RELI 160D4 – Introduction to World Religions

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures

Honors Contract

This course explores the diversity of religions and religious experiences across the globe. Religions to be examined include, but are not limited to, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, as well as indigenous traditions.

RELI 160D6 – Gender and Religion

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures

Honors Contract

This course is an introduction to the study of gender and religion. We will examine the ways religious roles have been shaped by gender, and how religion has formulated understandings of gender, including gendered representations of the divine.

RELI 160D7 – Introduction to Global Christianities

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures

Honors Contract

This course is an introduction to the academic study of Christianity in its global context. We will examine the origins of Christianity and its growth into the largest religion in the world. The course gives particular attention to the diversity of local contexts and local traditions, examining expressions of Christianity throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Students will explore Christianity through a series of case studies, by examining historical sources, material culture, first-hand accounts, and artistic representations.

RELI 200 – Introduction to the Study of Religion

Honors Contract

The objective of this course is to introduce you to the study of the phenomenon called 'religion'. What makes people religious? How is religion defined? What are the different approaches to understanding religion in all of its diversity? Through a reading of texts from diverse backgrounds and approaches, this course will illuminate the complex and multi-dimensional elements of religion, and how the study of religion can open up new ways of seeing the world.

RELI 203 – Religion and Medicine in the Western Healing Traditions

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

An examination of the intersection between medicine and healing in western healing traditions, from ancient times to the modern era. Key scientific and humanistic questions will be addressed.

RELI 210 – Religion in the American Experience

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Examines American religious ideas, practices, and forms of community from the colonial period to the present. Themes include the interrelation of religion with politics, immigration, gender, and racial and ethnic diversity in the United States.

RELI 211 – Life After Death in World Religions and Philosophies

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

An examination of the afterlife in major world religions, intimations of life beyond death in contemporary human experience, and key scientific, theological, and philosophical challenges to both.

RELI 212 – American Indian Religious Traditions

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

An introduction to American Indian religious systems and their larger functions in communities and in history. Of particular importance are the history and effects of colonialism and missionization on native peoples, their continuing struggles for religious freedom and cultural and linguistic survival, and the ways in which American Indians use religion, both past and present, to respond to social, cultural, political, and geographical changes.

RELI 220 – Religion in Japanese Society

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Introduction to texts, images and activities, both historical and contemporary, that comprise Japanese religion.

RELI 222 – Introduction to Zen Buddhism

Cross Listed

This course is designed to introduce students to the history,teachings,and practice of Zen Buddhism in China,Japan, Korea and the United States. The course will discuss Zen from a variety of perspectives but will center around the question of the meaning of history. Zen is a tradition of Buddhism that claims to have inherited and to pass on, in an unbroken historical transmission from patriarch to patriarch, the living experience of the Buddha's enlightenment. The course will discuss how Zen's conception of its history is related to its identity as a special tradition within Buddhism, as well as its basic teachings on the primacy of enlightenment, the role of practice, the nature of the mind, and the limitations of language.

RELI 227 – Religion and Film

Tier 2 Arts

Honors Contract

This course explores religion and its relationship with visual storytelling culture. We will analyze, explore, and challenge various religious, pop-cultural, ideological, and moral messages as presented in various types of film, from art house cinema to blockbuster movies, and genres ranging from horror to comedy.

RELI 271 – The History of Christianity

Cross Listed

This course examines the history of the great diversity of beliefs, practices, ways of life, and forms of authority among Christians, and especially conflicts about these. Not narrowly theological, the course construes Christianity broadly, treating, for example, society, culture, and art.

RELI 277A – History of the Middle East

Cross Listed

Tier 2 Humanities

Middle East history from the rise of Islam to the Turkish conquest of Constantinople, 600-1453.

RELI 277A – History of the Middle East

Cross Listed

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Course

Middle East history from the rise of Islam to the Turkish conquest of Constantinople, 600-1453.

RELI 280 – Introduction to the Bible: New Testament

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

This course introduces students to the New Testament in light of the contexts in which it was written and compiled, and as a window into reconstructing the world of early Christianity. The course will also examine how various Christian communities have understood the meaning and authority of the New Testament.

RELI 302 – Ellis Island, 9/11, and Border Walls: Religion and Immigration in the U.S.

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Honors Contract

This course will explore the central role of religion in shaping constructions of race and ethnicity in U.S. history, especially in light of immigration debates. Since the country's founding, immigrants have expanded ethnic and religious diversity in the United States in the face of powerful anti-immigrant movements. Students will engage with in-depth studies of immigrant communities who shaped the American religious and ethnic landscape, including diverse American expressions of religions such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Evangelical Protestantism, and Vodou.

RELI 303 – Spirituality and Sickness: Religion and Health in the U.S.

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

This course explores diverse religious and spiritual conceptions of health in the United States and their relationships to experiences of sickness and healing. It will include a critical examination of historical and contemporary cases in which religious and spiritual views of health have interacted with healthcare systems, including cases of cooperation and conflict.

RELI 304 – The Question of God

Tier 2 Humanities

Study of the question of God from a theological, philosophical, and literary perspective.

RELI 305 – Greek and Roman Religion

Cross Listed

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Honors Contract

Writing Emphasis Course

Religious beliefs and cult practices in ancient Greece and Rome. All readings in English.

RELI 306 – Christianity in the Greco-Roman World

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Investigates the emergence of Christianity in the first four centuries of the Greco-Roman milieu.

RELI 306 – Christianity in the Greco-Roman World

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Honors Contract

Investigates the emergence of Christianity in the first four centuries of the Greco-Roman milieu.

RELI 322 – Sociology of Religion

Cross Listed

Religion as a social institution with special reference to industrial societies.

RELI 325 – Eastern Orthodoxy in a Global Age

Cross Listed

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

This course focuses on the history and doctrine of Eastern Christianity from its origins in the early Church through today, emphasizing the cultural manifestations of Orthodox doctrine: liturgy, iconography, pious practice. We will compare Eastern Orthodoxy to Western Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism), and will examine various different national Churches within Eastern Orthodoxy (i.e., Byzantine, Bulgarian, Serbian, Modern Greek, the older "Oriental" Churches, etc.), with a primary focus on Russia. Eastern Orthodox Christianity is often perceived as being one of the more 'mystical' of Christian traditions, and we will explore the Orthodox vision of 'the mystical life', examining its basis in history and contemporary experience. We will also ask about the significance of Church doctrine and practice for the development of culture as a whole in the areas of the world in which Eastern Christianity predominates, and the ways in which that culture both differs from and relates to what we (perhaps inaccurately) call "Western" civilization. In general, Orthodox practice relies heavily on the senses, and the course is designed to be experiential. To that end, we will make at least one field trip to a local Orthodox Church during the course of the semester.

RELI 326 – God, Humanity & Science

Cross Listed

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

An examination of the role of religion and science in the construction of human worldviews and beliefs, in historical and contemporary contexts.

RELI 331 – Taoist Traditions of China

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Intellectual foundations of Taoism in its two classical sources, the Lao Tzu and the Chuang Tzu, and a sampling of the varieties of religious practice which developed later.

RELI 334 – Islamic Thought

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

A consideration of Islam, one of the world's major religions, and the view of the universe and the modes of behavior and values it advocates. Most of the course will be dedicated to an examination of the majority (Sunni) opinion, but some attention will be directed also to the more significant minority (Shi'i, et al.) positions as well. The course has no prerequisite but does build on the information presented in TRAD 101 Middle Eastern Humanities.

RELI 335 – Rap, Culture and God

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Pass/Fail Option

Honors Contract

Study of popular culture and religion in African-American and Latino/a communities, with a focus on the place of rap music in the cultural identity of these traditions.

RELI 336 – Spirituality, Psychology, and the Mind

Cross Listed

Pass/Fail Option

Honors Contract

This course is a survey of psychological theory and research investigating religious beliefs, experiences, and practices.

RELI 344 – African American Religion

Cross Listed

Critical, thematic exegesis of indigenous African and Christian contributions to African American religions. Analyzes role of religion in resisting oppression and racial injustice.

RELI 350 – Hindu Mythology

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

Overview of the traditional Hindu narratives found in the Vedic, epic, and puranic literature and in their many forms in regional literary and artistic forms, and the narratives influence on culture, philosophy, literature, and folklore.

RELI 351 – Zen, Tea, and Poetry: A Blending of Genres

Cross Listed

Honors Contract

Writing Emphasis Course

This course will examine how the three genres of Zen Buddhism, the tea ceremony/tea culture, and poetry, have been presented over time as not only compatible, but as representative expressions of each other. We will consider the contemporaneous cultural, historical, and political factors that contributed to the formation of this discourse. We will also hold up to critical scrutiny the very concept of "genre" in pre-modern East Asia, as well as the distinction between "Zen Buddhism" and what may be termed "Zen culture." We will also investigate in depth how modern commentators such as Okakura Tenshin, Suzuki Daisetsu, and Hisamatsu Shin'ichi's dialogue with the West and Western models informed the now ingrained idea that the tea ceremony represents an artistic, aesthetic, and spiritual nexus of the other two genres, and indeed of East Asian Culture as a whole.

RELI 363 – Religion and Sex

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

In this course we will analyze attitudes towards sexuality in the major world religions, and focus on the relationship between religion and sexuality in the contemporary U.S. context.

RELI 365 – Muslim Views of the West

Cross Listed

Writing Emphasis Course

This course investigates how consciousness of "the West" as a rival cultural entity emerged in Muslim societies, and how the West has been represented and evaluated by Muslim intellectuals from the colonial period to current debates over US hegemony and globalization.

RELI 367 – Yoga

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

Examines the philosophy, practice, historical roots, and development of yoga.

RELI 370A – History of the Jews: Modern Jewish History

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Survey of major political, socioeconomic, and cultural developments in the history of Diaspora Jewry: Modern Jewish history.

RELI 371B – History of Muslim Societies

Cross Listed

Evolution and global spread of Muslim societies, modernization and its problems.

RELI 379 – Religion in German Culture

Cross Listed

Tier 2 Humanities

Introduction to major cultural figures of German speaking countries who have seen, imagined, or experienced what role religion may or can play in human life. Taught in English.

RELI 389 – Middle Eastern Ethnic and Religious Minorities

Cross Listed

Writing Emphasis Course

Overview of ethnic and religious minorities in the contemporary Middle East, study of ethnic and religious diversity and its origin and manifestations in the modern Middle East. Examination of how the concept of religious and ethnic minority has emerged as a key factor in state policies towards minorities as well as the cultural, economic, political, religious, and educational lives of its people.

RELI 390 – Asian and Pacific Religions in American Spirituality

Cross Listed

Honors Contract

Writing Emphasis Course

Throughout the modern development of what has been called "spirituality" in the United States, Asian Pacific Americans along with Asian and Pacific Islander religions have been integral. In the mid-nineteenth century, Asian Pacific American (APA) immigrants brought their religions, and towards the end of the nineteenth century non-APAs enthusiastically brought APA religious teachers to the mainland United States. In the twentieth century, this mixture of APA people and religions continued to reach new communities and develop into independent US-based religions; eventually, these influenced the emergence of more individualistic, non-traditional forms of religion - popularly called 'spirituality.' These lines of influence crisscrossed over the decades, leading to a complex mixture of interests, investments, discourses, and depictions of different racial groups. As a result, this course's examination of Asian and Pacific religions in US-based spirituality engages questions about its definition in distinction to the term 'religion' and in relationship to the social dynamics of race. The course explores its presence in diverse locations such as medicine, theatre, environmental activism, and children's video games.

RELI 399 – Independent Study

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

RELI 399H – Honors Independent Study

Honors Course

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

RELI 408 – The Renaissance

Cross Listed

Europe between the 14th and 16th centuries with special emphasis on Italy as the seat of the Renaissance. Topics include the city states, humanism, the Church in an age of Schism and secularization, Renaissance art, the New Monarchies and European exploration and imperialism.

RELI 431 – The Divine Comedy by Dante

Cross Listed

Honors Contract

This course examines Dante's masterpiece, "The Divine Comedy", the poet's life and other works. The primary focus is on "The Divine Comedy" and its influence on European literature and culture. Other texts will be included.

RELI 491 – Preceptorship

Specialized work on an individual basis, consisting of instruction and practice in actual service in a department, program, or discipline. Requires faculty member approval, preceptor application on file with department.

RELI 498 – Senior Capstone

A culminating experience for majors involving a substantive project that demonstrates a synthesis of learning accumulated in the major, including broadly comprehensive knowledge of the discipline and its methodologies. Senior standing required.

RELI 499 – Independent Study

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

RELI 499H – Honors Independent Study

Honors Course

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

RELI 550 – Graduate Readings in Theories and Methods for the Study of Religion

Cross Listed

The course provides graduate training in the theories and methods of religious studies and guides students in contextualizing their own work within this discourse. It is an opportunity to learn how religion became an object of study, to explore the approaches of key theorists, and to assess the efficacy of these approaches. Controversies surrounding ritual, canon, culture, power, translation, and "experience" will inform our conversations. Students will develop a more nuanced understanding of the relationship of religious studies and area studies, in terms of historical and continuously-evolving dynamics. Finally, this course challenges students to evaluate the broader role of religious studies in the humanities and to set goals for their professional contributions to this discourse.

RELI 599 – Independent Study

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

RELI 160A1 – Gods, Goddesses, and Demons: Divinity in South Asia

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures

Honors Contract

This course is an introduction to multiple concepts of the divine in South Asia. We will explore the different ways that the religious traditions of South Asia understand supernatural beings and forces. In order to do this we will read portions of primary texts in translation, examine iconography, and watch rituals as they unfold. In addition to learning about the South Asia traditions, we will put those conceptions of the divine in conversation with those rooted in a European context, forcing you to learn to think critically about the ways people from different cultures view the world around them.

RELI 160D4 – Introduction to World Religions

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures

Honors Contract

This course explores the diversity of religions and religious experiences across the globe. Religions to be examined include, but are not limited to, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, as well as indigenous traditions.

RELI 203 – Religion and Medicine in the Western Healing Traditions

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

An examination of the intersection between medicine and healing in western healing traditions, from ancient times to the modern era. Key scientific and humanistic questions will be addressed.

RELI 220 – Religion in Japanese Society

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Introduction to texts, images and activities, both historical and contemporary, that comprise Japanese religion.

RELI 241 – Introduction to Chinese Religions

Cross Listed

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

The course is a comprehensive historical survey of the main religious traditions in China, including Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and popular religion. Through lectures, discussions, and reading of select primary and secondary sources, we will explore the formulations and subsequent transformations of key beliefs, doctrines, practices, and institutions that characterized specific religious traditions. We will also examine the patterns of interaction among different traditions, as well as the general character of religious life in both traditional and modern China.

RELI 277A – History of the Middle East

Cross Listed

Tier 2 Humanities

Middle East history from the rise of Islam to the Turkish conquest of Constantinople, 600-1453.

RELI 300 – Christian Literature and Thought

Tier 2 Humanities

Pass/Fail Option

Writing Emphasis Course

Development of Christian thought from the New Testament through the Protestant Reformation.

RELI 304 – The Question of God

Tier 2 Humanities

Study of the question of God from a theological, philosophical, and literary perspective.

RELI 305 – Greek and Roman Religion

Cross Listed

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Honors Contract

Writing Emphasis Course

Religious beliefs and cult practices in ancient Greece and Rome. All readings in English.

RELI 320 – Reformations and Revolutions in Early Modern Britain, 1485 - 1714

Cross Listed

This course aims at a broad analysis of the enthralling history and legacies of the Tudor and Stuart dynasties that ruled England from 1458 to 1714. The objective is to understand how in a quarter century the radical political and religious events, and figures, transformed the social, political and religious structures of England, giving birth to the foundation of England as a united kingdom, and significant world power. The course begins by focusing on the Tudors with emphasis on Henry VIII and the English Reformation, the return to Catholicism under Mary Tudor, the creation of a new Anglican Church under Elizabeth I and its unforeseen consequences. From there, it explores the Stuarts, with attention to the catastrophic English Revolution culminating in the public execution of King Charles I in 1649, and the rise of the English republic that ended with the restoration of monarchy in 1660. The course then reflects on the transformation of the English state following the elite coup d'etat of 1688, the Glorious Revolution, a fundamental watershed that cleared the way for a constitutional monarchy, parliamentary sovereignty, and religious toleration in England.

RELI 321 – Women in Judaism

Cross Listed

Images of Jewish women in Jewish and other texts. Texts include religious, historical and literary genres from biblical, medieval, and modern sources. The course will deal with Jewish women as mothers, leaders, stereotypes, and current feminist viewpoints.

RELI 332 – The Holocaust: Witnesses and Representations

Cross Listed

This course is an exploration of the Holocaust (Shoah) through the experiences, roles and responses of Jewish individuals as represented through various media and genre including diary, testimony (oral), memoir, monument, poetry, photography, graphic novel, personal letters and film.

RELI 335 – Rap, Culture and God

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Pass/Fail Option

Honors Contract

Study of popular culture and religion in African-American and Latino/a communities, with a focus on the place of rap music in the cultural identity of these traditions.

RELI 336 – Spirituality, Psychology, and the Mind

Cross Listed

Pass/Fail Option

Honors Contract

This course is a survey of psychological theory and research investigating religious beliefs, experiences, and practices.

RELI 350 – Hindu Mythology

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

Overview of the traditional Hindu narratives found in the Vedic, epic, and puranic literature and in their many forms in regional literary and artistic forms, and the narratives influence on culture, philosophy, literature, and folklore.

RELI 367 – Yoga

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

In this course we examine the philosophy, practice, historical roots, and development of yoga. Students are asked to use and reflect on the disciplinary perspectives of the historian to examine premodern primary texts (in translation)and the anthropologist and cultural critic to examine contemporary yoga practices. Additionally, students will compare and contrast perspectives of Indian yogis and contemporary international yoga influencers in order to understand how the experience of yoga differs across time and culture and how social systems of power and inequality are imposed upon and by yoga and its practitioners. Therefore, the two driving questions of the course are Does your background (race, ethnicity, gender, religious identity) shape how you view yoga (religious, spiritual, or exercise)? and Is Yoga Cultural Appropriation?

RELI 370B – History of the Jews: Cultural Loss and Resilience from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Survey of major political, socioeconomic, and cultural developments in the history of Diaspora Jewry from the Middle ages to the French Revolution.

RELI 372A – History and Religion of Israel in Ancient Times -- The Biblical Period

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Survey of the history and religion of ancient Israel. Biblical period through the Babylonian Exile; introduction to the Hebrew Bible.

RELI 372B – History & Religion of Israel in Ancient Times: Ezra-Nehemiah to the Roman Empire

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Survey of the history and religion of ancient Israel. Ezra-Nehemiah to the Roman Empire, with emphasis on the formation of rabbinic Judaism.

RELI 387 – The History of Anti-Semitism

Cross Listed

This course examines various definitions of anti-Semitism and traces the history of anti-Semitism (or "anti-Judaism") from the earliest arguments between Christianizing Jews and Judaizing Christians to the birth of Islam, through the period of Muslim expansion and the Crusades, to the Middle Ages, the Enlightenment, and the Holocaust. It looks at the differences among various types of Christian anti-Semitism, Muslim anti-Semitism, and Jewish anti-Semitism, and concludes with a look at contemporary forms of anti-Semitism.

RELI 389 – Middle Eastern Ethnic and Religious Minorities

Cross Listed

Writing Emphasis Course

Overview of ethnic and religious minorities in the contemporary Middle East, study of ethnic and religious diversity and its origin and manifestations in the modern Middle East. Examination of how the concept of religious and ethnic minority has emerged as a key factor in state policies towards minorities as well as the cultural, economic, political, religious, and educational lives of its people.

RELI 489 – History of Japanese Religions: Modern

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

A selective survey of the history of Japanese religion from the 16th century through the present. Topics may include Shinto and Buddhism; Christianity and its suppression; Edo-period official and popular religion; State Shinto; and Japan's "new religions" and "new new religions."

RELI 150B1 – Religion and Popular Culture

Tier 1 Individuals & Societies

Honors Contract

This course provides an introduction to the study of Religion and Popular Culture in modern societies. We will study what constitutes "religion" and how definitions of religion change over time. We will examine the ways popular culture becomes "religious" and how religious institutions reflect popular taste and opinion.

RELI 160A1 – Gods, Goddesses, and Demons: Divinity in South Asia

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures

Honors Contract

This course is an introduction to multiple concepts of the divine in South Asia. We will explore the different ways that the religious traditions of South Asia understand supernatural beings and forces. In order to do this we will read portions of primary texts in translation, examine iconography, and watch rituals as they unfold. In addition to learning about the South Asia traditions, we will put those conceptions of the divine in conversation with those rooted in a European context, forcing you to learn to think critically about the ways people from different cultures view the world around them.

RELI 160D4 – Introduction to World Religions

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures

Honors Contract

This course explores the diversity of religions and religious experiences across the globe. Religions to be examined include, but are not limited to, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, as well as indigenous traditions.

RELI 160D5 – Spirituality, Ceremony, and Saints of the Southwest

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures

Honors Contract

An introduction to the religious history and contemporary religious diversity of the region currently known as the American Southwest, focusing on a variety of topics such as land based spirituality, shrines, pilgrimage, folk saints, religious syncretism, and New Age movements. The religious landscape of this area includes the traditions of indigenous communities, Spanish colonial descendants, Mexican Americans, Anglos, and immigrants from around the globe.

RELI 203 – Religion and Medicine in the Western Healing Traditions

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

An examination of the intersection between medicine and healing in western healing traditions, from ancient times to the modern era. Key scientific and humanistic questions will be addressed.

RELI 211 – Life After Death in World Religions and Philosophies

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

An examination of the afterlife in major world religions, intimations of life beyond death in contemporary human experience, and key scientific, theological, and philosophical challenges to both.

RELI 222 – Introduction to Zen Buddhism

Cross Listed

This course is designed to introduce students to the history,teachings,and practice of Zen Buddhism in China,Japan, Korea and the United States. The course will discuss Zen from a variety of perspectives but will center around the question of the meaning of history. Zen is a tradition of Buddhism that claims to have inherited and to pass on, in an unbroken historical transmission from patriarch to patriarch, the living experience of the Buddha's enlightenment. The course will discuss how Zen's conception of its history is related to its identity as a special tradition within Buddhism, as well as its basic teachings on the primacy of enlightenment, the role of practice, the nature of the mind, and the limitations of language.

RELI 227 – Religion and Film

Tier 2 Arts

Honors Contract

This course explores religion and its relationship with visual storytelling culture. We will analyze, explore, and challenge various religious, pop-cultural, ideological, and moral messages as presented in various types of film, from art house cinema to blockbuster movies, and genres ranging from horror to comedy.

RELI 235 – Religion, Violence, and Terrorism

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Honors Contract

This course will study critical theories about the role of religion in acts of terrorism and violence. Through the examination of a range of case studies, this course will explore ways in which religion has been the motivation and justification behind violent conflict, aggression, and persecution.

RELI 240 – Imagining the Buddha: Images of Buddhism in Asia and the West

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Arts

Honors Contract

What role do images play in the history, theory, and practice of Buddhism in Asia as well as in cultural encounters between Buddhism and Europe and the U.S.? Today art critics continue to discuss "Buddhist" elements in the work of iconic artists like Georgia O'Keefe and Mark Rothko, Tibetan mandala coloring books are being used for stress relief, and "Zen" aesthetics inform a broad range of fashion and design platforms. This course provides theoretical tools for critically reexamining the categories of "East" and "West" within this cultural moment. Considering how images of Buddhism have functioned across time and space for over two thousand years from its origins in India, robust expansion throughout Asia as well as transformations in colonial encounters, globalization, and immigration allows us to better comprehend how those categories were formed and perpetuated. The course explores the form of Buddhist images, their creation and use, and ritual contexts together with the senses of vision, materiality, and space and place they convey. It introduces a diverse range of key phenomena in sculpture, painting, and architecture such as early Indian sculptures of the Buddha, Chinese painted caves, Himalayan esoteric images of enlightened reality, Cambodian temple complexes, and portraits of Japanese Zen masters. The course reflects upon the lives of Buddhist images in Europe and the U.S. vis-à-vis art, architecture, film, and other visual media since the 19th century. In the process of learning to engage with the "images" of Budhism they encounter in their everyday lives, students are exposed to an interdisciplinary curriculum spanning the fields of art history, religious studies, and visual culture.

RELI 241 – Introduction to Chinese Religions

Cross Listed

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

The course is a comprehensive historical survey of the main religious traditions in China, including Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and popular religion. Through lectures, discussions, and reading of select primary and secondary sources, we will explore the formulations and subsequent transformations of key beliefs, doctrines, practices, and institutions that characterized specific religious traditions. We will also examine the patterns of interaction among different traditions, as well as the general character of religious life in both traditional and modern China.

RELI 245 – Existential Problems

Cross Listed

Exploration of central problems of the human condition, such as meaning of life; death; self-deception; authenticity, integrity and responsibility; guilt and shame; love and sexuality.

RELI 271 – The History of Christianity

Cross Listed

This course examines the history of the great diversity of beliefs, practices, ways of life, and forms of authority among Christians, and especially conflicts about these. Not narrowly theological, the course construes Christianity broadly, treating, for example, society, culture, and art.