RELB 102 Literary and Spoken Tibetan II (First Year Tibetan)
This course offers an introduction to literary and spoken Tibetan and is designed with special attention to undergraduates. Students will study classical and modern grammar systematically with examples drawn from a wide variety of literature, and with a native speaker use new digital instructional materials to develop proficiency in spoken Tibetan. This sequence of courses can count towards fulfilling the University requirement of two years of foreign language study. Prerequisites: Tibetan I. Requirements: Class attendance and participation, three exams, four translation assignments.
RELG 104 Intro to Eastern Religions
This course provides an historical and thematic overview to the major religious traditions of "the East" (i.e., Asia), focusing particularly upon those of India, Tibet, and China. Through careful examination of a variety of primary and secondary sources, we will consider the many ways in which South Asian Hindus, Tibetan Buddhists, and Chinese Confucians have attempted to understand the nature of the world, human society, and the individual person's place therein. In examining religious traditions that for many may seem wholly foreign or "other," our emphasis will be on the internal logic of each, on the resources that each provides for the construction of meaning, value, and moral vision. Requirements: weekly readings, participation in discussion section, three one-hour examinations. Fulfills: Non-Western Perspectives Requirement
RELJ 112 Introduction to Biblical Hebrew
As a sequel to Biblical Hebrew I (RELJ 111), this course continues to introduce students to the basics of Biblical Hebrew vocabulary and grammar, for the express purpose of reading the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in its original language. This semester, students will read several longer passage of biblical prose, including the book of Ruth. Prerequisites: Introduction to Biblical Hebrew I (RELJ 111) or instructor's permission.
RELC 122 Early Christianity & the New Testament
This course surveys the origins and early history of Christianity on the basis of a historical and analytical study of early Christian writings belonging to the "New Testament." Topics covered include the origins of Christianity in Judaism; the activity and significance of Jesus; the formation, beliefs and practices of early Christian communities; the varieties of Christianity in the first century; and the progressive distinction of Christianity from Judaism. Requirements: Two quizzes and a final examination, and occasional short papers in connection with discussion sections. Regular attendance at discussion sections is mandatory.
RELC 206 History of Christianity II 1054-1800
A survey of Christianity from the Middle Ages to Modern Times. Topics discussed will include: Medieval spirituality and theology in the Age of the Cathedrals; the rise of medieval dissent and the Inquistion, the impact of the Black Plague and Papal Western Schism on late Medieval Catholicism. In the modern period we will examine the Protestant Reformation in the work of Luther and Calvin; the witch hunts of 16th century; the rise of mysticism in the 15th to 17th centuries; the Enlightenment attack on traditional religion and the response of revivalists like John Wesley and the Methodists. We will also look at the formation of modern Eastern Orthodoxy. The course concludes with an examination of the elements that came to form American Christianity in the early 19th century. All readings are from original sources: Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, Francis of Assisi, Medieval "Heretical" Authors, the mystic Catherine of Genoa, Martin Luther, Russian Orthodox Writers, and J. W. Nevin. Requirements: 3 short papers, cumulative final. This course presupposes no previous courses in Christianity.
RELI 208 Islam in the Modern Age
REL 208 will study the Muslim community in the modern world characterized by individualism, secularism, rationalism and political empowerment through democratization. That which characterizes the Muslim community is their devotion to the classical faith, Islam, with its culture and civilization that continues to inspire its major thinkers. The course is primarily concerned with the study of Islam and its people in the last two centuries, - the period of Islamic reform in the wake of Western hegemony and the efforts of the community to readjust under the challenges of the liberal and technical age. The course will explore ways of evaluating religious and political pluralism, freedom of religion and other human rights in the context of global religious revival in the world's religions.
RELG 216 Religion in America Since 1865
An historical survey of religion in America from the Civil War to the present. The course includes study of theological change in Protestantism, the emergence of three kinds of Judaism, controversy and change in American Catholicism, the origins of fundamentalism and Pentecostalism, and various expressions of African-American faith. It attends to the effects of immigration, urbanization, politics, and other social and cultural changes on American religious life. This course fulfills the Second Writing Requirement. Requirements: Three papers (6-7 pages each), a mid-term exam, and a final exam.
RELG 219 Religion & Modern Fiction
We will explore ways in which modern literature asks persistent questions that are intrinsically religious in character: questions concerning the relation between human spirit and human nature, the fact of evil and suffering, the desire for personal and communal wholeness or fulfillment, and whether human beings need to be rooted in a symbolic order of meaning. Some of the authors we will consider (such as Elie Wiesel, Flannery O'Connor, or Susaku Endo) write fictions that are intended to reflect explicitly their religious traditions. Others (such as N. Scott Momaday, Seamus Heaney, Annie Dillard, or E. L. Doctorow) employ a variety of religious and cultural traditions to create more idiosyncratic religious interpretations. And others (such as Joseph Conrad, Milan Kundera or Tony Morrison) create secular narratives that nonetheless raise philosopohical and moral questions that have religious implications. In addition, the course will consider other authors and interpreters of religion.
GREE 224 New Testament Greek (Intermediate Greek)
This course is not offered by the department, but may be of interest to religious studies students
The aims of this course are to solidify your knowledge of Hellenistic Greek grammar and vocabulary and to gain speed and proficiency in reading and translating the Greek New Testament. We will read passages from I Corinthians and Romans, as well as some passages from the Acts of the Apostles. We will also consider some of the principles of New Testament textual criticism. Prerequisite: Greek 101-102 or permission of the instructor. Graduate students should consult instructor about registration. This course is offered by the Department of Classics.
RELG 229 Business Ethics
Haywood Spangler / Mary Hamilton / Rama Velamuri
Ethics is embedded in the everyday activities and responsibilities of business. These responsibilities often appear as dilemmas for individuals, organizations, or in the interchanges between an organization and its competition, consumers, environment, or society. These challenges and responsibilities and the issues they generate will be the subject for this course. We shall begin with an examination of some classical texts in ethics, then examine the question of relativism and issues in truth-telling. The justification of free-enterprise in light of its harshest critics, focusing on the concepts of profit, private ownership, and justice will also be explored. Turning to business itself, using stakeholder theory we shall study the nature and moral responsibilities of corporations, the question of employment, affirmative action, and employee rights. If time permits we shall also discuss some specific issues, such as the question of the environment. To give a practical thrust to these theoretical issues, specific case studies in business that deal with each issue will be analyzed in class each week. Understanding these cases will be essential to grasping the philosophical questions we raise.
RELG 230 Religious Ethics and Moral Problems
In this course, we will critically analyze various Western approaches to a survey of contemporary, Western moral issues. The approaches we will examine are grounded in traditions both theological (Jewish, Catholic and Protestant) and secular humanistic (e.g., liberal, communitarian, utilitarian, feminist, Marxist). The moral problems themselves cover a wide spectrum of human experience of relevance to students, and are likely to include: truthfulness, sexual ethics (sex, marriage, homosexuality, sexual 'deviance'), pornography, capital punishment, warfare, affirmative action, and obligations to animals and the environment. Particular attention will be paid to the conclusions reached on these issues by the authors we read, the type and strength of the arguments used to support these conclusions, and how the authors' broader theological and philosophical commitments influence their moral judgments.
RELJ 243 Jews in the Visual Arts
Early 19th century art historians still considered the Jews a thoroughly "un-artistic" people, incapable of visual creativity because of a prohibition against "graven images" in the Ten Commandments. By the end of the same century, the Science of Judaism and the Zionist movement in Europe had not only created an extensive field of research but also an historical and ideological battle about the essence and use of "Jewish Art." This course will examine both the study of Jewish art throughout modern history and the works of Jewish art, with a focus on modern and contemporary artists in Europe, Israel, and the United States. In addition to the visual part, we will read relevant selections from Biblical, Rabbinic, modern, and contemporary sources.
RELB 254 Tibetan Buddhism
(This course was originally scheduled from 10-10:50 and has been changed)
This course surveys Tibetan Buddhist religious culture in terms of its history, biographical traditions, religious communities, cultural patterns, ritual life, contemplative traditions, and philosophical discourses. The focus will be on how tantric Buddhism has historically functioned in Tibet to relate these different dimensions together as an identifiable cultural zone of vast geographical terrain, despite never achieving any form of political unity. These range from controversies over antinomian practices pertaining to sexuality and violence, to Tibet¹s religo-political solution to tantra¹s decentralized paradigm of religious leaders understood to be Buddhas with local mandalas of absolute authority. We will look into the rise of the institution of reincarnate lamas that culminated in the Dalai Lama, and address the theory that Tibet¹s lack of centralization led to the importance of so-called "shamanic" trends of Buddhism. Finally we will also examine at great depth Tibetan innovations in Buddhist philosophy, ritual and yoga.
RELA 276 Traditional and Contemporary Christianity in Africa
The title and description for this course listing have changed significantly
The course begins with analysis of the gender dimensions of the religious language of well known theologians of early Christianity, Origen, Cyril, Tertullian, St. Augustine etc. who have been reclaimed by Africanists as forefathers whose ideas western theologians have benefited from in the evolution of Christian Orthodoxy of the west. Now viewed as traditional to Africa, these Early Fathers are looked as examples of African Christians who inform us about a part of Africa during Late Antiquity. A careful study will be made of the use of anthropomorphic ideas to communicate religious truths with the topical interest in gender providing spectacles through which to revisit Christianity in Greco-Roman times. This is followed by a study of African Traditional Religions found in sub-Sahara Africa for which there is no in-depth scholarship dating beyond half a century ago. The ideas of Africans who have been anxious to show that African Traditional Religion has continuities with Christianity will be critiqued against a background knowledge of other thoroughgoing studies of African Traditional Religion produced mainly by anthropologists. The male focus in studies of African Traditional Religion is counter-balanced with the discovery of an abundance of uses of female imagery in African Traditional Religion. This leads to the setting up of new parameters for handling this African religious heritage. Finally, ideas from African Independent Churches, which arouse the curiosity of anyone who visits Africa today, will be used to show how gender imagery, a lot which marginalizes the women of Africa by making them part of religious language of nature to be subjugated by man (cf. Aristotle's hierarchy of being), continues to flourish. There are many lessons about the way human experience feeds into into talk about divine realities. Altogether this course raises questions about anthropomorphic language and matters of the divine that should be of interest to both male and female students. Many of the historical and philosophical issues that are of interest to any student of religion are raised for discussion in this survey of the different waves of religious movements in Africa.
RELJ 308 Israeli Fiction in Translation
Israel, barely 50 years old, has produced an astonishing number of world class writers and poets. To understand Israeli society, culture, and identity through the eyes of fiction will be the goal of this course. In novels and short stories from the early period of modern Hebrew writing to the present we will encounter such topics as life in exile and in the pre-State Yishuv, clashing generations and values, the challenges of Israeli multiculturalism, the memory and scars of the Holocaust, the dynamics of Arab-Jewish relations, the experience of war, terror, and liberation, the creation of a new, secular society, the changing role of women - and of course: love. Readings will include texts by Micha Y. Berdyczewski, S. Y. Agnon, Ahron Megged, Moshe Shamir, Yehuda Amichai, A. B. Yehoshua, Amos Oz, Orly Castel-Bloom, Ruth Almog, Yoel Hofmann, and others.
RELJ 310 Medieval Jewish Theology
Philosophy, religion, and scripture in early medieval Jewish commentaries. Careful text studies of Bahya ibn Paquda, Yehuda Halevi, Maimonides, Gersonides, with background readings in Bible, Talmud, and in Muslim,Christian, and Greco-Roman philosophies. Assigned Readings will be in English; interested students will have opportunities for additional readings in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic.
RELI 312 Sufism: Islamic Mysticism
REL 312 is a historical and topical survey of the origins and development of Islamic mysticism. The course is primarily concerned with the growth of mystical tradition in Islam, the rise of asceticism, the early Sufis, the development of Sufi orders, the systematization of Sufi teaching and the evolution of theosophical dimensions of mysticism, and finally, the contribution of Sufism in the Islamic art and literatures. In doing so, we will attempt to study the lives and teachings of the outstanding Sufis as Rabi'a, Hallaj, Rumi, Gazali and others. For the first time the course will include multi-media component to explore Spiritual Dimensions of Islamic Art and Architecture to underscore the Sufi influence in the material cultures of Muslims. Reading assignments include Annemarie Schimell, Mystical Dimensions of Islam (This is the basic textbook for the course.); Menahim Milson, A Sufi Rule for Novices; J.S. Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam; A.W. Chittick, Sufi Path of Love and Sufi Path of Knowledge. Requirements: Regular attendance at weekly sessions. Term paper on some aspect of Sufism (12-15 typewritten pages. Mid-term and Final exam. Prerequisites: RELI 207 or RELI 208; or instructor's permission
RELB 315 Theravada Buddhism: Doctrines and Practices
This course is designed as an in-depth investigation of the Theravada Buddhist tradition. Students will be introduced to 1) Theravada Buddhist doctrine and 2) the practices followed by Theravada Buddhists living in Sri Lanka and Thailand. Upon successful completion of the course, students should have a critical understanding of the Theravada Buddhist tradition as well as the problems of recent interpretations of the tradition. To accomplish this, we will examine some of the major methods and theories that have been central to Theravada Buddhist studies. Requirements: Relg 104 or any other course on Buddhism.
RELB 318 Tibetan Wisdom
We will examine Tibetan presentations of selflessness/emptiness as well as other topics in the purported four Indian schools of Buddhism. Limited to 20 students; Prerequisites: RELB 255, or RELB 317 or permission of instructor.
RELC 320 Medieval Church Law
This course focuses on the law of the medieval Church or "Canon Law" in its classical period, 1140-1348. During this period the most of the principles that underlie modern western law, including that of the United States, were first elaborated. We will study canon and Roman law texts in translation: including the first treatise on legal theory, forms of procedure, the laws on marriage and sorcery, and actual court cases. Format: Introductory historical lectures, followed by "socratic analysis" of legal texts--as done in the medieval law faculties and still today in many law schools. Requirements: Active participation during in-class analysis of legal texts (will influence grade); and four in-class exams (25% of grade each). Exams will be exercises in analyzing and solving legal "story" problems using the principles and doctrines of medieval canon law. Topics of exams: 1) general theory; 2) sorcery law; 3) general marriage law 4) specific marriage problems. Each exam will be preceded by a practice take-home (discussed but not graded). Graduate Option: I will allow graduate students to take this course as "directed research" (RELC 895) and substitute a research paper for the exams. Reading knowledge of Latin is required for this option.
RELC 323 Pentecostalism
This course will analyze the Pentecostal movement of the past 20th century as a transcultural religious phenomenon. Looking to a wider international context, we will explore the development of Pentecostalism in such countries as Mexico, Brazil, Korea, and China. We will also concern ourselves with the way ethnic minorities within the United States have reshaped the practice and the meanings of Pentecostalism, as well as Evangelicalism in general, particularly with regard to race and gender. Because the course is about a religious movement, our analytical approach will be historical, anthropological, and theological. Using various Pentecostal texts and articles, we will work toward a clearer understanding of the basic tenets of Pentecostalism, namely “divine healing,” “baptism in the Holy Spirit,” and “speaking in tongues.” We will also investigate how the most recent internationalist shift within the Pentecostal movement has renewed millennialist thought and efforts for Christian ecumenism.
RELB 324 Mysticisms in East Asia
This course surveys some main trends of the East Asian mystical tradition, as were manifested in some major East Asian religions including Daoism, Buddhism, Shinto and Confucianism (a long-forgotten East Asian mystical trend). We focus on the main features and interactions between these traditions in medieval East Asia. In particular, we will discuss how these interactions contributed to the configuration of some specific East Asian religious schools, like the formation of Chan Buddhism and Neo-Confucianism as a response to the interactions between Daoism and Buddhism, Confucianism and Buddhism respectively. After a detailed examination of the mystical features in East Asian cultures: arts (painting and sculpture), literature (poems, novels and literary critical theories) and politics (statecraft and some political institutions), this course will end with a brief comparison of the East Asian mystical tradition with its counterparts in Indian (an important source for the East Asian tradition), Islamic, Judaic and Christian cultures.
RELJ 331 Law in Judaism
Jewish law has provided a primary framework for relating to God from biblical to modern times. Jews throughout the ages have asked: How does the law mediate between humans and God? Why adhere to laws that appear to have no basis in reason? Should the law be understood as universal or particularistic? In this course we will analyze classical legal sources in order to answer these and related questions; we will also survey medieval and modern responses to them.
RELJ 332 Judaism, Medicine and Healing
The Jewish tradition integrates a respect for the skill and knowledge of the physican with profound awareness of the spiritual and relational components of the healing process. In this course we will study: Jewish ways of understanding why we get sick, suffer, heal and find meaning again; Jewish healing practices (ancient and contemporary) in ritual and prayer; specific laws and practices concerning health, sickness and the healing professions; and Jewish medical-ethical perspectives. Readings will include ancient sacred writings and contemporary texts that have emerged as part of the current Jewish Healing movement. This course will stress close readings of texts and analyses of living traditions.
RELG 347 Religion and Natural Science
This course will investigate the relationship between theology and scientific enquiry, from the Middle Ages to the present day. No prior knowledge is assumed.
RELJ 351 Yiddish Literature and the Response to Modernity
How did East European and Jewish immigrants to the new world encounter the modern, secular societies emerging around them? How did questions of tradition and belief, cultural and social change, the idea of Jewish peoplehood, and the image of the non-Jew figure in this encounter? In focusing on Yiddish literature, this course seeks to address these questions. It focuses also on the role for Yiddish writers of storytelling, literary form, and Yiddish language itself. And it seeks to show how Yiddish writers responded to the fall of traditional societies by engaging with modern literary and artistic movements, philosophies, and politics, while projecting new images of what it means to be a Jew and a minority in Eastern Europe and North America.
RELC 355 Faith and Reason
In this course we will reconsider the classical question of the relation between reason and faith. In our readings we will focus on the role of reason and the role of passion (or non-rational factors) in faith. Requirements are attendance at each class, carefully prepared and informed participation in class discussion, occasional brief group presentations to class, and 25-30 pages of written material (which will be downgraded if late). Some of the written assignments will be short analyses of themes in the reading (these should ensure better discussions); other assignments will be 4 or 5 page essays. There will be no final exam during exam period. Prerequisite: one other class in religious studies or philosophy.
RELC 362 20th Century Theology
This course will address issues and trends in 20th century Christian theology from Adolf von Harnack and Karl Barth to Hans von Balthasar and contextual theologies. Figures covered may include Harnack, Barth, Bultmann, Tillich, Rahner, von Balthasar, Robert Jenson, Eastern Orthodox, and liberation theologians. Issues may include the historical Jesus, changing doctrines of Israel, the resurgence of interest in the Trinity, ecumenical dialogues, liberation theology, the twinned rise of science and fundamentalism, feminist critiques of God-language and responses, changes in biblical interpretation, sexuality issues, third-world Christianities, and Jewish thinkers in conversation with Christian ones. Requirements: weekly participation in discussion section and electronic newsgroup; your choice of 2-3 papers OR in-class tests. Can fulfill the Second Writing Requirement for those writing papers.
RELC 370 Luke-Acts and the Legacies of Israel
The writings of Luke-Acts comprise nearly one-third of the New Testament evidence, and on this basis alone are viewed as a major NT witness. The course will provide an orientation to reading and understanding the Lukan writings by investigating the historical, literary, rhetorical, narrative, and social dimensions of the material. We will study the two books of Luke and Acts as the presentation of Jesus, the fulfillment of the heritage of Israel and the new community as his witnesses throughout the Greco-Roman world. Topics to be considered include the Mediterranean world in the late first century, genre of the two documents, a socio-religious context for better understanding the Lukan writings, identity of the people of God, use of scriptural argumentation, Gentile inclusion in the promises of God, eschatology, the Lukan Christ, Luke's orientations toward the Jews, his characterization of Paul as Jew, and behavior and practice in the eschatological community. In addition to gaining a broader context for reading Biblical texts, students will gain tools and confidence for interpreting Luke-Acts.
RELC 379 Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo (354-430) was the most important Christian thinker in the early church. Course will examine Augustine as a man of late antiquity, as bishop, and as a Christian thinker. Readings from his major writings, e.g. On True Religion, Confessions, City of God, Christian Doctrine, his biblical commentaries, polemical works, and letters. Discussion of his theological ideas (grace, love, sin, faith, et al.) and his approach to moral issues (marriage, sexuality, war, lying, coercion in religious matters, et al.). Consideration of Augustine's influence on Christian tradition and his ongoing significance
RELG 386 Human Bodies and Parts as Property
An analysis and assessment of different historical and contemporary theological, philosophical and legal interpretations of "rights holders" (e.g. individuals while alive, their families after death, and the society) and the "rights held" (e.g. to transfer, to donate, or to sell) in the living and dead human body, with particular attention to current disputes about the use of human body parts in organ and tissue transplantation and new reproductive technologies. Permission of instructor required.
RELC 391 / RELJ 391 Women and the Bible
This course provides a forum for exploring the intersection of gender issues and biblical studies. We will survey passages in the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament that focus specifically on women or use feminine imagery and consider various readings of them, including traditional Jewish and Christian, historical-critical, and feminist interpretations. Topics to be treated include the stories of creation and expulsion from Eden ("the fall") in Genesis 1-3; narratives with female protagonists (Sarah, Hagar, Deborah, Hannah, Esther, Ruth, Judith, Mary, Mary Magdalene, and the Samaritan woman); the prophetic images of Israel as prostitute, wife, and pure daughter of Zion; the figure of Lady Wisdom in Proverbs; the erotic poetry of the Song of Songs; women in the circle of Jesus; Paul's views on women; and the use of female symbolism to portray judgment and redemption in the Revelation to John. We will examine the evidence of the Bible and its early interpreters concerning the position of women in Israel, rabbinic Judaism, and the early church. Attention will also be given to how Jewish and Christian communities employ scripture to define women's social and religious roles in the contemporary world. Requirements: Active participation in class, brief reflection papers, midterm examination, and either final examination or final paper (ten pages).
RELG 400 Majors Seminar: Spiritual Journeys
Restricted to Religious Studies Majors
This is an interdisciplinary course focussing on the theme of "the spiritual journey" which draws upon important theories that religious scholars turn to in the history of religions, psychology, anthropology and sociology. Through the lens of these theories, we will look at modern and contemporary literary spiritual journeys, both fictional and autobiographical. Literary works may include: Maugham, Rilke, Colette, May Sarton, Baldwin, Annie Dillard, Nathan England, Henri Nouen, Sharon Butala and Rebecca Goldstein Prerequisite: 3rd and 4th year Religious Studies Majors only
RELG 415 Salem Witch Trials in History and Literature
Restricted to Majors in Religious Studies, History, and English
This seminar will explore the rich range of historical scholarship, literary fiction, and primary source materials relating to the witch trials of Salem Village in 1692. How and why did the accusations begin? How and why did they stop? Serious theories and wild speculations abound, both then and now. Who were the heroes and villains of this tragic episode? Some of the most gripping personal stories may be found in the primary sources and literary treatments. Explore the impact of this small-scale, 300 year-old event on the American cultural heritage -- why has "Salem witchcraft" become part of the American cultural imagination?
In addition to a few classic historical studies, Boyer & Nissenbaum, SALEM POSSESSED, Carol Karleson, THE DEVIL IN THE SHAPE OF A WOMAN , and Rosenthal, SALEM STORY, and literary works, Hawthorne, HOUSE OF SEVEN GABLES, Longfellow, GILES CORY OF SALEM FARMS, Miller's THE CRUCIBLE, the course will make extensive use of the Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft which contains all the original court documents and contemporary accounts.
RELG 423 Bioethics Internship Seminar
This course is designed to provide students with experience in discerning and analyzing ethical issues as they arise in particular clinical settings. Each student will spend one half-day each week in a clinic or other health-care-related setting (the same setting throughout the semester) under the mentorship of a health care professional engaged in that setting. Seminar time will focus both on the role of the ethicist/observer and on the particular issues that commonly arise in clinical medicine. During the second half of the semester, students will give presentations related to their specific areas of observation. Students are expected to have some background knowledge of bioethics methods and common questions. Admittance to the course is by application; for details, see the Undergraduate Bioethics Program Website at http://www.uva.edu/~bioethic/intern.html
SOC 486 Sociology of Religion
This course is not offered by the department, but may be of interest to students of religious studies
This course explores the role of religion in modern societies. It provides a broad comparative cultural and historical perspective, drawing on examples from America, Western Europe, and former communist countries of Eastern Europe. Topics include classic sociological theories of religion, church-state relations, civil religion, and religion and nationalism.
RELB 501 Literary and Spoken Tibetan II (Second Year Tibetan)
This course offers an introduction to literary and spoken Tibetan and is designed with special attention to undergraduates. Students will study classical and modern grammar systematically with examples drawn from a wide variety of literature, and with a native speaker use new digital instructional materials to develop proficiency in spoken Tibetan. This sequence of courses can count towards fulfilling the University requirement of two years of foreign language study. Prerequisites: Tibetan I. Requirements: Class attendance and participation, three exams, four translation assignments.
RELB 502 Tibetan Buddhist Tantra
An introduction (in translation) to highly systematized forms of Tibetan presentations of Buddhist tantra. We will examine the difference between the Sutra and Tantra styles of meditation as found in the works of Bu-don, Long-chen-ba, and Dzong-ka-ba and will utilize the model of paradigm change as found in Hans Kng's adaptation for theology of Thomas Khun's theory. The yogic path of Action Tantra will be considered in detail, and Euro-American interpretations, preconceptions, misconceptions, and insights into tantra will be analyzed. A focal point will be the problem of pride in tantric practitioners' imagination of themselves as a deity, especially in the light of Carl Jung's warnings about positive and negative inflation. We will also examine the issue of the difference between the four classes of tantras as presented by Bu-don.
RELG 504 Seminar on American Religious Social Reform
This is a research seminar on the history of American religion and social reform. We will meet every other week to discuss a book in common and our research projects. Each student will carry out original research and present it to the class at the end of term. Books will include: Charles Marsh's God's Long Summer (civil rights), Cynthia Gorney's Articles of Faith (abortion), and Burce Nichol's The Uneasy Alliance (Protestant foreign relief efforts and U.S. foreign policy).
RELH 506 The Development of Religion in Southern India
This course is designed as an intensive, graduate level study of development of religion in South India. South Indian Hinduism is distinctive in some ways and it has made remarkable contributions to the development of medieval Hinduism. Source materials to study the historical development for the past two millennia are available from the Tamil language. The interaction of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism in South India will be specially examined.
RELG 514 Thomas Aquinas
The course will introduce Aquinas's theology and ethics in the _Summa Theologiae._ We will focus on 1) Christ and the knowledge of God--how Christ's knowledge is the source of ours, and how Christ can know and not know the same thing at the same time; and 2) the Holy Spirit acting _both_ in the heart as an internal principle of human action, producing virtue; _and_ in God's providential ordering of the world as an external principle of human action, producing law--including the "New Law," which is grace. We will consider contemporary American, Scottish, French, and German interpreters, and the revaluation of Aquinas in Protestant-Catholic dialogue. Four short (five-page) papers or one long (20-page) paper. Graduate students with incompletes and undergraduates must take the four-paper option and finish by the last day of class.
RELG 517 Seminar in the History of Religions
An introduction to the basic thinkers in the field of History of Religions (Otto, van der Leeuw, Eliade, Wach) and to fundamental problems in the study of religious sociology, mythology, and ritual (Geertz, Douglas, Turner, Levi-Straus, Doniger, Rorty, Smith, etc.). Requirements: Four written presentations.
RELJ 522 Literary Approaches to Rabbinic Literature
Rabbinic literature has shaped the values, rituals and theology of Judaism as it is practiced by Jews around the world today. Yet the texts of the rabbinic corpus rarely state their values, rituals or theology in straightforward manner. This course gives students the skills to tease out the essential kernel of a given passage by applying the insights of contemporary literary theory. We will identify the chief literary characteristics of midrash (biblical interpretation), mishnah (legal codification and case law) and gemara (legal argumentation and interpretation). We will also identify literary theories that clarify the goals, purposes and meaning of exemplary passages in each of these genres. The insights culled from literary theory include attention to intertextuality, hermeneutical presuppositions, the use of recurring images and motifs and the constructive role of the reader. Class time will be largely devoted to close readings of primary texts.
RELJ 524 Enlightenment and the Jews
Modern Jewish history in Europe is largely defined by the lasting impact of the enlightenment and the consequent emancipation of the Jews. This course will explore the transition in European Jewish life and culture from a traditional society to a modern cultural identity. Focusing mostly on German speaking and French Jewry, we will study the enlightenment as both a European phenomenon and a phenomenon within Judaism (Haskalah). Our goal will be to understand the historical and intellectual origins of the enlightenment as well as its role in shaping modern Judaism.
RELC / J 529 Women and the Bible
This course provides a forum for exploring the intersection of gender issues and biblical studies. For the first part of the semester, class meetings will be held jointly with the undergraduate course Women and the Bible (see description under RELC 391/RELJ 391). Later in the semester, a graduate seminar format (time to be arranged) will foster exploration of some of the theoretical and methodological issues raised in recent secondary literature. The option to read pertinent biblical passages in the original Hebrew may be arranged if there is student interest. Requirements: Brief reflections papers, several oral presentations, 20 page research paper.
RELB 534 Colloquial Tibetan 4
A continuation of Colloquial Tibetan III, this course uses multimedia programs in Colloquial Tibetan to develop verbal fluency, acquire vocabulary, and master advanced topics in spoken Tibetan. Prerequisites: Tibetan III. Requirements: "Requirements: class attendance, participation, preparation of programs outside of class, multiple exams and quizzes.
RELB 536 Literary Tibetan 4
A continuation of Literary Tibetan III, this course is designed to expose students to a variety of styles/genres in Tibetan literature and advanced Tibetan grammar. Prerequisites: Literary Tibetan III. Requirements: Class attendance and participation, three exams, four translation assignments.
RELB 543 Colloquial Tibetan 6
A continuation of Colloquial Tibetan V, this course uses multimedia programs in Colloquial Tibetan to develop verbal fluency, acquire vocabulary, and master advanced topics in spoken Tibetan. Prerequisites: Tibetan V. Requirements: "Requirements: class attendance, participation, preparation of programs outside of class, multiple exams and quizzes.
RELB 548 Literary Tibetan 6
A continuation of Literary Tibetan V, this course is designed to expose students to a variety of styles/genres in Tibetan literature and advanced Tibetan grammar. Prerequisites: Literary Tibetan V. Requirements: Class attendance and participation, three exams, four translation assignments
RELG 556 Issues in African-American Religion
The literature on African American religion and religious history has grown substantially in the past half century. In this course we will examine many of the crucial texts as a way to understand how scholars have gone about the study African American religion and history, and as a way to understand the issues that have shaped the religious development of American people of color. In this way the emphasis in the course will be both methodological and historiographical. Topics will include: black religion as history and phenomenon, dialectical models of black faith, black Christian nationalism, religious pluralism, and politico-religious organization. Requirements will include weekly short papers and a final research essay.
RELG 557 Suffering Medicine and Faith
This seminar will begin with a review of medical understandings of pain -- neuroscience, palliation, et al. -- and move to personal and cultural interpretations and/or expressions of pain and concepts of suffering. With that background, we will explore the intersection of faith with the experience of pain and suffering, an investigation that will include, but not be limited to, a study of theodicy. The medical literature will not be highly technical (i.e., knowledge of neuroanatomy is not a prerequisite); readings will be drawn from a variety of genres and disciplines. Class presentations and a final paper or project will be required
RELG 559 Social and Political Thought: Religion, Morality and Public Policy
This seminar for graduate students and advanced undergraduates will carefully and critically examine various perspectives on the role of religious convictions in formulating public policies in a liberal democratic society. Within the context set by the US constitutional framework of separation of church and state, the seminar will focus mainly on important debates (1) in political and social philosophy and (2) in theology and religious ethics about the legitimate role of religious convictions in forming public policy. Permission of instructor required.
RELB 702 Readings in Chinese Buddhist Texts
This course has two complimentary parts: in-class coursework, and individually supervised research. For the coursework, we will read selections from Chinese Buddhist texts belonging to different periods and schools, emphasizing some common doctrinal and methodological problems in reading Chinese Buddhist texts. We will introduce and develop the skills needed for these problems. For the individual supervision, the instructor will work with each student separately on the specific text that s/he is currently studying as a basic source for his or her Ph. D. Dissertation or MA thesis. In addition to intensive reading of the original texts, participants of this course will be introduced to some basic methods indispensable for Sinological research in general and for the study of Chinese Buddhism in particular. By the end of this course students are expected to be able punctuate Chinese Buddhist texts correctly, translate them appropriately and interpret them both literally ("read the lines") and creatively ("read between the lines").
RELC 711 Catholic Moral Theology
TBA
After a quick review of the scholastic "handbook" tradition of moral theology, this course will center on the issues and thinkers forming the different currents of ethical thought in the Catholic Church after Vatican II. Included will be such topics as the distinctiveness of Christian ethics, natural law, conscience, the authority of the magisterium, proportionalism, and the application of norms to social issues.
RELG 722 Rationality Justification and Religious Belief
Examination of some major approaches to the question of the justification of religious belief. These are classic texts with which you need to be familiar in order to make sense of contemporary discussions in philosophy of religion, including those discussions which shift the emphasis away from knowledge claims, justification, and ontology. We will read works by Kant (Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone), Hegel (Introduction to Lectures on Philosophy of Religion), Kierkegaard(Philosophical Fragments), and Wittgenstein (On Certainty). Short weekly papers and a term paper are required.
RELC 732 20th Century Theology
This course will address issues and trends in 20th century Christian theology from Adolf von Harnack and Karl Barth to Hans von Balthasar and contextual theologies. Figures covered may include Harnack, Barth, Bultmann, Tillich, Rahner, von Balthasar, Robert Jenson, Eastern Orthodox, and liberation theologians. Issues may include the historical Jesus, changing doctrines of Israel, the resurgence of interest in the Trinity, ecumenical dialogues, liberation theology, the twinned rise of science and fundamentalism, feminist critiques of God-language and responses, changes in biblical interpretation, sexuality issues, third-world Christianities, and Jewish thinkers in conversation with Christian ones. Requirements: weekly participation in discussion section and electronic newsgroup; your choice of 2-3 papers OR in-class tests. Can fulfill the Second Writing Requirement for those writing papers.
RELG 745 Phenomenology and Mysticism
Tracing the neoplatonic heritage of phenomenology, from Plato to Plotinus to Meister Eckhart to Descartes to Kant to Husserl and after. In the process, students will be asked to isolate the elemental forms of perception, cognition, and reflection that structure phenomenological reduction. And to compare these with claims of mystics in the neoplatonic tradition.
RELG 810 Clinical Ethics
This course will explore some of the major ethical issues that arise in clinical medicine and provide an introduction to methods that are used in the clinical and research settings to address these issues.
RELB 821 Literary Tibetan 8
A continuation of Literary Tibetan VII, this course is designed for training in the literary forms of the Tibetan language. Emphasis is on exposure to a wide variety of styles/genres in Tibetan literature and in-depth knowledge of Tibetan grammar. Prerequisites: Literary Tibetan VII. Requirements: Class attendance and participation, midterm, final and three translation assignments.
RELB 823 Advanced Tibetan
Individual translation projects
RELB 826 Advanced Topics in Tibetan Literature
Directed readings in Tibetan literature for advanced students in Tibetan language.
RELB 828 Colloquial Tibetan 8
A continuation of Colloquial Tibetan VII, this course uses multimedia programs in Colloquial Tibetan to develop verbal fluency, acquire vocabulary, and master advanced topics in spoken Tibetan. Prerequisites: Tibetan VII. Requirements: Requirements: class attendance, participation, preparation of programs outside of class, multiple exams and quizzes
RELG 849 The Question of Time
This course will explore the treatment of time in philosophy and theology, beginning with some ancient texts, and then concentrating on the twentieth century.
RELG 865 Nineteenth Century Confession and Autobiography
Nineteenth Century Confession and Autobiography Organised around a series of topics that constituted cultural crises for Victorian culture, this course will examine the ways in which models of religious understanding of the self and its development shaped individual and societal reponse to particular intellectual and social transformations. Six themes - the institutional role of the Church, chartism, faith and politics, the nature of the afterlife, the challenge of historical criticism of the Bible, and the rise of evolutionary theory - will be studied by means of historical document and first person narration.Indirect modes of traversing subjectivity in a covert form will also find a place. Literary works by believers and non-believers will include Newman's 'Apologia,' autobiographies of Josephine Butler and Thomas Huxley, Samuel Butler's 'The Way of All Flesh, 'Edmund Gosse's 'Father and Son,' Charles Kingsley's 'Water Babies' and 'Alton Locke the Taylor,' Thomas Cooper's 'Purgatory of the Suicides,' Ruskin's 'Praeterita,' Tennyson's 'In Memoriam' and Browning's 'Christmas Eve.' We shall also study George Eliot's translation of Strauss's life of Jesus.
RELC 892 Origen of Alexandria
The seminar will focus on Origen's exegetical writings, in particularly his large theological commentary on the Gospel According to St. John. Besides close study of the text, the seminar will discuss Origen's approach to exegesis, the relation between his exegesis and his theology, and the importance of the Gospel of John in early Christian thought. Greek required. Requirement: seminar paper