INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS
50:840:103:01
M/W 3:45 pm – 5:05 pm
Professor Gilmore-Clough
GEN ED: GCM (Global Communities)
A general introduction to the basic religious concerns of humanity, and the ways in which religions have developed in Eastern and Western history, giving intellectual, moral, and institutional expression to the meaning of human existence.
INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE
50:840:110:01
T/TH 11:10 am – 12:30 pm
Professor Wall
GEN ED: HAC (Heritage & Civilizations)
Historical and literary exploration of portions of the Tanach (Old Testament) and New Testament that have had the most lasting influence on Western culture. Focus on the meaning of key terms like covenant and evil, biblical authorship, and different ways the text may be interpreted today.
JEWS, CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS
50:840:112:90
Online
Professor Banner
GEN ED: HAC (Heritages and Civilizations)
The effects of American enslavement on the religious and social institutions of the African people and the development of religious beliefs and institutions within the African-American community. The relationship between black and white religious institutions and the role of religion in the development of black political consciousness.
MYTH AND SYMBOL
50:840:123:90
Online
Professor Salyer
GEN ED: AAI (Art and Aesthetics Interpretation)
Comparative studies of the creation myths and hero myths of selected Eastern, Middle Eastern, European, Native American, and African cultures. Attention is given to the religious worldview, the psychological and social implications, and the symbolic forms of expression of each. Various methodologies for the study of myth are investigated.
GODS, SEX, AND VIOLENCE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
50:840:215:91
Cross-listed with 50:443:299:91
TH 11:10 am – 12:30 pm
Hybrid – some meetings online
Professor Banner
GEN ED: HAC (Heritages & Civilizations)
This course introduces select books of the Tanakh (Old Testament), as well as the history behind them, in order to examine some of the most unusual, strange, and fascinating stories, legends, and folktales in the Bible and try to understand them from the point of view of the cultures in which they were written.
INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM
50:840:233:91
Cross-listed with 50:480:291:91
W 9:30 am – 10:55 am
Hybrid – some meetings online
Professor Alkiek
GEN ED: GCM (Global Communities)
An introduction to the world’s second-largest religion in its historical, cultural, textual, ritual, theological, ethical, political, and contemporary complexities.
RACE, POLITICS, AND RELIGION
50:840:266:91
Cross-listed with 50:014:382:91/50:790:460:91
W 12:30 pm – 1:55 pm
Hybrid – some meetings online
Professor Johnson
GEN ED: EAV (Ethics & Values)
This course examines how religion shaped the political and racial priorities of American History. Topics include the role and definition of civil religion, the struggle George Washington had with defining the role of religion in a new republic, the impact of slavery, and the social construction of whiteness.
HAPPINESS
50:840:276:01
Cross-listed with 50:499:456:01
M 6:00 pm – 8:50 pm
Professor Walker
GEN ED: EAV (Ethics & Values)
Happiness is a multidisciplinary exploration of human flourishing. The course draws from the academic study of happiness as explored in the humanities, specifically psychology, philosophy, religious studies, cultural studies, history, and law. The course surveys empirical research in the sciences, such as positive psychology, neuroscience, and biology. The content of what will be studied mirrors how it will be taught by drawing upon teaching methods used in resiliency education. Ultimately, the course is a study of how humans organize themselves, their internal lives, their relationships, and their environments—communally and globally.
PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES ON CHILDHOOD
50:840:284:90
Cross-listed with 50:163:284:90/50:730:284:90
Online
Professor Wall
GEN ED: HAC (Heritage & Civilization)
This course explores the meaning and significance of childhood in society from a variety of philosophical and religious perspectives. The first half of the course critically examines some of the most influential writings on childhood in history from antiquity to modernity. We ask how these classic texts respond to such questions as the nature of childhood, the aims of child-rearing, and responsibilities to and of children. The second half investigates some of the central philosophical and religious issues concerning childhood today. It examines such issues as the changing purposes of families, children’s relations to culture, and children’s rights and political participation.
RELIGION AND HUMAN RIGHTS
50:840:338:91
M 3:45 am – 5:05 pm
Hybrid – some meetings online
Professor Walker
GEN ED: GCM (Global Communities)
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 was born in response to the genocide of over six million Jews in Nazi Germany. And yet, its values were conceived hundreds of years prior by religious communities that, in their own geographic and cultural contexts, advocated for protections for human’s inalienable rights.
In this Global Communities course, students will use both legal studies and religious studies to examine the origins, developments, effects, and critiques of four legal frameworks: freedom of religion, freedom of religion, freedom from religion, and freedom within religion. By studying international case studies, students will cultivate their cross-cultural, inter-religious, and intra-religious understanding of how the rule of law can be used to promote and protect the human right to “freedom of religion or belief” for people of all religions and none. Special attention will be given to the critical examination of the limitations of human rights frameworks and the limitations of rule-of-law responses to human rights abuses.
Why is this such an urgent subject? Over three-quarters of the world’s population lives in countries with high levels of government restrictions on religious people; these restrictions correlate with increased levels of social hostilities and violence. The legal framework of human rights has been a proven, albeit limited, remedy in de-escalating such conflicts, demonstrating that the promotion of peaceful coexistence can be an effective security strategy.
MAGIC AND RITUAL POWER
50:840:363:01
T/TH 9:35 am – 10:55 am
Online
Professor Banner
GEN ED: HAC (Heritages & Civilizations)
An examination of magic throughout history and today in ritual, community, literature, film, television, and personal spirituality. Is magic a form of religion? Are religious rituals forms of magic? How can magic be defined? What is its power? Such questions are asked across diverse practices and beliefs such as in Judaism, Christianity, Wicca, and paganism.
Independent Studies in Religion
Advanced students pursue a research topic under the direction of a faculty member, culminating in a paper.
INDEPENDENT STUDY
50:840:389:01
Professor Charme
INDEPENDENT STUDY
50:840:389:03
Professor Wall