
Fall 2023 Religious Studies Courses
Electives & General Education
Leadership Ethics: Early China (RELG 205, FSLT)
TR 12:00–1:15 (01); 1:30–2:45 (02)
Jane Geaney
Two questions lie at the heart of classical Chinese texts: how to live and how to lead. This course explores moral visions of life and leadership composed in China two millennia ago and still influencing China’s leaders today—from the uniquely Chinese “Non-Action” method to Chinese Virtue Ethics, Consequentialism, and Divine Command Theory. Topics include Confucian, Daoist, Legalist, and Mohist treatment of Heaven’s Mandate and the ancestral Dao, as well as Sunzi’s Art of War, and contemporary Chinese Social Justice Leadership and Transformational Leadership.
Introduction to Hebrew Bible (RELG 210)
MW 12:00-1:15 (01); 1:30-2:45 (02)
Rhiannon Graybill
In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood calls the Bible an “incendiary device.” In this class, we will explore what it means to read the dangerous, fascinating, and beautiful book known as the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Our emphasis will be on the literary and historical interpretation of biblical texts, but we will also explore other methods, including archaeology, myth and folklore criticism, and feminist and queer criticism. We will also study the sociocultural world of the Bible, the composition and canonization of texts, and problems of interpretation. Key texts will include the Genesis creation stories, the Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, the patriarchs and matriarchs, slavery and exodus from Egypt, the promise of the “Promised Land,” the rise and fall of King David, the suffering of Job, and the poetry of the Song of Songs.
Islam and Film (RELG 215, FSVP, GSCP)
MW 9:00–10:15
Mimi Hanaoka
How have Islam and Muslims been depicted and represented in documentaries and films? This course explores Islam through documentaries and films, and the approach of this course is thematic, using three primary themes to guide our exploration: ritual, gender, and race. We will ask these sorts of questions: What is the role of ritual in Islam? How have Islam and Muslims been represented in
cinema in terms of ritual, gender, and race? What are the historical contexts that have framed these understandings of ritual, gender, and race in Islam?
Introduction to New Testament (RELG 241, FSHT)
TR 12:00–1:15 (01); 1:30–2:45 (02)
Stephanie Cobb
CRIMINAL! LIAR!
What does it mean to worship a man who was summarily executed as a political insurgent by the Roman government?
Why would anyone devote themselves to a dead man?
Introduction to New Testament investigates these questions and more through a study of the earliest Christian literature—the literature that makes the first claims about what it means to be a follower of a crucified criminal. The New Testament is not just a set of religious texts, it also contains political critiques about power, authority, justice, and society. This course highlights the political nature of these texts in their original historical, social, and cultural context within the Roman empire. It also explores ways these texts have informed political debates in U.S. history.
Religious Studies
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RELG 103 INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM
Units: 1
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RELG 105 NINETY-NINE NAMES OF GOD
Units: 1
DescriptionA historical approach to the foundational concepts, events, and texts in the Islamic tradition, paying particular attention to the Quran and hadith. The Quran is the Muslim scripture and the hadith are accounts of what the prophet Muhammad said or did. Muhammad described God as having ninety-nine names, and this course explores how these names have been interpreted through reference to the Quran and the corpus of hadith material.
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RELG 200 SYMBOL, MYTH & RITUAL
Units: 1
DescriptionIntroduction to study of religion including, but not limited to, social scientific approaches, focusing on symbols, myths, and rituals as constitutive features of individual and communal religious thought and practice.
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RELG 200U PATTERNS OF RELIGION
Units: 3
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RELG 201 THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE
Units: 1
DescriptionA non-confessional study of the diverse genres of Biblical literature, viewing passages in historical context to understand the multiple layers of the intended message: period about which written, the time of the writer, and the time of the recipient. Within Biblical exegesis, primary emphasis is given to literary and historical criticism.
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RELG 205 RELIGION AND LITERATURE
Units: 1
DescriptionReligious beliefs, practices, and institutions as expressed in literature of various traditions. May be repeated when topics change.
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RELG 210 RELIGION AND HISTORY
Units: 1
DescriptionInvestigation of the nature and limits of historical inquiry through selected historical topics, periods, and religious traditions. May be repeated when topics change.
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RELG 215 RELIGION AND THE ARTS
Units: 1
DescriptionInteractions of religious beliefs and practices with the visual and performing arts in selected traditions. May be repeated when topics change.
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RELG 230 THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL
Units: 1
DescriptionIsrael's historical development through collaborative study of Israel's ideas and institutions within context of Ancient Near East.
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RELG 240 LOST CHRISTIANITIES
Units: 1
DescriptionExplores the varieties of Christianity that co-existed from Jesus' death in the middle of the first century through the end of the second century. Included in these are Jewish-Christians, Marcionites, Montanists, and Gnostics. A variety of primary texts in translation will be read to understand better the struggle between forms of early Christianity and the way that one form became dominant and, thus, "orthodox."
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RELG 241 INTRODUCTION TO NEW TESTAMENT
Units: 1
DescriptionSurvey of history of early Christianity, from Jesus and his religious background to the third century C.E. Focus on primary texts: New Testament and other early Christian literature.
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RELG 242 JESUS IN HISTORY & TRADITION
Units: 1
DescriptionInvestigates diversity of historical sources for Jesus. Detailed attention to selected ancient documents and modern interpretations.
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RELG 244 SEX/FAMILY GREEK/ROMAN WORLDS
Units: 1
DescriptionExplores intersections of gender, ethnicity, and class in selected religions, with emphasis on theoretical and empirical approaches.
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RELG 250 INTRO TO WORLD RELIGIONS
Units: 1
DescriptionSurvey of major beliefs, practices, symbols, and sacred texts in selected religious traditions.
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RELG 251 SACRED ARTS OF INDIA
Units: 1
DescriptionIntroduction to Indian religions focusing on artistic expressions, roles of yoga and meditation in creativity, and use of images to experience the divine.
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RELG 253 BODY/SEX IN WORLD RELIG LIT
Units: 1
DescriptionExploration of theoretical ideas about body and sexuality in world religious literature focusing on connection between sexuality and construction of identity in various religious perspectives.
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RELG 255 QUEERS IN RELIGION
Units: 1
DescriptionIntroduces the intersections of queerness and religion – ranging from religious homophobia to queer religiosity – in several global religions. Emphasis on fundamental questions of textual interpretation.
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RELG 257 NATIVE AMERICAN RELIGIONS
Units: 1
DescriptionSurvey of selected themes in Native American religious history from prehistory through the new millennium. Will investigate development of complex religious traditions among the mound builder cultures of the southeast; rituals of trade, healing, and warfare among the Algonquian and Iroquoian peoples of the northeast; the emergence of native prophets and visionaries who employed religious doctrine and ritual in support of military actions against invading American settlers; and Black Elk and Lakota Catholicism. Concludes with topical discussion of religious challenges facing Indian communities today, including the controversial use of the narcotic peyote in the Native American Church, debates over the status of Indian burial remains and sacred space, and the appropriation of indigenous spirituality by New Age gurus and environmentalists.
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RELG 258 RELIGION & MEDIEVAL IMAGINATN
Units: 1
DescriptionIntroduces ideas and institutions of the Latin west, from Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) to Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274). Topics may include faith and reason, the sacraments, pilgrimage, and the ethics of sex, war, and death..
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RELG 262 SACRED ARTS OF NATIVE AMERICA
Units: 1
DescriptionIntroduction to a variety of sacred arts of Native America and religious roles that visual and performing arts serve in Amerindian settings. Students will gain conversance with a range of artistic techniques, materials, and objects and their cultural meanings.
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RELG 263 RELIGION AND THE ARTS
Units: 1
DescriptionInteractions of religious beliefs and practices with the visual and performing arts in selected traditions. May be repeated when topics change.
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RELG 267 VARIETIES OF CHRISTIAN ETHICS
Units: 1
DescriptionHistorical and contemporary approaches to ethics in the Christian traditions. Authors discussed may include Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, and contemporary thinkers on war, abortion, and sexuality.
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RELG 269 ETHICS/RELG & THE ENVIRONMNT
Units: 1
DescriptionMoral and religious issues that attend our life in and interaction with the environment. Through the detailed analysis of text and argument the course seeks to provide an overview of on-going issues and to foster the ability to read and assess arguments from a variety of positions.
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RELG 273 WITCHCRAFT & ITS INTERPRETERS
Units: 1
DescriptionInterdisciplinary exploration of witchcraft, popular magic, and demonic possession in early modern England and British North America based on original legal records and other primary sources. Special attention given to the Salem Witch-hunt and the historical methods employed by contemporary scholars.
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RELG 281 INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM
Units: 1
DescriptionIntroductory course on Islam that examines its development as a religious and social movement from its inception to the contemporary period. Focuses on understanding the historical processes that contributed to the development of Islam over time and in different regions. Traces the intellectual history, institutional evolution, and theological developments of Islam, placing these phenomena in their appropriate historical contexts. Approach is both chronological and topical.
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RELG 288 SAINTS & SINNERS IN MUSLIM LIT
Units: 1
DescriptionExplores the twin concepts of sainthood and sinfulness in Islamic thought and society from their early iterations to their later developments. Discusses how, when, and why the categories of Sunni, Shi'a, and Sufi developed in the Islamic tradition while introducing their relationships to concepts of sainthood and sinfulness. In the context of discussions about saints and sinners in the Islamic tradition, addresses Muslim understandings of God, humanity, and community and considers how these differ across time and place.
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RELG 293 SELECTED TOPICS
Units: 1
DescriptionSpecial course offered at introductory level when sufficient faculty or student interest exists in subject matter not covered in other religion courses. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
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RELG 294 SELECTED TOPICS
Units: 1
DescriptionSpecial course offered at introductory level when sufficient faculty or student interest exists in subject matter not covered in other religion courses. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
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RELG 301U THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE
Units: 3
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RELG 331 THE HEBREW PROPHETS
Units: 1
DescriptionStudy of prophecy which sets this phenomenon within its ancient near eastern context. Focuses on nature of prophecy and the individual prophets of pre-exilic, exilic, and post-exilic derivation, giving emphasis to the distinctive message of each era. Studies an exegesis of the Book of Amos, both to clarify Amos as a prophet and to give indication of an exegetical approach possible for each of the prophets.
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RELG 332 HEBREW AND CHRISTIAN WISDOM
Units: 1
DescriptionDevelopment of biblical wisdom literature. Pre-biblical, Hebrew, and Christian wisdom selections.
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RELG 342 REVELATION/APOCALYPTIC IMAGNTN
Units: 1
DescriptionLiterary analysis of a text ascribed to John of Patmos, the Book of Revelation. The apocalyptic revelation that is said to have been received by John describes Christian expectations of the end of the world as we know it, but John's is not the only ancient apocalypse; thus, the course will also situate John's text in light of other developments in Christian apocalyptic literature. Centers on genre analysis and interpretation of apocalyptic imagery and symbolism with some attention to modern, cinematic employment of apocalyptic thought.
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RELG 345 CHRSTNTY & SLVRY,ANC & MOD
Units: 1
DescriptionConsiders the impact of slaveholding culture on Christian thought and practice both in antiquity and in the Americas; also analyzes the circumstances under which individual Christians and church communities accommodated, reformed, resisted, and rejected slaveholding practices.
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RELG 347 WOMEN IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY
Units: 1
DescriptionExamines the representations of women in early Christianity, focusing primarily on the first four centuries of Christian history, with particular attention given to the problems of using ancient sources to determine social practice. Introduction to constructions of sex and gender in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy and medical literature, the role of women in contemporaneous pagan and Jewish cultures, and intra-Christian conflicts involving the role of women, in particular, martyrdom, orthodoxy and heresy, and asceticism.
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RELG 350 THE DAO OF SEX
Units: 1
DescriptionFor over two thousand years, Chinese culture has developed the "art of the bedchamber" -- techniques for fostering health, longevity, and fulfillment through sexual intercourse. This course explores that tradition with a focus on the period of its origins in Early China and on the implications of its underlying conceptions of human personhood.
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RELG 352 BUDDHISM IN INDIA & TIBET
Units: 1
DescriptionSurvey of major historical movements, philosophical developments, and cultural expressions in India and Tibet.
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RELG 355 SELECTED ASIAN RELIGIONS
Units: 1
DescriptionIntensive study of one of the following religious traditions: Daoism, Confucianism, or Zen.
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RELG 358 TOPICS/AMER RELIG TRADITIONS
Units: 1
DescriptionFocused study of a selected topic in American religious history such as the Great Awakening, Indians and missionaries, religious autobiography, or the frontier. Seminar format emphasizing the analysis of primary sources and related methodological issues. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
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RELG 359 AMERICAN JUDAISM
Units: 1
DescriptionEmphasis on role of Jewish people beginning with their entrance into New Amsterdam in 1654; major immigration periods and precipitating factors; emergence of anti-Jewish reactions; and some contributions of Jews.
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RELG 366 BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY
Units: 1
DescriptionMajor Buddhist philosophical developments, beginning in India and culminating in contemporary Zen philosophy.
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RELG 367 TOPICS/WEST RELIGIOUS THOUGHT
Units: 1
DescriptionSelected issues and figures in Western Religious Thought, such as Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, 12th Century Renaissance, Religion and the Sciences, and Medieval Religious Orders. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
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RELG 369 PROBLEMS IN SOCIAL ETHICS
Units: 1
DescriptionSelected issues of social concern as addressed by various religious traditions in contemporary context. Such topics as sexuality, war, abortion, euthanasia, and environmentalism. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
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RELG 370 LEADERSHIP & RELIGIOUS VALUES
Units: 1
Description(See Leadership 387.)
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RELG 374 RELIGION & AMERICAN ENVIRONMEN
Units: 1
DescriptionAdvanced seminar course exploring representations of the natural world in American cultural history from the era of contact through the nineteenth century. Readings consist of primary sources--landscape paintings, novels, philosophical treatises, poems, sermons, and travel literature--as well as secondary studies of these works by leading scholars in the fields of Anthropology, Art History, Environmental History, Intellectual/Cultural History, Literature, and Religious Studies. Topics covered may include Native American environmental practices, Puritanism and the concept of "wilderness," the place of nature in early American travel narratives and novels, the Hudson River School of landscape painters, and American Transcendentalism.
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RELG 375 CULTS/COMMUNES/UTOP/EARLY AMER
Units: 1
DescriptionAdvanced study of early American sectarian movements, including the 'immortalists' of New England, the Ephrata Cloister, the Mormons, the Shakers, and the Oneida Community, based on their original writings, literature, music, art, and architecture. Participants design and execute a research project based on Boatwright Library's extensive collection of Shaker manuscripts.
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RELG 385 SUFISM:INTRO TO ISLAM MYSTICSM
Units: 1
DescriptionExplores the origins and development of mystical thought within Islamic religious and intellectual history and places these developments in their appropriate historical and social contexts.
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RELG 388 INDIVIDUAL INTERNSHIP
Units: 0.5-1
DescriptionApplication of academic skills and theories in placement supervised by religious studies department faculty member. Application must be presented to and approved by the department prior to internship. No more than 1.5 units of internship in any one department and 3.5 units of internship overall may be counted toward required degree units.
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RELG 393 SELECTED TOPICS
Units: 1
DescriptionSpecial course offered when sufficient student interest exists in subject matter not covered in other religious studies courses. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
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RELG 394 SELECTED TOPICS
Units: 1
DescriptionSpecial course offered when sufficient student interest exists in subject matter not covered in other religious studies courses. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
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RELG 395 INDEPENDENT STUDY
Units: 0.25-1
DescriptionSpecialized study to provide maximum freedom in research and investigation.
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RELG 396 INDEPENDENT STUDY
Units: 0.25-1
DescriptionSpecialized study to provide maximum freedom in research and investigation.
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RELG 398U SELECTED TOPICS
Units: 3
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RELG 399U INDEPENDENT STUDY IN RELGION
Units: 1-3
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RELG 403 HONORS COURSE
Units: 1
DescriptionGuided, in-depth research, usually beginning in the fall of the senior year and culminating in the oral defense of the honors thesis in the spring, for those accepted in the department honors program. The honors thesis constitutes the senior paper. Those planning to complete coursework in December must make arrangements to complete the honors program in or before the fall of the senior year.
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RELG 404 HONORS COURSE
Units: 1
DescriptionGuided, in-depth research, usually beginning in the fall of the senior year and culminating in the oral defense of the honors thesis in the spring, for those accepted in the department honors program. The honors thesis constitutes the senior paper. Those planning to complete coursework in December must make arrangements to complete the honors program in or before the fall of the senior year.
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RELG 406 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Units: 0
DescriptionDocumentation of the work of students who receive summer fellowships to conduct research [or produce a creative arts project] in the summer. The work must take place over a minimum of 6 weeks, the student must engage in the project full-time (at least 40 hours per week) during this period, and the student must be the recipient of a fellowship through the university. Graded S/U.
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RELG 501U THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE
Units: 3
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RELG 598U SELECTED TOPICS
Units: 3
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RELG 599U INDEPENDENT STUDY
Units: 1-6
Description