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Religious Studies Course Descriptions

100 MUSLIM SOCIETIES AND IDENTITIES

This course attempts to offer a historical perspective covering Islam's 14 century journey in areas as far apart as Indonesia, India, the Middle East, West Africa, Bosnia, and Spain. The course introduces themes of Islamic social and political history, such as the formation of a Muslim "imperium" and the evolution of various Muslim "communities." It also covers aspects of Islamic intellectual history, including basic Muslim creeds and legalistic and mystical tendencies in practice. Not offered 2007–2008. (4 credit)

 

101 ISLAM IN AMERICA

8 million Muslims in America make up only 3% of the population but represent worlds of culture reflecting the diversity of Muslim societies worldwide. The story of Muslims in America distinguishes, for historical and religious reasons, three groups: Blackamericans (42% of American Muslims), Indo-Pakistanis (29%), Arab/Middle Easterners (12%) from the rest of the American Muslim population. The historical and numerical importance of Blackamericans followed by Indo-Pakistanis (whose presence in America can be dated back to the split of the Subcontinent into India and Pakistan in 1946) interacts with the religious importance of Arab/Middle Eastern Muslims and becomes the basis of contentions about religious authority and the American Muslim identity. 9/11 presented unique challenges to American Muslims. These issues will be explored in this course. Next offered 2008–2009). (4 credits)

 

120 HEBREW BIBLE

This course introduces students to the academic study of Hebrew Bible texts and other Ancient Near Eastern literature in translation. Students will learn to apply a range of methodologies, from traditional methods such as historical and source criticism to newer methods such as feminist and post-modern interpretations. Students will learn how to write exegesis papers and critically engage the social legacies of biblical texts. No prerequisite. Every year. (4 credits)

 

121 NEW TESTAMENT

An introduction to New Testament literature and thought in light of the historical, literary, and religious multiculturalism of the ancient Mediterranean, Jewish, and Greco-Roman world. The texts that make up the New Testament will be situated in various historical, literary, and cultural contexts, and read as one of a diverse set of representations of Jesus and self-understandings of what being Christian meant. The politics of canonization and decanonization will also be addressed. No prerequisite. Offered every other year alternating with Early Christianity (Religious Studies 122). (4 credits).

 

122 EARLY CHRISTIANITY

This course introduces students to the emergence of a diverse social movement now termed "Christianity" within the political, economic, historical and cultural worlds of the ancient Mediterranean (i.e. the Roman Empire) We will critically examine expressions of early Christian self-understanding during the first four centuries of the common era. Emphasis will be on multifaceted forms of piety, resistance to and adaptations of institutional and social power, relations between Christians and non-Christians, and rhetorical strategies, tropes, figurallism, and genres used in articulating what it meant to be Christian. Offered every other year alternating with New Testament (Religious Studies 121). (4 credits)

 

123 JESUS, DISSENT, AND DESIRE

This course introduces students to Christian practice, doctrine, faith, and social organization by examining various historical controversies and the roles they have played in the formation and alteration of the traditions from Christian origins to the present. Specific controversies will be selected from historical events and movements, beginning with the earliest struggles over the significance of the person and nature of Jesus of Nazareth, the ethos and institutional structure of the early communities, and the canonization of scripture. The course will conclude with a brief discussion of contemporary disputes over internal ethical and denominational pluralism and relationships between Christianity and the State. This course is strongly recommended in preparation for Religion 346: Dissent, Reform, and Expansion in Sixteenth Century Europe and for Religion 348: Contemporary Christian Thought. No prerequisite. Offered 2007–2008. (4 credits)

 

124 INTRODUCTION TO ASIAN RELIGIONS (Same as Asian Languages and Cultures 124)

An introduction to the study of Asian religious traditions in South and East Asia (India, China and Japan). Open to everyone but especially appropriate for first and second year students. Every year. (4 credits)

 

125 LOVE AND DEATH

This course explores possible relations between love and death in human life, illustrated in theory, fiction, and film. We shall raise such questions as: How does love differ according to the kind of relationship in which it finds expression (for example, parental love, friendship, sexual intimacy, love for strangers and enemies, neighborly love, self-love, love for learning, love for justice, and devotion to a transcendent reality)? What does love require in regard to how owe live and die? How does our awareness that death is inevitable inform our views and experiences of love? What role does love play in the significance we attribute to death? As we raise all of these questions we will repeatedly ask: What difference do racial, gender, class, age, sexual, and religious differences make in how we love and how we die. Not offered 2007–2008. (4 credits)

 

126 RELIGION IN AMERICA

The social and intellectual history of religion in the United States through the year 1900, with an emphasis on popular religious movements. The social and economic correlates of religious developments will be analyzed as well as the impact of Christian values on American institutions. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

127 RELIGIONS OF INDIA (Same as Asian Languages and Cultures 127)

An introductory level course on the popular, classical and contemporary religious traditions of South Asia. Topics include Advaita Vedanta and yoga, popular devotionalism, monastic and lay life in Theravada Buddhism, the caste system, Gandhi and modern India. Prerequisite: Religious Studies 124 or permission of instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

128 AFRICAN AMERICAN RELIGIONS (Same as American Studies 128)

Understanding religion as the quest for ultimate orientation, this course will examine several expressions of African American religiosity. Students will explore the origin, development, belief structure, and practice of traditions such as Black Christianity, the Nation of Islam, Vodun (Voodoo), Santeria, Spiritual Churches, and Black Humanism. The goal of this course is to acquaint students with the complex nature of African American religious expression. Offered alternate years; not offered 2007–2008. (4 credits)

 

129 RELIGIONS OF EAST ASIA (Same as Asian Languages and Cultures 129)

An introductory level course on popular, classical and contemporary religious traditions of China and Japan. Topics include Confucian thought, Taoist classics, sectarian Buddhism, popular religion, and Zen. No prerequisite. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

130 FOLKLORE AND RELIGION

This course will introduce students to the study of folklore, belief and religious folklife. We will consider examples of folktales, myths, foodways, material arts, paranormal experience narratives, magic, healing, and other traditions as they relate to religion. By examining folklore that emerges within, between, and in reaction to religious traditions, students will be challenged to move beyond simple notions of culture, religious authority, and doctrine. Participants in the course should be prepared for a heavy but exciting reading load. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

135 ROME AND INDIA (Same as Classics 135)

This course is taught jointly between the department of religious studies and the department of classics, by a specialist in the Roman East and a specialist in classical India. We will start on either side of this world, with Alexander the Great and Ashoka, exploring the relationship between empire and religion from Rome to India in the world's crossroads for the thousand years between Alexander and the rise of Islam. Spring semester. (4 credits)

 

145 PAGANS, CHRISTIANS, AND JEWS IN CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY: CULTURES IN CONFLICT (Same as Classics 145 and Humanities Media and Cultural Studies 145)

This course studies the interaction of Jewish, Christian, and pagan cultures, and the protracted struggle for self-definition and multi-cultural exchange this encounter provoked. The course draws attention to how the other and cultural and religious difference are construed, resisted, and apprehended. Readings include Acts, Philo, Revelation, I Clement, pagan charges against Christianity, Adversus Ioudaios writers, the Goyim in the Mishna, and apologetic literature. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

200 REVELATION AND TRADITION IN ISLAM

The revelation of the Qur'an is the instigator of Islamic traditions, but `tradition' in Islam in its large sense is a complex phenomenon. The Prophet Muhammad's statements and actions hold an important place and can be referred to simply as the "Tradition" of the Prophet. Qur'anic exegetes and commentators on the Prophet's life and example provide much that became part of the `tradition' broadly defined. This course will cover these and other related concepts in order to enable students to be conversant in the current discussions about authority in Muslim societies. Not offered 2007–2008 (4 credit)

 

201 ISLAM AND PHILOSOPHY

The course begins with an explanation of the concept of philosophy in Islam and explores Islamic philosophical writings addressing a broad range of themes. These include 1) natural disposition and knowledge, 2) how can we know "what we know," 3) reconciling revelatory and philosophical knowledge, 4) the possibility of universal logic, 5) the evolution of religion in community, 6) the meaning of history and civilization, 7) the relationship between law and morality, among others. Philosophers discussed include Farabi (d.950), Ghazalia (d. 1111), Ibn Tufayl (d.1185), Ibn Rushd (d. 1198), and Ibn Khladun (d. 1409). Not offered 2007–2008. (4 credits)

 

231 FROM TIBET TO AMERICA

Over the years, Tibet has been portrayed as a forbidden realm of snows and monasteries, a peaceful and egalitarian paradise, a land of feudal lords and bandits, a sanctuary for ancient Buddhist knowledge, and a corrupt kingdom in which the Buddha's teachings were intertwined with magic and sex. Today, Tibet is frequently in the news, and the Twin Cities have become home to one of the largest Tibetan exile communities in North America. This course will explore the changes that occur as religions and individuals move across cultural intersections. Starting with brief introductions to early Tibet and the life and ideas of Shakyamuni (the historical Buddha), we will consider the uniquely Tibetan culture that developed as Buddhism took root in a turbulent and shamanistic society. By examining rituals, folklore, art, architecture, music, and other cultural traditions, students will develop an understanding of religion as it is intertwined with everyday life. The class will also look at Islam as a minority religion in Tibet. We will explore the changes that have occurred in the wake of China's invasion of Tibet, as some Tibetans have attempted to preserve their culture in the exile communities of India, Nepal and North America. Finally, we will delve into the often contradictory images of Tibet presented by Tibetans, the Chinese government, and the practitioners, artists, journalists, and scholars of America and Europe. Previous coursework in Buddhism is recommended, but not required. Not offered 2007–2008. (4 credits)

 

232 RELIGION AND FOOD

Why does food play such a big part in so many sacred traditions? How do people use food to make sense of the world? Why do we fast, kill animals, feed spirits, and throw potluck suppers in the name of religion? This course will introduce students to the study of religion, using food as an entry point. Through readings, lectures, slides, videos, and hands-on experiences, we will investigate case studies from many cultures and historical periods. We will explore aspects of foodways such as cooking, farming, sacrifice, aesthetics, and display as they relate to myth, magic, ritual, healing, ethics, and doctrine. Students will be expected to keep up with an intensive but interesting schedule of reading, to participate in class discussions and activities, and to complete written assignments including responses, several mini-projects, and a final library or field project on a topic of their choice. Not offered 2007–2008. (4 credits)

 

234 INTRODUCTION TO JEWISH LIFE AND THOUGHT

This course will survey Judaism's basic beliefs and practices, from the Bible to the present day, through examination and discussion of religious and social literature created by the Jewish people. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

235 THEORY AND METHOD IN THE STUDY OF RELIGION

The course is an introduction to some of the important theoretical and methodological work conducted by scholars in various disciplines who hope to better define and understand religious phenomena. This seminar begins with some of the early twentieth century texts that are often cited and discussed by contemporary scholars of religion (e.g., Durkheim, Weber, Freud) and then turns to a number of investigations stemming from engagement with earlier theorists or refracting new concerns. The course inquires into the problems of defining and analyzing religious cultures, and the researcher's position or positions in this analysis, as this has been approached from anthropological, sociological, and religious studies perspectives. Every year. (4 credits)

 

238 CATHOLICISM

A study of the religious tradition of Roman Catholicism. Some attention will be given to the theology and historical development of the Roman Catholic Church, but major emphasis will fall on the relationship of the Catholic religion to various Catholic cultures, including Ireland, Mexico, Poland, and the United States. Fall 2007. (4 credits)

 

239 WORK AND ETHICS ACROSS TRADITIONS

This course explores relationships between the work ethos and the religious teachings, practices, and beliefs that inform the cultures of the United States and Japan. It addresses a wide range of issues in response to two central questions: What roles do the religious traditions play in their respective cultures in producing the kinds of workers necessary to fuel advanced forms of global, consumer capitalism? Conversely, what roles do these traditions play in challenging and destabilizing the assumptions, values, and practices on which the respective capitalist economies are based? The course will approach these questions from an interdisciplinary perspective that includes historical, social scientific, philosophical, and theological angles of vision. The course is open to all interested students. No prerequisite. Not offered 2007–2008. (4 credits)

 

240 BUDDHISM/RELIGIOUS IMAGES (Same as Asian Languages and Cultures 240)

Art, in one form or another, plays an important but often ignored role in all religions. This is especially true of Buddhism, which is sometimes misunderstood to be nothing more than a rational philosophy. In this class, we will explore the importance of religious images in the Buddhist tradition focusing on status but sometimes including two-dimensional representation in our discussions. We will address issues such as whether images represent a deity or instead become the actual deity; the ideas images can relate that cannot be conveyed through a text; whether those seeking to spread religious teachings consciously use the images as a tool, or whether they do so as a natural outgrowth of their teachings; and a comparison of the favored images of various Buddhist schools and Asian countries. Our focus will not be on the methods through which particular objects were constructed but rather the function which they served. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

247 RELIGION AND POPULAR CULTURE

Using the work of cultural studies and religious studies scholars, students examine the way religion (themes such as sin and salvation) is analyzed by and represented in forms of contemporary cultural expression. Elements of popular culture addressed may include music (e.g., rap), film, and various cultural icons (Madonna, for example). Not offered 2007–2008. (4 credits)

 

248 PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION (Same as Philosophy 238)

The Philosophy of Religion seeks an understanding of religion by raising philosophical questions about its underlying assumptions and implications. When we believe something it is because we think it is true and because we think we have good evidence to support our belief. In the case of religious beliefs, however, we are immediately faced with questions concerning the nature of such beliefs. What claims do they make? What would count as good evidence for a religious belief? What is the nature of religious truth? In this course we will examine the nature of religious beliefs and the ways in which philosophers in different traditions have justified or argued against such beliefs. Perhaps in response to the increasing challenge to religion from the natural sciences, twentieth century philosophers have questioned the traditional philosophical approach to religion. Some philosophers, Wittgenstein for example, question traditional interpretations of religious language and re-examine the relationship between faith and reason. Can religious life be practiced without a theology or with skepticism or agnosticism regarding theological questions? Other topics covered in the course include the attempt to introduce intelligent design into public schools as part of the science curriculum; religious pluralism; the belief in life after death; and feminist critiques of religious language. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

300 INTRODUCTION TO ISLAMIC LAW

This course introduces students to the basic concepts that recur in the study of Islamic law and provides a general overview of the history and development of Islamic law and legal theories. The course will also offer the students an opportunity to delve into the process of legal reasoning as practiced by Muslim jurists in order to understand it and anticipate its outcome. We will discuss Muslim juristic hermeneutics (their unique way of reading the authoritative texts of the Qur'an and the Sunna/Tradition of the Prophet), their reasoning based on analogy, utility, and their concept of rights. Comparisons with Western legal reasoning will be offered in the course of our discussions, but previous knowledge of law or legal philosophy is not assumed. Prerequisite: Two courses in religious studies preferred. Not offered 2007–2008. (4 credit)

 

335 AFTERLIVES OF BIBLICAL TEXTS

Biblical texts serve as creative, complex, and continuing sites of social reformulations rather than synoptic and narrative enclosures of the ancient past. This seminar explores the social legacies of biblical texts. We will approach scripture not as text but as a site of performative palimpsest. This course prioritizes contemporary, creative and complex mis-readings over objectivist exegeses of text. We will explore a range of topics (Jerry Falwell, African Americans and the Bible, the Bible in popular culture), and a variety of biblical texts (both Hebrew and Christian), in an effort to de-center the object of study. Not offered 2007–2008. (4 credits)

 

343 NATIVE AMERICAN RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS

This course will focus on the spiritual traditions of the Lakota people. Lakota history and tradition will serve as background for discussion of legal, political, and theological issues related to Native American religious practices. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

346 DISSENT, REFORM, AND EXPANSION IN SIXTEENTH CENTURY EUROPE

This course examines the Protestant, Radical, and Catholic reformation movements of sixteenth century Europe in conjunction with European global expansion. We will explore such theological debates of the time as the nature of religious authority, the relationship between religious and political authority, the relation between faith and works, whether humans are free or predestined in respect to their salvation, whether colonized people have souls, and how to tell if someone is a witch. We will analyze these debates in relation to their historical context with an eye to their roles in the development of the nation state, secularism, and global capitalism, as we know them today. Not offered 2007–2008. (4 credits)

 

348 CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN THOUGHT AND PRACTICE

This course critically examines the engagement of Christian thought and practice with modern and post-modern cultures. Students will explore interactions across theological thinking, ethical action, ritual behavior, and material culture in Christian life. Possible issues for focus include: divine creativity and environmentalism; the nature and gender of God in relation to what it means to be human; liberation theologies and global capitalism; Christian theological responses to violence; Christian identity and U.S. nationalism; Christianity and sexual identity; the rise of evangelicalism to political power; spiritual discipline across Christian traditions; global Christianity; and the relation between the Incarnation and material objects. Offered 2007–2008. (4 credits)

 

351 RELIGION, LITERATURE AND FILM

An examination of perennial religious themes, such as estrangement and redemption, meaning and value, and the question of transcendence in modern literature and in film; attention to the intersection of theory of religion with literary theory and film theory in terms of commonalities and differences in regard to human creativity. Not offered 2007–2008. (4 credits)

 

356 BUDDHIST NIRVANA AND ENLIGHTENMENT

Nirvana, sometimes called enlightenment, is supposedly the goal of all Buddhist. But what is it? In an early sutra, Sakyamuni says that it cannot be described; any words would inevitably limit it. Various schools of Buddhism, however, have sometimes explained in great detail what enlightenment consists of. For example, some schools hold that it involves "seeing" the world as it really is. Mahayana Buddhists believe that Nirvana is not different from samsara (the painful cycle of rebirth). Many Zen Buddhists believe enlightenment is reached when one realizes that one already has Buddha-nature. Rather than deciding in class what Nirvana/enlightenment is or even if such a thing exists, we will examine what people have had to say on the topic over the past two thousand years, beginning with statements in the earliest sutras and continuing to modern day accounts of people who believe they have attained enlightenment. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

365 JEWISH HISTORY (Same as History 265)

An examination of the history of the Jewish people from the time of emancipation in the late 18th century to the present. The major theme will be the development of new forms of Jewish self-identity as the self contained communities of the pre-emancipation period begin to dissolve. Among the topics to be considered are the relationships between Jewish communities and the "outside world," pressures from within and without the Jewish community for assimilation, antisemitism, the holocaust, Zionism and the birth of Israel, and the position of the Jews in the world today. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

452 GENDER, CASTE AND DEITY IN INDIA

An advanced seminar on social structures in India and their relation to religious ideology. Prerequisite: Religious Studies 127 or previous work in Indian religions. Not offered 2007–2008. (4 credits)

 

469 APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF RELIGION

An advanced seminar required for religious studies majors, open to minors. Both classic and contemporary theories on the nature of religion and critical methods for the study of religion will be considered. Prerequisites: two courses in religious studies and permission of the instructor. Every year. (4 credits)

 

604 TUTORIAL

Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Every semester. (4 credits)

 

614 INDEPENDENT PROJECT

Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Every semester. (4 credits)

 

624 INTERNSHIP

Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. A maximum of one internship may be applied toward the major concentration. Every semester. (4 credits)

 

634 PRECEPTORSHIP

Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Every semester. (4 credits)

 

644 HONORS INDEPENDENT

Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project. Offered every semester. (1–4 credits)

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