RELIGIOUS STUDIES FALL 2025 COURSE OFFERINGS
RELIGIOUS STUDIES FALL 2025 COURSE OFFERINGS
100. What the Heck is Religion? An Introduction to the Study of Religion
What is religion? Why are people religious? What power does religion have for individuals and societies? How does religion function as a way of knowing, acting, and being in the world? How did the study of religion arise in the modern West, and how scholars of religion go about studying it? What ways have they devised to grasp the rich varieties of religious experiences and expressions that they classify as religions? Throughout the course, students will study a wealth of material that may be regarded as religious, from societies past and present, literate and non-literate, and from around the globe. Finally, students will reflect on the place of the religious in contemporary society. Offered each semester.
212 . Icons of Islamic Architecture
An introduction to Islamic architecture through a focused study of a global tourist attraction: the Taj Mahal. Built as a lavish tomb for an empress in seventeenth century India, the Taj Mahal was a sign of immense privilege and social exclusion from its very inception. Over time, it became the object of fantasy for modern European travelers and a model for both British colonial architecture as well as opulent private homes in America. In what ways did elite men and women in medieval Islam shape and control architecture? Why are religious and political groups, archaeologists, and conservationists fighting for ownership of this building today? To appreciate the historical and contemporary significance of the Taj, students will also study comparative examples from other parts of Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America. By taking this course, students will: a) learn to recognize pluralism in Islamic architecture; b) critically examine how diverse social groups interact with Islamic architecture; and c) develop a capacity for critical self-reflection on how issues of power and justice play out in their own societies. Diversity (DIV13). No prerequisite. Offered every spring. Also offered through Asian Studies.
218. Fantasy Religion
Fulfills ARTS Distribution (2013 curriculum). Animated films or anime in Japan are a fascinating part of pop culture that attracts a huge audience of fans. As part of a global leisure industry, anime can offer an imaginary space not only to entertain, but to explore key questions about spirituality, religion, and the sacred. By viewing films like Anno Hideaki's Neon Genesis Evangelion, Shiro Masume's Ghost in the Shell, and Miyazaki Hayao's My Neighbor Totoro, this class will explore topics as the nature of the gods (kami), Shinto as nature religion, Christianity Japanese style, apocalyptic (end of the world) themes in anime, evil and the demonic, and so on.
238. Global Christianities
This course explores Christianity outside the United States and Europe. Catholic and Protestant Christianities in addition to newer forms of Christianity are included, and case studies are drawn from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Pentecostal Christianity (also called Charismatic Christianity) is a particular focus. The course considers the conflict and interplay of older forms of Christianity, often part of the inheritance of colonialism, with more recent arrivals; probes the relationship between religion and the processes of globalization; and questions whether any of these forms of Christianity can be described as globalized, and, if so, whether global Christianity resists or supports globalization. Fulfills DIV13 Distribution (2013 curriculum).
335. Religion & Violence
An exploration in the relationships between religion and violence, variously defined, in key case studies through varying theoretical approaches.
Courses counted as electives for the major and minor in Religious Studies
ANTH 340. Myth, Magic, and Ritual
AAH 202. Art Italian Renaissance
AAH 204. Baroque Art
AAH 203. Art of the Northern Renaissance
AAH 206. Art of the Middle Ages
AAH 212. Icons of Islamic Architecture
AAH 217. Buddhist Art and Ritual
AAH 218. Arts of South Asia
AAH 319. Gender Issues in Asian Art
ENG 152. Intro-Greek & Roman Mythology
ENG 253. The Aftermath of Troy
ENG-225. English Literature I
ENG 316. Medieval Drama
ENG 4024. The House of Cadmus in Greek & Roman Mythology
HIST 209. Medieval Europe
HIST 210. Renaissance and Reformation
HIST 229. Introduction to Native American History
HIST 267. The Holocaust
PCA 322. Native American Oral Traditions.
PCA 330. Ritual Studies.
PHIL 103. Philosophy East and West
PHIL 120. Introduction to Peace Studies
PHIL 223. Asian Philosophy