Paul A. Dietrich (Professor of Liberal
Studies), Director
The academic study of religions is coextensive with the broad
field of humane learning in which questions pertaining to the
meaning of human existence are most prominent. The study of
religions in the University is therefore taken up in close conjunction
with the humanities, arts, letters, and the several sciences.
In course offerings, two emphases prevail: first, the scholarly
analysis and transmission of the literature and forms of the
world's religions; second, the sensitization of the student
to the value of religious studies for appreciating his/her cultural
and social existence. Thus, courses are designed to illuminate
religious traditions in historical depth as they inform modern
cultures generally, and the individual within American cultural
situations in particular.
The offerings in Religious Studies do not constitute a pre professional
program. They are intended to extend and deepen the student's
education in the liberal arts.
Courses
back to top
U = for undergraduate credit only, UG = for undergraduate or
graduate credit, G = for graduate credit. R after the credit
indicates the course may be repeated for credit to the maximum
indicated after the R.
U 100 Introduction to the Study of Religion 3 cr. Offered
intermittently.An inquiry into the literary and historical phenomena
of religion in relation to the symbolic, cultural and social
expressions of selected major world religions.
U 106H Introduction to Old Testament Studies 3 cr. Introduction
to the literature and history of ancient Israel and to modern
methods employed in studying Israel's religion as an academic
discipline.
U 107 Introduction to New Testament Studies 3 cr. An introduction
to the literature and history of early Christianity and to the
scholarly methods used in studying the New Testament.
U 130S Sociology of Religious Cults 3 cr. Same as SOC 130S.
Offered spring. Unconventional religious groups in American
society. Topics include recruitment, conversion, commitment,
defection, leadership, belief systems, organizational structure
and change.
U 195 Special Topics Variable cr. (R 9) Experimental offerings
of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses,
or one time offerings of current topics.
U 198 Cooperative Education Experience Variable cr. (R
6) Prereq., consent of faculty supervisor and the Center for
Work-Based Learning. Extended classroom experience which provides
practical application of classroom learning during placements
off campus.
U 232H Buddhism 3 cr. Offered autumn. A historical introduction
to the development of Buddhist thought and practice in the cultures
of Asia and the West.
U 233 Traditions of Buddhist Meditation 3 cr. Offered
autumn. Prereq. or coreq., RELS 232H. A critical and phenomenological
introduction to meditation as the Buddhist method of systematic
inquiry into the nature of the mind and its role in the construction
of experience.
U 249H The Medieval Vision 3 cr. Offered alternate years.
Interdisciplinary introduction to the medieval west; study of
symbolic structures in literature, philosophy, popular religion,
art and architecture.
U 252L Medieval Allegory 3 cr. Offered alternate years.
Study of creative allegories of the spiritual quest or journey
and critical interpretive allegories of sacred texts. Typical
authors include Gregory of Nyssa, Dante, the Pearl poet, Farid
ud Din Attar.
U 260H Religion in America 3 cr. Offered alternate years.
A survey of the history of religion in American society, thought
and culture from the advent of the first Europeans to the present.
U 276 Contemporary Religious Thought 3 cr. (R 6) Offered
alternate years. Study of selected major critical and constructive
proposals in modern religious thought in various traditions.
U 295 Special Topics Variable cr. (R 9) Experimental
offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of
new courses, or one time offerings of current topics.
UG 301E American Indian Religion and Philosophy 3 cr.
Prereq., lower division course in Perspective 5 or consent of
instr. Same as NAS 301E. A study of selected ethical belief
systems; origins, world views; religious ceremonies and the
way they have been affected by Western civilization.
bOffered alternate years. An investigation of the origins, nature
and development of the gospels.
UG 312 The Legacy of Paul 3 cr. Offered alternate years.
The life and letters of Paul; the structure of the Pauline understanding
of the Christian faith; the legacy of Paul in later Christian
thought.
UG 335 Western Religious Thought I 3 cr. Offered autumn.
Selected studies in the intellectual history of western religions,
alternating between studies of periods and seminal thinkers.
Emphasis will be on the ancient and medieval periods.
UG 336 Western Religious Thought II 3 cr. Offered spring.
Selected studies in the intellectual history of western religions,
alternating between studies of periods and seminal thinkers.
Emphasis will be on the late medieval and early modern periods.
UG 347 Nature and Cosmology 3 cr. Offered intermittently.
An investigation of religious views of nature in the west including
ancient near eastern creation myths, medieval speculative cosmologies
and nature mysticism, romanticism and contemporary accounts.
UG 360 Classics of Buddhist Literature 3 cr. (R-6) Offered
spring. Close reading of a selection of core Buddhist texts
drawn from various Asian cultures and spanning the three main
phases of the tradition.
U 365 South Asian Religious Traditions: Hinduism 3 cr.
Offered spring even-numbered years. Same as AS and LS 365. Critical
exploration of selected aspects of Hindu thought, narrative
and practice, both in contemporary and historical perspective.
Focus primarily on India, but with consideration of Hinduism's
transformation and impact beyond South Asia.
UG 370 Mysticism 3 cr. (R 6) An inquiry into the literature
and interpretation of mysticism in the major religious traditions.
Each offering will focus on a specific tradition or period.
UG 381 Comparative Ethics 3 cr. Prereq., lower division
course in Perspective 5 or consent of instr. An examination
of models for cross cultural study, concentrating on the formation
and exercise of values in eastern cultures as approached from
the standpoint of western students.
U 395 Special Topics Variable cr. (R 12) Experimental
offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of
new courses, or one time offerings of current topics.
U 396 Independent Study Variable cr. (R 6)
UG 495 Special Topics Variable cr. (R 12) Experimental offerings
of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses,
or one time offerings of current topics.
UG 496 Independent Studies 3 cr. (R 9) Prereq., consent
of instr. Work on selected problems by individual students under
direct faculty supervision.
Faculty
back to top
Professors
Paul A. Dietrich, Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1981 (Director)
Alan Sponberg, Ph.D., University of British Columbia, 1980
Adjunct Professor
Thomas R. Lee, Ph.D., University of California, 1979
Adjunct Assistant Professor
David Toole, Ph.D., Duke University, 1996