RELIG ST 101 — RELIGION IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
3 credits.
Foundational and thematic approaches in the academic study of religion applied across global religious systems.
RELIG ST 102 — EXPLORING RELIGION IN SICKNESS AND HEALTH
3 credits.
An introduction to the study of religion through the lens of health and health through the lens of religion employing approaches from the humanities and social sciences in conversation with health-related disciplines. It asks questions such as, How do religious peoples understand and live in sickness and health? How do people connect physical well-being to spiritual well-being? Medicine to meaning-making? How does looking at religion in sickness and health provide insight into its roles in a variety of cultures and contexts, globally and locally? How do health and religion connect particularly in situations of social marginalization and immigration? How does religion impact understandings of health and sickness beyond the borders of specific religious communities?
RELIG ST 103 — EXPLORING RELIGION AND SEXUALITY
3 credits.
An introductory examination of "what religion is" via investigation of how religious traditions imagine, interrogate, and regulate sexuality using several approaches in the discipline of religious studies. Focuses, although not exclusively, on the religions of the Ancient Mediterranean (Greeks, Romans, Rabbinic Jews, and early Christians) and also considers the (re)construction of ideas and practices over time and contexts.
RELIG ST/FOLKLORE 104 — SACRED PLACES AND JOURNEYS
3 credits.
An introduction to the study of religion through the lens of sacred places and journeys, including pilgrimage.
RELIG ST 105 — RELIGION AND POPULAR CULTURE-LOCAL AND GLOBAL
3 credits.
Introduces religious studies through the lens of popular culture. In recent decades, many have predicted the demise of religion and the "death of God." Indeed, many seem to embrace science and rationality over faith and the supernatural, yet religion, religious language, religious themes permeate popular culture. This raises many questions: What is popular culture? What role is religion playing in it? How can we better understand popular culture using religious studies theory? Explores these questions through theme parks in the U.S. and Japan, Sports, Music, and tattoos.
RELIG ST/HISTORY/MEDIEVAL 112 — THE WORLD OF LATE ANTIQUITY (200-900 C.E.)
4 credits.
History of the Mediterranean World from the late Roman Empire to the development of distinct European, Byzantine and Islamic civilizations (ca. 200-900 CE). Special attention will be paid to the rise and development of Christianity and Islam.
RELIG ST/CNSR SCI 173 — CONSUMING HAPPINESS
3 credits.
As the saying goes, money can't buy happiness -- but in modern America, we certainly try. This course will provide an overview of the study of happiness and well-being, examine how consumers engage in consumption in pursuit of happiness, as well as explore the emergence of the experience economy, and the intersection of money and well-being. Students will read academic and popular pieces on positive psychology, prosocial spending and explore the psychology of persuasion in the promises associated with this industry. In addition to integrating visual media, students will have the opportunity to experience first-hand whether the advice works in their own lives.
RELIG ST 200 — INTRODUCTORY TOPICS IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES (HUMANITIES)
3-4 credits.
Topics in religious studies in the humanities at an introductory level.
RELIG ST 201 — RELIGION IN/AND EVERYDAY LANGUAGE
3 credits.
An introduction to the study of religious language and the role of religion in everyday language. Through discourse analytical and linguistic ethnographic tools, explore ritual speech and magic, prayer, song, sermons, conversation, social media, etc., across several religious traditions.
RELIG ST/GEN&WS 202 — QUEERING RELIGION
3 credits.
Explore the intersections of religiosity and queerness, including the role of religion in the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals and communities, the role of queerness and LGBTQ inclusion in various religious traditions, and what queerness can add to the study of religion (and vice versa).
RELIG ST/JEWISH/LEGAL ST 203 — JEWISH LAW, BUSINESS, AND ETHICS
3 credits.
Explores the development of Jewish law from antiquity to modernity, with a focus on legal questions related to business practices and ethics. Consider issues ranging from ethical practices in agriculture to how to run a modern multi billion-dollar kosher industry; from the ethics of Jews celebrating Thanksgiving to regulations governing the preparation, consumption, and sale of coffee.
RELIG ST/HISTORY 205 — THE MAKING OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD: THE MIDDLE EAST, 500-1500
3-4 credits.
Development of society and culture in the Middle East and North Africa from the emergence of Islam (7th century) to early modern times.
RELIG ST/ASIAN 206 — THE QUR'AN: RELIGIOUS SCRIPTURE & LITERATURE
3 credits.
An introduction to the Qur'an, the sacred scripture of the Islamic religious tradition, focused on Muslim approaches to reading the text, its themes and history, and its use as a source of law, theology, aesthetics, politics, and practices of piety.
RELIG ST/HISTORY 208 — WESTERN INTELLECTUAL AND RELIGIOUS HISTORY TO 1500
3-4 credits.
Survey of key themes in Western intellectual history and religious thought from ancient Greece through the Renaissance, focusing on relationships among classical, Jewish, and Christian traditions.
RELIG ST/HISTORY 209 — WESTERN INTELLECTUAL AND RELIGIOUS HISTORY SINCE 1500
3-4 credits.
A survey of major trends in Western intellectual history and religious thought in the modern era, a period that saw a new range of competing ideas about the divine, the human condition, justice and the social order, and the quest for meaning. Explores shifts in Christian and Jewish thought as well as secular alternatives to religious outlooks. Topics include the impact of the Reformation, Scientific Revolution, and Enlightenment; radical critiques of religion; existentialism; theological responses to World Wars and the Holocaust; and civil rights and social justice. Sources include films, novels, autobiographies, essays, theological works, and political manifestos.
RELIG ST/JEWISH 211 — INTRODUCTION TO JUDAISM
4 credits.
General introduction to Judaism covering the biblical, classical rabbinic, medieval, and modern periods.
RELIG ST/HISTORY 212 — THE HISTORY OF WESTERN CHRISTIANITY TO 1750
4 credits.
A survey of Christianity from being a small, persecuted sect in the Roman Empire to becoming the dominant religion of western Europe, penetrating into the lives of Europeans, fissuring into multiple churches, and spreading across the globe. Attention is given to doctrine, ritual, worship, architecture, images, and music.
RELIG ST/ASIAN 218 — HEALTH AND HEALING IN SOUTH ASIA
3-4 credits.
Study primary and secondary sources to explore how South Asian societies have understood the ideas of health and well-being throughout history. We will consider a number of cases that illustrate uniquely South Asian conceptions of illness and physical dysfunction and the ways in which people in South Asia have attempted (and continue to attempt today) to heal bodies. Students will learn about the traditional healing systems of South Asia, including Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani, the basic components of each systems' ideas about disease pathology and treatment that have been used for centuries to heal illness, maintain good health, and, in some instances, aspire to a state of super-health that transcends the limitations of bodily existence altogether.
RELIG ST/CLASSICS/JEWISH/LITTRANS 227 — INTRODUCTION TO BIBLICAL LITERATURE (IN ENGLISH)
4 credits.
Introduction to the text, development, history, and social context of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Covers the Torah (Pentateuch), Neviim (Former and Latter Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings), and provides a brief introduction to early Jewish literature (Pseudepigrapha/Apocrypha). Discusses various methods of analysis and theories of composition. Addresses major theological claims made of the text by Jewish and Christian communities. Explores contextualized interpretations in the ancient and modern day.
RELIG ST/ILS 234 — GENRES OF WESTERN RELIGIOUS WRITING
3 credits.
Explores literary forms through which religions originating in western culture convey ideas. Focuses on Jewish, Christian, Muslim and related religious texts.
RELIG ST/ASIAN 236 — ASIA ENCHANTED: GHOSTS, GODS, AND MONSTERS
3 credits.
Explores how different cultures in Asia conceive of and relate to the monstrous, ghostly, and divine, both in the past and in the contemporary world. These themes are approached from a range of different disciplinary perspectives, including religious studies, literature, anthropology, and history.
RELIG ST/LITTRANS/MEDIEVAL 253 — OF DEMONS AND ANGELS. DANTE'S DIVINE COMEDY
3 credits.
Have you ever wondered about human nature? What is our place in this world? Through readings, videos, and original images, explore and discuss Dante's answers from one of the greatest world literary classics, his Divine Comedy. From Hell, through Purgatory to Paradise, we will travel together with Dante in a universal tale of the journey of the human soul. Along the way, learn about Dante, his life and his works, development of literary history, historical and socio-political context of medieval Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Make connections that cross today's geographic and cultural lines in an exploration of literary topics, the history of ideas, and shared history, pondering universal concepts and patterns in the development of civilization that can still be observed today.
RELIG ST/ASIAN/HISTORY 267 — ASIAN RELIGIONS IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
3-4 credits.
Comparative and thematic introduction to diverse Asian religious traditions, ideas and communities, and their relevance to human societies of the past and present. Not open to students with credit for E ASIAN 267 prior to Fall 2019
RELIG ST/ENVIR ST 270 — THE ENVIRONMENT: RELIGION & ETHICS
3-4 credits.
What are sources on which members of religious communities draw in order to understand and address environmental change? Explores how religious persons and communities confront global environmental questions and challenges today, with case studies drawn from culturally and religiously plural societies such as India and Indonesia. Introducing diverse varieties of Christianity, Islam, and Hindu and Buddhist systems, gives overview of some approaches in the environmental humanities related to philosophy, history, sociology and anthropology, and ethics.
RELIG ST/GERMAN/SOC 273 — GOD & MONEY
3 credits.
Explores the historical connections between capitalism and religion. Considers if and how religious ideas and practices facilitated the rise of capitalism; asks whether religious institutions have supported the reproduction of social inequalities, unjust labor practices, and exploitative economies; and studies the role played by religious actors in the critique of capitalism. Pays attention to the historical specificity of the capitalist system, its conditions of emergence in the Christian West, and the effects of its globalization on non-Christian traditions. Covers topics including classical social theories of religion and capitalism; contemporary examples of religious practice and capital accumulation; and the relationship between religious movements and social-economic justice.
RELIG ST/ASIAN 274 — RELIGION IN SOUTH ASIA
3 credits.
Introductory survey of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism, etc., and an examination of the cultural, historical, ritual, and philosophical foundations of South Asian religion. Not open to students with credit for LCA 274 prior to Fall 2019.
RELIG ST/JEWISH 278 — FOOD IN RABBINIC JUDAISM
3-4 credits.
Rabbinic literature frames the fundamental attitudes for how Judaism relates to food. Examine the history of food in rabbinic Judaism. In addition, theories from the field of food studies will be applied to rabbinic texts.
RELIG ST 300 — AMERICA AND RELIGIONS
3 credits.
Explores the colorful, contested relationship of religion and American (U.S.) culture. Surveys a variety of themes from Native American-European encounters to the present. Significant court cases focus on the tension between a quest for American consensus and an abiding religious and cultural pluralism.
RELIG ST 302 — CHRISTIANITY: INTERPRETATION AND PRACTICE
3 credits.
A comparative, thematic exploration of major Christian theological ideas and their relationships to practices across varieties of Christianity and contexts.
RELIG ST/GEN&WS 305 — WOMEN, GENDER AND RELIGION
3 credits.
Explores themes significant to the impact of religion on women and women on religion, historically and today, across a diverse range of contexts.
RELIG ST/ASIAN 306 — HINDUISM
3 credits.
A historical survey of Hindu scriptures, rituals, philosophies, and ethics from the ancient to the contemporary world. Concepts such as karma, yoga, and reincarnation will be put in the broader contexts of Hindu theism, worship, and law. Not open to students who completed RELIG ST 355 prior to Fall 2019.
RELIG ST/ASIAN 307 — A SURVEY OF TIBETAN BUDDHISM
3 credits.
By studying the distinctively Tibetan forms of Buddhism, we also examine more general issues, such as the relationship between theory and practice, ancient meditation and mind training, the politics of "world making", and the connection between identity and experience. Not open to students with credit for LCA 421 prior to Fall 2019.
RELIG ST/ASIAN/HISTORY 308 — INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM
3-4 credits.
The basic thought, practices and history of Buddhism, including selflessness and relativity, practices of meditation, merit- making and compassion from both local and translocal perspectives. Includes a discussion of Buddhism as a contemporary, North American religion. Not open to students with credit for E ASIAN or LCA 308 prior to Fall 2019.
RELIG ST/HISTORY/MEDIEVAL 309 — THE CRUSADES: CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM
3-4 credits.
An examination of the Crusades from both Christian and Islamic perspectives; the historical, social, and religious context and significance of the Crusades for both Christians and Muslims.
RELIG ST 311 — SECTS AND CULTS
3 credits.
An introduction to new religious movements in the U.S. frequently referred to as "sects," "cults," and "fringe religions."
RELIG ST 320 — PROPHETS AND POETS: WOMEN, WRITING AND RELIGION IN A TIME OF WAR, 1642-1660
3 credits.
How does the study of religion affect the ways we interpret the past? Can we ever recover and understand the beliefs and values held by people who lived in different countries and previous centuries? Draws on the disciplines of religious studies, history and literature to evaluate the different frameworks that scholars have used in their investigations of women's spiritual writing during the turbulent English civil wars (1642-1660). Unable to fight with swords or speak out in church because they were denied ordination, women raised their pens to express their partisanship in the conflict. Positioning themselves as faithful spouses and devout Christians, these women endorsed religious injunctions about feminine modesty and spirituality at the same time as they secretly worked as messengers and spies. Involves some discussion of violence concerning the ways in which this period of conflict and religious turmoil paradoxically accorded some women a powerful literary voice.
RELIG ST/JEWISH 322 — THE SABBATH
3 credits.
Takes up the question: What is the "Sabbath"? What does it mean "to rest"? Offers a broad, comparative introduction to the history of the Sabbath, from the Bible to the present day. Readings encompass a range of textual sources from the Jewish and Christian traditions. Topics include the major theological, ritual, and cultural practices that have developed around the Sabbath. Discuss contemporary political iterations of the Sabbath in modern, secular contexts.
RELIG ST/CLASSICS/JEWISH 323 — THE BIBLE AND FILM: LITERATURE AND MEDIA
3 credits.
An introduction to the study of the Bible as literature and of biblical reception in the medium of film, from early Hollywood to the present day. Explores the way in which the Bible (including both Hebrew and Greek Testaments), one of the foundational literary corpora of American society, has been interpreted, reinterpreted, and misinterpreted through the medium of film over the past century. We will begin each segment of the course by reading portions of the biblical text that have experienced significant interpretation, in order to understand the literary text that has been received in film. How beholden are filmmakers to the interpretations of communities that view these texts as authoritative, and where are they free to depart from their sources? Is it possible to "translate" biblical narratives into film without losing something in the translation? These questions will focus our study on ways the literature has been interpreted in this new medium.
RELIG ST/FOLKLORE 326 — THE SUPERNATURAL IN THE MODERN WORLD
3 credits.
Explores evidence of belief in the supernatural in the modern world as it appears in the context of folk religion, folk medicine, legends, folk drama, ritual and custom, and media accounts and presentations. Surveys scholarly approaches to the topic. Course not available to students with credits for Folklore 415 before Fall 2023.
RELIG ST 327 — CHRISTIANITY AND THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR
3 credits.
Examines the relationships of Christian beliefs, ethics, spaces and practices to money, marketplace, wealth and poverty, consumption and business culture. Examines how Christians in a variety of situations and in a variety of ways shape and are shaped by capitalism and other economic forms. Focuses primarily on modern (19th-century) American contexts up to today. Global contexts and interactions with American religious cultures and well as earlier historical factors, however, figure prominently as well.
RELIG ST/JEWISH/LITTRANS 328 — CLASSICAL RABBINIC LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION
3-4 credits.
Introduction to the literature of the Classical Rabbinic or Talmudic period of Judaism (2nd to 7th centuries CE). Historical and intellectual background; the interrelation of liturgy, legal and non-legal literature.
RELIG ST/HIST SCI/MED HIST 331 — SCIENCE, MEDICINE AND RELIGION
3 credits.
Introduction to the study of religion, science, and medicine. Focus on how religion, science, and medicine have shaped practices of knowledge production and meaning making with respect to human life, by considering theories of human history and racial progress; how logics of contagion structure human relationships and communal boundaries; the variety of ways of understanding and caring for bodies; and the place of humans within broader ecologies.
RELIG ST/CLASSICS/HEBR-BIB/JEWISH/LITTRANS 332 — PROPHETS OF THE BIBLE
4 credits.
An introduction to the thought, literature, and history of the prophets of ancient Israel (in English).
RELIG ST 333 — EARLY CHRISTIAN LITERATURE: MATTHEW-REVELATION
3 credits.
An exploration of Christianity's charter documents in the light of what modern scholarship has discovered about the New Testament's sociohistorical context, composition, theologies, and presentations of Jesus.
RELIG ST/CLASSICS/JEWISH 335 — KING DAVID IN HISTORY AND TRADITION
3 credits.
An exploration of the literary and historical aspects of the text of 1-2 Samuel + 1 Kings 1-2; the history and archaeology of Jerusalem during the tenth century B.C.E.; and the varieties of ways in which the figure of King David has been received in subsequent religious and secular literature, visual art, music, television, and cinema.
RELIG ST/JEWISH 340 — THE AMERICAN JEWISH LIFE OF DNA
3 credits.
Explores the range of relationships between DNA and American Jewish life. It begins with the "prehistory" of the relationship between Jewishness and genetic science, from Biblical genealogies to early twentieth century racial science. It then turns to America in the second half of the twentieth century, when the discovery of the double helix and the atrocities of Auschwitz reinvigorated and reshaped American Jewish relationships to DNA.
RELIG ST/FOLKLORE/MEDIEVAL/SCAND ST 342 — NORDIC MYTHOLOGY
3 credits.
Mythology, literature, ritual, traditions, medieval folklore, and religion from Nordic areas and Scandinavia.
RELIG ST/ANTHRO 343 — ANTHROPOLOGY OF RELIGION
3-4 credits.
Anthropological approaches. Illustrated by critical considerations of outstanding contributions. Selected religious systems; areal and topical comparative studies; religion as an ethnographic problem.
RELIG ST/CLASSICS/JEWISH 346 — JEWISH LITERATURE OF THE GRECO-ROMAN PERIOD
3 credits.
Jewish literature from 350 BCE to 150 CE. The Greek and Hebrew sources include stories, religious poetry, wisdom books and apocalyptic texts. Readings (in translation) from the Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and the Dead Sea Scrolls in their historical, cultural and literary setting.
RELIG ST/ASIAN 350 — INTRODUCTION TO TAOISM
3-4 credits.
A study of the writings attributed to Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu and their concepts, and the history and various aspects of religious Taoism. Consideration is given to Taoist influences on literature. Undergraduate majors register for 4 cr; non- majors and graduate majors register for 3 cr
RELIG ST/FOLKLORE 352 — SHAMANISM
3 credits.
Survey of shamanism as a religious tradition and sociocultural force in Siberian, Asian, and Native American societies. Exploration of shamanic rituals, roles, cosmology. Cultural and political uses of shamanism in traditional and modern contexts.
RELIG ST/ENVIR ST/HIST SCI 356 — ISLAM, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT
3-4 credits.
Survey of Muslim religious understandings of science, technology, nature and environment. Gain a global perspective through case studies, covering sources such as the Qur'an, theology and law, and traditions of esoteric piety (mysticism), and historical and contemporary issues like medical ethics, virtual realities, and environmental change, challenge and crisis.
RELIG ST/FOLKLORE 359 — MYTH
3 credits.
The relationship between myth and tale, history, culture. Myth research; methodological approaches; world mythologies; myth and modern times.
RELIG ST/ENGL/HISTORY 360 — THE ANGLO-SAXONS
3 credits.
Life and literature during the Old English period (c450-c1100). Primary emphasis on the vernacular and Latin writings of the Anglo-Saxons themselves. Extensive historical and archaeological background; attention to the development and character of monasticism, to the production of manuscripts, etc. All reading in translation.
RELIG ST 361 — EARLY CHRISTIAN LITERATURE: PAULINE CHRISTIANITY
3 credits.
By conventional reckoning, Paul was a major contributor to the development of Christianity. Analyzes both Paul's and other contemporary writings to assess the extent to which he contributed to the development of the early church.
RELIG ST/AFRICAN/ASIAN 370 — ISLAM: RELIGION AND CULTURE
3-4 credits.
The emergence and development of Islam; schism; theology; asceticism; speculative and popular mysticism; literatures in diverse Islamic languages. Not open to students with credit for LCA 370 prior to Fall 2019.
RELIG ST/ART HIST 373 — GREAT CITIES OF ISLAM
3 credits.
A comparative study of the foundation and development of five great cities in the history of Islam: Cairo, Istanbul, Delhi, Mecca, and Isfahan. Architectural projects, ornamental idioms, and changes to the urban plan are studied from aesthetic and cultural perspectives. Integrates historical and religious studies to highlight the shifting nature of Islamic culture, from the tenth century CE to the present.
RELIG ST/COM ARTS 374 — THE RHETORIC OF RELIGION
3 credits.
Rhetorical character of religious controversy and sectarian persuasion in Western religion.
RELIG ST 400 — TOPICS IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES - HUMANITIES
3-4 credits.
Topics may include religion in specific societies or regions; religion in the arts; contemporary themes in religion.
RELIG ST 401 — TOPICS IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES - SOCIAL STUDIES
3-4 credits.
Topics in religious studies in the social sciences.
RELIG ST 403 — TOPICS IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES-US ETHNIC STUDIES
3-5 credits.
Topics in historical or contemporary religious culture and society pertaining to persistently marginalized racial or ethnic groups in the United States.
RELIG ST/AFROAMER 404 — AFRICAN AMERICAN RELIGIONS
3 credits.
Explores the varieties of African American religious expressions from the colonial era to the present with emphasis on racism and resistance, marginalization and resilience, creative expression and the continued influence of Africa and the Caribbean.
RELIG ST/ASIAN 405 — GODS AND GODDESSES OF SOUTH ASIA
3 credits.
Introduces some of the most important deities of South Asia through visual representation, mythical narratives and rituals of worship. Topics include the development of iconographic forms and concepts, masculine and feminine aspects of the divine, the belief in human embodiments of divinities, the phenomenon of possession, modes of domestic and public worship and the symbolism of the temple structure.
RELIG ST 406 — THE AMISH
3 credits.
An exploration of the faith and life of one of America's most familiar yet widely misunderstood religious groups, the Old Order Amish.
RELIG ST/AFRICAN 408 — EVERYDAY RELIGION IN AFRICA
3 credits.
Explore the diverse lived experiences of religion in Africa, examine the role of religion in shaping individual and communal identities, and understand the complex ways in which religion is practiced, experienced, and expressed in various African contexts.
RELIG ST/HISTORY 409 — CHRISTIANITY IN THE ATLANTIC WORLD, 1500-1800
3 credits.
Between the late Middle Ages and the era of democratic revolutions Western Christianity saw a series of sweeping changes that altered its global profile and helped form the modern world - examines some of these shifts and their impact. Questions explored include: Why did the Reformations of the 16th century occur and with what effects on people's lives and on early modern societies? What was the relationship between European colonization, the Atlantic slave trade, new theories of race, and the spread of Christianity to the "New World"? How was the Christian religion resisted, received, and reshaped by Native Americans and people of African descent? What sparked movements of reform and renewal - including new Catholic religious orders and the Protestant Evangelical Awakening - and with what consequences for modern Christianity? How did the nature of Christian belief and identity change under the impact of religious conflict, political revolution, and new intellectual movements?
RELIG ST 410 — CHILDREN AND RELIGION IN AMERICA
3 credits.
Based upon the assumption children are important participants in religious communities; that they co-create their religious traditions. Through studies of children's lives in various religious communities in America (mostly), explore how including children's perspectives shifts general claims about religious groups and their practices.
RELIG ST/HISTORY 411 — THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND ITS CRITICS
3 credits.
European intellectual history in the 17th and 18th centuries, from the Wars of Religion to the French Revolution. Examines the rise of Enlightenment thought in relation to political and religious conflict, revolutions in science and philosophy, and the emergence of the public sphere. Special attention is paid to the Enlightenment's relationship to religion and to contemporary critiques made of Enlightenment thinking, including those of the early Romantic movement.
RELIG ST/AFRICAN 414 — ISLAM IN AFRICA AND THE DIASPORA
3 credits.
Explore African Muslim communities and Black Muslim communities in the US as an under-examined archive of Islamic authenticity and authority. Involves close readings of ethnographies, fiction, films, and other forms of cultural expression and examination of the practice of Islam and representation of Muslims in Africa and Muslims of African ancestry in the US. Through both primary and secondary sources, explore themes of not just authenticity and authority but also related issues of representation, positionality, difference, otherness, essentialism, and normativity. Ultimately, form a deeper understanding of the diversity and complexity of Islam and Muslims of African ancestry.
RELIG ST 420 — RELIGIOUS STUDIES COLLOQUIUM
1 credit.
Explores why and how religious studies matters as a helpful interpretative field across a variety of topics of interdisciplinary interest and societal concern.
RELIG ST/ASIAN 430 — INDIAN TRADITIONS IN THE MODERN AGE
3 credits.
Explores how ancient Indian traditions have been reframed for the modern age. Topics include the Ramayama in popular media, negotiations over sacred spaces, and popular Tantra. We will also examine recent controversies, such as the one surrounding the ancient Jain practice of fasting until death (sallekhana) in the modern age.
RELIG ST/POLI SCI 433 — RELIGION AND POLITICS
3-4 credits.
Explores the relationships and interactions between religion and politics from a comparative perspective. Discuss the appropriate relationship between religion and state. Investigate the implications of the various ways in which the religion-state relationship have been involved in political conflict. Building on this, turn to several of the current issues in religion and politics asking: Why is religion apparently more important than ever despite an increasingly secular world? What is religious nationalism? What is fundamentalism? How can we explain the similarities and differences between religious fundamentalist movements across the globe? How should democratic states cope with the emergence of fundamentalist movements? In order to begin answering these questions, integrate the theoretical frameworks we develop with explorations of the historical and local context of relevant case-studies from around the world.
RELIG ST/ENGL 434 — MILTON
3 credits.
Study of John Milton's poems and selected prose.
RELIG ST/JEWISH/PHILOS 435 — JEWISH PHILOSOPHY FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
3 credits.
A survey of major philosophers and philosophical currents within Judaism from antiquity through the seventeenth century.
RELIG ST/ITALIAN/MEDIEVAL 440 — POVERTY, ECOLOGY AND THE ARTS: ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI
3 credits.
Focuses on literature about Francis of Assisi, from medieval accounts to contemporary literature, and related artistic portrayals of St. Francis as a religious symbol and model for economic, political and environmental justice.
RELIG ST/ASIAN 444 — INTRODUCTION TO SUFISM (ISLAMIC MYSTICISM)
3 credits.
The rise and development of mysticism in Islam; basic Sufi doctrines, values and practices; life and works of important speculative and popular Sufi saints; Sufi brotherhoods in the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa. Not open to students with credit for LCA 444 prior to Fall 2019.
RELIG ST/ASIAN 460 — THE HISTORY OF YOGA
3 credits.
Explores the history of Yoga techniques from the ancient to the modern period. Not open to students with credit for RELIG ST 623 prior to Spring 2019.
RELIG ST/AFRICAN/JEWISH/MEDIEVAL 462 — MUSLIMS AND JEWS
3 credits.
Explores the historical relationship between Muslims and Jews in a variety of contexts from the seventh century to the present. Surveys literary and cultural exchanges against the background of shifting political and social conditions across the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Considers also the parallel legacies of anti-Semitism, Orientalism, and Islamophobia. Major themes include comparative religion, secularization, migration, and colonialism, as well as the politics of history and cultural memory. Introduces readings in English translation of medieval and modern texts originally written across languages, and especially in Hebrew and Arabic.
RELIG ST/ASIAN 466 — BUDDHIST THOUGHT
3 credits.
Survey of the fundamental trends in Buddhist thought through the works of major philosophers. Themes include the concept of "selflessness" and concomitant theories of essencelessness, perception, language and rationality. Not open to students with credit for E ASIAN or LCA 466 prior to Fall 2019.
RELIG ST/ASIAN 473 — MEDITATION IN INDIAN BUDDHISM AND HINDUISM
3 credits.
Examines contemplative practices in the two major Indian religions, Buddhism and Hinduism. Covers practices described in ancient texts but also provides an overview of selected modern practices.
RELIG ST 475 — RELIGION, GLOBAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH
3 credits.
Explores health issues and practices in religious communities and their interaction with public health concerns and programs in U.S. and international contexts.
RELIG ST/ART HIST 478 — ART AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICE IN MEDIEVAL JAPAN
3 credits.
A study of spaces, objects, and images within the context of religious belief and practice in Japan between 1300 and 1600, when great Zen monasteries grew up alongside older Buddhist/Shinto religious "megaplexes," and new salvationist sects spread throughout Japan.
RELIG ST 500 — ADVANCED TOPICS IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES
2-4 credits.
Topics may include religion in specific contexts, religion and other disciplines or specific themes in Religious Studies.
RELIG ST/PHILOS 501 — PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
3-4 credits.
Analysis of religious experience and activity, and examination of principal religious ideas in light of modern psychology, philosophy, science, and anthropology.
RELIG ST/ASIAN 505 — THE PERFECTIBLE BODY IN RELIGIONS, MEDICINES, AND POLITICS
3 credits.
Looking at the cultural institutions of politics, medicine, and religion in multiple cultures and historical times, students will explore ideas about what constitutes a perfect body, how and why different parts of the body are privileged over others, and how and why the notion of bodily perfectibility differs for men and women, children and adults, and humans and gods. Readings encourage such questions as: Is the perfect body attainable and, if so, how? And, who benefits from bodily perfection (or the rhetoric of the bodily perfection)? We will ask these questions with comparative intent: we want both to learn about cultures other than our own and, in the process of understanding the other, we will ask how this new knowledge might empower us to be more observant and critical of the role(s) and treatment of the body in our own society historically and today.
RELIG ST/CURRIC/ED POL 516 — RELIGION AND PUBLIC EDUCATION
3 credits.
Examines theories and practices related to the role of religion in public schooling and its accompanying tensions: political and philosophical, practical and personal.
RELIG ST/CLASSICS/HISTORY 517 — RELIGIONS OF THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN
3 credits.
Ancient religions in their political, social and cultural contexts; topics include ritual, literary and artistic representations, religious persecutions, and/or modern approaches to the study of ancient religions. Chronological and geographical focus will vary between Greece, Rome, Judaea and Egypt.
RELIG ST 600 — RELIGION IN CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE
3 credits.
Theory and analysis of religion as a human phenomenon.
RELIG ST 601 — SENIOR CAPSTONE RESEARCH AND COLLOQUIUM
4 credits.
Integrated capstone course combining discussion of research methods, conduct of senior thesis research, and presentation and discussion of research results.
RELIG ST/ASIAN 650 — PROSEMINAR IN BUDDHIST THOUGHT
2-3 credits.
Advanced topics in theories focused on the mechanisms of contemplative practices such as mindfulness, focused attention and compassion practices, with special emphasis on the interaction of traditional theories from contemplative traditions such as Buddhism and more recent theoretical accounts in psychology and cognitive science.
RELIG ST 681 — SENIOR HONORS THESIS
3 credits.
Independent research undertaken by students in the honors program.
RELIG ST 682 — SENIOR HONORS THESIS
3 credits.
Independent research undertaken by students in the honors program.
RELIG ST 699 — DIRECTED STUDY
1-4 credits.
Advanced directed study projects as arranged with a faculty member.
RELIG ST 799 — INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
1-6 credits.
Independent research for graduate students.
RELIG ST/HISTORY 963 — AMERICAN RELIGIOUS HISTORY TO 1860
3 credits.
The creation of a national religious culture from the earliest settlements to the mid-nineteenth century.
RELIG ST 999 — INDEPENDENT WORK
1-6 credits.
Individual tutorial on topics in religious studies.