Fall, Spring. Credit, three hours. An exploration of diverse ways of being religious in thought, action, community, and experience, as displayed in two or three traditions and cultures, including the non-Western.
Fall, Spring. Credit, three hours. Comparative study of sacred texts in two or more religious traditions and examination of the function of sacred texts in religious communities.
Fall. Credit, three hours. The Hebrew scriptures in translation, examined in their historical setting, and their application in early Jewish and early Christian writings.
Fall (alternate years). Credit, three hours. This course examines Western religions over a significant span of history, special emphasis on interactions between culture and religions and between religions: topic varies.
Spring (alternate years). Credit, three hours. Thematic study of at least two Asian religious traditions. Thematic emphasis may include relationships of text and context, pilgrimage, gender, epic performance, religious institutions, visual arts, or colonial and post-colonial identities. The course will introduce the student to some major Asian religious and philosophical traditions and will focus upon the traditions, key historical developments, and contemporary forms.
Fall, alternate years. Credit, three hours. Explores norms of Muslim belief and practice, locating them in the historical context of their origin in seventh-century Arabia and examining their interpretations in various historical and geographical contexts.
Spring. Credit, three hours. Exploration of the multiple ways Muslim communities in the United States have been both maintaining and reconfiguring their cultural, ethnic and religious identities in the American public square.
TBA. Credit, three hours. An exploration of the ethics of Jesus.
Spring. Credit, three hours. An exploration of the New Testament gospels as literary works of art in the first-century contexts and how passages from those gospels have been dynamically (re)interpreted through the visual arts.
Fall (alternate years). Credit, three hours. Introduction to practices, doctrines, literature, and institutions of Buddhism, with particular focus on contemplative practices, ethics, and methods of philosophical investigation, narrative traditions, and transformation of Buddhism across cultures.
Fall, on demand. Credit, three hours. Prerequisite: One course in religion. Mastery of the basic vernacular of the study of religion is necessary for this course dealing with a focused topic within comparative religions. Understanding death through a study of religious attitudes and practices, modern therapies for the dying, ethical issues, and Western and Asian theological perspectives.
Fall, Spring. Credit, three hours. Interpretation of the New Testament in the context of the historical, social, religious, and literary environment of the eastern Mediterranean world during Late Antiquity.
TBA. Credit, one to four hours. Prerequisite: One course in religion; other prerequisites as specified for topic. Aspects of religion in relation to contemporary culture.
TBA. Credit, one to four hours. Prerequisite: One course in religion and permission of instructor. Study in depth of a limited historical or theoretical problem. May be repeated for credit when topic varies.
On demand. Credit, one to four. Prerequisites: One course in religion and permission of instructor. Independent reading and research under the direction of a faculty member. This course does not satisfy distribution requirements in humanities.
