19142

REL 103 Buddhist Thought and Practice

Kristin Scheible

M . W . .

1:30 pm -2:50 pm

OLIN 201

HUM/DIFF

Cross-listed: Asian Studies 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

19381

REL 106 Introduction to Islam

Ismail Acar

M . W . .

10:30 -11:50 am

OLIN 306

HUM/DIFF

Cross-list: Middle Eastern Studies, Theology Is Islam in Arabia in the seventh century the same religion as Islam in Michigan in the twenty-first century? Is a woman in fifteenth-century Iran the same kind of Muslim as a man in nineteenth-century Indonesia? Does West African Islamic mysticism differ from South Asian Islamic mysticism? This course answers these questions by introducing Islamic religious systems in world context. We will study a series of cultures in order to explore differing elements of Islamic practice and to understand some commonalities of Islamic faith. Regions we will encounter include Arabia, Iran, Africa, South Asia, Indonesia and Malay Peninsula, and America. Themes we will trace include conceptions of prophecy, ritual practice, development of Islamic theology and jurisprudence, forms of mysticism, relationship between genders, and definitions of communal identity. Textual traditions we will examine include the Quran, traditions of the prophet Muhammad, philosophical treatises, mystical guidebooks, reform literature, and contemporary educational manuals.

19143

REL 120 The Future of Christianity

Paul Murray

. T . Th .

2:30 pm -3:50 pm

OLIN 309

HUM

Cross-listed: American Studies, Theology; Related interest: Gender & Sexuality Studies Does Christianity have a future? Are contemporary social and cultural conditions such that it must “change or die,” as Bishop John Shelby Spong suggests? During the final decades of the twentieth century, sharp questions regarding the continued viability and usefulness of Christianity were raised with increasing force and frequency not only by its external critics, but by thoughtful Christians, as well. The social contexts of such questions include developing oppositions to Western imperialism in all its forms, including attempts to proselytize non-Christian peoples, religious pluralism as an existential reality, the popular pursuit of individualized spiritualities without religious affiliation, the reconceptualization of gender and sexuality, and the emergence of technologies that extend human manipulation of the world, including the human organism, in ways that were previously unimaginable. These contexts, however, are only the immediate forms of still more deeply rooted intellectual challenges to traditional Christian beliefs and practices. Modern Biblical studies, linguistics, archeology, patristics, and historical studies have compelled Christians -- Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox -- to reexamine foundational assumptions about their respective traditions. At stake in contemporary disputes about moral issues, church polity, discipline and doctrine are the conceptual foundations of Christianity. Can they be rethought? Or, to draw on an aphorism of Jesus, will ‘new wine burst the wine skins’? Course readings will consider the roots and forms of these questions in theologies, church declarations, literature and the arts. Program category: Historical

19383

REL 130 History of Islamic Society

Ismail Acar

. T . Th .

2:30 pm -3:50 pm

OLINLC 115

HUM

Cross-listed: Middle East Studies, Medieval Studies The rise of Islam in Arabia affected dramatically the historical landscape of territories stretching from Spain to the Indus Valley and from Central Asia to Yemen. This course surveys the political, social, religious, and cultural developments of these Islamic worlds from the seventh to sixteenth centuries AD. We examine each region’s initial encounter with Muslims, investigate the process by which it transformed into an “Islamic” society, and determine how its particular cultural and dynastic forms evolved and eventually influenced the idea of the “Islamic World.” The course addresses topics such as the process of conversion, the relationship between Muslim rulers and their Muslim and non‑Muslim subjects, the maturation of Islamic theology and sciences, the formation of Islamic art, and the growth of political and religious institutions. Special attention will be paid to the different forms of narrating history. Readings from the course include historical monographs, biographical traditions, poems, epic tales, mirrors for princes, political and religious manuals, and philosophical treatises. Religion Program category: Historical

19145

REL 213 Sexuality and Spirituality

Paul Murray

. T . Th .

4:00 pm -5:20 pm

OLIN 309

HUM/DIFF

Cross Listed: Gender and Sexuality Studies, Theology Contemporary reappraisals of the domains of sexuality and spirituality have shed new light on the boundaries placed between them in Christian traditions. This course examines the historical, social, cultural and theological roots and significance of these boundaries, as well as the numerous tensions and movements that cluster around them within contemporary Christianity, for example, regarding sexual ethics, sexual orientation and gender. Theological attempts to move beyond the presumed opposition of sexuality and spirituality will be examined in detail. Extra-Christian religious perspectives, including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and the cultic beliefs and practices of indigenous populations, will be drawn into the discussion for comparison. (Limited to 15 students.)

19233

REL 233 Jewish Food & Jewish Eating: A Cultural & Religious Analysis

David Nelson

. . W . F

10:30 -11:50 am

OLIN 307

HUM

Cross-listed: Jewish Studies Comedians have gotten lots of laughs by talking about Jewish food and Jewish eating practices. But this course will use these topics as a serious lens through which to view Judaism as it has developed throughout the ages. By examining primary texts ranging from the Bible to the Talmud, to medieval legal and philosophical works, to modern literature, encompassing both law and lore, we will study the complex religious and cultural structures, theological narratives, and legal principles that have driven Jewish civilization. Our analysis of primary texts will be framed and enhanced by readings in anthropology, philosophy, and history, as well as by careful observation of the reality of the contemporary Jewish world.

19007

CLAS / HIST 2361 Greek Religion: Magic, Mysteries & Cult

Carolyn Dewald

M . . . . M . W . .

2:00 pm -3:00 pm 3:00 pm -4:20 pm

OLIN 107 OLIN 305

HIST

See History section for description.

19220

REL / ANTH 238 The Sacred, the Uncanny, and the Divine: The Anthropology of Religion

Omri Elisha

. T . Th .

10:30 -11:50 am

OLIN 202

SSCI

See Anthropology section for description.

19146

REL 261 Women in Buddhism

Kristin Scheible

. T . Th .

10:30 -11:50 am

OLIN 203

HUM/DIFF

Cross-listed: Asian Studies, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Human Rights Paying attention to an immense diversity in historical, geographic and cultural locations of our subjects, we will encounter the sacred images and social realities of women in the Buddhist world. Specifically, we will consider the ways in which categories such as "woman," "feminine," "gender," and "nun" have been explained and imagined by Buddhist communities (as well as by academics and feminists) through various historical and cultural locations. We will begin with an examination of early Buddhist sources, the stories surrounding the founding of the nun's order and the songs of women saints (Pali Therigatha). We will then consider gender(ed) imagery in Mahayana sources, with a sustained focus on the evolution of the bodhisattva Kuan-yin in China. We will consider the feminine principle as envisioned by Vajrayana Buddhists in Tibet before devoting a significant portion of the course to the study of how real women in the contemporary Buddhist

landscape, especially those who have taken vows, understand theoretical and practical tensions inherent in the Buddhist tradition. Sources for this section will be the collected observations of nuns who were in attendance at the First International Conference on Buddhist Nuns, individual biographies of Buddhist women, and ongoing debates about women’s roles in the Buddhist sangha (community). Program category: Theoretical

19382

REL 268 The Quran: Listening, Reading, and Viewing

Ismail Acar

M . W . .

3:00 pm -4:20 pm

HEG 201

HUM/DIFF

Cross-listed: Middle Eastern Studies, Theology Unlike other religious texts, the Quran explains itself. It announces itself as the word of God, and verse after verse reiterates that its form and content provide proof of the reality of Allah’s dominion. This course aims to understand how the Quran as a divine book is situated within Islamic culture. In assessing the position of and meanings in the Quran, we will approach the text through three modes of analysis: listening, reading, and viewing. In the first part of the course, we will review scholarship about the Quran’s constitution. In the second part, we will examine Quranic recitation as the mechanism by which most Muslims first encountered and continue to encounter the text. In the third part, we will study verses in thematic clusters in order to understand the Quran’s message and proclaimed relationship with other religious books. In the fourth part, we will focus on Quranic inscriptions in calligraphic and visual arts. No Arabic required. Program category: Interpretive

19234

REL 284 Jewish Searches for Alternative Spirituality

David Nelson

. . W . F

9:00 -10:20 am

OLIN 201

HUM

Cross-listed: Jewish Studies, Theology Periodically throughout Jewish history, some individuals or groups have felt that what they perceive as “mainstream Judaism” had become stale, or insufficiently spiritual (but note that the very word “spiritual” is a modern coinage, without a classical Hebrew equivalent), and that it had drifted away from intimate relatedness to God. In response to each of these instances of dissatisfaction, a new movement was initiated to create more spiritual models of practice, and to write texts to support the movement. This course will examine several of these movements, focusing both on texts and practices. It will include a study of biblical ecstatic and mystical strands, rabbinic movements, a brief look at classical (Spanish) Kabbalah, the mysticism of 16^th century Tsfat, early Hasidism, and the contemporary Jewish Renewal movement. We will compare these movements to one another, seeking both commonalities and differences. We will also explore the interactions between these spiritual movements and the more mainstream groups from which they distinguished themselves.

19147

REL 344 Buddhist Ethics

Kristin Scheible

. . W . .

9:30 -11:50 am

OLIN 302

HUM

Cross-listed: Asian Studies, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Human Rights In this Upper College seminar, we will consider the theoretical structures, patterns of behaviors, and societal norms operative in Buddhist communities of the past and present, and of the East and West. We will begin with the shared foundations of Buddhist ethics, those key elements and values that represent a thread of continuity among Buddhist traditions. Special attention will be paid to canonical formulations and examples from various genres of Buddhist literature. We will consider historical and contemporary accounts of Buddhist behaviors and motivations along thematic lines: Buddhist morality; foundations of Buddhist ethics (such as karma, four noble truths, the three marks of existence – namely dis-ease, impermanence, no-self – the practical path or Middle Way); key practical values; human rights; social ethics; economic ethics; war, terrorism and peace; Engaged Buddhism; animals and the environment; abortion and contraception; suicide and euthanasia; cloning; sexuality; and gender equality. Prerequisite: Rel. 103: Buddhist Thought and Practice or permission of the instructor. Cross-listed: Human Rights, Asian Studies, GSS. Program category: Theoretical.

19148

REL 351 Critical Mass: The History of the Eucharist

Bruce Chilton

. . . Th .

4:00 pm -6:20 pm

CHAPEL

HUM

As Christianity evolved during its early centuries, a set of practices emerged that both rooted worship in familiar patterns and yet acquired a distinctive set of meanings. In this field as in no other, popular practice rather than political pressures, theological fashions, or authoritative leadership, determined the definition of Christian faith. The course will address both anthropological and historical considerations in evaluating the place of the Eucharist within the Church.

19149

REL COL Religion Colloquium

Bruce Chilton

M . . . .

5:30 pm -6:50 pm

OLIN 205

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