Courses

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FALL 2011

REL 104 Introduction to Religion
(3) Religion approached as search for meaning. Personal and social interpretation of life and death. The study proceeds by examination of autobiography, institutions, symbols, scriptures, literature, world-views, values. Modern critiques of religion, secular faiths, and religious pluralism are included.
11:00 - 12:15 TR 100 Smith; Instructor: Mike Zogry

REL 106 Living Religions of the East/EALC 105
(3) A basic introduction to religion in India, China, and Japan with emphasis upon religions that affect the modern period. 
10:00-10:50 MWF 100 Smith; Instructor: Bill Lindsey.

REL 107 Living Religions of the West 
(3) A basic introduction to the major religious traditions of the Near East, Europe, and the Americas, with an emphasis on their development through the modern period and their expressions in contemporary life. Not open to students who have taken REL 109 or REL 307.
9:30 - 10:45 TR 100 Smith; Instructor: Molly Zahn.

REL 124 Understanding the Bible
(3) An introduction to the literature of the Bible, exploring the relationships among the various types of literature present and the function of each type in the history and religious life of the people who produced and used them.
11:00-11:50 MW 100 Smith; Instructor: Paul Mirecki.  
1:00-1:50 F  206  Smith
2:00-2:50 F 206 Smith
3:00-3:50 W 208 Smith
4:00-4:50 W 208 Smith
4:00-4:50 R 208 Smith

REL 171 Religion in American Society/AMS 290
(3) A broad introduction to religion in America culture. The class emphasizes the well-established religions with large followings, viz. Judaism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. Some attention is also given to other religions active in America. Other topics covered include the relationship of church of state, religion in ethinic and racial minority groups, and women and religion.
12:00-12:50 MWF 100 Smith; Instructor: Tim Miller.

REL 339 History of Religion in America/AMS 494
(3) Survey of the development of religious institutions and ideas in America from colonial times to the present. Emphasis is given to the mainstream religious traditions (Protestant, Catholic, Jewish) but attention is also paid to other phenomena, including nonwestern and native American religions.
7:00 - 9:30 PM T 107 Smith; Instructor: Aaron Ketchell

REL 341 Mysticism
(3) The nature of mystical experience and reflection as expressed in selected mystical literature of the world's religions.
1:00 - 2:15 TR 208 Smith; Instructor: Paul Zimdars-Swartz

REL 345 Christianity/HIST 510
(3) An introductory examination of the history, doctrines, and practices of Christianity. Selected from the creeds, papal decrees, and major Christian theologians.
4:00 - 6:30 M 208 Smith; Instructor: TBA

REL 350 Islam/AAAS 350
(3) Origins of Islam; the Prophet Muhammad; the Holy Koran; religious symbols and moral mandates; historical developments.
11:00 - 12:15 TR 107 Smith; Instructor: Jacquelene Brinton

REL 378 Religion and Moral Decisions, Honors/REL 665
(3) Introduction to religious viewpoints on individual and social ethics. Influence of religious thought on the making of moral decisions, and on value development. Examined in relation to specific moral issues.
4:00 - 6:30 W 206 Smith; Instructor: Robert Shelton

REL 475 Loving Relationships/REL 875
(3)Theories and elements of love in a variety of types of relationships, with attnetion to religious ehtical traditions and social and behavioral sciences. Includes small group discussions and application to personal experience. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.
2:30 - 3:45 TR 208 Smith; Instructor: Robert Shelton

REL 527 Studies in Ancient Mesopotamian Culture and Religion
(3) This course will cover the early history, cultures, material remains, and religious literature of ancient Mesopotamia from the time of the earliest civilizations in the area up to the Greek period (ca. 4000 to 300 BCE). The focus will be on literature and texts of interest for religious studies. The method and approach is historical, literary, and theoretical.
12:30 - 1:45 MW 208 Smith; Instructor: Paul Mirecki

REL 550 Gender Issues in Islam
(3) The relationship between Islam and women is greatly misunderstood often because it is viewed from the outside of the religion itself. In this class we will study Islamic religious sources to gain a greater understanding of how Muslim women have understood their roles in Islam. We will also learn how ideas of women and the feminine in the canonical sources have shaped women's religious lives. By combining the two we will begin to get a clear view of how women in Islam have participated in their religion historically. We will then apply this knowledge to specific modern contexts looking at how women in different regions of the world practice Islam today.
9:30 - 10:45 TR 107 Smith; Instructor: Jacquelene Brinton

REL 555 Buddhists and Buddhism in China/EALC 555
(3) A reading and media-rich survey of institutional, ritual, literary, educational, and exegetical practices that have shaped the lives of Buddhists in China, past and present. Alterities within the Buddhist tradtion, and interactions with other religious options, are considered.
11:00 - 12:15 TR 208 Smith; Instructor: Daniel Stevenson

REL 585 New Religious Movements (Western)
(3) A survey of the beliefs, practices, and social impact of religious minorities in the United States, both contemporary and historical, rooted primarily in Christianity and Judaism.
2:30 - 5:00 W 107 Smith; Instructor: Tim Miller

REL 601 Approaches to the Study of Religion
(3) An introduction to the various methods by which social scientists, historians, philsophers, and theologians study the meaning, influence, and significance or religion as an intergral part of society and its cultural heritage. Prerequisite: REL 104 required for undergraduate students.
1:00 - 3:30 W 206 Smith; Instructor: Bill Lindsey

REL 665 Religion and Moral Decisions/REL 378
(3) Main themes and traditions in ethical thought. Religious thought as basis of systems of ethics. Contemporary apporaches to methods of value organization and moral choices. Prerequisite: A basic course in religious studes.
4:00 - 6:30 W 206 Smith; Instructor: Robert Shelton

REL 669 Human Conflict and Peace
(3) Study of religious, cultural, and social traditions toward understanding the nature and purposes of human conflict. Analysis of various meanings of peace, with emphasis on study of nonviolent approaches to management of conflict. Class discussion, readings, and individual research projects. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.
9:30 - 10:45 206 Smith; Instructor: Robert Shelton

REL 732 Seminar in Western Religious Texts: Scriptural Interpretation
(3) This seminar will focus on the diverse forms and methods of the interpretation of Scripture in early Judaism and early Christianity. Our primary method will be close interaction with ancient texts (in translation) in order to analyze their ways of reading earlier Scripture and their means of presenting and authorizing their interpretation. Study of the primary texts will be complemented by readings from recent scholarship on the phenomenon of interpretation in early Judaism and Christianity as well as more broadly. Major issues to be addressed will include attitudes or assumptions about the scriptural text detectable in early Jewish and Christian interpretation; interpretation as a vehicle for the introduction of new ideas (innovative or subversive elements of interpretation); and how interpretative texts construe their own authority in relation to the texts that they interpret.
2:30 - 5:00 T 107 Smith; Instructor: Molly Zahn

REL 775 Seminar in Religion and Society in the West: Issues in the Study of Native American Religions
(3)
2:30 - 5:00 T 107 Smith; Instructor: Mike Zogry

REL 875 Loving Relationships/REL 475
(3) Theories and elements of love in a variety of types of relationships, with attnetion to religious ehtical traditions and social and behavioral sciences. Includes small group discussions and application to personal experience
2:30 - 3:45 TR 208 Smith; Instructor: Robert Shelton

APPOINTMENT COURSES ARRANGED WITH PERMISSION OF THE INSTRUCTOR

REL 405 Directed Study in Religion
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor, by appointment: All Faculty

REL 500 Readings: Non-English Religious Text
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor, by appointment:
Jacqueline Brinton
Paul Mirecki
Daniel Stevenson

REL 800: Readings 
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor, by appointment: All Faculty

REL 899 Thesis
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor by appointment: All Faculty

 

HNDI 110 Beginning Hindi I
(5) 11:00-12:25 MWF 108 Smith; Instructor: Geeta Tiwari

HNDI 210 Intermediate Hindi I
(3) 10:00-10:50 MWF 108 Smith; Instructor: Geeta Tiwari

 



 

 


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