Undergraduate Program - Courses
Undergraduate Catalog
101 World Religions in History (3)
Introduction to religion in culture and
society, including examination of religious traditions from China, India,
and the Mediterranean world. Writing-emphasis course. (CC)
102 The Comparison of World Religions (3)
Introduction to religion in
culture and society, focusing on cross-cultural interpretation and the
treatment of common problems and themes within religious traditions.
Writing-emphasis course. (CC)
232 Varieties of Religious Community (3)
How different forms of religious
communities (cults, tribes, sects, monastic orders, denominations,
familial, etc.) have sought to reject, reinforce, transform, ignore, or dominate
their culture and society. (Same as Sociology 232.)
244 Professional Responsibility (3)
(See Philosophy 244.) (AH) (OC)
246 Bioethics (3)
(See Philosophy 246.) (AH) (WC)
300 Ways of Understanding Religion (3)
Sources and methods used in
the study of religion and religions; analysis of approaches to the study of
religion. Writing-emphasis course.
301 Religious Myth, Symbol, and Ritual (3)
Distinctive modes of religious
expression and analysis of theoretical approaches appropriate to
their particular social and cultural functions in religions.
302 Anthropology of Religion (3)
Religions of selected non-literate
peoples. Role of religion in their social and cultural systems. (Same as
Anthropology 302.)
305 Modern Religious Thought (3)
Major themes, issues, and thinkers
of 19th- and/or 20th-century religion.
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
309 Elementary Classical Hebrew (3)
Basic elements of Hebrew
phonology, script, morphology and syntax. Introduction to basic elements
of text, form, and literary criticism.
310 Elementary Classical Hebrew (3)
Basic elements of Hebrew
phonology, script, morphology and syntax. Introduction to basic elements
of text, form, and literary criticism.
311 Ancient Hebraic Religious Traditions (3)
Development of ancient
Israelite and early Jewish traditions with emphasis on those concerning
the Exodus, Davidic kingship, and Zion in historical, prophetic and apocalyptic
material. Writing-emphasis course. (Same as Judaic Studies 311.)
312 Religious Aspects of Biblical and Classical Literature (3)
Ways
in which contemporary modes of literary study enhance appreciation of
biblical and classical material. Ways in which the western literary tradition
has appropriated and recast the biblical and classical heritage. Writingemphasis
course. (Same as Judaic Studies 312.)
313 Religious Aspects of Modern Literature (3)
Issues raised for religious
inquiry in contemporary literature. Relation of religious and moral
considerations to problems of literary analysis; relation between religious
language and forms of human expression (symbol, metaphor, myth,
image) identified in study of literature. Writing-emphasis course.
315 Reformation Europe, 1500-1650 (3)
(See History 315.)
320 Women and Religion (3)
Concepts of gender in religious traditions,
religious, social and psychological dimensions of gender-related symbols
(e.g., the Goddess, God the Father) that shape women’s and men’s
experiences; contemporary feminist discussions of ways in which religions
have liberated and oppressed women. (Same as Judaic Studies
320; Women’s Studies 320.)
321 New Testament and Early Christian Origins (3)
Influence of pre-
Christian Judaism and Greco-Roman culture and philosophy on early
Christianity. Variety of early Christian teachings and texts, and the formation
of the New Testament. Survey of the early history of Christianity up
to its adoption by the emperor Constantine. Writing-emphasis course.
(Same as History 321.)
322 Christian Thought in Late Antiquity (3)
Major themes, events,
texts, and figures of Christianity in the Roman and Byzantine Empires
(after the New Testament period). Includes the study of early Christian
controversies over topics such as gender and sexuality, Christianity and
politics, interpreting scripture, and defining Christian orthodoxy. Writing emphasis
course. (Same as History 322.)
326 Images of Jesus (3)
Major portrayals of Jesus Christ from the first
century to the twentieth within the context of the cultural milieu which
gave birth to each. Extensive use of slides, video material, recordings,
and literature.
329 Intermediate Classical Hebrew (3)
Readings in narrative material
from the Hebrew Bible.
330 Intermediate Classical Hebrew (3)
Readings in poetic and prophetic
material from the Hebrew Bible.
(DE) Prerequisite(s): 329.
332 Classical Islam (3)
Content limited to events prior to 1773 CE, focusing
on the Qur’an, the Prophetic Tradition, Islamic law, Sunnism, Shi’ism, and
Sufism. Writing-emphasis course. (Same as Asian Studies 332.)
333 Islam in the Modern World (3)
Beginning with the Wahhabi revolution (c.
1773 CE), this course examines movements of revival and reform in modern
Islam, as well as worldwide missionary activity and the growth of the Islamic
community in the U.S. Writing-emphasis course. (Same as Asian Studies 333.)
(DE) Prerequisite(s): 332.
342 Religious Ethics (3)
Selected ethical theories and moral teachings
of religious communities and thinkers, their action-guides for individuals
and institutions, their application to persons and social problems.
351 Introduction to Religion in the United States (3)
A representative
profile of religion in the United States, organized around selected focal
themes or problems. Writing-emphasis course.
352 African-American Religion in United States (3)
Historical and critical
examination of formation and development of African-American religious
thought and institutions in America. Writing-emphasis course.
(Same as Africana Studies 352.)
353 Topics in African-American Religion (3)
Selected figures, themes,
movements, or problems in the African-American religious tradition.
Variable content. (Same as Africana Studies 353.)
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
355 Religion and Culture in the United States (3)
Selected figures, movements,
and problems in American religious life, thought, and culture from pre-colonial
period to present. Writing-emphasis course. (Same as American Studies 355.)
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
370 Philosophy of Religion (3)
(See Philosophy 370.)
373 African Religions (3)
Religions of the indigenous peoples of Africa,
including how myth, rites, and symbols and certain cultural and political
movements in Africa have been and are being informed by religious sensibilities.
Writing-emphasis course. (Same as Africana Studies 373;
Anthropology 373.)
374 Philosophy and Religion in India (3)
Survey of the development of
the major non-Buddhist themes of philosophical and religious thought in
India. Writing-emphasis course. (Same as Philosophy 374.)
376 Buddhist Philosophy and Religion (3)
Survey of the origins of
Buddhism in India and further development of Buddhist philosophy and
religion in India, China, Korea, Japan, the countries of Southeast Asia,
and beyond. Writing-emphasis course. (Same as Philosophy 376.)
378 Theravada Buddhism (3)
Historical study of the Theravada
Buddhist tradition in South and Southeast Asia. Focus will be on the cult
of the Buddha in Theravada Buddhism, the Theravada interpretation of
key Buddhist concepts as found in the Pali canon, and the reciprocal relationship
between renouncers and lay persons in the tradition.
379 Religion and Philosophy in China (3)
Traditional thought and religion
of China in its cultural setting as basis for understanding modern
China. Writing-emphasis course. (Same as Philosophy 379.)
380 East Asian Buddhism in Asia and North America (3)
An overview
of the distinctive forms of Buddhism that arose in China, Japan, and
Korea, as well as an introduction to their offshoots in North America.
381 Introduction to Judaism (3)
History, traditions, philosophy and religion
of the Jewish people grounded in the ancient period, but includes
diaspora, emancipation and haskalah. Writing-emphasis course. (Same
as Judaic Studies 381.)
382 Religion and Culture in Southeast Asia (3)
Historical study of the
major religions in Southeast Asia, including indigenous traditions,
Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. Focus will be on the historical
interplay between religion, culture, and society and the expression of
these traditions.
383 Religion in Japan (3)
Traditional religious heritage and contemporary
expressions of religion in Japan with attention to relationships of persons
to nature, self-mastery and spontaneity, individual and community
and secular to sacred. Writing-emphasis course.
384 Zen Buddhism (3)
Historical, philosophical, and meditational
aspects of Zen. Special emphasis on motifs of emptiness, no-mind, and
enlightenment and on practices of meditation and the use of the koan.
Recommended Background: 376 or 379 or 383.
385 Contemporary Jewish Thinkers (3)
Renewal trends in 19th and 20thcentury
Judaism. Writing-emphasis course. (Same as Judaic Studies 385.)
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
386 Voices of the Holocaust (3)
Historical underpinnings of Nazi genocides
such as that of the Jewish people, Gypsies, and homosexuals. The
economic, religious, social, and philosophical trends supporting massive
genocide. (Same as Judaic Studies 386.)
389 Literature of the English Bible (3)
(See English 389.)
401 Texts and the Study of Texts (3)
Systematic introduction to the
nature and function of (primarily, but not exclusively, oral and written)
texts and textual traditions in the study of religion. How texts are made
and used historically, how they are recovered and created by scholars,
how they are interpreted by religious communities and scholars.
405 Modern Jewish Thought (3)
History, culture, and geography of the
now Israeli portion of the Levant from 1850 to present. The founding of
the modern state of Israel in 1948 and the political complexities of the
Middle East. Israeli culture and literature. Writing-emphasis course.
(Same as Judaic Studies 405.)
411 Modern Religious Philosophies (3)
Religious implications of major
Western thinkers and movements from Nicolas of Cusa to the 19th-century
German idealists. (Same as Philosophy 411.)
415 Psychology of Religion (3)
(See Psychology 415.)
425 Seminar in Western Religions (3)
Selected figures, themes, movements,
and problems.
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
Registration Permission: Consent of instructor.
430 Seminar in American Religion (3)
Selected figures, themes, movements,
and problems.
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
Registration Permission: Consent of instructor.
440 Seminar in Comparative Religion (3)
Selected figures, themes,
movements, and problems.
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
Registration Permission: Consent of instructor.
474 Modern and Contemporary South Asian Religion (3)
Religion in
India during the Islamic and European colonial periods and in independent
India. May include such topics as the development of vernacular
forms of Hinduism; Hindu interactions with other religions; the Indian
Freedom Movement and Gandhi; women and tradition; religion, secularism,
and politics in independent India; and religion and caste in the new
India. Writing-emphasis course.
(RE) Corequisite(s): 374.
490 Readings and Research in Religious Studies (3)
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
Registration Permission: Consent of instructor.
491 Foreign Study (1-15)
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 15 hours.
492 Off-Campus Study (1-15)
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 15 hours.
493 Independent Study (1-15)
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 15 hours.
499 Proseminar in Religious Studies (3)
For advanced students in religious
studies, required for majors. Selected topics, e.g., nature and function
of myth in religion, problem of evil, transcendence, theories of religion,
hermeneutics, integrating various disciplines involved in study of religion.
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
Registration Permission: Consent of instructor.