201. The Bible in the Christian Communities of Asia, Africa, and Latin America

3 hours; 3HU

This course examines the history of the interpretation of the Bible in the non-western world focusing on hermeneutical issues including the relationship between colonialism and the missionary movement, anthropological models of conversion, and the contended issues of biblical translation. The course will also introduce biblical reading strategies developed in Asia, Africa, and Latin America such as cross-textual, cultural, and postcolonial criticism. Prerequisite: RELG 205 or 208 or by consent of instructor.Enrollment limit: 35

 

205. Hebrew Bible in its Ancient Near Eastern Context

3 hours; 3HU

An introduction to the literature and history of ancient Israel as contained within the Hebrew Bible and to the methods of interpretation used by modern scholars to understand this ancient text.   Biblical writings will be studied within the context of other ancient Near Eastern religious, legal and literary texts. An important aspect of this course will be learning the art and skill of a close and critical reading of ancient texts and of modern scholarly interpretations of those texts.   Thematic emphases will include the emergence of monotheism, the conceptualization of the divine/human relationship, the mediation of priest, prophet and king, and issues of canon.   Identical to JWST 205. Enrollment Limit: 40.

206. Ancient Judaism from the Exile to the Rise of the Rabbis

3 hours; 3HU, CD

This course traces Judaism from the Babylonian exile through the rise of the rabbis. Critical reading of historical and literary sources from the Bible, Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and the Dead Sea Scrolls constitute the core of the course. Wisdom literature, the impact of Hellenism, the Maccabean revolt, apocalypticism, sectarianism, and the beginning of Rabbinic Judaism are central themes. No previous knowledge of ancient Judaism is required. Identical to JWST 206.

 

208. The New Testament and Christian Origins

3 hours; 3HU

This course examines the New Testament in its Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts. Text and literary criticism as well as the historical-critical method are applied to the literature and theologies of the earliest Christian communities in order to illumine Christianity's origins and development. Important themes include orthodoxy and heresy, the division between Jews and Gentiles, the many images of Jesus and the emergence of the New Testament anthology as canon. Identical to JWST 208. Enrollment limit: 40

209. Women in Ancient Mediterranean Religions

3 hours; 3HU, CD

This course investigates the roles and depiction of women in four ancient Western religious traditions: Greek and Roman polytheism, Judaism, and Christianity. Identification and recognition of women's religious experience is the primary task. In addition, this course seeks to understand the role of female divinities and the connection, if any, between the place of women in the larger culture and their place in the religious realm. No prior familiarity with these religious traditions is required. Identical to JWST 209 and WOST 209. Enrollment Limit: 35

214. Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant: Christianity and its Interpretations

3 hours; 3HU

 

217. Christian Thought and Action: Early and Medieval 3 hours; 3HU

An interpretive study of the Christian tradition from the time of the early Church through the fourteenth century. Theological issues and the relationship of Christianity to society are considered along with such subjects as the development of the Papacy, saints, monasticism, mysticism, worship, popular religious devotion, and the roles of reform, dissent, and heresy. Enrollment Limit: 35.

218. Christian Thought and Action: Reformation and Modern

3 hours; 3HU

 

An interpretive study of the Western Christian traditions from the 14th to the 20th century, with emphasis on the formative ideas of the 16th-century reformers, Protestant and Catholic, and the development of these ideas as Christianity faced far-reaching changes in society and the world of thought. Key spiritual texts such as Pilgrim's Progress and figures such as St. Teresa of Avila will be explored. Distinctive theologies, social activist traditions, pietism, modern Roman Catholicism, and the emergence of liberal and evangelical forms of the Christianity are among subjects considered. Enrollment Limit: 30.

 

226. Modern Religious Thought in the West: 19th to mid-20th Century

3 hours; 3HU

An analysis of developments in Western philosophy of religion and theology from the nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. Central topics to be examined include theological responses to modern scientific and historical consciousness, secular critiques of religion, debates on the human condition, and efforts to address cultural and religious issues arising from the devastation of the two world wars. Some of the thinkers to be studied include Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Freud, Buber, Tillich, R. Niebuhr, and J. Plaskow. Enrollment Limit: 40

 

 

233. Religion in Modern India

3 hours; 3HU, CD

235. Chinese Thought and Religion

3 hours; 3HU, CD

An historical survey of the three major religious and philosophical traditions of China: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Attention is given to how each comprehends the universe, and translates its ideals into philosophical thought, religious practice, and social and moral imperative. Interaction and mutual borrowing among the three will be examined to show how each was changed or inspired by the others and matured under their influence. Identical to EAST 151. Enrollment Limit: 40.

236. Japanese Thought and Religion

3 hours; 3HU, CD

A survey of the development of Shinto and Buddhism in Japan and the roles they play in Japanese culture and society. Among the topics discussed are the ancient myths of Shinto, the transmission of Buddhism to Japan, the emergence of native forms of Buddhism (e.g. Zen, Pure Land, and Nichiren), and the use of Shinto as a nationalistic ideology. Identical to EAST 152. Enrollment Limit: 65.

 

247. Feminist Ethical Issues

3 hours; 3HU, CD, WRi

This course begins with an analysis of ways in which religion and patriarchy have reinforced one another in the West. It then considers ways in which religious resources have been helpful in critiquing and opposing patriarchal control of women. A variety of issues of concern to women are then addressed from religious and secular perspectives, including feminism and the family, reproductive control, physical abuse, sexual harassment, prostitution, pornography, and ecofeminism. Enrollment Limit: 40.

 

248. Approaches to Religious Ethics

3 hours; 3HU, CD

First Semester. This course is designed to examine the ways in which a variety of religious traditions approach questions of ethics, particularly questions relating to how one's religious identity and commitments can be guides to the moral life and developed in the moral life. Ethical approaches within Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism will be studied. The goal is to give students both specific knowledge regarding the religious ethics of each tradition and an appreciation of the complexity of religious ethics as a cross-cultural endeavor. Enrollment Limit: 35.

249. Issues in Medical Ethics

3 hours; 3HU

This course begins with an analysis of ways in which religion and patriarchy have reinforced one another in the West. It then considers ways in which religious resources have been helpful in critiquing and opposing patriarchal control of women. A variety of issues of concern to women are then addressed from religious and secular perspectives, including feminism and the family, reproductive control, physical abuse, sexual harassment, prostitution, pornography, and ecofeminism. Enrollment Limit: 40.

 

250. Introduction to Judaism

3 hours; 3HU, CD, WR

A theoretical introduction to Judaism as a religious system. Special attention will be paid to the historical development of the religion through interpretation of traditional texts and ritual practices. Identical to JWST 150. Enrollment Limit: 40.

251. Modern Jewish Thought

3 hours; 3HU, CD,WR

An interpretive study of key figures and movements in modern Jewish thought, from the 17th to the 20th century. Central topics to be examined include the ideologies of the modern movements (Reform, Conservative, Orthodox), challenges to the veracity of biblical texts, authority of rabbinic tradition, and the place of the Jew and Judaism in an enlightened secular society. Thinkers to be studied include Spinoza, Mendelssohn, the Baal Shem Tov, Marx, Herzl, Kook, Buber, Solveitchik, and Heschel. Identical to JWST151. Enrollment Limit: 45

 

255. Theology, Science and the Secularization of Europe (1200-1800)

3 hours; 1.5 HU, 1.5 SS, WR

Identical to HIST 205 and JWST 255. For full description, see Jewish Studies Program course listings. Enrollment Limit: 45.

261. Feminist Theory and the Study of Religion

3 hours; 3HU, CD, WR

This course will examine the various ways in which feminist scholars bring gender issues to the academic study of religion. Topics to be addressed will include: feminist critiques of androcentrism in "classic" theories of religion; methods for the historical retrieval of suppressed women’s voices in sacred texts; sociological and ethnographic approaches to investigating women’s marginalized ritual practices; feminist approaches to philosophy of religion and theology. Enrollment limit: 35.

262. Feminist Religious Thought in Multicultural Perspective 3 hours
3 HU, CD
Second Semester. This course examines recent critical and constructive religious thought of women in Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and Muslim traditions whose concerns and perspectives move beyond those of first-generation religious feminists (mostly white, heterosexual, Christian, or North American). We will study the theories that inform their analyses of the impact of issues such as racism, heterosexism and Orientalism on women religious experience (e.g., feminist standpoint theory, queer theory, poststructuralism and postcolonial theory).

 

263. Roots of Religious Feminism in America

3 hours; 3 HU, CD

270. Islam

3 hours; 3HU, CD

Survey of the religious tradition of Islam. Lectures and readings present a global perspective, covering sources of tradition such as the Qurıan and the experience of the early Muslim community, theology, and law; and further development of Islamic thought and practice in Muslim communities such as patterns of Islamic polities and the impact of Sufism in an expanding Muslim world. Topics include movements of resurgence and reform, and other key aspects of modern Muslim experience. Enrollment Limit: 45.

272. Introduction to the Qur’an

3 hours; 3HU, CD

Introduction to the Qur’an, the sacred scripture of the Islamic religious tradition. Topics include approaches to the idea of revelation and the history of the written text, its overall content and themes, development of Qur’anic Sciences such as grammar and interpretation, the style and poetics of the Qur’an, and the Qur’an as a source of law, theology, aesthetics, politics, and practices of piety such as recitation. Emphasis on reading the Qur’an in English-language interpretation. Enrollment Limit: 30.

274. Sufism

3 hours; 3HU, CD

An exploration of traditions of esoteric piety within Islam. Topics include the development of ascetic movements, mysticism and practices of the Sufi "Path," and interaction with systems of Islamic philosophy, aesthetics, and politics. Class discussions feature works by figures such as Rumi and Sufi social histories, with special consideration given to the experiential, devotional, and musical dimensions of Sufi-oriented religiosity. Materials on Sufism in the modern world represent multiple perspectives. Enrollment limit: 35.

284. The History of the African-American Religious Experience

3 hours; 3HU, CD

An introduction to the religious movements and institutions of African-Americans from the period of slavery to the present. Various topics including: African religions; slave religion; independent black Protestant churches; gender and race relations in American church life; politics in black churches; missionary efforts to Africa and the Caribbean; Islam, Judaism, Catholicism, Pentecostalism; the civil rights movement; modern role of religion in African-American life. Enrollment Limit: 45.

285. Evangelicalism in the United States

3 hours

3HU

 

286. Religions in the New World: Pre-Columbian to Slave Emancipation                                                                       3 hours

3HU, CD

This course is a topical examination of the history of religions in the colonial Americas. Themes to be discussed include: Aztec, Mayan and Incan sacred calendars, cosmographs, myths, rituals and architecture; European ceremonies of conquest; indigenous and African resistance and adaptation to European evangelization and the Inquisition; the formation of religious organizations; plantation religion, the religious roots of slave revolts, and religion in fugitive slave polities.  Enrollment Limit: 35.

299. Approaches to the Study of Religion

3 hours; 3HU