REL 101 The Old Testament
3 Semester Hours
This course explores the development of Hebrew history, literature, society, and religious thought and practice through careful reading of the Hebrew Bible.
REL 102 The New Testament
3 Semester Hours
This courses focuses on the literature of the New Testament, placing emphasis on the life and teachings of Jesus, the life and letters of Paul, and the characteristics of the early church.
REL 221 The Rise of Western Christendom
3 Semester Hours
This course focuses on the first one thousand years of Christianity. The scope of the course covers Christianity in both the Western and Eastern worlds. Topical foci vary the emphasis of the course. Topics include Politics and Theology in Medieval Spirituality and Artistic expression; Iconoclasm, Greek Orthodoxy, and Islam. The course topics change according to student demand and the special interests and needs of religious studies majors and faculty. The course may be taken for credit more than once, provided the topical focus differs each time.
REL 241 Christianity in America’s Past
3 Semester Hours
This course focuses on the role of various religious traditions in the rise and development of American life and identity. Our journey leads through several very important episodes in the history of North American religion: the Pilgrims and their Protestant faith and European origins; colonial religion and Native Americans spirituality; the Christian colonies and the road to revolution; the young republic and church-state separation; revivalism and the rise of American individualism; religious persecution and Mormonism; Catholics in Protestant America; the Civil War and brother killing brother; the rise of African-American Christianity.
REL 253 World Religions
3 Semester Hours
A study of myth, ritual, and belief in religions other than Christianity, the courses examines the religions and philosophies of India, China, and the Near East.
REL 255 Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
3 Semester Hours
This course explores the three contemporary world religions that trace their traditions back to Abraham, Sara, and Hagar including examination of founder figures (Abraham and Moses, Jesus and Muhammad); the histories of these religions, particularly in the West; the interactions of these religions in the contemporary world.
REL 258 Ancient Cosmology
3 Semester Hours
This course is a comparative study of the myths of creation and order in various cultures throughout the world, from the earliest available texts and oral traditions to the time of Copernicus. Students learn to appreciate the sheer variety of these myths (and note parallel traditions when they occur), and seek to understand how cosmology relates to other important aspects of culture, particularly religion and ethics.
REL 264 Religious Education and Faith Development
3 Semester Hours
A blend of class work and field experience, this course serves as a general introduction to faith development and religious education in a variety of settings (churches, camps, retreat centers, etc.). Each student will develop his/her own philosophy of religious education, informed by major trends in the discipline, and exercise practical skills in lesson planning, curriculum development, and group leadership.
REL 268 Topics in Philosophy, Religion, and Story
3 Semester Hours
This course explores religion and philosophy through the powerful medium of story. Topical foci vary according to student demand and the special interests and needs of religious studies majors and faculty. Stories (books and movies) studied in light of philosophy and religion included: C.S. Lewis’s Narnia series; J.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings; J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series; and Homer’s Iliad and The Odyssey; Plato’s Republic and other Utopias; Charles Dickens and others’ novels; and Star Trek, The Matrix, and other Science Fiction series. May be taken for credit more than once if topics vary. Prerequisite: A prior course in REL or PHI, or permission of the instructor.
REL 280/380 Special Topics in Religion
3 Semester Hours
Periodically religion faculty or visiting religion faculty will offer a special course on distinctive topics in religion. Students of junior standing or higher may pursue additional research assignments in order to take the course at the 380-level. The course may be taken for credit more than once, provided the topical focus differs each time.
REL 288/388 Women and Religion
3 Semester Hours
From the roles of women in various world religions, to the relationship between sexuality and spirituality, to the impact of feminist theories upon theological reflection, this course examines a range of issues pertinent to the intersection of gender and religious studies. Students taking the course for upper level credit will do additional independent research.
REL 301 History of Israel
3 Semester Hours
This course explores the history of Israel from the Hebrew peoples’ movement into Canaan through the rise of Judaism and Christianity. It also examines the relationship of ancient Israel to the rise of Zionism in the nineteenth century and the creation of the modern state of Israel in the twentieth century. Prerequisite: REL 101 or REL 102, or permission of instructor.
REL 308 Old Testament Topics
3 Semester Hours
This course is an upper level seminar focused on historical, literary, and theological study of various writings of the Hebrew Scriptures. Topical foci will vary, according to student demand and special interests of religion studies majors and faculty. Topics include: A. The Pentateuch; B. Hebrew Prophets; and C. Psalms and Wisdom Literature. The course may be taken for credit more than once, provided the topical focus differs each time. Prerequisite: REL 101 or REL 102 with permission of instructor.
REL 310 Israelite and Christian Writings Outside the Bible
3 Semester Hours
This seminar course explores Israelites and/or Christian textual traditions outside the Bible. Topical foci vary according to student demand and the special interests and needs of religion studies majors and faculty. Topics include: The Apocrypha; The Israelite Writings of Adam, Enoch, Abraham and Others; The Essenes and the Dead Sea Scrolls; Christian Apocryphal Gospels and Acts; and The Writings of Philo of Alexandria: Judaism and Platonism. Prerequisite: REL 101 or REL 102, or permission of instructor.
REL 312 Jesus in the Gospels
3 Semester Hours
Each of the four Gospels of the New Testament contains a different portrait of Jesus. Comparing these portraits and placing them in both Jewish and Hellenistic backgrounds is the main work of this course. The history of Jewish and Christian interpretations of Jesus is also included. Prerequisite: REL 101 or REL 102, or permission of instructor.
REL 316 St. Paul: Ancient Biography
3 Semester Hours
This course explores the biography and character of the Apostle Paul in light of ancient descriptions of personality and human identity. Drawing on primary sources from antiquity, as well as lessons from cultural anthropology, we seek to understand through Paul’s story what ancient people expected in biography. Prerequisites: REL 101 or REL 102, or permission of instructor.
REL 318 New Testament Topics
3 Semester Hours
This course is an upper level seminar focused on historical, literary, and theological study of various writings of the New Testament. Topical foci will vary, according to student demand and special interests of religion studies majors and faculty. Topics include: A. Johannine Literature; B. General Letters; and C. Apocalyptic Literature. The course may be taken for credit more than once, provided the topical focus differs each time. Prerequisite: REL 102, or REL 101 with permission of instructor.
REL 325 The Age of Reform: 1250-1550
3 Semester Hours
This course seeks to enter imaginatively into the intellectual, religious, and social world of late Medieval and Reformation Europe. Students discover that the Protestant Reformation was one of many different medieval reformations that preceded and followed great reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin. We explore these early reformation movements, analyzing their nature, how church leaders reacted to them, and why they did not lead to the kind of church division caused by the Protestant Reformation. Then we turn to the Protestant movement and explore how it preserved certain aspects of medieval thought and protested against others. Prerequisite: A prior course in REL, PHI, or HIS, or permission of instructor.
REL 365 Philosophy of Religion
3 Semester Hours
This course explores how Religion as a historical category emerged in the West and has come to be applied as a universal concept by the modern western world. The course probes into the assumptions behind this modern concept of “Religion” and examines the content and purpose of the modern “philosophy of Religion.” Prerequisite: A prior course in REL or PHI, or permission of instructor.
REL 368 Philosophy and the Christian Intellectual Tradition
3 Semester Hours
This seminar course explores the place of particular schools of philosophy in the thought of key figures or movements within the Christian tradition. Topical foci vary according to student demand and the special interests and needs of religion studies majors and faculty. Topics include: Platonism and St. Augustine; Aristotelianism and Thomas Aquinas; Christianity According to Hume, Locke, and Kant; Enlightenment Romanticism and Schleiermacher; Darwinism and Protestantism; and Wittgensteinian Philosophy in Christian Theology Today. May be taken for credit more than once if topics vary. Prerequisite: a prior course in REL or PHI, or permission of instructor.
REL 490 Senior Thesis
3 Semester Hours
Under consultation with the student’s major advisor, each religion major writes a senior thesis. The nature of this thesis varies with the student’s interests. Religious Studies majors may choose to write a research paper on a particular topic or do an on-site investigation of an existing religious tradition. They might also participate in church or social work and write a detailed description and analysis of their work. The length of the final written form of the project, as well as the breadth of sources used, will vary according to the subject chosen. All projects will be presented in a public oral defense. Prerequisite: HUM 461 and Religious Studies major. |