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.
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 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 faculty supervisor and the
Cooperative Education Office. Extended
classroom experience which provides
practical application of classroom
learning during placements off campus.
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
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 2 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 237H The Religion of Islam 3 cr.
Offered intermittently. 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 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-6) 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 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.
Ofered 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. 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 360 Classics of Buddhist
Literature 3 cr. (R-6) Offered spring.
Close reading of a selectiion of core
Buddhist texts drawn from various Asian
cultures and spanning the three main
phases of the tradition.
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 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 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.