Spring 2008 Undergraduate Courses

RELS 2101. Introduction to Western Religions (LV). An introduction to Judaism, Christianity, Islam and other selected religions. Emphasis on the myths, stories, symbols, rituals, ideas, and ethical practices of these religions in their classical formulations and in their contemporary practices. (TR 2-3:15 Tammie Wanta) [RELS major, required]

RELS 2102. Introduction to Asian Religions (LX). An introduction to Hinduism, Buddhism, and other selected religions such as Confucianism, Daoism, and Islam. Emphasis on the myths, stories, symbols, rituals, ideas, and ethical practices of these religions in their classical formulations and in their contemporary practices.
(WF 12:30-1:45 Tina Katsanos) [RELS major, required]

RELS 2104. Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament (LV). The Hebrew religious tradition from the perspective of its development in the culture of the ancient Near East. (TR 2-3:15 Barbara Thiede)

RELS 2105. New Testament and Christian Origins (LV). A historical introduction to the texts of the New Testament and the world of early Christianity. Students will examine early Christian writings within the contexts of ancient Judaism and the Greco-Roman world.  Students will also become familiar with the tools and methods used in the fields of New Testament and Early Christian studies. (001: MW 9:30-10:45 Loy Witherspoon; 002: TR 9:30-10:45 James Tabor)

RELS 2110. Judaism. The development of Jewish religious thought from antiquity to the present. (Yearly)
[Western Tradition] (Tuesday 3:30-6:15 Richard Cohen)

RELS 2120. Christianity. The world-wide development of the thought and practices of diverse Christian traditions from antiquity to the present. (yearly) [Western tradition] (MW 11:00-12:15 Jeremy Schott)

 RELS 2131. Islam. The development of the traditions in Islam with emphasis on Islamic culture, literature, and mysticism. [Western tradition] (TR 12:30-1:45 Kathryn Johnson)

 RELS 2166. Taoism. Philosophical Taoism as nature mysticism. Comparison with nature mystics in the West. (Alternate years) [Asian tradition] (TR 9:30-10:45 David Mozina)

 RELS 2216.The Modern Middle East.  An introduction to the history of this important and dynamic region. The course focuses on the issues that have defined the Middle East in the recent past and provides students with the historical context needed to understand the region, its peoples, and its conflicts in greater depth. Cross listed with HIST. [Western Tradition] (TR 11:00-12:15 Kathryn Johnson)

 RELS 2600. Approaches to the Study of Religion (W). Required of all majors as early in their program as possible. Examines basic concepts, theories, and approaches that are involved in the critical, academic study of religion. Attention given to basic research materials and to standard writing practices in the discipline. Majors only.
(Wednesday 3:30-6:15 Judith Fagan) [RELS major, required]

RELS 3000.001. After the New Testament. How did Christianity, originally a small, persecuted Jewish sect, develop into a distinct “world religion?” This course explores the history of Christianity in the period “after the New Testament” (2nd-6th centuries C.E.).  Topics will include: martyrdom and persecution, heresy and orthodoxy, church-state relations, asceticism and monasticism, Constantine and the “conversion” of the Roman Empire. Seminar (MW 12:30-1:45 Jeremy Schott)

RELS 3000.002. Angels and Demons in Biblical Folklore. A close look at selected narrative, judicial, and ritual texts drawn from the Bible and allied writings which refer to or otherwise feature these mysterious entities.

(TR 5:00-6:15 John Reeves)

RELS 3000.003. Sectarian Islam and the Iraq War. This course will explore the history of modern Iraq from 1921 until the present and the role of ethnic and religious differences in the current conflict. (Monday 6:30-9:15 Kathryn Johnson)

RELS 3050.001. Race Religion and Murder. Race, Religion and Murder is designed to introduce students to the intersection of race, religion, and violence in American culture. Specifically, this course addresses how Judeo-Christian traditions have been used to justify and even condone acts of violence against women, children and peoples of color.  Key components of this course require students to critically analyze sacred spaces, racial identity formations, sacred texts, and historical occurrences of rape, murder, lynching, and genocide.[Religion and modern culture] (Cross listed with AFRS). (TR 2:00-3:15 Julia Robinson-Harmon)

 RELS 3050.002. Natural, Unnatural, and Supernatural: Does God exist? How did the universe begin? Do miracles happen? Is there life after death? Where does evil come from in a world created “good”? Do human beings have free will? What can we know? This course will set these "Big Questions" in historical perspective in the West, with primary focus on answers proposed by more recent thinkers. [Religion and modern culture] (MW 2:00-3:15 Joanne Robinson)

RELS 3150.001. The Black Church/Civil Rights Movement. Role of the black church in the struggle for human equality. Topics such as radical, moderate, and accommodationist leadership styles; historical development of the black church in the South; and its emergence as a foundation for modern civil rights movement. (Same as AAAS 3150). (TR 12:30-1:45 Julia Robinson-Harmon)

RELS 3111.001. Women in Judaism. A survey of the roles and activities in Jewish women throughout Jewish history, as it is portrayed in a diverse sampling of Jewish religious literature and practice. (Alternate years) [Crosslisted as WMST 3111] (TR 3:30-4:45 Barbara Thiede)

RELS 3150.001. The Black Church/Civil Rights Movement. Role of the black church in the struggle for human equality. Topics such as radical, moderate, and accommodations leadership styles; historical development of the black church in the South; and its emergence as a foundation for modern civil rights movement. (Same as AAAS 3150). (TR 11-12:15 Julia Robinson-Harmon)

RELS 3163.001. The Religious Art and Architecture of India.The visual art of Hindus, Buddhists, Jainas, and Muslims in the architecture, paintings, and sculptures of India. (Yearly) (TR 11-12:15 Dan White)

RELS 4000.090. Witches Saints and Heretics. This course will examine concepts of ‘sanctity’ and ‘deviance’ as formulated in Western cultural traditions.  The focus will be on examining constructions of individual identity and cultural boundaries through a close reading of, for example, martyrdom accounts, saints’ lives, trials for heresy, and witch-hunting manuals alongside recent scholarly interpretations. (Monday 6:30-9:15 Joanne Robinson).

RELS 4000.091. Approaches to Ritual. An exploration of three major approaches to the study of ritual through test cases drawn from Asian religious traditions. We shall interpret selected ritual complexes as social dramas, as languages with syntactical meaning, and as cultural performances. This course is designed to provide a forum for students to use theoretical literature to interpret religious practice.  (Thursday 3:30-6:15 Mozina)

RELS 4000.092. Philosophy of Religion: Modern Judaism. Selected readings in the philosophy of religion from Spinoza, Voltaire, Rousseau, Hegel, Kant, Schelling, Feuerbach, Schleiermacher, and others. (Tuesday 6:30-9:15 (Richard Cohen)

RELS 4050.001. Religion in the Contemporary United States.This course examines selected topics and themes in contemporary U.S. religion.  The class structure includes introductory lectures, seminar-style discussions, student presentations, frequent writing assignments, and a thesis-driven final paper.  MW 2:00-3:15 (Sean McCloud)

RELS 4600. Senior Seminar. (WO) Required of majors in final year of studies. Majors only. (Wednesday 3:30-6:15 Sean McCloud)

FORL 1202.003. Introduction to Biblical Hebrew I. This continuation course is the second half of an introduction to biblical Hebrew encompassing two semesters of study. Although we will continue to study grammar and build vocabulary, we will concentrate this spring on the reading and translation of some simple narrative and verse selections drawn from the Bible. (TR 3:30-4:45 Tammie Wanta)