
RELG/CLAS110Introduction to the New TestamentThis course explores the writings of the New Testament, their relationship to the history and culture in which they were produced, and their relevance to more recent issues in modern religious discourse. We will cover a range of topics, including the historical perspective on who Jesus was, the impact of Paul on Christianity, the formation of the canon, political religion in the Roman empire, ethics, and gender. We will apply several modern approaches as well as survey at various points the "afterlife" of the Christian scriptural traditions in Christianity. No prior knowledge of or experience with the subject is assumed or required.
RELG111From Jesus to ChristianityThis class critically engages the various scholarly narratives that describe the rise of Christianity by taking a close look at the texts used to construct these narratives, often with particular attention to the role of Christian women. How did a single "Christianity" emerge from a welter of alternatives and possibilities? Or did it? How did thinkers from Paul to Saint Anthony navigate the diverse teachings, rituals and social practices associated with Jesus of Nazareth and his followers to produce a religious movement that was oppressed by Roman imperial authority, but later came to occupy that authority?
RELG120US Religious History IThis course is an introduction to the early religious history of the part of the Americans that became the United. The time periods covered in this class are the 17th, 18th & 19th centuries. Special attention is given to Native American displacement, the religions of enslaved West Africans, and the organizational activities of Euro-Americans.
RELG121Us Religious History IIThis course is an introduction to the religious landscape of the United States from the latter part of the 19th century through the contemporary period. Focus is placed on: the struggle of various Native American groups to keep their land and their traditions; Jim Crow and the Civil Rights fight; immigration; and the commodification of holidays and religious practices. U.S. Religious History I is NOT a prerequisite of this class.
RELG122Religions of Latin AmericaUsing an array of primary and secondary materials, we will look into the myriad of dynamics that make up the religious histories and narratives of Latin America. This course has been organized into seven loosely chronological themes, which will touch on various parts of the geographic region. These themes are: 1 - Pre-Columbian Religions; 2 - Encounter & Conquest; 3 - Slavery & Religion; 4 - Rebellion & Revolution; 5 - Progressive Catholicism; 6 - Protestant Challenges; and 7 - Continuous Diversity.
RELG140Introduction to Hindu TraditionsThis course is a basic introduction to the myriad of rituals, texts, practices, values and beliefs that make up Hindu Traditions in South Asia and beyond. This class covers early Hindu history and the various textual traditions, focuses on practices and divine interactions in the everyday lives of Hindus, and examines some of the historical and contemporary issues of conquest, integration, caste, migration and globalization.
RELG150Buddhism in South AsiaAn examination of the historical development of the textual traditions, symbols, doctrines, myths, and communities of Buddhism throughout South Asia. Explores Buddhism's rise and decline in India and its development in Sri Lanka, Tibet, and other Southeast Asian countries through the modern period. This course uses primary sources as well as secondary, and students learn various ways to read texts in conjunction with other types of sources that include inscriptions, art historical materials, and archeological sources.
RELG160Hebrew BibleThis course explores the writings of the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament and Jewish Tanak), their relationship to the history and culture in which they were produced, and their relevance to more recent issues in modern religious discourse. We cover a range of topics, including divine encounters, worship practices, sacred space, political religion, archaeology, ethics, and gender. We apply several modern approaches as well as survey at various points the "afterlife" of the Hebrew scriptural traditions in Judaism and Christianity. No prior knowledge of or experience with the subject is assumed or required.
RELG170Muhammad and the Qur'anIn this course, we focus on the rise of Islam as a religious tradition. We ask the following questions: Who was Muhammad? How did Islam come to emerge as a defined religious tradition? What traditions influenced the establishment of the early Muslim community? What is the Qur'an? The final question asked in this course is how we should study Islam. This course examines pre-Islamic origins in the Middle East through 692.
RELG200Religion and ScienceThis course is a historical and contemporary look into the relationships between religion and science. Beginning with the development of science as an independent system of inquiry and also with the evolving and multiple definitions of religion, this class will trace the contours, the moments of cooperation and the fault-lines of discourse between religion and science. This class seeks to cultivate nuanced and more subtle understanding of religious and scientific viewpoints, and the ways in which they intersect.
RELG201/ARTX 205/SEMN 205Religious Art and Material CultureThis course explores the relationship between religion and art. The arts, whether in the form of painting, sculpture, architecture or kitsch, are often vehicles for religious devotion and expression. At the same time, devotion to a divine figure has inspired some of the world's most beautiful pieces of art. Religion and art form a symbiotic relationship which can simultaneously be in tension and/or cohesive. Looking at various primary and secondary sources from a variety of religious traditions, we explore this tension and cohesion, which can be a window into larger societal and cultural issues. Given that we live in a mechanical age, special attention will be paid to the material production of religious kitsch and the place of religious art in the market. This course is a Shared Passages Sophomore Seminar.Prerequisite: Sophomores Only
RELG202/SEMN 230Same Sex, Gender, and ReligionThis sophomore seminar explores the intersection of religions, same-sex affection/love/relations, and the category of gender. At the most basic level we examine what different religions have to say about sexuality, in particular, non-heterosexualities. We look at the role that gender plays in these constructions of these sexualities, and we return to our starting point to analyze the role of religions in these constructions of gender and same-sex sexualities, affections, love, and/or relations. This course is a Shared Passages Sophomore Seminar.Prerequisite: Sophomores Only
RELG204Feminist Studies in ReligionThis course explores questions that lie at the intersections of the ideas about women, men, and gender in the academic study of religion. We examine the transformation of scholarship about religion based on feminist studies in of religion. We look first at the academic study of religion, and then at the experiences of women and men in different religious traditions, and move to more complex questions about the ways in which the lives of women and men are shaped by gendered categories. We pay particular attention to issues of identity, voice, history, and agency. Prerequisite: Previous coursework in Religion is desirable, but not required.
RELG210Sex and the BibleThis course is about sex and interpretation, focusing primarily on how Christians have interpreted the Bible around questions of human sexuality. The questions that we will consider are: What does it mean to say a particular view of sexuality and sexual behavior is "biblical" given the sheer variety of possible interpretations? How have changing notions of human sexuality affected the way that the biblical text is understood and deployed? We will explore these questions by reading key biblical texts from the Hebrew Bible and New Testament and their interpretation by thinkers from antiquity up to the present. Topics to be covered include marriage, gender, desire, same-sex relationships, and sexual renunciation.Prerequisite: Previous course(s) in the Department of Religion recommended but not required.
RELG211/CLAS 255Religion From Alexander to ConstantineThis course examines various forms of ancient religion and worship in the classical world. Topics included are concepts of divinity, varieties of religious space and practices, distinctions between civic and private worship, religious festivals and rituals, attitudes towards death and afterlife, importations of Near-Eastern and African religions, and political and philosophical appropriations of religion. Specifically, the course will focus on classical Greek and Roman religion, new religious movements, Judaism, and Christianity within classical culture. Students will become acquainted with a variety of texts, archaeological sites, and religious art and artifacts. (This is a designated Greek and Roman literature or culture course in Classics.)
RELG212Contemporary Biblical StudiesSince the rise of the modern era in the 18th c., scholars have read the Bible as a historical text that can reveal something about ancient history. This method portrayed itself as an objective historical alternative to the theological readings informed by tradition and dogma. In the postmodern era, scholars have begun to read the Bible differently, revealing not only the political interests of so-called objective history of the Bible, but also articulating new ways of readings these texts. This course examines a bit of the history of biblical studies, but pays particular attention to feminist, queer, African American, and post-colonial biblical studies from recent decades. Prerequisite: RELG-110 RELG-111 or RELG-160
RELG213/WGS 295/SEMN 295Christianity & the FamilyThis course critically addresses contemporary debates about the centrality of the family in Christian teaching through a historical and cross-cultural survey. What is the relationship between Christianity and the various approaches to kinship and family in different cultures in different historical contexts? Where did our contemporary ideas about the family come from and what are Christians saying about new forms of kinship? From the Bible to present day debates about divorce, sex, and same sex marriage, Christians have never embraced a single understanding of the family, but rather have been influenced by broader cultural shifts in how kinship is done. This course is a Shared Passages Sophomore Seminar.Prerequisite: Sophomores Only
RELG220Catholicism in the Americas This class is a history of the diverse groups of people and practices that make up the various Catholic communities of the Americas. We will examine Catholic history, life, practices and beliefs through four sections: Colonialism, Saints & Syncretism; Immigration & Rebellion; Social Justice; and the Church in Crisis. Throughout this class, special attention will not only be given to the hierarchy, but to the laity - how do Catholics live and how do they practice their devotion in their day-to-day lives. By taking an Americas approach we will be tapping into a larger framework of Catholic history and seeing the ways in which Catholicism shaped the Americas in the past and is an important part of American life in the present.
RELG221Black Religious Experiences in the AmericasWhen enslaved people were forced over the Atlantic from West Africa to the Americas, they did not arrive as blank slates. While the Middle Passage was horrific and tragic, humans are resilient, and during the darkest of times, divinity, rituals, practices and beliefs are not only questioned but also embraced. This class will look at which religious traditions were rejected and which were embraced among the enslaved of the Americas. In order to do this, we follow the journey of these slaves, from West Africa to the Caribbean and to the plantations and the urban centers of the Americas. We will also examine the religious, economic, social, political and liberative changes that Black Americans experienced after the various independence movements in the Americas through to the contemporary period.Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.
RELG250Buddhism in East AsiaAn examination of the historical development of the textual traditions, symbols, doctrines, myths, and communities of Buddhism throughout East Asia. Explores the introduction and establishment of Buddhism in China, Korea, and Japan, and compares the different schools of Buddhism that developed in dialogue with Daoism and Shinto.
RELG260/CLAS 261Judaism in AntiquityThis course examines the history and literature of Judaism from the Second Temple Period to the beginnings of Rabbinical Judaism (400 BCE - 400 CE). This course explores the diversity of ancient Judaism and explores themes of religious and cultural identity. We shall consider the political and religious implications for Jews living under the Persian, Greek, Roman, and Christian empires, while briefly ruling themselves in the Hasmonean period. We will read a series of primary sources in translation from ancient Jews and non-Jews, as well as modern scholarly treatments of these works.
RELG/HIST265Zionism: From Idea to StateThis course explores the origins, development, and manifestations of Zionism. The course examines the transformation of traditional religious conceptions of the connection between Jews and the Land of Israel (Palestine) into a nationalist ideology in the 19th century. This transformation entailed parallel changes to the idea of Jewish peoplehood. Through the use of primary documents we will follow these trends through intellectual, religious, social, and political changes that culminated in the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.
RELG270Islam in the Modern WorldThis course examines the diversity of Islam throughout the world, keeping in mind that there are many different faces of Islam. This course presumes some familiarity with the fundamentals of Islam -- Sunni and Shia -- as well as Sufi traditions, with an examination of the Sufi mystical traditions and the roles of women. Finally, we examine the impact of colonialism on Islam in the Middle East as a way to explore the historical and religious contexts of our understanding of Islam today.
RELG/AFST/HIST274Islam in AfricaThis course explores the spread of Islam from the Arab peninsula to the African continent in the seventh century through the nineteenth century and limns the factors which facilitated this advance. It examines the methods and principles of Islam and how the religion affected the life styles of its African neophytes and adherents. As a result of the interaction between Muslim and African civilizations, the advance of Islam has profoundly influenced religious beliefs and practices of African societies, while local traditions have also influenced Islamic practices. Muslims were important in the process of state-building and in the creation of commercial networks that brought together large parts of the continent. Muslim clerics served as registrars of state records and played a role in developing inner-state diplomacy inside Africa and beyond.
RELG/AFST/HIST275/SEMN 274African ChristianityThis course explores the complex and disparate trends of Christianity in Africa since the first century C. E. It highlights Africa's role in the development and growth of Christianity as a global religion. Prerequisite: Sophomores Only
RELG295Religion & Sexuality in the USUsing theoretical works, historical case studies, and present-day events, we explore how ideas about religion and sexuality have been constructed in U.S. history, how religion and sexuality shape one another, and how the regulation of religion and the regulation of sexuality in U.S. society are intertwined. As we examine our case studies, which move from the colonial era to the present, we will also explore some of the key terms that guide the studies of religion and sexuality, including gender, ritual, and confession. By the end of the course, students will have a familiarity with both theoretical and historical elements of the study of religion and sexuality.Prerequisite: One previous course at the 100 level in Religion highly recommended
RELG295Race, Religion, and Migration in the USThis course explores religion, race, and migration in North American history. Through a series of case studies and theoretical readings, we will explore how ideas about race and religion shaped American understandings of who had a right to migrate from place to place; whose movements were worthy of mention in historical accounts, and which movements were seen as good or bad, legal or illegal, noble or menacing. Though our focus will be on the United States and its controversies surrounding migration, we will also seek to historicize how U.S. boundaries came to be fixed where they are today, and how religious and racial groups span those boundaries.Prerequisite: One previous course at the 100 level in Religion highly recommended.
RELG295Love in a Dead LanguageIn the religious and cultural history of South Asia, poetry, drama and epic were one of the primary means by which religions were lived and imagined. There was no distinction between "secular" and "religious" literature; the same poem that one might read for pleasure, another would read to cultivate devotion to god or learn how to live an ethical life. The 'ancient authorities' of the Hindu tradition declared Four Goals proper for a human life: love, profit, duty and liberation. This course focuses on the first goal, love (kama), and the literature of love written in Sanskrit during the early medieval period. This course will examine five major genres of Sanskrit literature-epic, drama, extended poetry, poetic miniature, and song.Prerequisite: One previous course at the 100 level in Religion highly recommended.
RELG390Junior Seminar in ReligionThe study of religion is comprised of a set of intersecting questions and issues with its roots in the nineteenth century. This course is designed to introduce students to those questions, to wrestle with those questions again. There is no single definition of religion, but there are conversations and questions that rest at the heart of the academic study of religion. The goal of this course is to learn how to consider religious experiences as aspects of dynamic and evolving interactions between thought and action, the immediate world and that which lies beyond, and individuals and communities. A significant part of the course involves writing a research prospectus to best prepare the student to write a SIP in the Religion Department. This course is required for religion majors in their junior year and for students who want to write their SIP in the Religion Department. Minors are required to take either this course in their junior year or RELG490, the Senior Seminar in Religion, in their senior year. Prerequisite: Two courses in Religion and Junior standing or permission
RELG490Senior Seminar in ReligionStudents examine a variety of theories of religion and use them to consider retrospectively some of the topics already considered in their various courses undertaken as part of their concentration. Designed as the capstone seminar for majors and minors, to be taken during the senior year. Required for religion majors in their senior year. Minors are required to take either this course in their senior year or RELG390, the Junior Seminar in Religion, in their junior year.Prerequisite: Major or minor in Religion or permission of instructor