  HINDU TRADITIONS  The development of traditions of Hindu thought and practice including classical and contemporary Hinduism.

                Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Offered annually.  This course satisfies General Education Area 6.  L. Harlan

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  206  BUDDHIST TRADITIONS  Indian Buddhism; its migration to South and East Asia and its relation to Jainism, Taoism, and Confucianism.

                Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Offered annually.  This course satisfies General Education Area 6.  L. Harlan

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  207  ISLAMIC TRADITIONS  A look at Islam from three perspectives:  historical, phenomenological, and anthropological.  Focus on the early historical developments which have marked the emergence and early development of the Islamic community.  The basic myths and rituals which shape the principle Islamic identities of Sunnis and Twelver Shiites.  Contemporary issues in the Muslim world.

                Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Offered annually.  This course satisfies General Education Area 6.  Staff

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  208  CONFUCIAN TRADITIONS  This is the same course as History 224/Philosophy 213.  Refer to the History listing for a course description.

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  209  DAOIST TRADITIONS  This is the same course as History 278/Philosophy 214.  Refer to the History listing for a course description.

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  211  ANCIENT GREEK RELIGIONS  An examination of the practices and beliefs of the ancient Greeks, from the Archaic to the Late Antique Period.  The course explores the basic dynamics of ancient Greek religious practice, including how certain elements remained stable over time and how others changed, particularly in response to the rise of Christianities.  This is the same course as Classics 211.

Enrollment limited to 30 students.  This course satisfies General Education Area 6.  T. Wellman

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  212  EXPRESSIONS OF SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT  This is the same course as Dance 212.  Refer to the Dance listing for a course description.

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  213  NATIVE AMERICAN RELIGIONS  An introduction to the historical background, development, and major characteristics of Native American religions.  The course explores the diversities and continuities that characterized pre-contact Native religious traditions, and the ways in which Native Americans have responded to ongoing relations with Euro- and African-American cultures.  This is the same course as American Studies/Anthropology 213.

                Enrollment limited to 30 students.  This course satisfies General Education Area 6.  T. Wellman

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  216  THEORIZING RACE AND ETHNICITY  This is the same course as American Studies/Comparative Race and Ethnicity 206.  Refer to the American Studies listing for a course description.  D. Kim

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  223  CHINESE ART AND RELIGION  This is the same course as Art History 226.  Refer to the Art History listing for a course description.

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  225  WOMEN, RELIGION, AND MODERNITY  Examines modern discourses on women's roles, rights, and obligations in contemporary religious communities.  Liberal, conservative, feminist, and fundamentalist treatment of myth, ritual, secular and religious law will be the focus of this course.  The course also explores the question of global “sisterhood,” its strengths, influence, and limitations.  This is the same course as Gender and Women's Studies 225.

                Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 40 students.  S. Uddin

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  229  RELIGION AND THE DISCONTENTS OF MODERNITY  The fate of religion and freedom under conditions of western modernity through a selective survey of modern religious, philosophical, and intellectual history.  An exploration of notions of experience, faith, freedom, reason, authority, tradition, and the self in work of Descartes, Emerson, DuBois, Feuerbach, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Luther, Marx, Schleiermacher, and Schopenhauer.

                Prerequisite:  One course in religious studies or philosophy.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  D. Kim

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  230  ISLAM AND THE UNITED STATES  An exploration of the overlapping phenomena of the past and present of Muslims who were brought to, were born in, or who immigrated to the United States; the images of Islam and Muslims in popular American culture; and the fluctuations in the relationships between the United States and a number of predominantly Muslim countries. 

                Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 40 students.  This course is not open to students who have received credit for Religious Studies 350.  S. Uddin

 

religious Studies  231  Religious Ethics  An examination of the positions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam on holy war.  What do the various religious traditions of the world have to say about its necessity and/or permissability?  How does each position play out in contemporary circumstances.  Consideration of the secular alternative and the impact of war on the environment.

                Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  S. Portnoff

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  236  MYSTICISM  An exploration of the notions of “mysticism” and “mystical experience” through an examination of selected writings from Hindu, Christian, and Muslim traditions; the so-called “New Age” spirituality; and scholarly approaches from the comparative history of religions, psychology of religion, and neurobiology.  This course is not open to students who have received credit for Religious Studies 306.

                Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Staff

 

Religious Studies  248  Holocaust and Post-Holocaust Responses  An examination of the Holocaust as an historical event, as well as the  historical, theological, and literary responses to it.  Consideration of what, if any, role Holocaust memory should play, how to continue to believe in a God who was absent at Auschwitz, and how to speak about the event in memoir, poetry, and fiction.

                Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  S. Portnoff

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  260  PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION  This is the same course as Philosophy 260.  Refer to the Philosophy listing for a course description.

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  304  FUNDAMENTALISMS  An exploration of  “fundamentalism” as a modern response to the predicaments of religion and secularity through an examination of selections from Christian and Muslim authors/leaders often labeled as “fundamentalists”; theories that attempt to explain the nature of religion in the public square; and the relation between religion,  modernization, and violence.

                Prerequisite:  One course in religious studies or permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  This course is not open to students who have received credit for Religious Studies 226.  S. Uddin

 

Religious Studies  305  vampires, miracles, ghosts, and god(S):  the supernatural in american popular culture  A study of popular culture from the 1960s to the present, employing historical and context-specific methods to examine how Americans use supernatural and religious beings, events, symbols, and ideas to think about complex issues and identities.  This is the same course as American Studies 305.

Prerequisite:  One course in religious studies or permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  T. Wellman

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  311  MUSLIM WOMEN'S VOICES  This course looks at women through their own articulations of identity while challenging current assumptions of Muslim women as victims.  We will explore the discourse surrounding construction of gender roles across different periods and regions.  To do this, the course takes into consideration women's fiction and non-fiction writing.  This is the same course as Gender and Women's Studies 311.

                Prerequisite:  One course in religious studies or permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  S. Uddin

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  312  BUDDHIST ART:  INDIA, CHINA, AND JAPAN  This is the same course as Art History/East Asian Studies 312.  Refer to the Art History listing for a course description.

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  317  JEWISH ETHICS  Medical, sexual and professional ethical issues through the life cycle from birth through marriage and adulthood to death.

                Prerequisite:  Course 202 or permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Staff

 

Religious Studies  320  Jews in contEmporary american society  An introduction to American Jewish thought and experience in the modern period.  Topics include the question of whether Judaism is a race, an ethnicity, or a religion; American Jewish identity; how contemporary Jews are perceived and how they perceive themselves; the histories of Israel and Zionism; and Jewish secularism.

Open to juniors and seniors, and to sophomores with permission of instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  S. Portnoff

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  328  RELIGION AND THE SPIRIT OF POLITICS  An examination of human agency or action in light of the relationship among the religious, the moral, and the political spheres.  Formation and expressions of identity in political bodies and cultural communities.  Questions include What is it to act?  What is agency?  Does the religious quest for transcendence support or inspire moral and/or political agency?

                Prerequisite:  One course in religious studies or philosophy, or permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  D. Kim

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  330  RELIGION, MEMORY, AND NOSTALGIA  Exploration of the changing meaning of and desire for home, in light of experiences of exile, migration, diaspora, and other forms of displacement and estrangement.  Major focus on constructions of collective identity, such as race and ethnicity, cultural and political nationalism, and narratives of loss and remembrance.  Leading theories of religion applied to works of literature, drama, and criticism.

                Prerequisite:  One course in religious studies.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  D. Kim

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  346  CULTS AND CONVERSION IN MODERN AMERICA  A historical and comparative study of new religious movements in the contemporary U.S.

                Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  E. Gallagher

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  401  THEORIES OF RELIGION  The most important and influential modern proposals concerning the nature, function and value of religion in human culture.  Readings and analysis of major texts in the study of religion, including authors such as Durkheim, Weber, Freud, and Eliade.

                Prerequisite:  Two courses in religious studies.  Open to juniors and seniors.  Enrollment limited to 15 students.  Offered annually.  Staff

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  493, 494  ADVANCED STUDY SEMINARS  Intensive study of specific topics in religious studies for students with significant preparation in the field.

                Prerequisite:  Two courses in religious studies.  Open to juniors and seniors.  Unless otherwise stated, enrollment in each seminar limited to 15 students.

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  493A, 494A  WOMEN AND RELIGION IN SOUTH ASIA  An investigation of relationships between gender roles (male and female) and caste duties in South Asia, especially India.  Readings on myth, ritual, law, and folklore.   L. Harlan

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  493D, 494D  PROPHECY AND HERESY:  CONSTRUCTION, CLASSIFICATION, AND SOCIETY  Analyzes the types and functions of prophecy and heresy and focuses on the ways in which prophecy and heresy were linked as a form of cultural critique.  Emphasis is placed on the construction of the “heretic” as prophet and vice versa and on the issues of gender, authority, and polemic.  Staff

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  493E, 494E  PILGRIMAGE  An investigation of ritual, spiritual, and metaphorical pilgrimages.  Readings include theoretical and narrative perspectives drawn from a variety of cultures, particularly Hindu, Christian, and Muslim.  L. Harlan

 

Religious Studies  493L, 494L  TO HELL AND BACK:  PAGAN, CHRISTIAN, AND MODERN VISIONS OF HUMANITY  An examination of the role of the journey to Hell in human experience.  The course compares the descriptions of the journey in texts, artwork, and films from various periods and cultures.  Emphasis on whether the journey serves as a means to responsibility and/or conformity, and whether it is an accurate description of the human experience.  This is the same course as Medieval Studies 493L, 494L.

Open to seniors, and to others with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  S. Portnoff

 

Religious Studies  493M, 494M  RELIGIOUS CONFLICT  A study of collisions between and coincidences of key religious boundaries, including those related to sacred space (especially shrines), time (especially festivals), and identity (of person and of community).  Case studies are drawn especially from South Asia and the Caribbean.

                Prerequisite:  One course in religious studies or permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  L. Harlan

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  291, 292  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  391, 392  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  491, 492  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

RELIGIOUS STUDIES  497-498  HONORS STUDY