Spring 2025 Courses | Center for the Study of Religion

**Updated 10/15/2024. Listings are subject to change. Students, confirm meeting arrangements in BuckeyeLink when enrolling. All courses are full-term, 3 credit hour offerings unless otherwise noted.**

Writing seminar based on students' independent research.

Prereq: 3990 (398), and 500 or a 4000-level course in CompStd, and Sr standing; or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 598.

*For Major credit only.

Introduction to religious views of the universe, the supernatural, social organization, ethics, etc., through sacred texts (oral and written) of diverse cultures and historical periods.

Prereq: English 1110 (110), or equiv. Not open to students with credit CompStd 2102.02 (202.02). GE lit and diversity global studies course.

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 2370H or CompStd 2370H (270H) or 2370 (270). GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.

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 or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 2370, CompStd 2370, or 2370H. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course. GE foundation historical and cultural studies and race, ethnicity and gender div course.

Survey of contemporary theories and methods used in the academic study of religion.

Prereq: 2370 (270) or 2370H (270H) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for RelStds 4972 or CompStd 4972 (520).

A survey of ancient Greek civilization, concentrating upon important facets of literature, history, art, and archaeology.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Classics 224. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course. GE foundation historical and cultural studies course.

An introduction to the theory and practice of magic in the ancient Mediterranean, how people viewed it, and how it survived in later epochs.
GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course. GE foundation historical and cultural studies course.

Historical and contemporary issues of American Indian identity, primarily in U.S.; focus on American Indian authors, artists, and scholars.
Prereq: English 1110 or equiv., or GE foundation writing and info literacy course. GE cultures and ideas and diversity soc div in the US course. GE theme citizenship for div and just wrld course.

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. GE foundation lit, vis and performing arts course.

Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament is taught from a historical perspective. The HB/OT is a collection of texts designed to create and fortify the ethnic identity of a single group within imperial contexts, while focusing on the formation of gender identity and race. The student will study the cultural dimensions of the ancient societies in which the HB/OT was written.
Prereq: English 1110.xx, or GE foundation writing and info literacy course. Not open to students with credit for 2700H, JewshSt 2700, or 2700H. GE lit and diversity global studies course. GE foundation lit, vis and performing arts and race, ethnicity and gender div course. Cross-listed in JewshSt.

Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament is taught from a historical perspective. The HB/OT is a collection of texts designed to create and fortify the ethnic identity of a single group within imperial contexts, while focusing on the formation of gender identity and race. The student will study the cultural dimensions of the ancient societies in which the HB/OT was written.
Prereq: Honors standing, and English 1110; or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 2700, JewshSt 2700 or 2700H. GE lit and diversity global studies course. GE foundation lit, vis and performing arts and race, ethnicity and gender div course. Cross-listed in JewshSt.

The purpose of this course is to consider the problem of how historical facts and religious persuasion are related where a religion, such as Christianity, lays claim to historical truth through examination of the figure of Jesus. Students will learn about historical methodology and a major religious figure about which there is considerable academic and theological debate.
Prereq: English 1110.xx, or permission of instructor. GE historical study course. GE foundation historical and cultural studies course.

Examines the early Christian philosophical movement known as 'the Gnostics' whose beliefs, based on the stories of the Bible, Platonist philosophy, and the new revelation of Jesus, shocked other Christians.
Prereq or concur: English 1110.xx, or completion of GE Foundation Writing and Information Literacy course, or permission of instructor. GE historical study and diversity global studies course. GE theme traditions, cultures, and transformations course.

An introduction to the historical, ideological, and cultural growth of Judaism examined from a variety of methodological perspectives.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 201. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course. GE foundation historical and cultural studies course.

A survey including at least three of the following philosophical systems of Asia: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Taoism, and Confucianism.
GE lit and diversity global studies course. GE foundation lit, vis and performing arts and historical and cultural studies course.

While the practice of religion in Africa is as diverse as its people, three major belief systems define the practice: African Traditional Religion, Islam, and Christianity. This course will examine classical and contemporary definitions of African Traditional Religion/s and the introduction and adaptations of Islam and Christianity in Africa, as well as religious practices in the African Diaspora.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for AfAmASt 4342. Cross-listed in RELSTDS.
GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course. GE theme traditions, cultures, and transformations course.

This course will explore how the end of the world-generally understood to be preceded by enormous wars and disasters as well as the judgment of people and a reckoning of their deeds-was imagined over two millennia by Christians, Jews, and Muslims. The course will cover primary and secondary historical works, as well as fictional bestsellers, about the apocalypse from around the world.
Prereq or concur: English 1110.xx, or completion of GE Foundation Writing and Information Literacy Course, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for NELC 2680. GE historical study and diversity global studies course. GE foundation historical and cultural studies and lit, vis and performing arts course. Cross-listed in NELC.

This course fulfills the following GE requirements: GEL Cultures and Ideas; GEN Foundation: Historical and Cultural Studies; Ohio Transfer 36 - Arts and Humanities

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, CompStd 2102.01 (202.01), or 2102.01H (202.01H). GE lit and diversity global studies course. GE foundation lit, vis and performing arts course.

A philosophical examination of the relationship between science and religion; concentration on issues regarding the creation of the universe and the origins of life.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for CompStd 2670 or Philos 2670 or 2860. GE cultures and ideas course. GE foundation historical and cultural studies course. Cross-listed in Philos.

Explores intersections of gender, sexuality and religion in comparative and cross-cultural contexts.
Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for CompStd 4875 (515).

***Please note that the following courses are NOT currently listed for major/minor credit, but may be of interest to our students anyway. If you would like to inquire about substituting one of the courses listed here for major/minor credit, please email Dr. Melissa Curley at curley.32@osu.edu.

This course is designed to offer students a comprehensive overview of the diverse visual cultures of South Asia. We will delve into a broad range of topics, including architecture, sculpture and painting, performative traditions, and film. In lectures, discussions, and assignments, we will develop a critical vocabulary to better understand and interrogate the rich visual heritage of India.
GE foundation lit, vis and performing arts course.

What role has religion played in shaping U.S. foreign relations? This guiding question will propel how this course examines the interplay between religion and the U.S.’s foreign policies, with greatest emphasis on the period from the late 19th century through the present (with brief analysis of colonial era to the 1880s).

We will study how the U.S.’s leaders, including presidents from George Washington to Joe Biden, have drawn on religious rhetoricto justify or explain their decision-making, with a special focus on times of crisis. In addition to surveying the major events in U.S. foreign relations, we will explore the role of religion and religious ideas in shaping national identity, core values, and what scholars have termed “American civil religion.” We will seek to understand how seemingly amorphous cultural influences, such as religion and ideology, informed both elite and public perceptions about what role the United States should or could play in the world. Throughout this course, we also will assess the influence that religious interest groups as well as religious perspectives had onthe U.S.’s policies toward China, Southeast Asia, Russia, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

Prereq or concur: English 1110.xx, or GE foundation writing and info literacy course, a grade of C or above in History 2800, and any 3000-level History course; or permission of instructor.