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Course Criteria
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3.00 Credits
This senior seminar will study ethics from the perspective of social groups in American society whose voices have too often been muted because of oppression and marginalization. Those groups include the poor, women, people of color (African-American, Native American and Latino) and gays/lesbians. The focus will be to allow these groups to voice the nature of their oppression (its causes and extent), to challenge the inadequacies of traditional morality and to identify the moral resources to promote social change. Prerequisites: REL 200, a REL 300-level course and senior standing.
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3.00 Credits
The course will explore Christian religious art as symbols which promote human faith and the consequent creative and redemptive work of God. This course explores the works of Christian art in tandem with Christian expressions of and/or reflection upon that faith which those works seek to promote. Through the study of primary texts which elucidate that faith in its historical contexts the seminar will seek to understand the role which art plays in God’s work of creation and redemption. Readings will be drawn from key texts from scripture, the early Christian apologists, patristic writers, ecumenical councils, mystics, theologians and reformers. Art works will range from frescoes in the catacombs through medieval, renaissance and modern architecture, sculpture and paining. Prerequisites: REL 200, a REL 300-level course and senior standing.
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3.00 Credits
This is an advanced, interdisciplinary seminar and research practicum that employs the theoretical frameworks and methodologies of religious studies and social science to study recent changes and the current conditions of the American Catholic community in light of historical trends. Students conduct an original research project using data from Contemporary Catholic Trends, a semiannual, longitudinal, national survey of American Catholics. Prerequisites or corequisites: REL 200 and one other 300-level course in religious studies, and MTH 111 or STA 201 and completion of the one-course social science core requirement, or permission of the instructors. The course may be taken to satisfy the PHL/REL 400 senior seminar core requirement.
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3.00 Credits
A common feature of the experience of religious cults, which have emerged in all major religious traditions, is some degree of conflict with the surrounding culture. This course will explore the dynamics of cultural conflict experienced by cults. We will explore the following questions: What do we mean by the terms cult, new religious movement, alternative religion and minority religion Why does conflict between cults and the surrounding culture occur What forms does it take What factors exacerbate or mitigate conflict What strategies have various cults employed to deal with conflict Which strategies have been most successful Why What strategies have various cultures employed to deal with conflict with cults Which strategies have been most successful Why Prerequisites: REL 200, a REL 300-level course and senior standing.
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3.00 Credits
This senior seminar provides an opportunity to study and analyze the alignments and agendas, and their apocalyptic and millennial worldviews. In the first half of the course, a close, critical reading of primary texts and secondary commentary introduces students to components of apocalyptic myths, the appropriation of this material by 19th century groups in the United States (e.g., the Millerites, the Oneida Community, and the Church of the Latter Day Saints), and its 20th century “Americanization” by Hal Lindsay, Jack van Impe and Pat Robertson.We also consider the function of apocalyptic myth among the 19th and 20th century marginalized groups: Wovoka’s Ghost Dance, Nat Turner’s Rebellion and the Nation of Islam. In the second half of the course, students analyze the Christian Identity Movement, neo-Nazi groups, skinhead gangs and militia movements from the perspectives of each group’s construction of Christianity, gender, sexual orientation, and race; its appeal to religion to further its political agenda; and its tolerance of violence to draw attention to itself or to accomplish its goals. At the same time, students will also be presenting their research on other contemporary Christian and non-Christian religion-based political movements with apocalyptic and millennial worldviews. Prerequisites or corequisites: Successful completion of REL 200 and REL 300. This course is open to students with senior standing and fulfills the core senior PHL/REL seminar requirement. The department chair may admit other students at his/her discretion.
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3.00 Credits
This seminar will study the religious dimensions of secular, social behavior by uncovering the experiences of ultimacy or sacrality in political, economic and social institutions, myths and behavior. Students will investigate a variety of ways that religious persons and groups have used historically both to interpret and to interact with the social order. In addition, the effect of changes in the political and social order upon religious communities and traditions will also be examined. Primary attention will be devoted to religion and the social order in the United States of America. Prerequisites: REL 200, a REL 300-level course and senior standing.
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3.00 Credits
This seminar will study the religious understandings of sex and sexuality, and the role which religion plays in establishing and reinforcing gender roles. Students will explore the attitudes toward sex and sexuality found in religious art, music and literature. The course will treat the dualisms which prevail in all cultures and academic disciplines that assign different tasks and qualities to men and women. Students will also discuss the gender expectations of different religious traditions to assess the impact that such expectations have on the pursuit of knowledge. Senior core seminar. Prerequisites: REL 200, a REL 300-level course and senior standing.
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3.00 Credits
In this seminar, students will be asked to examine patterns of symbols in literature, in the visual and performing arts, including religious myths, texts and rituals. The purpose of this study will be to appreciate the role of the imagination in the creation and interpretation of various cultural expressions. The seminar will also discuss the limitations which post-Enlightenment efforts at demystification impose on understanding the human condition. Senior core seminar. Prerequisites: REL 200, a REL 300-level course and senior standing.
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3.00 Credits
In this seminar, students will be asked to explore the mutual influence of theology and culture. Post-modernity critiques the Enlightenment mentality, but there are several strands of such criticism, some congenial to theology, others that are not. Within this context, attention will be paid to postmodern expressions of culture in art, literature and philosophy; the questions raised for and by theology; and the responses of various theologies to these questions. Senior core seminar. Prerequisites: REL 200, a REL 300-level course and senior standing.
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3.00 Credits
See course description for PHL 415.
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