Religious Studies

World Religions

A survey of major religions of the world, their beliefs, practices, and ethical concerns. Focusing primarily on Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, students examine the history, literature, structures, and manifestations of each of these religions. They examine how such disciplines as psychology, sociology, theology, art, and ethics shape, and are shaped by, religious world views. Concludes with an examination of some of the key conflicts/disagreements between two of these religious traditions. Offered every semester.

Religion in American Culture

CATALOG DESCRIPTION NOT FOUND IN SOURCE MATERIAL. Referenced as a Jewish Studies minor elective but no description appears in this source file. Flagged for Academic Affairs.

Judaism and Film

CATALOG DESCRIPTION NOT FOUND IN SOURCE MATERIAL. Required as an introductory course in the Jewish Studies minor and as a stated prerequisite for JST 381/481, but no description appears in this source file. Flagged for Academic Affairs.

Judaism through Food

A hands-on introduction to Judaism. From feasts to fasts, students explore the history, texts, and traditions of Judaism through the study and first-hand encounter with its foods; their place, preparation, restrictions, and geographical variations that are central to the religious and cultural experience of Judaism. Offered every spring.

American Sacred Space

This course is designed to encourage students to re-think the ways we think about and treat certain spaces in the United States. In addition to "traditional" (religious) sacred spaces, we will study public spaces such as Disneyland, Gettysburg, and Washington, DC, as well as the body and cyberspace. Offered intermittently.

The Old Testament World

The ancient Israelites wrote stories of their past. They preserved laws. They wrote prophecies, biographies, common-sense advice, love poetry, and apocalypses. An introduction to some of these writings; specifically, the writings preserved in the Old Testament and in the Apocrypha. Examines both the history of the Hebrews and Israelites and the literature they used to express and communicate their faith. Offered fall of odd-numbered years.

The New Testament World

The first Christians wrote letters to each other, they wrote tales about Jesus, they wrote sermons, and apocalypses. An introduction to some of those writings preserved in the New Testament and to those apocryphal and non-canonical works that shaped how the New Testament was remembered and how Christianity developed. Examines both the earliest Christians and the literature they used to create communities and to express and communicate their faith. Prerequisite: at least 3 semester hours in English, history, philosophy, or religious studies. Offered spring of odd-numbered years.

Religion and American Politics

Investigates the relationship between religion and politics in the United States, especially the role of traditional religious identities and issues, while acknowledging non-traditional religious movements, ideas, and issues. Emphasizes upcoming elections. Students are expected to be informed on the current debates in the various national elections which form basis of class discussions and student presentations. Identical to CSRF 232. Offered fall of even-numbered years.

Religion and Constitutional Law

Introduces students to the relationship between religion and American law. Students explore the origins, history, and current legal foundations guiding disputes over religious freedom, providing the backdrop for discussions of current issues such as abortion, gay marriage, and euthanasia. Offered spring of odd-numbered years.

Topics in American Religion

A focused examination of religion in specific areas of American culture. May include the study of specific religious traditions (e.g., Catholicism), movements (e.g., evangelicalism, new religions), or areas of cultural interaction (e.g., education, science) in American religion. May be repeated for credit as topics vary. Offered intermittently.

Religion and Popular Culture

Introduces students to the role religion plays in creating and maintaining culture through such popular venues as motion pictures, television, sports, and fashion, as well as the impact of religious values on popular cultural expressions. Offered intermittently.

Bible and Literature

Examines the Bible as the source and inspiration for works of fiction, non-fiction, biography, letters, parables, poetry, and epistles from the world's literature, both classic and modern. These works are studied from the perspective of the literary modes of discourse drawn from the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Offered intermittently.

Topics in Religious Ethics

A focused examination of ethical theory and methods and of issues in moral theology within religious traditions. Courses offered under this designation may focus on a particular religion, on a specific practice, or on a comparative approach to religious ethics. May be repeated for credit as topics vary. Offered intermittently.

Lobbying and Religious Advocacy

Examines how, through approaches to lobbying and political advocacy, different religious communities engage in American politics, how their religion-historical views play a role in that engagement, and how their socio-historical context often has determined (or continue to determine) their level of access in the political realm. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered in January Term.

International Religious Freedom

An exploration of global issues related to limitations on religious freedom, international efforts to address religious freedom concerns, advantages and disadvantages of the American tradition of First Amendment-based religious liberty, and the difficulties inherent in geo-political and religious conflicts over religion and religious freedom. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered intermittently.

Servant Leadership Internship

An integrative experience that includes both academic and experiential elements, along with the development of specific skills related to mediation and community building. The field experience may be with government agencies, non-profits, religious organizations, or specific ministries. Prerequisite: Sophomore status, 2.4 GPA, placement and instructor approval. Offered each semester.

Christian Theology and Film

Explores how the fields of theology and film studies cross-fertilize each other, with special attention given to the ways in which film functions as religious discourse. Students investigate the historical evolution of film as a means of communicating theological doctrines or themes through its narrative patterns and analyze how religious and secular films can be constructed as cultural texts that advise not only how one should live, but what one should believe. Emphasizes the sermonic nature of film, various hermeneutics of film, and how audiences receive and appropriate both manifest and latent religious meanings. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered fall of even-numbered years.

Seminar in C. S. Lewis

Investigates the literary, historical, and theological contributions of British Author C. S. Lewis, exploring key literary and philosophical influences upon his life and literature and examining how his thought and imagination have affected contemporary religious discourse and practice. May be offered either as an on-campus course or as a travel course. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered spring of even-numbered years.

Thinkers/Topics in Religion

Focused, in-depth study of one important religious thinker (or thinker about religion), or a narrowly defined topic of current importance in religious studies. May be repeated for credit with the instructor's permission. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered every year.

Mediating Religious Conflicts

This course highlights disagreements and conflicts between religions in the United States. Through interreligious presentations, debates, and facilitation training, it seeks to develop the skills and dispositions that students can use to more fully negotiate the challenges created by differences, and to create opportunities for meaningful dialogue, cooperation, and action. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered fall of odd-numbered years.

Extreme Religion and Religious Freedom

After examining the roles and functions of ecstatic and extreme experience within world religion today, this course focuses on the meaning and significance of these experiences for the practitioners of these religions. In addition, students will engage in individual research on specific controversies relating to individual practices and issues relating to religious freedom. Prerequisite: sophomore, junior, or senior status. Offered spring of even-numbered years.

Internship in Jewish Studies

Internship with local Jewish community or religious organization. Students participate in the institutional workings of educational, philanthropic, religious, or health-care related Jewish organizations. Off-campus: personal means of transportation necessary. Prerequisites: RELST 180 or 181 or permission of the faculty member administering the JST minor.

Readings in Jewish Studies

In-depth, faculty guided but student-initiated readings course in an area of Jewish studies, focusing on a specific theme, issue, geographic area, or time period relevant to the study of Judaism or the Jewish people. Prerequisites: RELST 180 or 181 or permission of the faculty member administering the JST minor. Offered intermittently.

History of Modern Germany

Explores the meaning of modern Germany since its unification as a modern nation-state in 1871. Topics include the political outline of German history, the social and cultural histories of Germany, German identity, ethnic groups, the Holocaust, and Germany's national borders. Prerequisite: sophomore/junior/senior status. Offered intermittently.

Holocaust

Examines the Third Reich and its collaborators' murder of six million Jews, emphasizing the perspectives of Holocaust victims. Also explores how survivors, nations, and popular culture have constructed a history that both raised awareness of the Holocaust while simultaneously advancing interpretations that were sometimes inconsistent with the historical record. Prerequisite: sophomore/junior/senior status. Offered spring of odd-numbered years.

Introduction to Comparative Politics

An introduction to cross-national comparative analysis, with particular attention to social movements, democratization, globalization, and the relative political and economic autonomy of the countries examined. Country cases include Britain, Germany, India, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, and the United States. Students engage in cross-country case-studies to compare and contrast major political and economic institutions, political culture, parties, and interest groups; and discuss class-based perspectives on political conflicts over wealth distribution and social justice. Offered every spring.

Comparative Politics of the Middle East and North Africa

CATALOG DESCRIPTION NOT FOUND IN SOURCE MATERIAL. Referenced as a Jewish Studies minor elective but no description appears in this source file. Flagged for Academic Affairs.

Short Prose of Kafka

CATALOG DESCRIPTION NOT FOUND IN SOURCE MATERIAL. Referenced as a Jewish Studies minor elective but no German department course catalog appears anywhere in this source file. Flagged for Academic Affairs.

German Cinema: Art & Politics

CATALOG DESCRIPTION NOT FOUND IN SOURCE MATERIAL. Referenced as a Jewish Studies minor elective but no German department course catalog appears anywhere in this source file. Flagged for Academic Affairs.