91886

REL  103   

 Buddhist Thought & Practice

Luke Thompson

M . W . .

1:30 pm -2:50 pm

RKC 103

HUM/DIFF

Cross-listed:  Asian Studies; Theology   Taiwanese nuns who incorporate business management classes into their traditional Buddhist seminary curriculum, a seventh-century Chinese empress who claimed to be none other than the buddha of the future, wandering monks in the forests of northern Thailand: these examples are indicative of the diversity found within Buddhism.  And yet there are also themes and recurring patterns that tie the various periods and cultural settings of Buddhism together.  In this course we will begin by examining some of the concepts at the heart of Buddhist psychology and philosophy; this is what Buddhism looks like on paper, so to speak.  We will then turn to how Buddhists have practiced and to the institutions they have developed; this is how Buddhism actually looks on the ground.  In the final section of the course we will focus more intently on some of the cultural settings in which Buddhism has developed (including the West), asking how Buddhism changed (or did not change) as it grew increasingly distant from its Indian origins.  Students should come away from the course with an understanding of a handful of ideas and institutions central to Buddhist thought and practice, a rough idea as to the historical transmission of Buddhist (e.g., it went from India to China), and a sense of why this religion has enjoyed such a positive reputation in the West during the past century-and-a-half.  Class size: 22

 

91890

REL  106   

 Islam

Tehseen Thaver

M . W . .

11:50 am -1:10 pm

HEG 308

HUM/DIFF

Cross-listed:  Global & Int’l Studies, Middle Eastern Studies  An examination of the intellectual and lived traditions of Islam. In addition to early Muslim political history this course will also familiarize students with the major disciplines in Islam including the Qur’an, Hadith, theology, Islamic law, Islamic philosophy, and Sufism. The concluding segments of this course interrogate the interruptions of modernity in these traditions through the study of contemporary Muslim reform movements, Muslim modernism, and Islamism. We will utilize a variety of sources including primary sources (in translation), historical works, anthropological and literary sources, and films to guide our discussion. Through the study of Islam, this course will also provide students a solid theoretical foundation in larger conceptual questions and categories pertinent to the academic study of religion and to the humanities more broadly.

Class size: 22

 

91891

REL  241   

 HINDU MYTHOLOGY

Richard Davis

. T . Th .

10:10 am -11:30 am

OLIN 204

HUM

Cross-listed:  Asian Studies, Classical Studies   In their stories of the deeds of gods and goddesses, Hindus created an endlessly variegated alternative world, designed to delight listeners, to affirm or criticize existing Indian society, and to offer ways for Hindu audiences to participate devotionally in that other world.  Exploring the classical Indian narratives of Indra,  Siva, Rama, Krishna, Durga, Kali, and their divine neighbors, we will  seek to find our own way to enter into the devaloka, through  appreciation and analysis.  Course readings will consist primarily of primary sources in translation, as well as some secondary studies of the myths of particular deities.  We will also look at the various theories of myth and strategies for its interpretation.  Finally, the course will examine some of the ways new versions of these stories are transmitted in contemporary India, in graphic and visual form, including Hindu comics, animated films, and mass-produced God-posters.   Class size: 22

 

92399

REL  261

 gender and buddhism

Luke Thompson

M . . . .

. . W . .

3:10 pm – 4:30 pm

ALBEE 106

OLIN 205

HUM/DIFF

As in all religions, one finds a diversity of views of gender and sexuality in Buddhism.  There are many instances in which Buddhist scriptures, commentaries, and teachings concerning this topic appear to contradict one another.  Furthermore, Buddhism has incorporated views from the various cultures in which it has developed, and Buddhist attitudes toward gender in, say, medieval Tibet can be quite different from those found in modern Thailand, for example.  In this course we explore these issues as they have appeared and been addressed in a number of Buddhist contexts. After spending our first week focusing on how gender and sexuality have been approached in the modern study of religion, we will turn to early Indian Buddhist attitudes towards gender, then to Buddhist nuns in varying cultural settings, and finally to a number of gender-related themes that have emerged during the course of Buddhism's development.  At the end of the course students should be able to identify early Indian Buddhist attitudes towards gender and sexuality, and discuss how these attitudes persisted or changed as Buddhism entered other cultures; discuss the predicament of Buddhist nuns in the modern world; and understand the ways in which Western categories used to understand gender and sexuality are or are not applicable to Buddhism.

Class size: 22

 

91892

REL  269   

 Sacred Pursuits

Richard Davis

M . W . .

1:30 pm -2:50 pm

OLIN 303

HUM

Cross-listed:  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.  This course will be Writing Intensive.   Class size: 18

 

91884

REL  286   

 Science and the Sacred

David Nelson

. T . Th .

11:50 am -1:10 pm

OLIN 201

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

 

91889

REL  332   

 Gandhi: Life, PhilOSOPHY, AND STRATEGIES OF Non-violence

Richard Davis

. T . . .

1:30 pm -3:50 pm

HEG 201

HUM

Cross-listed: Asian Studies, Human Rights  Mohandas Gandhi was among the most radical, revered, controversial, and influential political and religious figures of the twentieth century.  His strategies of non-violent satyagraha were widely and successfully adopted during the Indian independence movement, and they have since been adapted by other political leaders and movements around the world, with varying degrees of success.  In this seminar we will examine Gandhi’s life and the development of his philosophy of svaraj and satyagraha.  We will consider the colonial South African and Indian conditions in which Gandhi acted, and we will explore the range of Gandhi’s efforts towards personal, political, and social transformation.  Finally, students in this seminar will investigate some of the movements that have attempted to apply Gandhian methods in new settings, in India, South Africa, the United States, and elsewhere, and assess their effectiveness. The course will include a series of films that provide different perspectives on the Gandhian legacy, from the hagiographical to the deeply critical.  Class size: 15

 

91888

REL  336   

 Sufism

Tehseen Thaver

M . W . .

3:10 pm -4:30 pm

OLINLC 206

HUM/DIFF

Cross-listed:  Global & Int’l Studies, Middle Eastern Studies  This course examines the mystical tradition of Islam or Sufism. We will cover a range of topics including Sufism and Orientalism, the intellectual and institutional history of Sufism, Sufi textual traditions, Sufi orders and the master-disciple relationship, gender and Sufism, Sufism and modernity, and online Sufism. A major focus of this class will be on the close reading of primary texts from multiple intellectual disciplines, time periods, and regions (all in translation).  Class size: 15

 

91887

REL  COL   

 Religion Colloquium

Tehseen Thaver

M . . . .

5:30 pm -6:30 pm

OLIN 201

 

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.  Program category:  Theoretical   Class size: 20