91771

REL 103 Buddhist Thought/Practice

Kristin Scheible

. T . Th .

10:10 - 11:30 am

OLIN 202

HUM/DIFF

Cross-listed: Asian Studies; Theology This course is designed to explore the “three jewels” of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Dharma (the teaching), and the Sangha (the Buddhist community). We will move imaginatively through different historical periods, cultures, and what might be called “Buddhisms” in this introductory survey of Buddhist teachings and practices. Our goals are threefold: first, we must consider what tools are potentially helpful in the comparative study of religion. We will revisit and reevaluate this objective throughout the course. Second, and most importantly, we will explore the diversity of thought and practice within the religious tradition monolithically referred to as “Buddhism,” by acquainting ourselves with the texts and participants of various communities (or “schools”) of Buddhists including Theravada, Tibetan, Pure Land and Zen. Finally, the “three jewels” framework will help us to organize our findings and to make sense of apparent continuities and differences among the traditions. Religion program category: Historical - Class size: 22

91772

REL 104 Introduction to Judaism

Alan Avery-Peck

M . . . .

1:30 -3:50 pm

RKC 200

HUM

Cross-listed: Jewish Studies, Theology Diverse Judaic religious systems ("Judaisms") have flourished in various times and places. No single Judaism traces a linear, unitary, traditional line from the beginning to the present. This course sets forth a method for describing, analyzing, and interpreting Judaic religious systems and for comparing one such system with another. It emphasizes the formative history of Rabbinic Judaism in ancient and medieval times, and the development, in modern times, of both developments out of that Judaism and Judaic systems competing with it: Reform, Orthodox, Conservative Judaisms in the 19th century, Zionism, the American Judaism of Holocaust and Redemption, in the twentieth. In both the classical and the contemporary phases of the course, analysis focuses upon the constant place of women in Judaic systems as a basis for comparison and contrast.

Religion program category: Historical Class size: 15

91773

REL 106 Introduction to Islam

Irfana Hashmi

. . W . F

10:10 - 11:30 am

OLIN 309

HUM/DIFF

Cross-listed: Middle East Studies; Theology This course seeks to provide an introduction to pre-modern and contemporary Islam. We will study the central beliefs, institutions, and practices that constitute Islam. We will start with Muhammad’s message in seventh century Arabia.  We will then examine the intellectual traditions of Islamic law, theology, and mysticism in medieval Muslim societies. Starting in the 19^th century, these same societies underwent massive structural change with the advent of colonial occupations. We will study the impact of Western colonialism on the structure of religious authority in Islam. We will study themes that have figured prominently in popular media portrayals of Muslims in the last few decades, notably gender and Islamic politics, including the radical variety. We will conclude the course by analyzing competing theories about the relationship between the “West” and “Islam.” Class size: 18

91774

REL 224 Saint Paul

Bruce Chilton

. . W . F

1:30 -2:50 pm

OLIN 308

HUM

Cross-listed: Theology Paul has been reviled and revered throughout Western history. A visionary thinker who combined Stoicism, Judaism, and nascent Christian theology, he transformed all of them in the mix. Any single designation you choose for him proves incomplete. He is one of the most frustrating and tantalizing figures in our intellectual tradition, because he tried to change every group he joined, every idea he embraced. He wove his thoughts from his complex background and his volatile temperament, and produced a new way of thinking and feeling about what it means to be human. He emerged as an innovator and a radical ideologue by synthesizing the popular philosophy of the Greco-Roman world and his passionate Judaism into a new hybrid -- what the world calls Christianity. Class size: 18

91776

REL 228 Devotion & Poetry in India

Richard Davis

M . . . . . . W . .

2:10 -4:30 pm 3:10 -4:30 pm

OLIN 308 OLIN 308

HUM

Cross-listed: Asian Studies Bhakti means "participation in" or "devotion to" God. From 700 C.E. to 1700 C.E., in every region of India, bhakti poet-saints sang songs and lived lives of intense, emotional devotion to their chosen gods. The songs, legends, and theologies of these saints and the communities they established permeate the religious life of India. This course explores the world of bhakti through its poetry. We examine issues of poetics and theology, bhakti and opposition to orthodox social conventions, bhakti and gender, the interactions of Hindu devotionalism and Islamic Sufism, the role of bhakti in Indian music, and the problem of bhakti in twentieth-century Indian literature. This is a writing intensive course. The general goals of the writing component of the course are to improve the development, composition, organization, and revision of analytical prose; the use of evidence to support an argument; strategies of interpretation and analysis of texts; and the mechanics of grammar and documentation. Regular short writing assignments will be required. Religion program category: Interpretative Class size: 16

91777

REL 269 Sacred Pursuits

Bruce Chilton

. T . Th .

1:30 -2:50 pm

OLINLC 120

HUM

Cross-listed: Jewish Studies, Theology This seminar is devoted to developing theoretical self-awareness in the study of religion. In order to achieve that end, we will read some of the key theorists in the study of religion, apply their insights to case-studies, and refine their approaches as seems necessary. Class size: 16

91778

REL 286 Science and the Sacred

David Nelson

. T . Th .

11:50 -1:10 pm

RKC 102

HUM

Cross-listed: Theology This course will examine a number of important, contemporary issues at the intersection between religion and science. Scientific thinking about God, religious responses to cosmology and evolution, and the writings of both scientists on religion and religionists on science will be included. We will focus on attempts to learn about religion from science, and about science from religion, and on the different methodologies, assumptions, and entailments of the two disciplines. No significant background in either field is required. Class size: 22

91939

REL 346 Classical Indian Philosophy

Richard Davis

M . W . .

6:20 – 7:40 pm

OLIN LC 208

HUM

Cross-listed: Asian Studies, Philosophy, Theology This seminar will explore philosophical developments in ancient and classical India, from the Upanisads through the formation of the three Vedanta schools. We will consider the basic recurring topics and problems of Indian philosophical discourse as formulated both in orthodox (Hindu) and heterodox (Buddhist, Jain, materialist) schools. In the second half of the semester we will focus on the Bhagavad Gita and its primary commentaries. Class size: 15

91700

REL COL Religion Colloquium

Kristin Scheible

M . . . .

5:00 -6:00 pm

OLIN 202

2 credits The religion colloquium is a two-credit course open to all students, but required of religion moderands. The purpose of the colloquium is to foster a community of scholarship among students and faculty interested in the study of religion, and to prepare public presentations of independent research. The colloquium is designed to encourage interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives on students’ topics of particular interest. Weekly sessions will be devoted to discussion of new books, films, CD-roms, etc. as well as regular updates of progress on senior projects. Public sessions of the colloquium will be scheduled three or four times each semester; students who enroll for credit will shoulder the responsibility for preparing papers to present in these sessions. Outside speakers and faculty members may also be invited to present papers in these public sessions. Religion program category: Theoretical Class size: 22