|
92120 |
REL 103 Buddhist
Thought/Practice |
Dominique Townsend |
T Th 10:10 am-11:30 am |
OLIN LC 115 |
MBV |
HUM DIFF |
Cross-listed:
Asian Studies For more than 2,500 years
Buddhist thought and practice has evolved around the central question of how to
deal with suffering. The importance of cultivating compassion and wisdom, and
the hard realities of impermanence and death are among Buddhism’s guiding
concerns. Across diverse cultural landscapes, Buddhism comprises a wide array
of philosophical perspectives, ethical values, social hierarchies, artistic and
literary traditions, and ritual technologies. It is linked to politics,
cultures, institutions, and personalities, just as it is geared towards
renunciation. Buddhism’s various faces can seem inconsistent, and they are
frequently out of keeping with popular expectations. This course offers an
introduction to Buddhism’s foundational themes, practices, and worldviews. As
we highlight commonalities, we will also pay attention to the variations that
occur as Buddhism interacts with different cultures over time, considering
topics such as gender, the place of the arts, and the defining features of
religion more broadly. Beginning with Buddhism’s origination in
|
92050 |
REL 106 Islam |
Tehseen Thaver |
M W 11:50 am-1:10 pm |
OLIN 201 |
MBV D+J |
HUM DIFF |
Cross-listed: Global & International Studies; Midde 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
|
92049 |
REL 111 The Hebrew
Bible |
David Nelson |
T Th 11:50 am-1:10 pm |
OLIN 204 |
MBV |
HUM DIFF |
Cross-listed:
Jewish Studies;
Theology The Hebrew Bible is arguably one of the most important
works of Western culture. This course will survey the text, meaning, historical
background and ancient near eastern literary and cultural context of the Hebrew
Bible, and will provide a crucial introduction to all further studies of the
three Abrahamic faiths. We will examine the interplay between history and myth,
the various forms and purposes of biblical law, the phenomenon of biblical
prophecy, and the diverse literary genres that are found within the Bible. Our
goal will be to understand the work as a religious, historical, legal, and
narrative work that reflected the society from which all of later Judaism,
Christianity and Islam grew. Class size: 22
|
92121 |
REL 128 meditations,
perceptions, words: Poetry in Buddhist
Literature |
Dominique Townsend |
T Th 1:30 pm-2:50 pm |
OLIN 102 |
MBV |
HUM |
Cross-listed:
Asian Studies What can we learn about
poetry from Buddhist literature, and what can we learn about Buddhism from
reading poetry? In this seminar students read and analyze poetry from Buddhist
cultures, including Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan literary traditions.
Our focus is on poems that are emblematic of Buddhist themes such as
impermanence, interdependence, perception of the present
moment, renunciation, and empathy. We also read and discuss poems from
Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Islamic traditions to situate Buddhist poetry
within a wider context of religious literature. Considering a broad scope of
religious literature allows students to analyze how poetic forms work to
express common themes such as the nature of the self and the relationship to
the divine. This course focuses on primary source materials in translation. Our
primary aim is to pinpoint aspects of Buddhist philosophy that lend themselves
particularly well to – or perhaps even require – poetic expression. Class size: 22
|
92466 |
REL 227 Zoroastrianism |
Shai Secunda |
W 4:40 pm-7:40 pm * see below |
OLIN 203 |
MBV |
HUM DIFF |
Cross-listed:
Asian Studies; Middle Eastern Studies A multifaceted engagement with the Iranian
religion, Zoroastrianism. This course will examine the literature, history,
ritual, myth, theology, and identity of Zoroastrianism as a dynamic tradition
which intersected with other traditions - such as Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam – and various political entities – such as the Sasanian, Roman
and Abbasid Empires, and British Colonialism. The focus of the course will be
primarily on ancient Zoroastrianism, and on the classical textual tradition,
especially the Avesta and Middle Persian literature. We will also examine
Zoroastrianism in Colonial India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and across the
Diaspora; look at the great variety of Zoroastrian responses to modernity; and
consider the appearance of Zoroastrianism in modern media, including film,
works of modern philosophy (mostly famously, Nietzsche) and novels.
Apart from opening a window into an influential, if little understood,
religious tradition, studying Zoroastrianism will allow us to consider key
issues in the study of religion, such as the dynamics of influence and the
evolution of religions. NOTE: No previous knowledge of the topic is
expected, even as engagement with any of the major religious traditions will be
illuminated by the study of Zoroastrianism. *Class will meet August 31, Sept. 7, 14, 21, 28, Oct. 26, Nov. 2, 9, 16,
30, and Dec. 7, 14. Class size: 22
|
92051 |
REL 269 Sacred
Pursuits |
Tehseen Thaver |
M W 3:10 pm-4:30 pm |
OLIN 201 |
MBV |
HUM |
Cross-listed:
Jewish Studies;
Theology This course will examine key approaches and
theoretical interventions in the academic study of religion. Through a close analysis
of both primary and secondary texts we will explore multiple ways of
interrogating religion as an object of study. This course will introduce
students to the history of religion studies as a field and to the key
discourses and debates that have shaped the field both historically and in the
contemporary moment. A major focus of this class will be on the careful
examination of central categories and concepts critical to the study of
religion such as tradition, modernity, secularism, materiality and ritual
practice. Class size: 16
|
92047 |
REL 274 Jesus |
Bruce Chilton |
T Th 10:10 am-11:30 am |
OLIN 305 |
HA |
HUM |
Cross-listed: Theology Recent study of the material and cultural contexts of
ancient Israel has advanced critical understanding of Jesus, but the religious
context of Jesus and his movement has received less attention. In this course
we will investigate Jesus, not just as a product of first century
|
92048 |
REL Religion
Colloquium |
Bruce Chilton |
M 5:30 pm-7:00 pm |
OLIN 101 |
MBV |
|
Cross-listed:
Theology 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
Cross-listed courses in Religion:
|
92055 |
SOC 233 Legal
Systems:ComparATIVE PerspectIVE |
Laura Ford |
T Th 4:40 pm-6:00 pm |
OLIN 202 |
SA |
SSCI |