01-02 LS&A Bulletin

Courses in Religion (Division 457)

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RELIGION 121 / ACABS 121. Introduction to the Tanakh/Old Testament.: (4; 3 in the half-term). (HU).; Introduction to the Hebrew Bible in translation and to modern methods of interpretation.
RELIGION 122 / ACABS 122. Introduction to the New Testament.: (4; 3 in the half-term). (HU).; This course introduces the student to the modern study of the new testament, the most widely read but, probably, least understood book in the world. The course places the New Testament in its historical setting and introduce students to the methods of interpretation of New Testament writings.
RELIGION 201 / ACABS 200 / AAPTIS 200 / HJCS 200. Introduction to World Religions: Near Eastern.: (4; 3 in the half-term). (HU).; Religions of the Book: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. An introduction to those world religions with roots in the Near East. The traditions studied include Ancient Israel (including the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament) as well as its "offspring:" Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Special attention is paid the origins and development of these traditions, what they share, and how they differ.
RELIGION 202 / BUDDHST 220 / ASIAN 220. Introduction to the Study of Asian Religions.: (4). (HU).; An introduction to the study of Asian religions. We consider representative material drawn from some of the major Asian traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, etc.) from ancient times to the present day.
RELIGION 204 / AAPTIS 262. Introduction to Islam.: (4). (HU).; This course provides a comprehensive introduction to Islam as a religious tradition. After examining the fundamental sources of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and the Reports about the activities and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, we discuss how these foundations gave rise to the beliefs and practices of Muslims and to an Islamic civilization with spectacular achievements in such areas.
RELIGION 223 / ASIAN 223 / SSEA 223. Bhagavad-Gita: The Activist View of Hinduism.: (3). (HU).; This class introduces Hinduism to students through an intensive study of this single most important scriptural text, the Bhagavad-Gita. We spend half the time going over the text-in-translation, chapter by chapter. The other half of the class time is devoted to critical issues relating to the text, i.e., history of the text, its transmission, its location within the history of Hinduism, its connections with political/cultural history, its ancient and modern interpretations.
RELIGION 225 / SSEA 225 / ASIAN 225. Hinduism.: (3). (HU).; Introduction to Hinduism, its general history over 3500 years. It studies Hindu religious literature, ritual, social system, et cetera. Also studies Hindu response to changing conditions.
RELIGION 230 / BUDDHST 230 / ASIAN 230 / PHIL 230. Introduction to Buddhism.: (4). (HU).; Introductory readings and lectures on the history and literature of Buddhism in India and Tibet followed by a discussion of the basic problems of Buddhist religion and philosophy in the light of selected Buddhist texts in translation.
RELIGION 231 / BUDDHST 231 / ASIAN 231. Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism.: (4). (HU).; This course surveys the development of Buddhism in Tibet. It begins with an introduction to those doctrines and practices of Indian Buddhism that would come to hold an important place in the Tibetan tradition and goes on to examine the process of transmission of Buddhism from India to Tibet.
RELIGION 246 / ANTHRCUL 246. Anthropology of Religion.: (4). (Excl).; An introduction to basic problems faced by religions and by the study of religion. Draws on case studies from around the world to examine how people confront questions of life, death, evil, misfortune, and power. Also asks how the study of religion wrestles with relations between tolerance and faith.
RELIGION 250 / BUDDHST 252 / WOMENSTD 250. Religion and Culture: Feminine and Masculine Images of Religious Experience.: (3). (HU).; An exploration of human differences and how they affect our sense of what is personal religious experience: inwardness, contemplative solitude, spirituality, ready from classical works of "spirituality" or religious self-reflection.
RELIGION 277 / HJCS 277 / ACABS 277 / AAPTIS 277 / JUDAIC 277 / HISTORY 277. The Land of Israel/Palestine through the Ages.: (4; 3 in the half-term). (HU).; A survey course on the history of the Land of Israel. It outlines the historical events that occurred in that territory, analyze the various factors (political, economic, cultural) that shaped its development, and introduce empires and nations that ruled the land as well as the people who inhabited its cities and villages.
RELIGION 280 / ACABS 221. Jesus and the Gospels.: (4; 3 in the half-term). (HU).; An examination of the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth and of the form, purpose, and content of the gospels.
RELIGION 286 / HISTORY 286. A History of Eastern Christianity from the 4th to the 18th Century.: (3). (HU).; A church history course for undergraduates that surveys the histories of the Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian, and Russian churches in detail, from their respective conversions into the eighteenth century.
RELIGION 296 / HJCS 296 / JUDAIC 296. Perspectives on the Holocaust.: (4; 3 in the half-term). (HU).; A study of the Holocaust as an historical event and its impact on Jewish thought and culture.
RELIGION 303 / SSEA 303 / ASIAN 303. Sikhism.: (3). (HU).; Sikh religious beliefs, practices, and institutions. Emphasizes the techniques of the founder, Guru Nanak, and major doctrinal developments under subsequent Gurus. Particular attention is paid to the scripture, the Adi Granth, and other Sikh texts to understand the evolution of the Sikh community.
RELIGION 308 / HISTORY 308. The Christian Tradition in the West from New Testament to Early Reformation.: (4). (Excl).; A survey of the doctrine, institutions, political involvement, and culture of western Christianity and Apostolic times to the first phases of the Lutheran Reformation.
RELIGION 309 / HISTORY 309. The Christian Tradition in the West from Luther and Calvin to the Present.: (4). (Excl).; A survey of Christian culture, institutions, and political involvement from the breakup of the medieval church during the Reformation through the various crises brought on by the modernization of the West from the Age of Reason to the 20th century.
RELIGION 310 / AAPTIS 335 / CAAS 335. African-American Religion Between Christianity and Islam.: AAS 201 recommended. (4). (HU).; A study of African-American Religion, as a phenomenon that develops out of the experience of enslaved Africans in the Americas, and its dialectical relationship with the supertradition of Christianity, on the one hand, and Islam, on the other, studied diachronically from the 18th through the 20th centuries.
RELIGION 312. Church and American Society.: (3). (HU).; The relationship which the Christian Church has on society, and the corresponding impact which society has on religious structures. The emergence of a religiously based political right as a powerful political reality in America makes the question of what happens when religion and society try to coexist an important one.
RELIGION 316 / BUDDHST 316 / ASIAN 316. Religion in Modern Japan.: (3). (Excl).; This course looks at dominant trends in modern Japanese religion. We pay particular attention to the "new religions" that arose after the Meiji restoration (1868), and the continued popularity of ancient religious practices (shamanism, exorcism, etc.) in a modern industrialized society.
RELIGION 358 / ACABS 321 / HISTORY 306. Israel Before the Exile (587 BCE): Its History & Religion.: (4). (HU).; Traces the cultural history of Ancient Israel as seen within the larger histories of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Syria of the late 2nd and mid 1st millennia (1200-600 BCE).
RELIGION 359 / ACABS 322 / HISTORY 307. History and Religion of Ancient Judaism.: May be elected independently of Religion 358. (4; 3 in the half-term). (HU).; Covers the history and religion of Ancient Judaism from the Babylonian exile (6th century BCE) to the emergence of Rabbinic Judaism (3rd century CE).
RELIGION 365 / PHIL 365. Problems of Religion.: (4; 2 in the half-term). (HU).; A philosophic examination of basic religious problems such as the nature of religion, the existence and nature of God, methods of attaining religious knowledge, the problem of evil, and immortality.
RELIGION 369 / PSYCH 313. Psychology and Religion.: Introductory psychology or senior standing. (4). (Excl).; Psychological processes in religious phenomena and an interpretation of the psychological meaning of religion.
RELIGION 370. History of Christianity.: (3). (Excl).; A study of the relationship of Christianity to civil society from the beginning of the Christian era until modern times.
RELIGION 371. Modern Religious Thought.: (3). (Excl).; An academic investigation of the relationship between religious thought and action in the modern world. Topics vary each year.
RELIGION 375 / SCAND 375 / GERMAN 375 / MEMS 375. Celtic and Nordic Mythology.: (3). (Excl).; A study of the Celtic and Nordic cycles of myths and sagas, including the Nibelungenlied, Tristan and Isolde cycles, the Irish Tain, the Welsh Mabinogi, the Scandinavian Edda and some of the literature based on these cycles.
RELIGION 376 / WOMENSTD 376. Women and the Bible.: (3). (HU).; In this course, we study some of the most important women in the Bible, beginning with the matriarchs and continuing with some of the major women in the Old Testament; then on to the Apocrypha, where we find such women as Judith and Salome who beguined military leaders and heads of state. We conclude with the New Testament, the women there who theologically defined Jesus' messiahship, supported him financially, and understood his ministry not as rule and kingly glory, but as one of service.
RELIGION 380. Selected Topics.: (3). (Excl). May be repeated for a total of six credits. Only one course from Religion 380, 387, and 487 may be elected in the same term.; Seminar topics are announced each year. Consult the Time Schedule for specific information.
RELIGION 381(457) / CLCIV 381. Witchcraft: An Introduction to the History and Literature of Witchcraft.: (4). (HU).; This course explores witchcraft as a cultural phenomenon. We examine witchcraft from several cross-cultural perspectives, then trace the development of witchcraft and the witch stereotype in history, literature, and art from classical antiquity, through the middle ages, to the early modern period in Europe and America.
RELIGION 393 / AAPTIS 393 / ACABS 393. The Religion of Zoroaster.: (3). (HU).; A comprehensive introduction to the dualistic religion of Zoroaster, his view of creation and salvation, and ethics.
RELIGION 402. Topics in Religion.: Upper-class standing. (1-3; 2 in the half-term). (Excl).; Inquiry into and discussion of the phenomena of religion as seen in relation to other academic disciplines.
RELIGION 403 / PHIL 403 / AMCULT 403. American Philosophy.: One Philosophy Introduction. (3; 2 in the half-term). (Excl).; Locke and our constitution, Edwards on free will, and reason and feeling in transcendentalism and Emerson. This background is then used to study the uniquely American philosophers: Peirce, James, Santayana, and Dewey.
RELIGION 442 / ACABS 414. Mythology and Literature of Ancient Mesopotamia.: (3). (Excl).; This course provides a broad introduction to the two and a half millennia of Sumerian and Akkadian writing including myth and literature. It is studied from a variety of perspectives, concentrating on the historical and social contexts of writing. Genre theory, semiotics, hermeneutics and reader response is studied in conjunction with the unique problems of ancient myths.
RELIGION 447 / POLSCI 447. Comparative Studies in Religion and Politics.: (3). (Excl).; Comparative analysis of patterns of change in religion, in politics, and in the relations between them. Particular emphasis to third world cases, including Latin American Catholicism, Islam, and to Africa and Asia, reference as well to the United States.
RELIGION 448 / PSYCH 418. Psychology and Spiritual Development.: (3). (Excl).; This course explores the contributions of transpersonal psychology in examining direct spiritual experience, the decision to work within a spiritual discipline, and the diversity of lives led in search of life's highest goals.
RELIGION 452 / ANTHRCUL 448. Anthropology of Religion: Ritual, Sanctity and Adaptation.: Junior standing. (3; 2 in the half-term). (Excl).; A discussion of the form and function of ritual and the notion of sacred and religious experience from the general perspective of adaptation and evolution.
RELIGION 455 / SOC 455. Religion and Society.: (3; 2 in the half-term). (Excl).; Ultimate Reality (the focus of religion) becomes understood quite differently as people pursue religious quests within different social contexts. This course uses sociological methods of inquiry to explore the emergence of new religious movements, the ways that organizations respond to extraordinary experiences like mysticism and the ecstatic, the kinds of impact social forces have on organized religion, and the ways that religion, in turn, affects other areas of social life.
RELIGION 465 / AAPTIS 465. Islamic Mysticism.: (3). (Excl).; Beginning with the Qur�anic origins of Islamic mysticism and its early Christian and ascetic influences, this course explores the central themes and institutional forms of Sufism, a stream of Islam which stresses the esoteric (mystical) dimensions of religious faith. It reflects upon the inward quest and devotions of Muslim mystics as these have been lived and expressed in art, theology, literature, and fellowship since the 8th century CE.
RELIGION 467 / AAPTIS 467 / HISTORY 541. Shi'ism: The History of Messianism and the Pursuit of Justice in Islamdom.: Junior standing. (3). (Excl).; The course surveys the history of diverse Alid movements from the assassination of Ali (d.661) to the crystallization of Shi'ism into distinct political, legal and theological schools (Twelver, Isma'ili, Zaydi), and ends with the establishment of Twelver Shi'ism as an imperial religion in Safavi Iran (1501-1722). Emphasis on the debate over authority in Islam.
RELIGION 468 / CLCIV 466. Greek Religion.: (3; 2 in the half-term). (Excl).; Lectures, readings, and slides illustrate a survey of ancient Greek religious belief and observances and the ways in which Greek religious attitudes, customs, and practices influenced political institutions, moral standards, and contemporary and later religious systems (e.g., Roman and Christian).
RELIGION 469 / HJCS 478 / JUDAIC 468. Jewish Mysticism.: (3). (Excl).; A critical study of the historical development of Jewish mysticism, its symbolic universe and its social ramifications. The focus is on the variegated medieval stream known as Kabbalah. The issues to be explored are: the nature of mystical experience; images of God and the Person; symbols of the male and female; the problems of evil; mysticism and language; kabbalistic myth and ritual innovation; and kabbalistic interpretations of history.
RELIGION 471 / HJCS 577 / JUDAIC 467. Seminar: Topics in the Study of Judaism.: (3). (Excl). May be repeated for a total of nine credits.; Topics within history of Judaism such as reform and tradition in modern Judaism, theological responses to the Holocaust, the Sabbath and sacred time, Hasidism, and the emotions and senses in Judaism.
RELIGION 478 / HJCS 477 / JUDAIC 478. Modern Jewish Thought.: (3). (Excl).; Topics within history of modern Judaism, such as reform and tradition in modern Judaism, theological responses to the Holocaust, modern Jewish philosophy.
RELIGION 480 / BUDDHST 480 / ASIAN 480 / PHIL 457. Topics in Buddhism.: Religion 230. (3). (Excl).; This course covers selected topics in the history of Buddhist ideas. The class combines lectures and discussions on a number of primary sources ("Buddhist Texts") in English translation. Buddhist doctrines are approached from several points of view, using primarily, but not exclusively, the conceptualizations of classical Buddhist systems.
RELIGION 481 / ENGLISH 401. The English Bible: Its Literary Aspects and Influences, I.: (4; 3 in the half-term). (Excl).; This course studies meaning and the literary genres and histories of the Old and New Testaments.
RELIGION 496 / AAPTIS 495 / HISTORY 546 / WOMENSTD 471. Gender and Politics in Early Modern Islam.: Students should preferably have had one course in Islamic Studies. (3). (Excl).; An introduction to Muslim understandings of gender and gender relations, first, through a study of those sacred texts (Qur'an & Hadith) that came to define the ideal woman and man, as well as their roles and relationships. Then, gender participation in the political and cultural life of the Safavi, Ottoman and Mughal Courts shall be explored to view the interplay between theory and practice.

Graduate Course Listings for RELIGION.

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