Explores the nature of religious faith, religious language (myth and symbol) and clusters of religious beliefs through an examination of the primary texts of several major world religions. Methodologies for the study of religion will also be examined. This course is a critical study, based on classical and contemporary readings, of such issues as: the […]
This course introduces students to a variety of human religious experiences and traditions. This year we will explore the history, literature, practices and contemporary issues of the following religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Chinese and Japanese traditions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. We will study and critically analyze the sacred texts in translation and the various concepts […]
This course offers a survey of much of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the Christian Bible (New Testament). We begin with a discussion of pre-Israelite religion (i.e., a reconstruction of religion in Palestine before the composition of the Hebrew Bible) and its parallels in Mesopotamian and Egyptian religious practices and texts. Then, we move […]
This course examines the beliefs, doctrines and institutions that have constituted the Islamic tradition from its inception until the present. While examining some of the most important primary sources that have emerged within Islamic tradition, particular attention is placed on the variety of interpretive strategies used by Muslim exegetes, theologians, legal scholars, Sufis, feminists, etc. […]
No single course can adequately address the richness and complexity of the cultures and societies of East Asia. However, this course will introduce students to important practices and concepts from a broadly humanistic perspective and offer a peek into what it might have been like to actually live in East Asia before widespread globalization. In […]