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Home , Comparative religion, Initiation, Organized religion

, Comparative (REL) 1

REL 254. Introduction to Russian and Eurasian Studies. (3) (MPF) Religion, Comparative Examines the major developments that have shaped Russian and Eurasian Culture, society and politics over the last millennium. The (REL) course incorporates perspectives from the social sciences, humanities and the fine arts. IIB. CAS-B. REL 101. Introduction to the Study of Religion. (3) (MPF, MPT) Cross-listed with ATH/CLS/ITS/HST/POL/RUS. Introduction to the study of religion as a phenomenon of human REL 275. Introduction to the Critical Study of Biblical Literature. culture. Various examples of religion are observed and compared in (3) (MPF, MPT) relationship to a thematic and methodological framework. IIB. CAS-B. Surveys origins, historical development, content of texts, both REL 128. Religion, Science, and Origins. (3) (MPF) canonical & non-canonical, that contributed to the formation of the A team-taught, interdisciplinary introduction to the science behind against the background of the advent & continuing development the theory of evolution and to religious responses to that theory, of modern literary and historical-critical methods. IIB. CAS-B. including contemporary controversies around creation science and REL 277. Independent Studies. (0-6) intelligent design. Multiple disciplinary perspectives are brought to bear, drawn from fields in both the natural sciences (such as biology) REL 286. Global Jewish . (3) (MPF) and the humanities (such as of science, of How did the Jewish people persist through the vicissitudes of knowledge, science studies, intellectual and cultural history, and enslavement, conquest, dispersion, and return, over the course of ). IIB. CAS-B. three thousand years of history? In this course, we will study of the Cross-listed with BIO. encounter between Jews and the cultures and lands in which they lived, through a consideration of Jewish texts and literature, REL 133. Imagining Russia. (3) (MPF) spanning the globe from Ancient Mesopotamia to modern America. Survey of Russian history, society, politics, economy, literature, film, IIB, IIIB. CAS-B. and arts from a variety of intellectual perspectives. Classroom lectures plus out of class cultural presentations. IIB, IIIB. CAS-B. REL 306. History of Christian Thought. (3) Cross-listed with RUS. A survey of the history of Christian thought that introduces the major intellectual issues throughout Christian history, including REL 177. Independent Studies. (0-6) understandings of , evil, human nature, and . Examines REL 201. Methods for the Study of Religion. (3) (MPT) the diversity in between and within Orthodox, Catholic, Classical and contemporary theories of the nature, origin, and and Protestant traditions. Explores the interaction between function of religion in human society. Required for majors and minors intellectual developments and historical context. CAS-B. in comparative religion. ADVW. CAS-W. Cross-listed with HST 306. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. REL 313. Marriage Across Cultures. (3) REL 203. Global of . (3) (MPF) This class engages feminist theory and gender studies to explore the Explores the major religions of India and their growth outside India. consequences of different types of marital formations (polygamous Asks how these religions have contributed to the as well as monogamous) for the lives of women and men in selected of America. Also asks how Asian American and non-Asian American Western and non-Western cultures. IC. CAS-B. practitioners of these religions have changed the way that religion in Cross-listed with WGS. practiced in India and other parts of Asia. IIB, IIIB. CAS-B. REL 314. Social and Religious History of the Jewish People. (3) Cross-listed with AAA. (MPF, MPT) REL 223. Introduction to . (3) Cultural, social, and religious history of Jews in Europe, America, and Explores the development of Buddhism in India and South Asia. the Middle East since Enlightenment with emphasis on 20th century Examines the relationship between early Buddhist values and those and in the context of the larger society and culture. IIB. CAS-B. of the larger culture in India, especially with regard to the importance REL 316. The Age of the Reformation. (3) of marriage, family, and accumulation of wealth. As Buddhism spread The religious revolutions of the 16th century, both Protestant and to Nepal, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand, it was transformed Catholic, in their social, political, and religious contexts. Topics chosen by and effected profound changes within these other cultures. These from: medieval reform movements and heresies; popular religion; the cultural interactions are explored. debates about clerical celibacy, free will, and the priesthood; social REL 226. Introduction to . (3) discipline and the modern ; family and women; the missions to Origin and early history and rapid as a world , the New World; the witch craze and the Inquisition. development of Muslim and culture, major groups and Cross-listed with HST 316. thinkers, and problems and issues of the present. REL 330. Religion, Sex, & Gender. (3; maximum 6) REL 241. Religions of the American Peoples. (3) (MPT) Do people have gender-specific ways of experiencing religious life? An introduction to the Jewish, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholic Learn how gender and sexuality shape a person’s religious life. See traditions with emphasis on their transition to and development in how is in turn shaped by the lived experience North America. IC. CAS-B. of humans with gendered and sexualized bodies. Apply feminist Cross-listed with AMS. and queer theory to selected case studies in order to analyze how religions respond to people and how people respond to religion. CAS- B. Cross-listed with WGS 330. 2 Religion, Comparative (REL)

REL 331. Paul and the Beginnings of Christianity. (3) REL 365. Arabian Gulf Economies in Social Transition. (6) History, institutions, and thought of early Christianity in the first two Since the discovery of oil in twentieth-century Arabia, the Sultanate centuries, C.E., including the letters of Paul and early interpreters of of Oman and the United Arab Emirates have seen remarkable social, Paul. cultural, political, and economic shifts. In visits to Dubai, Muscat, and Abu Dhabi, this program will introduce students to the intersection REL 332. The Development of Christianity: 100 to 451. (3) Development of Christianity and the interaction between religion, of the religious, cultural, and economic climates of both the United culture, society, and politics from second through fifth centuries. CAS- Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman to foster the importance B. of Arab culture and Islam to the pursuit of a successful emerging, Cross-listed with HST 334. developed, and specialized economy in the Middle East. Through site visits, conversations with experts and locals, as well as personal REL 333. Religion, Dress, and Status. (3) (MPT) experiences, students will evaluate how culture is preserved, lost, and Displays of status through constrictive dress and gender segregation transformed in Oman and UAE in the course of engaging in local and will be explored with reference to religion, gender, and class. Course global business. As a result of this experience, students interested in will explore the topic through selected case studies, several of which foreign affairs, human cultures, global politics, and global economies involve Islamic cultures. will be uniquely skilled to succeed in the Arabian Gulf context. This Cross-listed with WGS. course is only offered as part of a credit workshop. REL 336. Reconstructing . (3) REL 373. Religion after Communism. (3) There are a lot of Jesuses out there; the divine savior, the wandering Explores the relationship between Religion and Socialism, focusing Jewish preacher, the apocalyptic prophet, the revolutionary, the moral especially on the Soviet Union and China. In both, religion suffered philosopher—each one someone’s reconstruction. How do we get to severe repression under communist regimes, followed in recent the Jesus of History, and what does that even mean? Students explore decades by the revival of Orthodox Christianity in Russia, Islam in the intellectual and methodological problems in reconstructing a Central Asia, and various religions in China, with significant impact historical figure — none more influential than Jesus of Nazareth. on society and politics in all. Examines the significance of religion in REL 340. Internship. (0-20) these countries for understanding international relations and media representation. CAS-B. REL 341. and the Development of American Culture. (3) (MPT) REL 376. Global Jihadism. (3) History and symbolic structure of American Protestantism and its role Introduces and examines the development of contemporary Jihadi- in the development of American culture. Salafi movements such as al-Qa'ida and ISIS in comparison with Cross-listed with AMS 341. movements such as Hamas and Hizbullah. Evaluates the changing interpretations of Islamic tradition, law, and religious practice each REL 342. Religious Pluralism in Modern America. (3) (MPT) movement manifests. Particular attention is paid to a critical analysis Historical and cultural analysis of religious communities of the U.S. of the writings and multimedia productions of these movements in of primarily non-European origin. Includes African American, Native response to modernization, , and global historical and American, Latino, and Middle Eastern and Asian traditions, including socioeconomic circumstances. Islam. IC. CAS-B. Cross-listed with AMS. REL 377. Independent Studies. (0-6) REL 343. African-American Religions. (3) REL 402. Basic Structures in the History of Religions. (3) (MPC) An historical survey of the formulation and expression of African- Investigations of categories, types, and forms developed for the study American religions from slavery to the present, including culturally of religions, such as the Sacred, the Holy, , . specific forms of , as well as reinventions and REL 430. Early Christian Literature and Religion. (4; maximum 4) reinterpretations of African traditions. Selected texts and/or themes of early Christianity studied critically in Cross-listed with BWS. their historical and cultural context. Reading knowledge of Greek is REL 355. Religion and Law. (3) desirable. Students will work with legal briefs, theories, and case studies REL 470A. Havighurst Colloquium. (3) drawn from a range of traditions, such as Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, and Exploration of significant issues related to Russian and post Christian, to examine how law and religion are constituted and used communist affairs. Each semester focuses on a central theme or to construct, challenge, or complicate identities. Case studies will topic that is examined through presentations, readings, research, focus on controversial cases in the US and other parts of the world. discussion, and writing. May be repeated once for credit with only 3 Also analyzed will be the changes to law and religion brought by hours counting towards the history major. modernization such as the effects of secularization, technology and Cross-listed with ATH 436/536; CLS 436; HST 436/HST 536/536; new media, colonial/post-colonialism, and human migration. POL 440/POL 540/540; and RUS 436/536. REL 360. Interdisciplinary Special Topics. (1-4; maximum 8) REL 477. Independent Studies. (0-6) Course of study on a selected topic examined from the perspective of two or more disciplines. REL 480. Independent Reading for Departmental Honors. (1-6) REL 677. Independent Studies. (0-6) REL 700. Research for Master's Thesis. (1-10)