Religion

 

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The following descriptions of courses being offered by the Department of Religion in Fall 2023 were submitted by the course instructors.

Specific information regarding the dates, times, and locations of these courses may be found in the Registrar’s official webpage: Schedule of Courses for Fall 2023.

If you are looking for a complete syllabus for a course, check the Syllabi page or click on the course title below for availability.

 

IDS 1114 Quest – Ethics and Public Sphere – Anna Peterson

This class asks how we can engage constructively in public discussions on complex and contentious problems. We explore examples that include the #metoo movement and associated conversations about sexual violence, climate change, the presence of extremists on campus, systemic racism in policing and other institutions, and the growing imperatives to respond to economic inequality.  Public discussions about these issues are often so polarized that constructive discussions, let alone solutions, seem hard to find.  To address these challenges in a responsible and productive way, we need reliable sources of information, strategies for rigorous ethical reflection, techniques for civil discourse, and knowledge about effective ways to respond.

 IDS 2935 – God, Humanity & Evolution – Todd Best

How do we think about science and religion? What language do we use? What is evolution? How does evolution shape our thinking about ourselves, the world, or another world? How are these questions interconnected? This course teaches the work of scholars and scientists from a diverse range of traditions. By the course content students will learn internationally from religious, philosophical, and scientific authors on reality, its development, and the beings who experience it. Students will produce written documents to develop their own understanding and approach to the course content, and they will learn to reflect on their own beliefs, practices, and academic disciplines in relation to this course.

IDS 2935 – Post Holocaust American Jews – Rachel Gordan

This course on “Post-Holocaust American Jews” examines some of ways that the Holocaust affected American culture. In order to understand this change, we’ll be spending some time in the “before” moment: the 1920s-1940s. We’ll spend a few weeks on the 1940s, in order to zoom in on the dramatic transformations that occurred in this decade. Not surprisingly, we’ll see some pretty big changes in how Americans thought about Jews, antisemitism, and diversity. The second half of our course will focus on the 1950s and 1960s, with a brief section on more recent decades.

IDS 2935 – Nature, Spirituality, and Pop Culture – Bron Taylor

Beginning with the period since Walt Disney began making animal-focused documentaries and animated films in the 1930s, continuing up through the blockbuster motion picture Avatar (2009) and the Animal Kingdom Theme part further expressing its themes, this course takes a global tour examining the religious, spiritual, ethical, and political dimensions of artistic productions, scientific representations in museums, and other cultural inventions (such as theme parks), in which nature takes center stage. We will explore the international cultural tributaries, influences, and controversies such productions engender, for they constitute important ways that environmental ethics, and quests for environmentally sustainable livelihoods and lifeways, are expressed and promoted. The course will enhance students’ abilities to interpret these cultural productions and their evocative power, explore their own reactions to these social phenomena, whilst learning to think more deeply about their own places in, and obligations to, the natural world. ​

REL 2071 – Religion and Sustainability – Erin Prophet

This course examines the relationship between religion and sustainability and explores how the world’s different religious traditions address the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability. Topics include social and environmental justice, sustainable consumption and sustainable agriculture and food systems. Case studies highlight multiple religious perspectives.

REL 2121 – American Religious History (online) – Rachel Gordan

This course offers an introductory overview of the American religious experience from an historical and cultural perspective. The interaction of American religions and cultures is examined in three chronological periods: 1) Colonial America 1500-1800 2) Nineteenth Century, and 3) Twentieth Century. (H and D)

REL 2300 – Introduction to World Religions (online) – Vasudha Narayanan

When you complete this course, you will be able to:

• Explain basic world views, rituals, and beliefs of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Chinese religions, Japanese religions, Indigenous Religions, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.
• Problematize the category of religion and identify your own working definitions.
• Identify the social, political, and cultural factors that come into play in the formation and understanding of a given religion. –
• Equipped with this knowledge of different religious traditions, and the contexts in which they thrive, identify your own vantage point, as well as engage with different cultures and countries in an informed, respectful manner. (H and N)

REL 2341 – Intro to Buddhism – Yuan Zhang

The course is a broad survey of the essential beliefs, doctrines, and practices that over the centuries have fashioned the identity of Buddhism as a universal religion that transcends ethnic, cultural, and linguistic boundaries. The course covers the historical development of the major Buddhist traditions, including the formulation of key doctrinal tenets and religious practices, the growth of the monastic order, and the formation of new religious ideals and doctrines by the Mahāyāna tradition. We will also explore the spread and transformation of Buddhism outside of India, including China and the Western world, before and during the modern period.

REL 2502 – Intro to Christianity – Jeyoul Choi

Who was Jesus? Was He the “Son of God?” How has the belief of an ethnic and religious minority group that revered Jesus as Christ become one of the largest global religions? How has the question about what it means to be a “good Christian” changed in different historical and social contexts? While evaluating Christianity’s “truth claims” is beyond the purview of this course, it introduces students to how various Christian groups’ understanding of Jesus Christ and His teaching has greatly shaped our history. The course welcomes anyone interested in understanding the origin and multiplicity of the development of Christianity as a global religion from historical, sociological, and anthropological perspectives.

REL 2600 – Jews, Judaism and Jewishness – Yaniv Feller

This course introduces students to the varieties Judaism and the Jewish experience from the Bible to contemporary United States. What is a Jew? Are Jews white? Do you have to believe in God to be Jewish? Must all Jews support the state of Israel? How have Jews responded to antisemitic stereotypes?  To answer these questions, our readings and discussion will cover the classical texts of Judaism, including philosophy, mystical visions, and legal discussions. We would also listen to podcasts, watch films, and read graphic novels. The class will proceed chronologically in order to appreciate the historical development of Judaism, while paying attention to debates about whether Jews are a religion, race, nation or culture.

REL 2930 – Broadcasting Diaspora – Yaniv Feller

From Ukraine to Syria, the world is experiencing the greatest refugee crisis since the Second World War. Millions are being displaced because of war, famines, and ecological disasters. What does it mean to be violently forced to leave one’s home? How is it possible to make sense of such a tragedy? What ethical responsibility do we have toward refugees and migrants? A variety of case studies from the destruction of the Temple in the Hebrew Bible all the way to the contemporary moment. All assignments in this course have the goal of developing the ability to write, edit, and produce, your own podcast on a relevant topic of your choice.

REL 3099 – Spirituality and Health Care – Erin Prophet

In the twenty-first century, spirituality and health care are intersecting in new ways. Traditional and indigenous medical practices are increasingly being sanctioned by and integrated with Western biomedicine. Health providers are expected to be aware of patients’ spiritual needs. Students will learn about: The historically shifting boundaries between medicine, psychology and religion in the West. How to evaluate the health impact of patients’ religious and spiritual beliefs and practices. Whether and how the effects of spiritual practices can be measured. The latest findings from the cognitive science of religion, including theories regarding the innateness of religious ideas. Finally, they will evaluate different models for integrating traditional and alternative therapies with Western biomedicine and learn best practices for assessing and meeting patients’ spiritual needs. (WR 2)

REL 3120 – Religion and the American Immigrant Experience – Jeyoul Choi

“America is a nation of immigrants.” This statement often serves as a cliché to celebrate the country’s racial, ethnic, and religious diversity. Considering religion as an important variable, this course seeks a better understanding of American society made up of diverse immigrant groups. What are the roles of religion in the ongoing history of immigration from the beginning of the country? How does religion facilitate immigrants to maintain or lose their distinctive racial and ethnic identities in the process of becoming American? Responding to these questions, the course explores various thematic lenses (e.g., migration/immigration, diaspora, transnationalism, and globalization) and case studies (e.g., early European Protestant immigrants, Italian Catholic immigrants, Cuban Catholic immigrants, and Thai Buddhist immigrants).

REL 3140 – Religion and Society – Jeyoul Choi

What is the relationship between religion and society? Does our society need religion or not? On the one hand, we have many rational thinkers who once believed that religion as a “byproduct” of society was going to disappear and eventually be replaced by advanced social, political, and economic systems and science. On the other hand, we have experienced an explosion of the global religious population throughout the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries. In the midst of answering this puzzling question, this course explores various theoretical and thematic examples such as capitalism, race & ethnicity, gender & sexuality, science, and environmentalism to critically reflect upon the relationship between religion and society.

REL 3148 – Religion and Violence – Terje Ostebo

The relations between religion and violence has long posed challenges both for ordinary life and for the academic study of religion. Religions sometimes contribute to violence or justify it, but they can also help achieve peaceful solutions to violent conflicts. Religious rituals themselves can be extremely violent, and some scholars argue that violence lies at the heart of religion itself. This class explores violence within religion, religiously motivated violence, religious justifications of political violence, and religious rejections and resolutions of violence. Throughout the course, readings will address a variety of religious traditions in different regions and historical periods. We will also explore a variety of approaches to religious studies and to comparative ethics, including both descriptive and normative studies.  (H and N) (WR 2)

REL 3213 – Hebrew Bible as Literature – Robert Kawashima

This course will introduce students to the literary study of the Hebrew Bible within its ancient Near Eastern context. Our primary focus will be on a wide and varied reading of biblical narrative — along with a bit of poetry — but students will also be introduced to the scholarly study of the Bible from a literary perspective. More generally, this course will introduce students to the scholarly, interdisciplinary study of literature. That is, if the solutions and interpretations proposed will be specific to the Bible, the problems and ideas raised will have relevance for the study of literature in general.

REL 3330 Religions of India – Vasudha Narayanan

This course focusses on the religious traditions and cultural diversity seen in the Indian subcontinent. The lectures and discussions will span the following areas:

(a) a historical introduction to the Hindu tradition;

(b) thematic studies including domestic and temple rituals, discussions on the status of women, and Hinduism in the diaspora; and

(c) a study of the “minority” traditions in India.

We will strike a balance between a historical approach and a thematic one whereby sacraments, rituals, and other issues and activities that are religiously important for a Hindu family can be explained. This will include discussion of issues that may not be found in traditional texts, and I will be supplementing the readings with short journal and magazine articles, videos, and slides. For instance, we will raise many questions concerning the practice of Hinduism, and pay particular attention to the experience of women. Why do the Hindus (especially women) wear a mark on their foreheads? What kind of diet do they follow? How do Hindus worship at the home shrine and at the temple? How do they celebrate their festivals? What do they say during their weddings? Why has yoga generally been unimportant for the average Hindu for the last one thousand years or so? What do the Hindus mean by auspicious times and sacred places? How does the caste system function when marriages are arranged?

The larger questions we will be indirectly addressed in the course will include the following: Are the Indian concepts of “Hinduism” and western concepts of “religion” congruent? How has colonial scholarship and assumptions shaped our understanding of south Asian Hindus and the “minority traditions” as distinct religious and social groups, blurring regional differences? How are gender issues made manifest in rituals? To what extent does language identity overshadow religious identity? How does religious identity influence political and social behavior? How do Hindus in south Asia differentiate among themselves and what criteria do they use?

In the third part of the course we will discuss “minority” religions of India. This will include discussions on Jainism, Sikhism, and Islam.

REL 3938 – Indigenous Religions of the World – Robin Wright

“Indigenous Religions of the World” is intended to be an introductory level course that offers a broad basis for understanding and appreciating indigenous religious traditions in several different areas of the world. While there exists on the books a course REL2388 on “Indigenous Religions of the Americas,” there is none at the University that compares indigenous religious traditions among different areas of the globe. The central objectives of our studies of these religious traditions are to comprehend the principles by which cosmogonies (the creation) are founded, cosmologies (worldviews) are constructed, the variety of beings that populate the cosmos are inter-related, and eschatologies (views on the end-of-times) are envisaged.

REL 4145 – Gender, Women, Sexuality and Religion– Ali Mian

This course surveys key debates in Muslim gender and sexuality studies and is divided into six units: (1) Historical Foundations, (2) Textual Formations, (3) Anthropological Interventions, (4) Feminist and Queer Activisms, (5) Literary Representations, and (6) Film and the Fine Arts. This course is discussion-based and seeks to enable students to conduct rigorous research and use oral and written forms to communicate their findings.

REL 4933-  Senior Seminar (Comparative Religions) – Yaniv Feller

Comparative reasoning occurs in many disciplines in the arts and in the sciences since it is often seen as a way to evaluate what unites and differentiates the objects of study in a particular approach. This course explores the meaning of the word religion and historically related words like philosophy, theology, poetry, and literature by evaluating the similarities and differences that might exist within religions and among religions. Starting at the beginning, this course looks at linguistic and conceptual connections between ancient Eurasians on conceptions of divinity, world, and self. A central question examined throughout this course is whether similarity and difference arise from historical contingencies or from innate patterns of human thought. Students learn about the historical episodes and primary texts that have defined and shaped religions, as well as the contemporary theories that influence the way professional scholars of religion think about it today. (WR 6)

REL 5338 – Hindu Traditions I – Vasudha Narayanan

 

REL 5365 – Gender, Women, Sexuality and Religion– Ali Mian

This course surveys key debates in Muslim gender and sexuality studies and is divided into six units: (1) Historical Foundations, (2) Textual Formations, (3) Anthropological Interventions, (4) Feminist and Queer Activisms, (5) Literary Representations, and (6) Film and the Fine Arts. This course is discussion-based and seeks to enable students to conduct rigorous research and use oral and written forms to communicate their findings.

RLG 5937 – Religion and Violence – Terje Ostebo

The relations between religion and violence has long posed challenges both for ordinary life and for the academic study of religion. Religions sometimes contribute to violence or justify it, but they can also help achieve peaceful solutions to violent conflicts. Religious rituals themselves can be extremely violent, and some scholars argue that violence lies at the heart of religion itself. This class explores violence within religion, religiously motivated violence, religious justifications of political violence, and religious rejections and resolutions of violence. Throughout the course, readings will address a variety of religious traditions in different regions and historical periods. We will also explore a variety of approaches to religious studies and to comparative ethics, including both descriptive and normative studies.  (H and N) (WR 2)

RLG 6107 – Core Seminar In Religion And Nature – Bron Taylor

Religious dimensions of relationships between what humans call “nature” and “culture.” This course explores theoretical approaches and understandings regarding the complex relationships between ecosystems, religions, and cultures. It will prepare graduate students from diverse disciplines to make informed decisions regarding the unique contributions they might make to the “religion and nature” field. It will enable other graduate students to appreciate the extent to which what people variously construe as “religion” is involved in shaping nature-related behaviors, and to integrate the study of religion into their own chosen fields, whether these are more theoretically or practically inclined. Although the course will examine religious environmental ethics through a variety of critical lenses and such subjects will certainly be discussed regularly, the coursework and focus of classroom discussions will primarily be historical and scientific rather than normative: the effort will be to understand what has been and is going on in the realm of religions and nature, and how perceptions of nature and religion interactions are understood and contested by scholars, rather than upon what we think ought to occur.

WST 3371 – Women, Leadership, and Diversity in a Global Environment – Anita Anantharam