Religion
The study of religion, in the context of a liberal arts education, draws upon multiple disciplines in the humanities and the social sciences. This is reflected in the variety of courses offered within the department: some introduce a religious tradition and trace its development historically; others examine in a cross-cultural context the issues faced by various religious communities and individuals; and still others explore and compare diverse theories and methods employed in the study of religions. The department is concerned with traditional and contemporary forms of both major and more marginal religions, and with both "elite" and "popular" forms of religious expression. We examine the existential, intellectual, and social problems to which religions respond, and probe the dynamic and often ambiguous relationship between religious beliefs and practices and the social order in which they are embedded. Throughout the curriculum, religion is approached as a significant and pervasive expression of human culture, both in the past and the present.
Requirements for a Major
Sixty-nine credits in the department, of which no more than twelve from outside the department (either non department off-campus studies or outside department).
Required courses:
RELG 110 Understanding Religion, taken by the end of fall of the junior year
RELG 300 Theories and Methods in the Study of Religion, winter term of the junior year
RELG 399 Senior Research Seminar, winter term of the senior year
RELG 400 Integrative Exercise 3 credits, spring term of the senior year
12 credits of 300-level seminars other than 300 and 399
Breadth
Two 100-level survey courses numbered between 120-170
Depth
a. Traditions: twelve or more credits corresponding to one of the following traditions:
Buddhist Traditions
Christian Traditions
Hindu Traditions
Islamic Traditions
Jewish Traditions
Traditions in the Americas
b. Themes: eighteen or more credits corresponding to one of the following themes:
Religious Thought and Philosophy
Ethics, Law, and Politics
Lived Religion and Culture
Religion and Social Power: Gender, Race, Ethnicity, Colonialism
Religion Courses
RELG 100 Re-Imagining God In this class we explore how religious thinkers have interrogated and re-imagined the concept "God" in response to a range of modern intellectual, political, and cultural challenges to traditional faith. Focusing particularly on contemporary (post-WWII) contexts, we consider the ways in which questions related to secularization, social justice, oppression, and religious pluralism have prompted theologians to re-define the very meaning of the word "God" and the nature of God's power, agency, and relation to human communities. As we encounter these conceptions of God, we examine and assess the definitions of power, truth, and human fulfillment that undergird them. 6 credits; AI, WR1; Fall; Lori K Pearson
RELG 100 Religion and the American Landscape The American landscape has shaped and has been shaped by the religious imaginations, beliefs, and practices of diverse inhabitants. This course explores the variety of ways of imagining relationships between land, community, and the sacred, and how religious traditions have been inscribed on land itself. Indigenous and Latino/a traditions will be considered, as will Euro-American traditions ranging from Puritans, Mormons, immigrant farmers, utopian communities, and Deep Ecologists. 6 credits; AI, WR1, IDS; Fall; Michael D McNally
RELG 100 Religion, Law, Religious Law In the United States, law has a unique burden in regards to religion, insuring that government neither interferes in the religious expression of its populace nor favors one religious tradition over another. Yet, given that law and religion often stake out the same territory--from how we raise our children to how we run our businesses--such an agenda is never as easy as it might seem. In many parts of the Islamic world, on the other hand, activist movements are seeking to transform shari'a (God's will) into state law. Here too, ideals are troubled by realities, as complex religious systems are shoehorned into rigid legal frameworks. This course will explore the intersections of religion and law in these two distinct contexts, looking at how religion and law come to shape one another and why their intersection is often at the center of key contemporary conflicts, both domestic and international. 6 credits; AI, WR1, IS; Fall; Noah Salomon
RELG 110 Understanding Religion How can we best understand the role of religion in the world today, and how should we interpret the meaning of religious traditions--their texts and practices--in history and culture? This class takes an exciting tour through selected themes and puzzles related to the fascinating and diverse expressions of religion throughout the world. From politics and pop culture, to religious philosophies and spiritual practices, to rituals, scriptures, gender, religious authority, and more, students will explore how these issues emerge in a variety of religions, places, and historical moments in the U.S. and across the globe. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IDS; Fall, Winter, Spring; Kristin C Bloomer, Asuka Sango, Michael D McNally
RELG 120 Introduction to Judaism How does a religious tradition evolve over time? This course provides an overview of the Judaic tradition as a whole, exploring its history, modes of expression, and characteristic polarities as they have emerged in various times and places. The contours of classical Jewish life and thought are explored, as well as the crises, challenges, and choices confronting Jews and Judaism today. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Spring; Shana L Sippy
RELG 121 Introduction to Christianity This course will trace the history of Christianity from its origins in the villages of Palestine, to its emergence as the official religion of the Roman Empire, and through its evolution and expansion as the world's largest religion. The course will focus on events, persons, and ideas that have had the greatest impact on the history of Christianity, and examine how this tradition has evolved in different ways in response to different needs, cultures, and tensions--political and otherwise--around the world. This is an introductory course. No familiarity with the Bible, Christianity, or the academic study of religion is presupposed. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Spring; Kristin C Bloomer
RELG 122 Introduction to Islam This course provides a general introduction to Islam, as a textual and lived tradition. Students will read from the Qur'an and the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, engaging them both as historical resources and as dynamic and contested objects that have informed Muslim life in diverse ways throughout the centuries. Through following a thread from scripture, through the interpretive sciences (chiefly law and theology), and into an analysis of Muslim life in the contemporary world, students will explore answers Muslim thinkers have given to major questions of our shared existence, with both fidelity to the texts and flexibility to present demands. Though the focus of this course is not on Islam's role in current events, through attaining a solid introduction to the tradition--its sociology, its history, and its modes of reasoning--students will attain the knowledge necessary to begin to engage those events with a critical and informed mind. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Winter; Noah Salomon
RELG 123 The Qur'an What is the Qur'an? Different people give different answers to this question. Muslims can regard the Qur'an as the literal revealed word of God. At the same time, non-Muslims can find such a view difficult to grasp. This course introduces students to major themes of scholarly discussion on the textual, interpretive, and experiential dimensions of the Qur'an. We will also discuss traditional Muslim accounts and challenges posed by contemporary critical scholarship. Not offered 2015-16
RELG 130 Native American Religions This course explores the history and contemporary practice of Native American religious traditions, especially as they have developed amid colonization and resistance. While surveying a broad variety of ways that Native American traditions imagine land, community, and the sacred, the course focuses on the local traditions of the Ojibwe and Lakota communities. Materials include traditional beliefs and practices, the history of missions, intertribal new religious movements, and contemporary issues of treaty rights, religious freedom, and the revitalization of language and culture. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IDS; Winter; Michael D McNally
RELG 140 Religion and American Culture This course explores the colorful, contested history of religion in American culture. While surveying the main contours of religion in the United States from the colonial era to the present, the course concentrates on a series of historical moments that reveal tensions between a quest for a (Protestant) American consensus and an abiding religious and cultural pluralism. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IDS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 150 Religions of South Asia A survey of the origins and classical development of the major religious traditions of the Indian subcontinent. Primary attention will be given to the Hindu and Buddhist communities, but Islam and the Jain and Sikh traditions also are considered. Readings are drawn mainly from Indian sources in English translation. 6 credits; HI, IS, WR2; Spring; Kristin C Bloomer
RELG 151 Religions in Chinese Culture An introduction to the major religious traditions of China, from earliest times to the present. Combining thematic and historical approaches, this course will scrutinize both defining characteristics of, and interactions among, various religious traditions, including Buddhism, Daoism, and the Confucianism, as well as Christianity and new religious movements. We also will discuss issues crucial in the study of religion, such as the relation between religion and violence, gender, modernity, nationalism and war. 6 credits; HI, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 152 Religions in Japanese Culture An introduction to the major religious traditions of Japan, from earliest times to the present. Combining thematic and historical approaches, this course will scrutinize both defining characteristics of, and interactions among, various religious traditions, including worship of the kami (local deities), Buddhism, shamanistic practices, Christianity, and new religious movements. We also will discuss issues crucial in the study of religion, such as the relation between religion and violence, gender, modernity, nationalism and war. 6 credits; HI, IS, WR2, QRE; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 153 Introduction to Buddhism This course offers a survey of Buddhism from its inception in India some 2500 years ago to the present. We first address fundamental Buddhist ideas and practices, then their elaboration in the Mahayana and tantric movements, which emerged in the first millennium CE in India. We also consider the diffusion of Buddhism throughout Asia and to the West. Attention will be given to both continuity and diversity within Buddhism--to its commonalities and transformations in specific historical and cultural settings. We also will address philosophical, social, political, and ethical problems that are debated among Buddhists and scholars of Buddhism today. 6 credits; HI, IS, WR2; Winter; Asuka Sango
RELG 155 Religions of Southeast Asia This course explores the extraordinary color and diversity of religion as it is practiced and understood in Southeast Asia, with special reference to indigenous, Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, and Christian traditions. Beginning with an overview of the historical development and contemporary practice of Southeast Asian religions, the course examines how religious traditions have influenced, and been influenced by, the varied social, political, and cultural contexts and local traditions of Southeast Asia. Not offered 2015-16
RELG 161 The Jewish Bible This course explores the text known to scholars as the "Hebrew Bible," to Jews as the "Tanakh," and to Christians as the "Old Testament." Composed, compiled, and redacted over a millennium, the Bible is a remarkably complex document that affords its readers the opportunity to ruminate on questions of divinity and humanity, judgment and redemption, slavery and bondage, history and memory, life and death. Through examining the contents and historical contexts of the Bible's constituent parts, we will gain insight into how ancient and modern writers, readers, and thinkers dealt with these same questions. Requires no previous knowledge and will use sources in translation. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 162 Jesus, the Bible, and Christian Beginnings Who was Jesus? What’s in the Bible? How did Christianity begin? This course is an introduction to the ancient Jewish texts that became the Christian New Testament, as well as other texts that did not make it into the Bible. We will take a historical approach, situating this literature within the Roman Empire of the first century, and we will also learn about how modern readers have interpreted it. Along the way, we will pay special attention to two topics of enduring political debate: (1) Whether the Bible supports oppression or liberation and (2) What the Bible says about gender and sexuality. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 210 Prophecy and Social Criticism in America In this course we examine the religious and philosophical roots of prophecy as a form of social criticism in American intellectual and religious history. We pay particular attention to a mode of public exhortation central to African American social criticism that emphasizes spiritual renewal called the Afro-American Jeremiad. Interrogating this tradition, along with differing conceptions of social criticism, we raise numerous questions, such as: Is the Jeremiad tradition still a viable mode of prophetic exhortation? And, with much of contemporary (Black) Christianity's allegiance to capitalism, can the Jeremiad continue to play a prophetic socio-critical role today? This course counts as an African/African American interdisciplinary course. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IDS; Fall; Kevin A Wolfe
RELG 212 Televangelists and Cyber-Shaykhs: Explorations in Religion and Media Beyond the mystic ideal of approaching the divine without intermediary, all believers have encountered religious truth only by the use of certain material objects, certain media that act as tools to help the believer develop piety or communicate theological truth. This course is interested in these "in-betweens," these media, objects and material that religious people use to approach the divine, as well as the impact of new medias (electronic or otherwise) on the development of modern religiosity. Students will be asked to roll-up their sleeves and delve into primary source material gathered from internet, television, popular literature and material culture. 6 credits; SI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 215 Muslim Misfits: Islam and the Question of Orthodoxy "Islam began strange, and it will return to being strange in the same way as it began. So good tidings to the strange ones!" So goes a famous saying (hadith) attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, placing the virtue of nonconformity to social norms at the very heart of what it means be Muslim. Islam's beginnings as something strange and rebellious within the context of its polytheistic Arabian birthplace, and the virtue of truth over numbers more generally, is seen by many not only as a noble past from which Islam emerged, but its inevitable future as well. This course will examine several non-conformist movements throughout Islamic history. The movements will be discussed for their unique contributions to Islamic theology, practice and social life as well as in regards to what they tell us about the orthodoxies against which they came to rebel, all within the context of submission to a higher power and truth. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 221 Judaism and Gender How does gender shape the Jewish tradition, and how have Jewish historical moments, texts, and practices shaped Jewish notions of gender? Taking Judaism as a test case, this course will explore the relationship between historical circumstance, positionality, and the religious imaginary. We will examine the ways that Jewish gender and theology inform each other. We will see how gender was at play in Jewish negotiations of economic and social class, racial and ethnic status, even citizenship. Following the threads of practice and narrative, we will think about how intersectional gender has shaped the stories Jews tell, and the stories that are told about them. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IDS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 225 Losing My Religion What happens when religion loses its plausibility--whether because of its lack of intellectual or moral credibility, or because it just doesn't make sense of highly ambiguous or deeply troubling or powerfully novel experiences? This course explores how modern Western theologians and philosophers have grappled with the loss of traditional religious beliefs and categories. What is the appropriate response to losing one's religion? It turns out that few abandon it altogether, but instead find new ways of naming the religious and the sacred, whether in relation to existential meaning, aesthetic experience, moral hope, prophetic insight, or passionate love. 6 credits; HI, WR2; Fall; Lori K Pearson
RELG 226 Colonialism and Christianity in the Global South While the "Global North," a quarter of the world's population, has access to four fifths of its income, the "Global South" generally Africa, Latin America, and developing Asia--comprises three quarters of the world's population and has access to one fifth of its income. Christianity, long proclaiming the need to create the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, has nonetheless maintained a tight relationship to colonialism, power, empire, and the making of "modernity." This course will investigate the paradoxical ways that Christianity has been both complicit with and a source of liberation from colonial and post-colonial forces in the Global South. Not offered 2015-16
RELG 227 Liberation Theologies An introduction to liberationist thought, including black theology, Latin American liberation theology, and feminist theology through writings of various contemporary thinkers. Attention will be directed to theories of justice, power, and freedom. We will also examine the social settings out of which these thinkers have emerged, their critiques of "traditional" theologies, and the new vision of Christian life they have developed in recent decades. Previous study of Christianity is recommended but not required. 6 credits; HI, IDS, WR2; Winter; Lori K Pearson
RELG 229 Images of God: Art and the Christian Tradition This course explores Christianity's complex and shifting relationship to image-making, beauty and the arts across the centuries. We read Christian theologies and philosophies of art, analyze Christian works of art and visit churches to consider the role of art in worship. Topics include: the beauty of God and the ugliness of Christ, incarnation and the theology of matter, image vs. idol, iconoclasm, beauty as a path to God, Christianity and censorship, art as co-creation with God, the artist as prophet. 6 credits; HI, WR2; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 230 Feminist Theologies How have feminist theologians attempted to understand and transform religious traditions they find both oppressive and liberating where justice for women is concerned? This course examines works by feminist scholars (from Christian and Jewish traditions) who have sought to re-think fundamental categories, symbols, questions, and methods related to the study of scripture, ethics, and theology. We explore the ways in which theologians from various cultural backgrounds have worked toward women's empowerment through critiques of sexism, racism, and colonialism, and through feminist models of community, identity, and justice. Topics include: gender and biblical interpretation, God-language, redemption, sexual ethics, and ecofeminism. 6 credits; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 231 From Luther to Kierkegaard Martin Luther and the Reformation have often been understood as crucial factors in the rise of "modernity." Yet, the Reformation was also a medieval event, and Luther was certainly a product of the late Middle Ages. This class focuses on the theology of the Protestant Reformation, and traces its legacy in the modern world. We read Luther, Calvin, and Anabaptists, exploring debates over politics, church authority, scripture, faith, and salvation. We then trace the appropriation of these ideas by modern thinkers, who draw upon the perceived individualism of the Reformers in their interpretations of religious experience, despair, freedom, and secularization. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 232 God and Desire This course explores the messy entanglements of desire for God and desire for earthly things, erotic relationships with the divine and those among human beings. We begin with Plato's conception of Eros, and then trace its disavowal and/or appropriation in the history of Christian thought and its reemergence in modern and postmodern Western thought, especially that informed by psychoanalysis. We explore the ways that the Christian ascetic and mystical traditions and psychoanalysis are allied discourses inasmuch as they are means of discerning and relating to the desires of the heart. 6 credits; HI, WR2; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 233 Saints, Goddesses, and Whores: Sex and Gender in Hinduism and Christianity Across cultures and religious traditions, women have been portrayed as "good women" or "bad women" -- saints, goddesses, and/or whores -- in a plethora of texts, myths, and lived religious practices, as well as in daily, quotidian life. This course will consider expressions of Christianity and Hinduism in regard to this phenomenon across a variety of historical and geographic contexts around the globe. We will analyze relationships between varied, specific, portrayals of women, men, and androgynes in religious myth and ritual; and the relationships, if any, between such categories and people's lived practices and realities in daily life. Not offered 2015-16
RELG 235 Be a Man: Masculinity and Christianity From action figures to images of Jesus, masculinities are ever-present if seldom acknowledged. This course explores the changing conceptions of masculinity in Christianity and the West in relation to issues of gender and sexuality, and in debates around God, morality, and family. We consider recurring tropes in Christian and Western conceptions of masculinity, but pay particular attention to images of suffering male bodies--from the crucified Christ to Robert Mapplethorpe's photographs. How do such images reinforce notions of male "toughness" and how do they reveal the vulnerability of male bodies and the agency-perhaps the redemptive power-of such vulnerability? 6 credits; HI, WR2, IDS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 238 The Sacred Body The human body has been a focus of reflection throughout history and across traditions. This course will draw particularly on Hawaiian, South Indian, Native American, Euro-American-Christian, and ecological approaches to "the sacred body," from ancient to contemporary times. We will explore numerous ways of cultivating, imagining, representing, disciplining, inhabiting, and adorning the body--in daily life and in religious fields. Theoretically, we will consider the body in relation to gender, subjectivity, personhood, and performativity. We will also enjoy "live" visits ranging from a male Hawaiian hula halau (hula school), to a yoga teacher, and educational excursions in the Arb. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IDS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 239 Religion and the American Landscape The American landscape is rich in sacred places. The religious imaginations, practices, and beliefs of its diverse inhabitants have shaped that landscape and been shaped by it. This course explores ways of imagining relationships between land, community, and the sacred, the mapping of religious traditions onto American land and cityscapes, and theories of sacred space and spatial practices. Topics include religious place-making practices of Indigenous, Latinx, and African Americans, as well as those of Euro-American communities from Puritans, Mormons, immigrant farmers. Not offered 2015-16
RELG 243 Native American Religious Freedom This course explores historical and legal contexts in which Native Americans have practiced their religions in the United States. Making reference to the cultural background of Native traditions, and the history of First Amendment law, the course explores landmark court cases in Sacred Lands, Peyotism, free exercise in prisons, and sacralized traditional practices (whaling, fishing, hunting) and critically examines the conceptual framework of "religion" as it has been applied to the practice of Native American traditions. Service projects will integrate academic learning and student involvement in matters of particular concern to contemporary native communities. 6 credits; HI, IDS; Fall; Michael D McNally
RELG 244 Hip Hop, Reggae, and Religion: Music and the Religion-Political Imagination of the Black Atlantic Hip-hop and reggae are among the world's most popular musical art forms. While contextualizing the emergence of these cultural formations, students will interrogate the dynamic relationships between them and the religio-political imagination of the Black Atlantic. The course will pay particular attention to the ways that the various cultures of hip-hop and reggae offer critique to Christianity and contemporary arrangements of power. Listening to the religio-political perspectives expressed in these cultural formations students will question whether or not the music provides a prophetic challenge to the status quo of our political and economic arrangements. Giving attention to the music, from Otis Redding to Vybz Kartel, we will contextualize it with an interest in understanding how it (if it) reflects a unique political imagination. Weekly, we will encounter material from a number of genres as we theorize the music. Assignments will include presentations, a music review, and two papers. 6 credits; HI, IDS, WR2; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 245 Buddha Buddha, "the awakened," is the ideal being--and state of being--in all Buddhist traditions. This course will explore the contours of the Buddha-ideal as revealed in legendary narratives, devotional poems, ritual texts, visionary accounts, philosophical treatises, meditation manuals, and artistic representations. We will draw primarily on classical South Asian and Tibetan sources from the Theravada, Mahayana, and Tantric traditions, but also will consider East Asian (e.g., Pure Land and Zen) conceptions of Buddha and modern reinterpretations of the idea. In addition, we will compare Buddha with the "ideal being" of other traditions, e.g., Brahman, the Dao, and God. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 250 Buddhism and Ecology Both environmental scholars and activists have been vigorously discussing the role that religion plays in shaping our attitudes towards the environment. In this course, we carry on this conversation through a unique vantage point, Buddhism. Western environmentalists often assume Buddhism to be "eco-friendly." Together, we will critically rethink this benign image, exploring the parallels and the divergences between Buddhism and ecological practice, as well as the problems and the prospects of Buddhist environmentalism. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 253 Tibetan Buddhism Against a background of the essential ideas and practices of Mainstream and Mahayana Buddhism, this course examines the development within Mahayana of the esoteric traditions of Tantra, and then traces the rise and development of the complex, Tantra-dominated Buddhism of Tibet. Topics include the role of the lama, ideas about death and reincarnation, tantric meditative practices, debates about such doctrines as emptiness and skillful means, the place of women, and the history of the Dalai Lamas. Religion 150 is recommended but not required. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 254 Zen Buddhism An exploration of the "meditation" school of East Asian Buddhism. We will trace Zen back to its purported origins in India, through its development in China, while focusing on its history in Japan. In addition to its philosophy and practice, we will study its influence on various aspects of Japanese culture--ink painting, calligraphy, Noh theater, tea ceremony, samurai ethics, and martial arts. We will also consider Zen's participation in Japan's nationalism and wartime aggression as well as its place in America, where it has influenced art, literature, and religion for over a century. 6 credits; HI, IS, WR2; Spring; Peter N Gregory
RELG 255 Social Engagement in Asian Religions This course explores religions in contemporary Asia while focusing on their energetic engagement with social and political issues and crises. In Vietnam, Burma, and Tibet, for example, Buddhists famously protested against war and violence by quietly marching, fasting, or immolating themselves. Yet in Japan and China, many religious groups are criticized for having justified imperialism, engaged in terrorist activities, or become mere money-making machines. Can religions serve as a vehicle of social and political activism? Do they potentially change or passively maintain the status quo? We will critically examine both examples and counter-examples of social engagement in Asian religions. 6 credits; HI, IS, WR2; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 256 Modern Hinduism: Encounters with the West A controversial statement: "Modern Hinduism was defined in engagement with Western discourses of 'religion.'" This course will begin with the ideas of such prominent Hindu thinkers as Rammohan Ray, Vivekananda, Savarkar, and Gandhi, looking to a range of historical and critical materials to ground their voices in the experience of colonialism. We'll move on to consider contemporary contexts: strains of Indian nationalism; migration and the growth of diasporic Hindu communities overseas; conversion and the transnational spread of modern guru movements; consumerism and globalization. Throughout we'll remain mindful of the question: Why is the theme of this class controversial? 6 credits; HI, IS, WR2; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 257 Shariá Shariá, or Islamic law, has played a vital role in the conduct of Muslims throughout time. What does it mean for modern Muslims in various political and cultural contexts to live their lives according to shariá? What does it mean that shariá is said to be divine law? To what extent can it adapt to modern realities? This course critically examines the relationship between Islamic law and Muslim life. Building a solid foundation in the substantive teachings of shariá which include ritual law, family law, criminal law, and constitutional law, the course explores major issues of Islamic legal discourse in modern times. Not offered 2015-16
RELG 258 Issues in Japanese Religions and Ecology This is a two-credit course that meets once a week for seventy minutes to explore issues in Japanese religion and ecology including: the views of nature in Miyazaki Hayao's animation such as "Princess Mononoke;" the images of Buddhism and nature in Miyazawa Kenji's children's literature; Kurosawa Kiyoshi's cinematic exploration of the issue of invasive species, "Charisma;" the philosophical debate concerning the "enlightenment of plants and trees" by medieval Buddhists; and the practice of infanticide in early modern Japan. It is strongly recommended but not required to simultaneously enroll in Religion 152: Religions in Japanese Culture. 2 credits; HI, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 259 Gandhi Mohandas Gandhi was among the most controversial and influential figures of the twentieth century. Whether as anti-colonial revolutionary, philosopher of non-violent resistance, proponent of social and religious tolerance, or reformer of Hindu traditions, he left a mark not only on India, but on the world at large. This course will seek to understand the complex relation among Gandhi's religious, social, and political stances. We will explore the religious and cultural sources of his ideas, the way they played out in real historical events, and the influence they have had, in India and elsewhere, in the six decades since his death. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 260 Tantra: Secrecy, Sex, and the Sublime This course focuses on the esoteric South Asian approach to religion commonly known as "Tantra." Inspired by revealed texts called tantras, medieval Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains developed a rich, complex approach to spiritual life that focused not on ascetic transcendence of the world but on utilizing and sublimating bodily and mental processes, including sex, violence, death, and the imagination. We will explore the ideology, rhetoric, praxis, and social consequences of Tantra in its original Indic setting, and its echoes in Tibet, elsewhere in Asia, and the modern West--where it has been a source of fascination, revulsion, and much misunderstanding. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 261 Hearing Islam This course explores the ways in which religion, Islam in particular, has been conceived and represented through sound. How does hearing or saying affect the practice of religion? What makes a particular sound religious, with regard to either its production or its experience? Topics will include the call to prayer, recitation of the Qur'an, genres of Islamic music from a wide range of historical and cultural contexts (such as ghazals--love poems set as songs --and Islamic rap, for example), sermons, and other audio artifacts. The course will draw on both reading and listening assignments. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 262 Islamic Africa This course rethinks how we understand Africa through attention to the role of Islam and Arabic culture in its past and present. In introducing these often-marginalized variables, this course will seek to unbind Africa from the restricted domains in which it is often studied and to address its important place as an agent within global history. Through a study of several distinct Muslim cultures, we will examine the Sahara, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, not as barriers, but as sites of creative, complex and often fraught exchange. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Winter; Noah Salomon
RELG 263 Sufism
From Rumi to the Whirling Dervishes, Islam’s Sufi mystical tradition has sparked the fascination of Western observers for many decades. Its music, its poetry, and its esoteric sciences have been embraced as part of global heritage. However where these colorful practices fit into the Islamic tradition is less well understood. This course will situate the Sufi tradition within Islam’s broader framework, tracing its development from an elite philosophical system to a mode of popular practice.
6 credits; HI, IS, WR2; Spring; Noah Salomon
RELG 264 Islamic Politics From the Islamic state to Islamic secularism, from progressivism to jihadism, this course examines a broad range of Islamic political thought and practice. Through exploring thinkers and movements both classical and modern who have shaped contemporary conversation, students will get beneath the headlines and come to a robust understanding of the role of Islam in modern politics across the globe. 6 credits; HI, IS, WR2; Spring; Noah Salomon
RELG 265 Religion and Violence: Hindus, Muslims, Jews Whether seen on TV screens or in history books, the horror of war, genocide, terrorism, communal violence, and land disputes often prompts the question: is religion the problem? Conversely, one may point to the peaceful aspirations and non-violent social movements that have been led by religious leaders, and motivated by religious philosophies and impulses and ask: can religion be the solution? This course will explore the complex, and sometimes paradoxical roles religious ideas, practices, communities, and leaders play in both the perpetuation and cessation of violence. Case studies will be drawn from Hindu, Muslim, and Jewish conflicts in recent history. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 266 Religion and the Senses Looking across a range of religious traditions, this course examines the modes of the human senses in relation to religious experience, drawing on both primary and secondary literature. We will ask such questions as: Are the senses acting as a means allowing for perception of the divine, or some kind of experience or contact? Are they a medium for self-discipline, in either a positive sense through the cultivation of a pious self, or negatively, through denial? Are the senses serving as a metaphor, and, if so, to what end? We will also interrogate the boundaries and relationships between senses. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 267 The Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (The Blessed Lord's Song) may not be the Hindu "Bible" (there is none), but it is now, as it has been for two millennia, one of the most beloved and influential of Indian texts, a rich source of reflection about metaphysics, theology, yoga, and ethics. This course will center on a close reading of the Gita, within its context in Indian religious thought and the epic of which it is a part, the Mahabharata. We also will explore modern interpretations of the Gita, by Indians like Tilak and Gandhi and by Western artists working in various media. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Fall; Roger R Jackson
RELG 270 Philosophy of Religion Does God exist? What is religious experience? How do people make meaning and find hope in the face of uncertainty and suffering? What does in it mean to be a self, and how do we live authentically? How do we imagine and create new worlds that are more just and expansive? This introductory course engages classic and contemporary sources in the philosophy of religion, and draws from multiple religious and cultural traditions, in order to explore religious perspectives on faith, reason, emotion, ethics, selfhood, justice, and salvation. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 274 Pessimism and the Affirmation of Existence In this course we will examine some of the cultural, intellectual, and religious transformations occurring in the nineteenth century that have given the turn of the twentieth century the reputation of being "the age of anxiety." We will engage Arthur Schopenhauer's philosophical pessimism, and wrestle with Friedrich Nietzsche's "affirmation of existence." Grappling with questions such as "Is life worth living?" and "If there is no God, is existence meaningless?" we will also turn to the U.S. context, looking at the ways some of the classical pragmatists contend with the specter of pessimism. 6 credits; HI, WR2; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 277 Buddhism and the Beats The development of a uniquely American Buddhism beginning in the late 1960s owes much to "Beat" writings in the 1950s. The cultural innovations of the Fifties reverberated in the social and political shifts of the sixties to give rise to an American Buddhist idiom that emphasized meditation, direct experience, community, socially engaged action, and concern with the environment. This course will explore representations of Buddhism in the works of such notable Beats as Kerouac, Ginsberg, Snyder, Whalen, and Watts and their influence on the counterculture and the various Buddhist communities (both imagined and institutional) that arose from the Sixties on. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IDS; Spring; Peter N Gregory
RELG 280 The Politics of Sex in Asian Religion This course will explore the intersection of religion, sex, and power, focusing on Asian religions. Key questions include: In what ways do religions normalize certain constructions of sex, gender, and sexuality while marking others deviant and unnatural? How do they teach us to perform (and sometimes to overcome) "masculinity" or "femininity"? We will probe these questions by studying both traditional and contemporary examples—such as abortion and reproductive politics in Buddhism, Confucian-influenced practice of foot-binding, Buddhist masculinities and male-love, sati (widow burning) and same-sex marriage in Hinduism, and the concept of a “third sex” in these traditions. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 281 Performing Tradition: Art, Religion, and Globalization Visit a museum and it is not uncommon to find--along side visual displays--exhibitions of "culture" in the form of performances. Building upon the idea that "art is a bridge to understanding," festivals, fairs, and classrooms have become venues for artists and religious leaders to bring the global local. Tracing the history of exhibiting cultures, beginning in the late nineteenth century, we will consider how religions and traditions are represented in different contexts with a range of political and social implications. We will also work with artists-in-residence to consider the role performance plays in constructions of rituals, religions and cultures. 6 credits; IS, HI, WR2; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 287 Many Marys The history of Christianity usually focuses on Jesus: the stories and doctrines that have revolved around him. This course will focus on Mary and the many ways she has contributed to the various lived traditions of Christianity. We will, for example, consider the mother of Jesus (Miriam, as she was first called) as she has figured in literature, art, apparition, and ritual practice around the world. We will also consider Mary Magdalene, her foil, who appears in popular discourse from the Gnostic gospels to The Da Vinci Code. Case studies, texts, images, and film will be our fare. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IDS; Winter; Kristin C Bloomer
RELG 289 Global Religions in Minnesota Somali Muslims in Rice County? Hindus in Maple Grove? Hmong shamans in St. Paul hospitals? Sun Dances in Pipestone? In light of globalization, the religious landscape of Minnesota, like America more broadly, has become more visibly diverse. Lake Wobegon stereotypes aside, Minnesota has always been characterized by some diversity but the realities of immigration, dispossession, dislocation, economics, and technology have made religious diversity more pressing in its implications for every arena of civic and cultural life. This course bridges theoretical knowledge with engaged field research focused on how Midwestern contexts shape global religious communities and how these communities challenge and transform Minnesota. 6 credits; HI, IDS, WR2; Spring; Shana L Sippy
RELG 300 Theories and Methods in the Study of Religion What, exactly, is religion and what conditions of modernity have made it urgent to articulate such a question in the first place? Why does religion exert such force in human society and history? Is it an opiate of the masses or an illusion laden with human wish-fulfillment? Is it a social glue? A subjective experience of the sacred? Is it simply a universalized Protestant Christianity in disguise, useful in understanding, and colonizing, the non-Christian world? This seminar, for junior majors and advanced majors from related fields, explores generative theories from anthropology, sociology, psychology, literary studies, and the history of religions. 6 credits; HI; Winter; Michael D McNally
RELG 325 Ritual, Transformation, Tradition Ritual connotes patterns and adherence to traditional pasts, and yet the workings of ritual often imply intentions to effect change, invoking the power of ritual transformation. In this, the study of ritual invokes central tensions animating the study of religion: continuity and change, social stability and transformation. This course explores "ritual" and "tradition" from a range of scholarly perspectives: theoretical; anthropological; textual; sociological; political; and psychological. Working at the level of the individual and communal, or the cosmic and political, we will consider the processes of ritual preservation and innovation. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IDS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 326 Religion and the Post-Colonial Imagination Two vexing questions: What is post-colonial thought? And: What is religion? These will guide us as we look at the literary and theoretical production that, we may find, expresses the post-colonial imagination. We will use our guiding questions as a way of exploring a variety of problems both raised by and manifested in these works, such as: the nature of identity; the question of nationalism; the writing of history; questions of class, gender, and race. The emphasis will be on close readings of these works which emerge from the crucible of the Third Worlds "encounter" with European and American colonialism. 6 credits; HI, IS; Winter; Kevin A Wolfe
RELG 329 Modernity and Tradition How do we define traditions if they change over time and are marked by internal conflict? Is there anything stable about a religious tradition—an essence, or a set of practices or beliefs that abide amidst diversity and mark it off from a surrounding culture or religion? How do people live out or re-invent their traditions in the modern world? In this seminar we explore questions about pluralism, identity, authority, and truth, and we examine the creative ways beliefs and practices change in relation to culture. We consider how traditions grapple with difference, especially regarding theology, ethics, law, and gender. 6 credits; HI, WR2; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 340 Contemporary Islamic Renewal This course will explore the intellectual origins and contemporary manifestations of movements of Islamic renewal. First, by reading the classical texts which undergird the theology and social action of revivalist trends while simultaneously examining how such texts attain new meaning in the present moment, we will problematize the oft-stated dichotomy between tradition and modernity. Next, through exploring ethnographic and sociological accounts of contemporary Islamic piety movements (of Sufi and Salafi varieties, and the unaffiliated) we will explore the relevance of religion to current debates about ethics, politics, gender, and the arts in the Islamic world and beyond. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 344 Lived Religion in America The practices of popular, or local, or lived religion in American culture often blur the distinction between the sacred and profane and elude religious studies frameworks based on the narrative, theological, or institutional foundations of "official" religion. This course explores American religion primarily through the lens of the practices of lived religion with respect to ritual, the body, the life cycle, the market, leisure, and popular culture. Consideration of a wide range of topics, including ritual healing, Christmas, cremation, and Elvis, will nourish an ongoing discussion about how to make sense of lived religion. 6 credits; HI, IDS, WR2; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 350 Emptiness An exploration of the central concept of Mahayana Buddhism, shunyata, translated as emptiness. We will trace prefigurations of emptiness in early Buddhism, then examine its classical expression in the Perfection of Wisdom sutras and the treatises of the Madhyamaka school, and its gnostic application in tantric traditions. Throughout, we will try to understand how the "emptiness factor" affects basic questions in Buddhist metaphysics, epistemology, meditation-theory, and ethics. Our primary focus will be on Indian and Tibetan texts, but we also will consider interpretations from East Asian and modern Buddhist writers, and reflect on emptiness vis á vis Western philosophies. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 362 Spirit Possession This course considers spirit possession in relation to religion, gender, and agency. Through surveying a number of works on spirit possession--recent and past, theoretical and ethnographic--we will analyze representations of the female subject in particular and arguments about agency that attend these representations. This class will explicitly look at post-colonial accounts of spirit possession and compare them to Euro-American Christian conceptions of personhood. We will consider how these Euro-Christian conceptions might undergird secular-liberal constructions of agency, and contribute to feminist ideas about the proper female subject. 6 credits; HI, WR2, IS; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 365 Mysticism Drawing from selected traditional texts and modern analyses, we will investigate the human encounter with ultimate reality. Questions we will consider include: What is the definition and typology of mysticism? Is mystical experience truly ineffable? What are its modes of expression? Do all mystics experience the same reality? Is unmediated experience possible? Do mystical experiences show us the truth? Is there a place for reason on a mystical path? What is the role of the body and brain in mystical practice? Does mystical experience make us good? Does it free us? Are mystics critics of institutional religion or social injustice? 6 credits; HI; Spring; Roger R Jackson
RELG 371 The Poetics of Enlightenment Study of selected Asian and Western poetical texts that are purported to express the experience of spiritual illumination. The major focus will be on understanding a range of poems both in their cultural settings and as exemplars of human spirituality. We also will consider Asian and Western theories of "religious poetics;" cross-cultural views of the relation among poetry, holiness and madness; philosophical discussions of the connection between silence and speech; and studies of the nature of metaphor. 6 credits; HI; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 380 Radical Critiques of Christianity This course introduces students to some of the most radical critiques brought against the foundations of Christian theology (by philosophers and theologians, outsiders and insiders, alike) in the modern period. We examine critiques concerning the authority and historical veracity of scripture, the nature and status of Christian doctrines, the true meaning of faith, the relation between Christian theology and oppressive power, and the value of Christian morality. We also consider the work of Christian theologians who have embraced these critical perspectives and who have put them to use in their efforts to reform and redefine Christianity. Prerequisites: Prior coursework in philosophy or Christian theology is desirable, but there is no prerequisite for the course. 6 credits; HI; Not offered 2015-16
RELG 399 Senior Research Seminar This seminar will acquaint students with research tools in various fields of religious studies, provide an opportunity to present and discuss research work in progress, hone writing skills, and improve oral presentation techniques. Prerequisite: Religion 300 and acceptance of proposal for senior integrative exercise and instructor permission. 6 credits; HI; Winter; Lori K Pearson
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