Jewish History Since 1492
HIST/JWST/RLST 1828-001 | 3.0
Hilary Falb Kalisman, TTHU 9:30-10:45, GUGG 205
Focus on Jewish history from the Biblical period to the Spanish Expulsion in 1492. Study the origins of a group of people who call themselves, and whom others call, Jews. Focus on place, movement, power/powerlessness, gender, and the question of how to define Jews over time and place. Introduces Jews as a group of people bound together by a particular set of laws; looks at their dispersion and diversity; explores Jews' interactions with surrounding cultures and societies; introduces the basic library of Jews; sees how Jews relate to political power.
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution–Arts & Humanities
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity–Global Perspective
Holocaust and Global Genocide
RLST/HIST/JWST 1830-001 | 3.0
Thomas Pegelow Kaplan, MW 3:35-4:50, HUMN 150
Examines the interplay of politics, culture, psychology and sociology to try to understand why the great philosopher Isaiah Berlin called the 20th century, "The most terrible century in Western history." Our focus will be on the Holocaust as the event that defined the concept of genocide, but we will locate this event that has come to define the 20th century within ideas such as racism, imperialism, violence, and most important, the dehumanization of individuals in the modern world.
A&S Core: Historical Context
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution–Arts & Humanities
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity–Global Perspective
Introduction to the New Testament
RLST/JWST 1910-001 | 3.0
Celene Lillie, MWF 12:20–1:10, HUMN 135
Examine the background, content and influence of the New Testament books. Studies the diverse perspectives contained in the various books, as well as the process of canonization. Assess the influence of the New Testament on the development of Christianity as well as world (eastern and western) culture.
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution–Arts & Humanities
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity–Global Perspective
Islam
RLST 2202-001 | 3.0
Aun Hasan Ali, TTHU 11:00–12:15, HUMN 250
Introduces students to foundational Islamic concepts, texts, core practices, historical narratives and intellectual, spiritual and literary traditions. Topics covered include: the figure of Muhammad; the Quran; the emergence of distinct Muslim identities; Hadith; Sharia; Islamic theology; Islamic philosophy; science in Islamic civilization; Islamic mysticism; the impact of colonialism and modernity on the Muslim world; gender and sexuality; and political Islam.
A&S Core: Ideals and Values
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity–Global Perspective
Happiness and Nirvana: India
RLST 2610-001 | 3.0
Loriliai Biernacki, TTH 12:30–1:45, HUMN 135
Addresses religious and spiritual practices geared towards ideals of enlightenment across various religious traditions in India, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism, in relation to different social groups historically. Examines the concept of happiness (sukhā) and its connections to spiritual enlightenment.
Asia Content
A&S Core: Ideals and Values
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution–Arts & Humanities
Arts and Hum: Literature & Humanities
Paganism to Christianity
RLST 2614/ CLAS 2614-001 | 3.0
Isabel Köster, TTH 2:00–3:15, GUGG 206
Offers a cultural history of Greek and Roman religion. Students read ancient texts in translation and use evidence from archaeology to reconstruct the shift from paganism to Christianity in antiquity. No Greek or Latin required.
A&S Core: Ideals and Values
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution–Arts & Humanities
Arts and Hum: Literature & Humanities
Meditation: Ancient and Modern
RLST 2650-010 | 3.0
Holly Gayley, MW 11:15–12:05, HALE 230 (*Note you must also sign up for a recitation section.)
Explores the roots of today's mindfulness movement in ancient forms of Buddhist meditation. Topics covered include the array of meditation techniques in Buddhism, colonial-period origins of lay meditation in Asia, Buddhism's transmission to North America and Europe in the 20th century, the emergence of secular forms of mindfulness, and scientific studies on mindfulness and compassion.
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution–Arts & Humanities
Native American and Indigenous Religious Traditions
RLST 2700-010/ETHN 2703-010 | 3.0
Natalie Avalos, MW 10:10–11:00, LBB 220 (*Note you must also sign up for a recitation section.)
Studies the religious lifeways of diverse Indigenous peoples in North America. The course considers how these religious lifeways facilitate healing, movements of social protest, and efforts for self-determination in response to ongoing forms of colonialism. Students will critically explore the impact of colonial structures on Native American religious traditions, such as missionization, and evaluate the meaning of decolonization as both a pathway and goal supporting Native liberation.
A&S Core: Human Diversity
A&S Core: Ideals and Values
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity–U.S. Perspective
Arts & Hum: Lit & Humanities
Women and Religion
RLST/WGST 2800-001 | 3.0
Celene Lillie, MWF 11:15–12:05, HUMN 135
What is a woman? What is religion? How does the answer to one inform the answer to the other? In this course, we will explore a range of literature from ancient Greek and Roman mythology to first and second century Jewish and Christian writings alongside contemporary readings from Buddhist, Muslim, Indigenous, and Christian traditions. To frame these explorations, we will engage theories of gender and religion, particularly the ways in which they intersect with race, class, and violence.
A&S Core: Human Diversity
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution–Arts & Humanities
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity–U.S. Perspective
Arts & Hum: Lit & Humanities
The Quran
RLST 3040-001 | 3.0
Aun Hasan Ali, MWF 1:25–2:15, KETCH 1B87
Examines how Christian constructions of religion and scripture have shaped Muslim understandings of the Quran and marginalized other views with a much longer history. Helps students appreciate how this process of marginalization is negotiated and explores the Quran from other perspectives including sound, performance, embodiment, and occultism. By highlighting marginalized approaches to the Quran, it promotes a better understanding of how social and religious differences are shaped by different political legacies.
Asia Content
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution–Arts & Humanities
Arts & Sciences General Education: Diversity–Global Perspective
Judaism
RLST/JWST 3100-001 | 3.0
Samuel Boyd, TTH 11:00–12:15, LBB 155
Explores Jewish religious experience and its expression in thought, ritual, ethics, and social institutions.
Asia Content
A&S Core: Historical Context
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution–Arts & Humanities
Jerusalem: The Holy City
RLST/JWST 3150-001 | 3.0
Samuel Boyd, TTH 9:30–10:45, LBB 155
The history of Jerusalem and the stories that have given it prominence in the religious imagination continue to shape much of the world in which we live. In this class, we will survey approximately three millennia of the history of the city. We will ask methodological questions, such as: What does it mean for a place to be conceived of as holy? How does this perceived holiness come about? What happens when holy places are destroyed and rebuilt? We will examine the biblical stories about Jerusalem not only as important sources themselves, but also for how they shape later religious traditions, specifically Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. As such, we will address what it means for the same place to be perceived as “holy” by differing, and often competing, groups. These contestations regarding Jerusalem will, then, allow us to engage issues of religious diversity and conflict both historically and in the present.
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution–Arts & Humanities
Yoga, Castes and Magic
RLST 3200-001
Loriliai Biernacki, TTH 2:00–3:15, HUMN 1B90
Addresses yoga, religious asceticism and practices of magic in Hinduism from ancient India up to the modern period. Gives an overview of the variety of traditions in Hinduism, focusing on how spiritual practices affect social roles. Looks at how spiritual practices approach happiness and social change, from ancient India’s secret Upanisads through medieval mystic poets like Mirabai, through Gandhi in the 20th century, focusing on figures using mystical experience to overturn social and political powers.
Asia Content
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution–Arts & Humanities
Topics: Lost Texts of Antiquity: Gnosticism
RLST/JWST 3820 | 3.0
Celene Lillie, MWF 10:10–11:00, RAMY N1B31
What is gnosticism? What influenced the creation of this literature, and what type of meaning were people trying to make with these stories and texts? Ancient gnosticism is often portrayed as anti-material, anti-woman, and anti-Jewish, but is this the case? In this course, we will look at and analyze a variety of explanations for the phenomenon of gnosticism—particularly the influence of Jewish reading practices and literature such as Genesis, the Prophets, and Wisdom traditions—to explore the Nag Hammadi Codices and related texts.
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution–Arts & Humanities
Senior Seminar
RLST 4830-001 | 3.0
Deborah Whitehead, T 3:30–6:00, HUMN 270
This seminar is designed to serve as the capstone course for senior majors in Religious Studies and is required for all graduating seniors. The primary objective of the seminar is for each of you to produce a capstone project over the course of the semester. To achieve this, we will employ a combination of weekly in-person meetings and individual check-ins, as well as structured deadlines during the semester as you work toward the completion of your projects piece by piece. A secondary objective of the seminar is to deepen our knowledge of the discipline through exploring different theoretical and methodological approaches to the academic study of religion, contemporary challenges to and critiques of the field, and the public implications of our work. Throughout the semester, we will be in conversation with ongoing debates in the discipline.
Seminar: Contemporary Issues in the Study of American Religions
RLST 4030/5030-001 | 3.0
Deborah Whitehead, M 3:35–6:05, HUMN 270
This seminar for advanced undergraduate and graduate students will explore contemporary theoretical and methodological issues in the study of religion in the United States. Engaging a combination of classic and contemporary texts in the subfield of U.S. religions, along with current research on changing demographics, we’ll explore topics including history, narrative and myth; nationalism; race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality; settler colonialism; land, space and place; religious practice and the concept of lived religion; spirituality and alternative religions; secularisms and identity. The seminar will also employ a substantive independent research component, culminating in a final paper of 15 pages for undergraduates and 20-25 pages for graduate students. Because this is an intensive seminar that presumes some background in the academic study of religion, 6 hours of previous RLST coursework is strongly recommended.
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution–Arts & Humanities
Seminar: Transnational Buddhism
RLST 4250/5250-001 | 3.0
Holly Gayley, W 3:35–6:05, HUMN 270
This seminar explores the transnational dimensions of Buddhism with attention to socio-historical factors and the process of cultural translation. Proceeding chronologically from the late 19th century, we explore the Orientalist construction of knowledge in defining "East" and "West," the emergence of Buddhist modernism and nationalism, approaches to translation and transmission in the promoting Buddhism to new audiences beyond Asia, and more recent secular and digital adaptations of Buddhist practices, such as the mindfulness movement and online sanghas. Over the semester, we examine case studies at various historical conjunctures to illuminate facets of transnational Buddhism.
Arts & Sciences General Education: Distribution–Arts & Humanities