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Course Criteria
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8.00 Credits
Fall 2008 323f(01) Modern Mythmaking and Religion The power of sacred myths to shape cultural worldviews is extraordinary. This course examines, compares, and critiques this phenomenon in an attempt to understand how it informs the spiritual journey. From Siddhartha toThe DaVinci Code, chronicles on religious personalities have commanded rapt attention throughout history. using the structural analysis of Geertz, Tillich, Eliade, and Crites, texts such as Life of Pi, The Alchemist, The Matrix, and other prominent accounts will be placed against the great spiritual stories of major religious traditions in order to determine their status as contemporary sacred myths. Meets Humanities I-B requirement J. Grayson Prereq. 8 credits in department or permission of instructor; 4 credits Spring 2009 323s(01) FeministTheologies (Same as Gender Studies 333) Mary Daly, Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, Phyllis Trible, and Judith Plaskow, among others, have argued that traditional Jewish and Christian theological systems have overlooked the needs, concerns, histories, and contributions of women. Their challenges range from the historical modification of a presumably unbiased religious system to the outright rejection of a so-called patriarchal establishment. Whatever their approach, feminist theologies offer diverse and incisive tools for understanding how a theological system operates, how transitory cultural assumptions become embedded in ongoing doctrines, and how apparently minor adjustments can have significant ripple effects. Meets Humanities I-B requirement J. Crosthwaite Prereq. 8 credits in department or permission of instructor; 4 credits 323s(02) TheWomenWho Shaped the Mind of Frederick Douglass Eight women--Harriet Bailey, Betsey Bailey, Sophia Auld, Anna Murray, Julia Cro?s-Griffiths, Annie Douglass, Ottilia Assing, and Helen Pitts--occupied crucial roles in the formation of Frederick Douglass's mind. In this seminar we will read closely Douglass's three autobiographies and related primary sources in order to discern the theological significance these women had for him. Students also will be introduced to contemporary readings in theological hermeneutics in order to consider its implications for reading and interpreting autobiography. Meets Humanities I-B requirement J. Grayson Prereq. 8 credits in department or permission of instructor; 4 credits
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3.00 Credits
(Same as Asian Studies 325) Telling, enacting, and listening to stories are essential modes of religious activity in the Hindu tradition. We will study the major types of sacred narrative in Hinduism, including creation myths, epic tales, stories of the gods, women's stories, and the lives of exemplary figures such as the saint-devotees of Shiva and krishna. The tales will be examined from the perspectives of narrative structure and meaning in relation to forms of expression (e.g., the icon of the dancing Shiva, the Ramayana epic theater), and contexts (e.g., women's rites and the festival of the great Goddess). Meets multicultural requirement; meets Humanities I-B requirement The department Prereq. jr, sr; Religion 261 (Hinduism); or permission of instructor; 4 credits
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3.00 Credits
This course is a research seminar on Buddhism in the Pioneer Valley.We will begin by studying the history and development of Buddhism in North America, then turn our attention to local Buddhist communities. Students will design and execute individual research projects on some aspect of Buddhism in the Pioneer Valley. Meets Humanities I-B requirement S. Mrozik Prereq. soph, jr, sr; 4 credits in religion, Asian studies, or anthropology; 4 credits
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8.00 Credits
(Same as American Studies 301-02) This course will examine the historical and cultural creation of the Shaker society. The religious vision of an alternative society whose birth and development paralleled that of the new American nation; by contrast and by imitation, the separate Shaker route thus offers an intriguing critique of American society and its values, and an unusual laboratory for examining a religious community based on a dual godhead. Meets Humanities I-B requirement J. Crosthwaite Prereq. jr, sr, 8 credits in department, Religion 221 or permission of instructor; 4 credits
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3.00 Credits
This course offers advanced students an opportunity to investigate with some sophistication a problem that requires careful attention to research methods, to critical literature, and to writing. Seminar topics include people, periods, or problems that have a particular bearing on religion in America. Fall 2008 345f(01) Islam in South Asia This course will examine the spread and development of Islamic religious traditions in South Asia, i.e., India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Particular attention will be paid to different modes of interaction with the indigenous, largely Hindu, traditions, including conversion, accommodation, and conflict. The relationship between political and religious identities, the Partition of South Asia on religious lines, and the recent growth of fundamentalism and religious violence, will also be covered. Meets multicultural requirement; meets Humanities I-B requirement A. Steinfels Prereq. Religion 201, 202, 205, or 207 or permission of instructor; 4 credits Spring 2009 345s(01) Islam in the Twenty-first Century: Readings in Islamic Fundamentalism and Liberalism This course will explore the history of the most important ideas and trends in contemporary Islamic thought, beginning with their roots in the great classics of the Islamic tradition by Ibn khaldun, al-Ghazali, and Ibn Taymiyya. Close reading of the most important modern Muslim thinkers, including Muhammad Abduh, Muhamad Iqbal, Sayyid Qutb, Ali Shariati, Fazlur Rahman, and Mohammed Arkoun. Meets multicultural requirement; meets Humanities I-B requirement D. Brown Prereq. Religion 201, 202, 205, or 207 or permission of instructor; 4 credits
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8.00 Credits
(Same as Jewish Studies 346) This course investigates the emergence in the Hebrew Bible of apocalyptic thought and texts.We shall begin by considering ancient Near Eastern mythological accounts and trace the ways these myths are employed to articulate Israelite historical traditions. In later texts we will consider the reemergence of mythological imagery in the apocalyptic texts of the late Second Temple period and in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. Meets Humanities I-B requirement L. Lyke Prereq. 8 credits in department; 4 credits
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4.00 Credits
This course examines body images and practices in diverse religious traditions around the world.Working with different methodological and theoretical perspectives, we will ask the following questions: What are bodies How do body images perpetuate or challenge religious and social norms What roles do bodies play in religious experience We will generate answers to these questions by investigating a wide range of religious phenomena including healing rituals, relics, saints, fasting, asceticism, and modest dress. Meets Humanities I-B requirement S. Mrozik 4 credits
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8.00 Credits
Does not meet a distribution requirement The department Prereq. jr, sr, permission of department; 1 to 8 credits
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3.00 Credits
Does not meet a distribution requirement Prereq. permission of department; Independent study credits taken as part of an honors thesis do not count toward the requirements for the major.; 1 to 4 credits
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3.00 Credits
(Same as Spanish 361, Italian 361, French 321, European Studies 316) Travel literature has always been a precious source for the study of culture, politics, arts and, last but not least, people. From Caesar to Marco Polo, from Stendhal to Carmen de Burgos, we will read and discuss authors who traveled for political, personal, and recreational reasons.We will also pay special attention to tales of emigration and immigration in the third millennium. Meets either language requirement or Humanities I-A requirement O. Frau Papers will be written in English or the Romance language of the student's choice. Students wishing to obtain 300-level credit in Spanish, Italian, or French must read texts and write papers in the Romance language for which they wish to receive advanced credit.; 4 credits
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