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Course Criteria
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4.00 Credits
Art, in one form or another, plays an important but often ignored role in all religions. This is especially true of Buddhism, which is sometimes misunderstood to be nothing more than a rational philosophy. In this class, we will explore the importance of religious images in the Buddhist tradition focusing on status but sometimes including two-dimensional representation in our discussions. We will address issues such as whether images represent a deity or instead become the actual deity; the ideas images can relate that cannot be conveyed through a text; whether those seeking to spread religious teachings consciously use the images as a tool, or whether they do so as a natural outgrowth of their teachings; and a comparison of the favored images of various Buddhist schools and Asian countries. Our focus will not be on the methods through which particular objects were constructed but rather the function which they served. Not offered 2008-2009. (4 credits)
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4.00 Credits
Using the work of cultural studies and religious studies scholars, students examine the way religion (themes such as sin and salvation) is analyzed by and represented in forms of contemporary cultural expression. Elements of popular culture addressed may include music (e.g., rap), film, and various cultural icons (Madonna, for example). Not offered 2008-2009. (4 credits)
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4.00 Credits
The Philosophy of Religion seeks an understanding of religion by raising philosophical questions about its underlying assumptions and implications. When we believe something it is because we think it is true and because we think we have good evidence to support our belief. In the case of religious beliefs, however, we are immediately faced with questions concerning the nature of such beliefs. What claims do they make What would count as good evidence for a religious belief What is the nature of religious truth In this course we will examine the nature of religious beliefs and the ways in which philosophers in different traditions have justified or argued against such beliefs. Perhaps in response to the increasing challenge to religion from the natural sciences, twentieth century philosophers have questioned the traditional philosophical approach to religion. Some philosophers, Wittgenstein for example, question traditional interpretations of religious language and reexamine the relationship between faith and reason. Can religious life be practiced without a theology or with skepticism or agnosticism regarding theological questions Other topics covered in the course include the attempt to introduce intelligent design into public schools as part of the science curriculum; religious pluralism; the belief in life after death; and feminist critiques of religious language. Alternate years. Next offered 2008- 2009. (4 credits)
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3.00 Credits
This course introduces students to the basic concepts that recur in the study of Islamic law and provides a general overview of the history and development of Islamic law and legal theories. The course will also offer the students an opportunity to delve into the process of legal reasoning as practiced by Muslim jurists in order to understand it and anticipate its outcome. We will discuss Muslim juristic hermeneutics (their unique way of reading the authoritative texts of the Qur'an and the Sunna/Tradition of the Prophet), their reasoning based on analogy, utility, and their concept of rights. Comparisons with Western legal reasoning will be offered in the course of our discussions, but previous knowledge of law or legal philosophy is not assumed. Prerequisite: Two courses in religious studies preferred. Not offered 2008-2009. (4 credit)
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4.00 Credits
Biblical texts serve as creative, complex, and continuing sites of social reformulations rather than synoptic and narrative enclosures of the ancient past. This seminar explores the social legacies of biblical texts. We will approach scripture not as text but as a site of performative palimpsest. This course prioritizes contemporary, creative and complex mis-readings over objectivist exegeses of text. We will explore a range of topics (Jerry Falwell, African Americans and the Bible, the Bible in popular culture), and a variety of biblical texts (both Hebrew and Christian), in an effort to de-center the object of study. Not offered 2008-2009. (4 credits)
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3.00 Credits
This course will focus on the spiritual traditions of the Lakota people. Lakota history and tradition will serve as background for discussion of legal, political, and theological issues related to Native American religious practices. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Not offered 2008 -2009. (4 credits)
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4.00 Credits
This course examines the Protestant, Radical, and Catholic reformation movements of sixteenth century Europe in conjunction with European global expansion. We will explore such theological debates of the time as the nature of religious authority, the relationship between religious and political authority, the relation between faith and works, whether humans are free or predestined in respect to their salvation, whether colonized people have souls, and how to tell if someone is a witch. We will analyze these debates in relation to their historical context with an eye to their roles in the development of the nation state, secularism, and global capitalism, as we know them today. Offered 2008-2009. (4 credits)
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4.00 Credits
This course critically examines the engagement of Christian thought and practice with modern and post-modern cultures. Students will explore interactions across theological thinking, ethical action, ritual behavior, and material culture in Christian life. Possible issues for focus include: divine creativity and environmentalism; the nature and gender of God in relation to what it means to be human; liberation theologies and global capitalism; Christian theological responses to violence; Christian identity and U.S. nationalism; Christianity and sexual identity; the rise of evangelicalism to political power; spiritual discipline across Christian traditions; global Christianity; and the relation between the Incarnation and material objects. Alternate years. (4 credits)
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4.00 Credits
An examination of perennial religious themes, such as estrangement and redemption, meaning and value, and the question of transcendence in modern literature and in film; attention to the intersection of theory of religion with literary theory and film theory in terms of commonalities and differences in regard to human creativity. Not offered 2008-2009. (4 credits)
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4.00 Credits
Nirvana, sometimes called enlightenment, is supposedly the goal of all Buddhist. But what is it In an early sutra, Sakyamuni says that it cannot be described; any words would inevitably limit it. Various schools of Buddhism, however, have sometimes explained in great detail what enlightenment consists of. For example, some schools hold that it involves "seeing" the world as it really is. Mahayana Buddhists believe that Nirvana is not differentfrom samsara (the painful cycle of rebirth). Many Zen Buddhists believe enlightenment is reached when one realizes that one already has Buddha-nature. Rather than deciding in class what Nirvana/enlightenment is or even if such a thing exists, we will examine what people have had to say on the topic over the past two thousand years, beginning with statements in the earliest sutras and continuing to modern day accounts of people who believe they have attained enlightenment. Not offered 2008 -2009. (4 credits)
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