-
RELIGN M50 - Origins of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Souman Elah, Morgan Hartshorn, Carol Bakhos
(Same as Ancient Near East M50B and Middle Eastern Studies M50B.) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Examination of three major monotheisms of Western cultures--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--historically and comparatively. Development, teachings, and ritual practices of each tradition up to and including medieval period. Composition and development of various sacred texts, highlighting key themes and ideas within different historical and literary strata of traditions, such as mechanisms of revelation, struggle for religious authority, and common theological issues such as origin of evil and status of nonbelievers. Letter grading.
-
RELIGN 101 - History of Study of Religion
Instructor(s):
Jeffrey Guhin
Lecture, four hours. Recommended requisite: History 4. Survey of major modern theories, methods, and approaches to study of religion to situate them within their own historical, philosophical, and social contexts. Critical consideration of changing and contested meanings of term religion and its relationship to such categories as science and magic, as well as to other domains of social experience. Examination of how study of religion has interacted with other academic fields, especially biblical studies, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and evolutionary biology. P/NP or letter grading.
-
RELIGN M108 - Qur'an
Instructor(s):
Asma Sayeed
(Same as Arabic CM106.) Lecture, three hours. Introduction to Qur'an, its early history, and form and function as scripture in Muslim history, civilization, and culture. Focus also on Qur'anic interpretation, its relationship to Islamic law, and Qur'an in contemporary discourses such as human rights, feminism, and contemporary reform movements. Primary sources include excerpts from Qur'an, Qur'anic interpretation, and selected writings of Muslim thinkers and reformists. Strong focus on analytical and writing skills through in-class assignments and discussion. Letter grading.
-
RELIGN 113 - In Search of Meaning: From Holy Texts to Hollywood
Instructor(s):
Carol Bakhos
Lecture, two and one half hours. Exploration of topics such as existence of a higher being, meaning of life, one's role in world, one's obligations to others, human nature, and existence of evil. Examination of texts ranging from scriptures to film that reflect religious, philosophical, and secular ways people--over centuries and throughout world--have sought answers to basic questions of human existence. Today, in time of global disruption, people still search for meaning and purpose on path is rarely straight forward or upward, and often requires movement backward or downward. Introduction to how various thinkers and cultures have approached life's big questions, including religious and philosophical responses to them. Students are encouraged to think critically about them and formulate their own responses. P/NP or letter grading.
-
RELIGN M142C - History of Religion in U.S.
Instructor(s):
Simon Joseph
(Same as History M142C.) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Designed for juniors/seniors. Consideration of religious dimension of people's experience in U.S. Examination of number of religious traditions that have been important in this country, with emphasis on relating developments in religion to other aspects of American culture. P/NP or letter grading.
-
RELIGN 160 - Religion, Film, and Media
Instructor(s):
Karen Muldoon-hules
Lecture, four hours. Examination of complex relationship between religious traditions and various media (e.g., print, film, photography, television, radio, and electronic) as they have intersected in specific historical and cultural contexts. Illumination of role of media in forming and expressing religious ideas, practices, and identities. Topics may include representations of religious groups, visual and aural piety, identity formation, interreligious conflict, religious education, and use of media technologies for propaganda or proselytizing purposes. Historical, sociological, and anthropological approaches used in concert with various methodologies current within media studies. P/NP or letter grading.
-
RELIGN M174D - Indo-Islamic Interactions, 700 to 1750
Instructor(s):
Sanjay Subrahmanyam
(Same as History M174D.) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Designed for juniors/seniors. Historical introduction to Muslim communities of what eventually became nations of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Topics include social, political, religious, and cultural history. P/NP or letter grading.
-
RELIGN M175 - Topics in Philosophy of Religion
Instructor(s):
Mark Johnson
(Same as Philosophy M175.) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisite: Philosophy 21 or 22. Intensive investigation of one or two topics or works in philosophy of religion, such as attributes of God, arguments for or against existence of God, or relation between religion and ethics. Topics announced each term. May be repeated for credit with consent of instructor.
-
RELIGN 177 - Variable Topics in Religion: Introduction to Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism
Instructor(s):
Anahita Hoose
Fruitfully interacting with each other while preserving their unique characters, South Asian religions have inspired great artistic and intellectual achievements. Hinduism traces its ancestry back to Vedic rituals more than 3,000 years old. Jainism, which emerged in mid-first millennium BCE and initially defined itself by opposition to Vedic tradition, nonetheless affected Hinduism's subsequent development profoundly. Sikhism developed under Muslim rule in second millennium CE; Sikh texts were shaped by both Hindu and Muslim inspirations. Exploration of history of all three religions, and their role in lives of practitioners today.
-
RELIGN 177 - Variable Topics in Religion
Instructor(s):
No assigned instructor -
RELIGN M186A - History of Early Christians
Instructor(s):
Simon Joseph
(Same as History M185F.) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Designed for juniors/seniors. Christian movement from its origins to circa 160 CE, stressing its continuity/discontinuity with Judaism, various responses to Jesus of Nazareth, writings produced during this period, movement's encounters with its religious, social, and political world, and methods of research. P/NP or letter grading.
