REL 101: RELIGIONS IN WORLD CULTURES
This course introduces the academic study of religion and religious phenomena through a critical survey of the beliefs, worldviews, practices, and institutions of the major world religions. We examine different forms of religious experience, together with the myths, symbols, rituals, and institutions through which they are expressed. The course employs a variety of methodologies and source materials. [H, V]
01 Patel MWF 12:45-2:00 pm 02 Tull TR 8:00-9:15 am
REL 204: INDIA’S RELIGIOUS TEXTS
This discussion-based course introduces the oral and written traditions of South Asian religions including Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Islam, with selections from a range of texts, including the Vedas, teachings of the Buddha, Hindu, Sikh, and Islamic mystical and devotional poetry. The course examines the use of these traditions in religious practice. Our reading of oral and written religious texts will include consideration of the significance of various kinds of reading and recitation, understandings of the power of sound and word, how religious texts gain authority, how religious texts are transmitted, the significance of variant forms of religious texts, and the use of religious texts in practice. [H, V]
Tull W 1:10-4:00 pm
REL 207: THE QURAN
Over one billion Muslims believe that the Quran contains the literal words of God. This course attempts to orient students to the most sacred scripture of Islam. It will explore the Quran as an oral, visual, and fluid text. The Quran swiftly traverses concepts such as love and justice, estrangement and community, war and peace, heaven and hell, good and evil. Occasionally, comparisons will be drawn to other sacred scriptures as well.[H,V]
Patel MW 2:45-4:00 pm
REL 211: HINDUISM: UNITIES AND DIVERSITY
This course is an introduction to the vast, complex religious tradition of India known as Hinduism. The course begins with a survey of the historical development of key Hindu concepts, texts, and practices, with special focus on Hinduism’s extensive mythological tradition. In locating Hinduism within India’s religious landscape, we will also consider key elements of India’s “other” great traditions, Buddhism and Jainism. The issues of colonialism, caste, gender, and Hinduism outside India will inform our understanding of modern Hinduism. Course materials will range widely, from texts, to iconography, to modern novels, and to film. No prerequisite. The course will consist of mixed lecture and discussion. Requirements include a midterm and a final exam, and a single research paper; class discussion is a critical component of this course. Counts toward Asia Culture Cluster, Asian Studies major/minor. [GM2, H, V]
Tull TR 11:00-12:15 pm
REL 213: JUDAISM: FAITH, COMMUNITIES, IDENTITY
An introduction to the religion, history, and literature of the Jewish people. Among the areas covered are: the biblical heritage; the development of rabbinic Judaism; ritual and practice; medieval philosophy and practice, and the reactions of Jews to modernity such as political emancipation, immigration to America, the Holocaust, the state of Israel, and issues of gender. [GM1, H, V]
Carr TH 9:30-10:45 am
REL 214: CHRISTIANITY
A study of the main branches of Christianity—Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant—with reference to their common biblical inheritance, historical developments, characteristic doctrines, institutional expressions, and global spread. Readings are assigned in authors representing the viewpoints studied. [H,V]
Ziolkowski MW 11:00-12:15 pm
REL 260: GLOBAL MUSLIM LITERATURE AND FILM
This course introduces students to global Muslim culture and civilization through literature and film. Geographic regions include the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, North America and Europe; historical periods span both pre-modern and modern. Topics covered include but are not limited to: constructions of race, religion, and gender; diaspora and immigration; political Islam and Islamophobia in cultural contexts. Course materials focus on fictional storytelling although they may be rooted in actual historical events. [H,GM2 Pending]
Patel F 1:10-4:00 pm
REL 308: VISUAL CULTURE AND RELIGIOUS IDENTITY:
This course introduces the concept of visual culture as a window into the study of religion. Secondary texts are juxtaposed with primary sources. These sources suggest that the construction of religious communities and identities has taken place in the context of cultural exchange. We look at how various traditions have used images to construct community boundaries and ideologies. What and when have communities shared, disputed, and diverged? How has the presentation of “others” been an aspect of religious identity? Carr TR 1:15-2:30 pm
REL 390 Independent Study
REL 490: Capstone
REL 495: Thesis