Autumn 2013 Courses | Center for the Study of Religion

Thematic and/or Comparative Courses

Biology 1350

The Biology of Hope and Belief
MoWe 11:30 AM-12:25 PM | Susan Fisher | 3 credit units | Lecture 30197, Recitation 30204

Examines the evolutionary significance of hope and near universal desire to believe in a supernatural deity from multiple perspectives and details the neurochemistry of both phenomena.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 350. GE nat sci bio course.

Comparative Studies 2102.01

Literature and Religion
TuTh 11:10 AM-12:30 PM | Lindsay Jones | 3 credit units | Lecture 18778

Study of relationships between religion and secular literature; analysis of religious and spiritual elements of literature and film of diverse cultures and historical periods.
Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 2102.01H (202.01H, 202.01). GE lit and diversity global studies course.

Comparative Studies 2367.07

Exploration of the concept of religious freedom and the position of minority religious groups in American society.
Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv and Soph standing. Not open to students with credit for 367.03. GE writing and comm: level 2 and cultures and ideas and diversity soc div in the US course.

Comparative Studies 2370

Introduction to Comparative Religion
MoWe 9:10AM-10:05AM | Tom Kasulis | 3 credit units | Lecture 18747

Introduction to the academic study of religion through comparison among major traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.) and smaller communities.
Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 270 or 2370H (270H). GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.

Comparative Studies 2370H

Introduction to Comparative Religion
TuTh 2:20PM-3:40PM | Lindsay Jones | 3 credit units | Lecture 30359

Introduction to the academic study of religion through comparison among major traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.) and smaller communities.
Prereq: Honors standing and English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 2370 (270) or 270H. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.

Comparative Studies 4877

Myth and Ritual
TuTh 9:35AM-10:55AM | Lindsay Jones | 3 credit units | Lecture 30358

Storytelling is, so it has been said, a universal art. People of all cultures—contemporary America included—invariably express their deepest concerns and highest aspirations in the myths or foundational stories that they tell. Likewise, we are hard pressed to find any society that is not deeply committed to performing a wide range of ritual activities—from religious rites, to public celebrations, to completely personal acts of prayer and devotion.

This class will take a critical look at the supposedly universal categories of ‘myth’ and ‘ritual’ and, moreover, at the complex ways in which myth and ritual are related. To that end, we will consider: (1) a series of alternative academic theories of myth and ritual; (2) a series of specific case studies featuring the myths and rituals of several very different sorts of communities from North and Meso-America, India, Europe, Africa, and perhaps even Columbus, Ohio; and (3) a set of strategies for the cross-cultural comparison of myths and rituals. Not open to students with credit for 541.

Prereq: One course in CompStd, or grad standing, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 541.

Philosophy 1850

Introduction to Philosophy of Religion
TuTh 9:35AM-10:55AM | Staff | 3 credit units | Lecture 25315

A philosophical analysis of the nature of religion and the foundations of religious belief.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 270. GE cultures and ideas course.

Courses on Judaism

Hebrew 5603

Readings in Rabbinic Literature
Mo 2:15PM-5:00PM | Michael Swartz | 3 credit units | Lecture 21610 (UG), 21581 (G)

Study of selected texts and issues in Rabbinic literature, and discussions of the methods by which they are studied. In Hebrew.
Prereq: Permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 12 cr hrs. Cross-listed in JewshSt.

History 2451

Medieval and Early Modern Jewish History, 700-1700 CE
TuTh 3:55PM-5:15PM | Staff | 3 credit units | Lecture 28826

Introduction to the history of Jewish communities, religion, and culture in Europe during the Medieval and Early Modern periods.
Prereq or concur: English 1110.xx, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 330.01, 330.02, or JewshSt 2451. GE historical study course. Cross-listed in JewshSt.

History 2452

Modern Jewish History, 1700-Present
TuTh 12:45PM-2:05PM | Robin Judd | 3 credit units | Lecture 1436

This course investigates modern Jewish history from 1750 to the present. In it we will examine the social, economic, political, and intellectual forces that shaped Jewish experiences in Europe the United States, Latin America, and the Middle East. We will pay special attention to the ways in which Jewish life experienced a dramatic transformation during the 19th and 20th centuries. Our studies will begin with a consideration of pre-modern Jewry and will quickly turn to an examination of the shocks that transformed Jewish communities throughout the world. The first portion of the course will study the Enlightenment(s), emancipation, and acculturation in Western and Central Europe and in North America. As we examine these significant shifts, we will compare Jewish life in Western and Central Europe with that of Jewish communities elsewhere. Our second portion of the course will examine Jewish life during the long nineteenth century. Here, we will study the formation of the Jewish middle class, the entry of East European Jewry into modernity, and the rise of antisemitism throughout the world. Then, we will proceed to survey the First World War and the interwar years, questioning how the impact of WWI affected Jewish communities throughout the world. Our course will then examine the Holocaust, World War II, and the rise of the State of Israel. The final part of the class will look to contemporary Jewish life.

Assigned Readings:
Carmit Delman, Burnt Bread and Chutney: Growing up Between Cultures
Lucy Dawidowicz From that Place and Time A memoir
Rebecca Kobrin Jewish Bialystok and its Diaspora
Jehudah Reinharz and Paul Mendes-Flohr, The Jew in the Modern World

Assignments:
Class participation, Midterm Exam, Short Paper, Final exam.

Prereq or concur: English 1110.xx, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 330.02 or JewshSt 2452. GE historical study course. Cross-listed in JewshSt. This course fulfills Group Europe, post-1750 for history majors.

Courses on Christianity

Classics 2401

Introduction to the New Testament: History and Literature
TuTh 12:45PM-2:05PM | J. Albert Harrill | 3 credit units | Lecture 18416

Introductory survey of the New Testament writings in translation, including non-canonical sources of the early Christian movement.

GE lit course.

Classics 3407

Paul and His Influence in Early Christianity
TuTh 9:35AM-10:55AM | J. Albert Harrill | 3 credit units | Lecture 29165

Survey of the life and thought of the apostle Paul in translation, and his influence on the formation of Christianity.

GE lit and historical study course.

English 2280

The English Bible
WeFr 11:10AM-12:30PM | Staff | 3 credit units | Lecture 20674

Notes: This course will focus on study of the Bible as a work of literature, including examination of its central themes, narratives, and figures, its books and genres, its composition and transmission, and its connection to other Ancient Near Eastern cultures as well as to ancient Israelite (and Jewish) and early Christian religion, cult, myth, geography, and history. Readings will include the Oxford Annotated Bible and The Bible as Literature. Additional materials will be supplied as needed. Assignments include short quizzes, a midterm, and a final.

The Bible in English translation, with special attention to its literary qualities, conceptual content, and development within history.
Prereq: 1110.01 (110.01) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 2280H (280H) or 280. GE lit course.

History 2220

Introduction to the History of Christianity
MoWe 10:20AM-11:15AM | David Brakke | 3 credit units | Lecture 1416

Introduces students to the historical study of Christianity as a religious tradition.
Prereq or concur: English 1110.xx, or permission of instructor. GE historical study and diversity global studies course.

Medieval and Renaissance Studies 2215

Gothic Paris: 1100-1300
WeFr 11:10AM-12:30PM | Kristen Figg | 3 credit units | Lecture 23015

By the books that we have, we know the deeds of the ancients, and of centuries past. In our books we learn that Greece had the first age of chivalry. Then that chivalry and learning came to Rome, and now it has come to France.” So says the author of Lancelot, Perceval and Yvain, Chrétien de Troyes, in the 12th Century, that time when Paris became a center of learning, beauty, political power, and commerce. Meet the man behind the first Gothic cathedral, the abbot Suger, whose ideas for attracting pilgrims to the church favored spaces full of light, dazzling color, and miraculous relics. Meet Abelard, the great teacher who first shocked the Parisian university world with his philosophy, then with his secret marriage to his gifted female student, Heloise. Read tales of Courtly Love, King Arthur’s justice, and wayward students. An introduction to the arts, architecture, poetry, history, music, theology, foods, fabrics, and urban geography of the years 1100–1300.

Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Medieval 215. GE culture and ideas and diversity global studies course.

Medieval and Renaissance Studies 2666

Magic and Witchcraft in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
TuTh 12:45PM-2:05PM | Richard Firth Green | 3 credit units | Lecutre 28582

In this interdisciplinary course, students will explore the history and culture of witchcraft and magic from ca. 400 to 1700 C.E. within sociological, religious, and intellectual contexts. By the end of the course, students will have a better understanding of the practice, persecution, and social construct of magic and witchcraft in the medieval and early modern periods and its far-reaching impact on society.

Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Medieval 240. GE culture and ideas and diversity global studies course.

Courses on Islam

Arabic 2350

Introduction to the Arabic Qur'an
TuTh 12:45PM-2:05PM | Nada Moumtaz | 3 credit units | Lecture 28153

A linguistic, literary, and cultural analysis of selected chapters from the Qur'an.
Prereq: 2104. Not open to students with credit for 626.

History 2350

Islam, Politics, and Society in History
MoWeFr 9:10AM-10:05AM | Staff | 3 credit units | Lecture 1428

Introduction to the manner in which Islam has interacted with politics in the Middle East and vicinity from the rise of Islam through the present.
Prereq or concur: English 1110.xx. Not open to students with credit for 340. GE historical study course.

History 2375

Islamic Central Asia
TuTh 3:55PM-5:15PM | Stephanie Honchell | 3 credit units | Lecture 30353

Introductory survey of the political, cultural, religious, and economic history of Islamic central Asia from the eighth-century Arab conquests to the nineteenth-century Russian colonial era.
Prereq or concur: English 1110.xx. Not open to students with credit for 343. GE historical study course.

Medieval and Renaissance Studies 2514

Golden Age of Islamic Civilization
TuTh 3:55PM-5:15PM | Parvaneh Pourshariati | 3 credit units | Lecture 28863

What do we mean by “The Golden Age of Islamic Civilization”? How did it start, when and why did it end, and who participated in it? What does Baghdad have to do with it? What do algebra and algorithm, alcove and alchemy have in common? How foreign will we be in the world of 1001 Nights? And what does this all have to do with our contemporary civilization? Come share the world of medieval Islamic civilization, in both its courtly and popular dimensions, and get a glimpse of part of our human heritage.

Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Medieval 214. GE culture and ideas and diversity global studies course.

Near Eastern Languages and Cultures 3501

Introduction to Islam
TuTh 11:10AM-12:30PM | Youssef Yacoubi | 3 credit untis | Lecture 25184

This course intends to provide an introductory survey of some of the central premises of Islamic beliefs and practices. It aims to delineate not only the development of Islam as a religion and as a system of belief, but also its growth into a multi-faceted and rich culture and civilization that contributed significantly to the currents of world civilization. This would entail a look at the growth of the major intellectual and spiritual traditions within the Islamic civilization as well as the relation of these to the milieu of their production. The course is broad in scope and introductory in level.

Prereq: English 1110 (110). Not open to students with credit for 351. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.

Courses on the Religions of South and East Asia

History 2375

Islamic Central Asia
TuTh 3:55PM-5:15PM | Stephanie Honchell | 3 credit units | Lecture 30353

History of Art 5724

The Buddhist Art of Gandhara and Kashmir
WeFr 3:55PM-5:15PM | John Huntington | 3 credit units | Lecture 30386

Explores the Buddhist art of greater Gandhara and Kashmir, examining in particular its influence on both East Asian and South Asian Art.
Prereq: 2003 (213), or Grad standing, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 668.

Philosophy 2120

Asian Philosophies
MoWe 11:30AM-12:25PM | Tom Kasulis | 3 credit units | Lectures 25237

An introduction to philosophical systems from India, China, and Japan. We will survey the development of Hindu and Buddhist philosophies in India, treat Confucianism and Daoism from China, and spend about half the course focusing on readings from Japan. The Japanese philosophy readings are from both traditional thinkers influenced by Indian and Chinese thought as well as modern philosophers who interact with ideas from the western philosophical tradition. Those readings address theories of knowledge, aesthetics, politics, religion, language, feminism, warrior virtues, and bioethics. Thematic questions include: What is the difference between an “Asian philosophy” and an “Asian religion?” How do Indian, Chinese, and Japanese philosophers argue their philosophical positions? How does the context of philosophizing differ in India, China, and Japan? Can philosophers fruitfully engage one another across cultures?

Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 215. GE lit and diversity global studies course.

Courses on Indigenous, Local, and Newly Emergent Religions

African American and African Studies 3342H

Music, Religion, and Ritual in Africa
WeFr 12:45PM-2:05PM | Monika Brodnicka | 3 credit units | Lectures 29307

Survey of variety and interaction of musical and religious expressions in selected African societies, focusing on traditional contexts and contemporary Christian and Islamic examples.
Prereq: Honors standing, and 1101 (101). Not open to students with credit for 342H. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.