This course will serve as a general introduction
to and survey of many of the religious traditions of Asia. It will
focus on the traditions of India, China and Japan. It will cover
Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, Confucian, Taoist and Shinto
traditions. These terms are merely rubrics under which to organize
the material, and the actual nature of how to "define" these
traditions will be an on-going discussion. The class will focus on
both historical and contemporary manifestations of these religions
by using primary sources and audiovisual material in addition to
the textbook. Students will become familiar with the history,
system, and dynamics of the traditions and will develop
tradition-specific vocabularies which will prepare them for
further classes in religion, as well as multicultural encounters
outside the classroom. The class will meet three times per week,
and will consist primarily of lectures supplemented by some
discussion. Careful preparation is necessary in order get the most
out of this class.
Required Texts:
Oxtoby, W. World Religions: Eastern Traditions.
Fieser, James and John Powers. Scriptures of the East. 2nd
ed.
Evaluation:
Students will be graded on short papers analyzing
primary texts and unit tests on religion in India and religion in
East Asia.
1) 48% 6 (SIX) mini-papers analyzing the
primary texts.
2) 26% Unit exam on the Religious Traditions of India
3) 26% Unit exam on the Religious Traditions of China and Japan
RS 102: 3 Introduction to Eastern Religions, CRN
# 4647
Humanities Division Credit; Historical and Cultural Analysis Mode
Credit for new core; Required for Religious Studies Major and
Minor
Instructor: R. Menzies
MWF 11:10-12:00,
Vulgamore 201
Course Description:
This course will serve as a general introduction
to and survey of many of the religious traditions of Asia. It will
focus on the traditions of India, China and Japan. It will cover
Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, Confucian, Taoist and Shinto
traditions. These terms are merely rubrics under which to organize
the material, and the actual nature of how to "define" these
traditions will be an on-going discussion. The class will focus on
both historical and contemporary manifestations of these religions
by using primary sources and audiovisual material in addition to
the textbook. Students will become familiar with the history,
system, and dynamics of the traditions and will develop
tradition-specific vocabularies which will prepare them for
further classes in religion, as well as multicultural encounters
outside the classroom. The class will meet three times per week,
and will consist primarily of lectures supplemented by some
discussion. Careful preparation is necessary in order get the most
out of this class.
Required Texts:
Oxtoby, W. World Religions: Eastern Traditions.
Fieser, James and John Powers. Scriptures of the East. 2nd
ed.
Evaluation:
Students will be graded on short papers analyzing
primary texts and unit tests on religion in India and religion in
East Asia.
1) 48% 6 (SIX) mini-papers analyzing the
primary texts.
2) 26% Unit exam on the Religious Traditions of India
3) 26% Unit exam on the Religious Traditions of China and Japan
R.S. 121 History, Literature and Religion of
the Old Testament, CRN # 4616
Humanities Division
Credit; Textual Analysis credit under the new core;
Fulfills Biblical Studies Requirement For
Religious Studies Majors
Instructor: Staff
TR 8:40-10:00 Vulgamore 201
Course Description:
The Hebrew Bible (i.e. the Old Testament) is
not a single book, but an anthology reflecting different authors,
historical circumstances, literary genres, and theological
agendas. This course is designed as an introduction to the
critical study of this and related literature, and of the ancient
Near Eastern cultural environment that formed its background. We
will give particular attention to the social, political and
religious history of ancient Israel, the development of its
theological traditions, the basic forms of Hebrew literature and
the principal methods to interpret it. Our main task is to
understand what the writings of the Hebrew Bible may have meant in
their original, historical context, but we will also consider
these writings as a contemporary resource for questions of
religion and values. By the end of this course, we will have read
and discussed a major portion of the Hebrew Bible in English
translation.
R.S. 122 History, Literature, and Religion of
the New Testament, CRN# 4618
Fulfills Humanities requirement (old core),
Fulfills Textual Analysis mode requirement (new core), Fulfills
Biblical Studies Requirement for Religious Studies Majors
Instructor: Staff
TR 2:10-3:30, Robinson 202
Course
Description:
The New Testament is not a single book, but an anthology
reflecting different authors, historical circumstances, literary
genres, and theological agendas. This course is designed as an
introduction to the critical study of this and related literature,
and of the Jewish, Hellenistic, and Roman cultural environment
that was its background. In the context of this environment, we
shall examine how a small group of Jews connected with a prophet
named Jesus became a separate religion with its own rituals and
literature about one they regarded as ‘Son of God’.
We shall analyze the earliest extant Christian documents (the
letters of Paul), the production of ‘gospels’ about Jesus, and the
development of the early Christian movement, as reflected both in
canonical and extracanonical literature. Our aim in this course is
to reconstruct the history, literature, and religion of the first
Christians in their various shapes. We shall also explore biblical
scholarship as an academic field of the liberal arts, and why
every educated person ought to know about its findings of the last
200 years. Our main task, however, is to understand what the New
Testament writings may have meant in their original, historical
context. Students will read the entire New Testament as well as
selected extracanonical documents.
RS 131 Introduction to Christian Thought, CRN#
4183
Instructor: R. Mourad
MWF 2:10-3:00
Course Description:
In this course we will examine some important literary and
theological works of the Christian tradition. We will seek to
understand how the authors of these works understand God, Jesus,
the world, human persons, sin, and salvation. There have been many
different understandings of the nature of Christianity. We will
examine some texts that have been very popular and influential and
some that present unorthodox or minority views. Since this course
will focus on Christian thought, rather than Christian practice,
we will emphasize the skills necessary both to interpret and to
evaluate the arguments and rhetoric of the authors. Our primary
methods will accordingly be theological and philosophical. This
course fulfills the Textual Analysis mode requirement.
Requirements:
1. Attend all classes
2. Read all assigned material and participate actively in class
discussions
3. Three exams
4. One paper (2000 word minimum)
Texts:
Augustine, Confessions.
John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress.
C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters.
Film: "The Last Temptation of Christ."
Handouts
Grading:
Paper: 20%
Exam 1: 20%
Exam 2: 20%
Exam 3: 25%
Attendance and participation: 15%
RS 211:1 Hinduism, CRN# 4307
Humanities
Division Credit; Historical and Cultural Analysis Mode Credit for
new core; Fulfills Asian & Comparative Studies
requirement for Religious Studies major/minors.
Instructor: R. Menzies
T
10:10-12:00, R 10:10-11, Vulgamore 204
This course will be an introduction to and survey
of many of the varieties of the "Hindu" traditions of South Asia.
These traditions are merely rubrics under which to organize the
material, and the actual nature of how to "define" these
traditions will be an on-going discussion. The course is roughly
chronological and broken into four units: Ancient Philosophies,
Medieval Mythologies, Hinduism and Society and the Modern Period.
Readings are from primary sources in translation and secondary
sources, and the emphasis attempts to strike a balance between
"elite" monastic traditions and "popular" lay traditions.
Required Texts:
Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism.
C.J. Fuller, The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism in Practice.
Evaluation:
1) 30% 6 (SIX) mini-papers analyzing the
primary texts.
2) 35% Research paper
3) 35% Final exam
RS 212:1 Buddhism, CRN# 4308
Humanities Division Credit; Historical and Cultural Analysis Mode
Credit for new core; Fulfills Asian & Comparative Studies
requirement for Religious Studies major/minors
Instructor: R. Menzies
TR
2:10-3:30, Olin 234
Course Description:
This course will examine the origins of Buddhism
in India and then will trace some of its developments through Asia
and North America. The course is roughly chronological and broken
into four units: India, China, Japan, the 20th Century. Readings
are from primary sources in translation and secondary sources, and
the emphasis attempts to strike a balance between "elite" monastic
traditions and "popular" lay traditions.
Required Texts:
Robinson, Richard H., Willard L. Johnson and
Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Buddhist Religions: A Historical
Introduction. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing
Company, 2005. ISBN: 0-534-55858-5
Evaluation:
1) 30% 6 (SIX) mini-papers analyzing the
primary texts.
2) 35% Research paper
3) 35% Final exam
Texts:
Michael Peterson, et al. Reason and Religious Belief: An
Introduction to the Philosophy of
Religion, 3rd Edition
Michael Peterson, et al. Philosophy of Religion: Selected
Readings, 2nd Edition
Grading:
Paper 1: 25%
Paper 2: 25%
Final Exam: 25%
Presentation: 15%
Attendance/Participation: 10%
RS 313 Death & Dying in World Religions, CRN
# 4187
Fulfills Global Studies Category
Requirement; Fulfills Comparative Religion Requirement for
Religious Studies Majors; Counts toward Anthropology/Sociology
Major.
Instructor: S. Raj
MW 1:10-2:30, Ferguson 111
Course Description:
Human longing for a meaningful explanation
of the mystery of death and dying is deep and universal. Through a
critical analysis of textual and non-textual sources, this
comparative course will examine a wide array of beliefs and
rituals related to death and dying in a select number of world
religions.
In addition to intellectual familiarity with
cross-cultural beliefs and practices, students will be encouraged
in the creative and critical enterprise of analyzing familiar
religious and cultural practices surrounding death and dying.
Required Texts:
Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie
Albom, Mitch. The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Huntington, R. & Metcalf, P. (eds)
Celebrations of Death: The Anthropology of Mortuary Ritual
Kubler-Ross, E. On Death and Dying
Obayashi, H. Death & Afterlife in World Religions:
Perspectives of World Religions
Coursepack
Evaluation:
Class attendance, participation, two
individual presentations, three creative projects, and a
reflection journal.
