As you register for Spring coursework in the coming weeks we wanted to make sure you had all the relevant information on courses offered through #UFreligion (you can find the full course listings HERE [PDF] and HERE [Excel]).
We may be biased, but we have a great line-up of classes ranging from Religion in Latin America to Islam, Media, and Pop Culture. Here are a few MORE courses we want to highlight and bring to your attention. If you have any questions please feel free to CONTACT US.
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Religion & Bollywood – REL 3938, Prof. Jodi Shaw T 8-9/Th. 9
This course will focus on contemporary popular films in Hindi (aka Bollywood) and Tamil (aka Kollywood) and how they engage with religion. We will watch films and think about such questions as: How does a genre known for numerous dance numbers, melodrama, comedy, and elaborate, stylized fight sequences tackle religious conflict? How does popular cinema uphold or challenge traditionally prescribed gender roles? What does it say about reincarnation theory, religious specialists, and the sacrality of the epics?
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Religion & Evolution – REL 3938, Dr. Edelmann MWF 5
Since Darwin’s Origin of Species (1859), the theory of evolution has transformed nearly every intellectual discipline in fundamental ways, religion included. While many religious thinkers (Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, etc.) immediately accepted the theory, many did not. There are, however, the questions as to how and in what ways evolution was or was not accepted. This course will explore the larger history of science and religion and theoretical modes for understanding it, with a special focus on the late 19th and 20th centuries, looking at a wide range of global religious reactions to evolutionary theory. We will also explore how evolutionary theory is used to look forward in time, to make suggestions about what the human race could be.