Fall 2020 Course Offerings
Religious Studies Courses
ASIA 3633 Self-Cultivation in Ancient China. ROB CAMPANY
300 BCE to 500 CE. Methods, goals, and contexts of self-cultivation in antiquity. Breathing exercises, meditation, visualization, sexual arts, sacrifice, alchemy, and other practices in their religious, cultural, and social contexts.
GSS 2234 "Women in Judaism". REBECCA EPSTEIN-LEVI
Judaism and feminism. Women in the Hebrew Bible, Jewish law, natural philosophy, and history. Case studies in Jewish medieval and modern contexts; problems of assimilation and cultural specificity in modern society.
RLST 1010-01 Encountering Religious Diversity. CALYNN DOWLER
Essential beliefs and practices of the world's major religious traditions. Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Contemporary scholarship and perspectives on religious encounters from each of these traditions.
RLST 1111-01 Novel Religion. LAUREL SCHNEIDER
Independent learning and inquiry in an environment in which students can express knowledge and defend opinions through intesive class discussion, oral presentations, and written expression.
RLST 1500-01 Introduction to Islam. RICHARD MCGREGOR
An historical overview of the different religious traditions in Islam, their basis in the Qur'an and life of the Prophet, their proliferation in the medieval period, and their response to the challenge of modernity. Topics include sunni and shi'i Islam, evolution of law and theology, sufism and political philosophy. Islam in Africa, India, Spain, and southeast Asia as well as the Middle East.
RLST 1700-01 Religions in China. ROB CAMPANY
Major religious traditions of China. Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, state-sponsored religious systems, and popular religion. Thought and practice from ancient times to the present.
RLST 2229W Contested Ground: Sacred Sites Across the Ancient World. MICHELLE YOUNG
Sacred places and structures from the Paleolithic to the medieval period. Comparisons of religious sites worldwide. Cultural heritage and the historical and contemporary politics of ancient religious sites.
RLST 2250W History of the Bible. DAVID PRICE
Jewish and Christian Bibles from the formation of earliest bibles to the present. Major forms of the Bible, major interpretive approaches, and impact on politics and culture.
RLST 3129-01 Race and Religion in America. JUAN FLOYD-THOMAS
The religious foundations of racial myths, symbols, images, conflicts, and cultures from the sixteenth century to the present. Gender, violence, sexuality, media, and popular culture. [3]. (US)
RLST 3350-01 Christian-Jewish Relations in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. DAVID PRICE
Political and cultural history from the medieval persecutions to the expansion of religious toleration in the Enlightenment. Close consideration of legal toleration, banishments, re-admissions, and the impact of Christian reform movements.
RLST 3472-01 Religion and Climate Change. CALYNN DOWLER
Role of religion in climate change and as response to planetary catastrophe. Religious and literary texts. Historical, philosophical, and anthropological work.
RLST 3926-01 Ancient Goddesses. ANNALISA AZZONI
Ancient concepts of the feminine divine in literature and iconographic evidence. Specific goddesses, their spheres of influence, and their place in the various pantheons. Cultic practices and religious syncretism across cultures, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Ancient Israel. Offered on a graded basis only.
RLST 4834-01 Post-Freudian Theories and Religion. IRA HELDERMAN
An examination of contemporary European and American schools of psychoanalysis. Focus on both the clinical and explanatory theories as they relate to the examination of religious experience.
RLST 4960W Approaches to the Academic Study of Religion. RICHARD MCGREGOR
Theories and methods for the academic study of religious traditions. Open only to junior and senior majors and minors.
Language Courses
ARA 1101-01 and -02/ARA 5101-01 and -02. Elementary Arabic. HAMAD/EIDO
Development of reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills. No credit for students who have earned credit for a more advanced Arabic language course. [5] (No AXLE credit)
ARA 2201-01/ARA 5201-01. Intermediate Arabic. HAMAD
Practice and development of language skills at the intermediate-advanced level. Intensive work in spoken Arabic with emphasis on vocabulary acquisition, reading comprehension, and writing skills. Advanced grammar, modern Arabic word formation, verb aspect usage, and structure of complex sentences. No credit for students who have earned credit for a more advanced Arabic language course. Prerequisite: 1102. [3] (INT)
ARA 3101-01/ARA 5301-01. Advanced Arabic. EIDO
The combined enrollment capacity of ARA 3101 and ARA 5301 is 11. Although seats may appear open in a section, if the combined capacity has been reached, the course will close Further development of listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills in the Arabic language. Emphasis on grammar and literary techniques. Offered on a graded basis only. No credit for students who have earned credit for a more advanced Arabic language course. Prerequisite: 2202 [3] (INT)
ARA 3201-01/ARA 5401-01. Media Arabic. HAMAD
Listening to, discussing, simulating, and analyzing Arabic media materials. Coverage of current and historical events, such as TV broadcasts, headline news, documentaries, and public discussions on political, religious, and cultural issues. Offered on a graded basis only. Prerequisite: 3102. [3] (INT)