Religious Studies

Page 124-125,
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.

U 100 Introduction to the Study of Religion 3 cr. 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 126 Introduction to Biblical Hebrew 5 cr. Offered alternate years. Introduction to the morphology and syntax of ancient Hebrew, based on selected biblical texts.

U 127 Introduction to Biblical Hebrew 5 cr. Continuation of 126. Offered alternate years. Introduction to the morphology and syntax of ancient Hebrew, based on selected biblical texts.

U 130S Sociology of Religious Cults 3 cr. Same as Soc 130S. Offered alternate years. 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-6) 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 director. Extended classroom experience which provides practical application of classroom learning during placements off campus. Prior approval must be obtained from the faculty supervisor and the Cooperative Education Office.

U 202H Middle Eastern Archaeology 3 cr. Coreq., Anth 250 suggested. Offered alternate years. An examination of recent archaeological discoveries in the Middle East and their impact on our understanding of ancient history and religion; an emphasis on the techniques and disciplines used in modern Syro-Palestinian archaeology.

U 230H The Comparative Study of Religion 3 cr. Offered alternate years. An introduction to the comparison of religions on themes and topics common to them, such as origin of the earth or cosmos, sacred space and time.

U 232H Buddhism 3 cr. Offered alternate years. An historical introduction to Buddhism in India, China, Tibet and Japan.

U 237H The Religion of Islam 3 cr. Offered alternate years. An introduction to Islam; the Quran, the Prophet, the Sunnah, the way of the Sufis and the cultural forms and lifeways which have developed from these traditions.

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 sciety, 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-6) Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

UG 301E American Indian Religion and Philosoph 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 302H Religions of the Ancient Near East 3 cr. (R-6) The literature, thought, institutions, and archaeology of major religions in the ancient Near East.

UG 304S Sociology of Religion 3 cr. Prereq., Soc 110S. Same as Soc 304S. Offered alternate years. Focus on religious rituals, belief systems, conversion and commitment processes, and activities which promote social cohesion and social conflict. Typologies of religious organizations and classical and contemporary theoretical conceptions of religion are examined.

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 330H Religions of China 3 cr. A study of the major historical religions of China: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.

UG 331H The Religions of Japan 3 cr. A study of the major historical religions of Japan and their permutations (folk religion, Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Zen, etc.).

UG 333 Old Testament Studies 3 cr. (R-9) Prereq., 3 hours credit of religious studies. Offered alternate years. Study of specialized topics in Old Testament studies and their social and historical contexts in antiquity.

UG 335 Western Religious Thought I 3 cr. 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. 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. 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 370 Mysticism 3 cr. (R-6) An inquity into the literature and interpretation of mysticism in the major religious traditions. Each offering will focus on a specific tradition or period.

UG 381E 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 445 Social World of Ancient Israel 3 cr. Offered alternate years. A social scientific approach to selected topics in the religion and culture of ancient Israel, including comparisons with developments in other cultures.

UG 495 Special Topics Variable cr. (R-12) Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerigs 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

Professor

Alan Sponberg, Ph.D., University of British Columbia, 1980

Associate Professor

Paul A. Dietrich, Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1981 (Director)

Adjunct Professor

Thomas R. Lee, Ph.D., University of California, 1979


95-96 UM Undergraduate Catalog