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
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.
Religious Studies (RELS)
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.
UG 311 The Gospels 3 cr. Offered 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
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
