 Courses
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Introduction to Religion - Religion 101 This course introduces major features that define and give structure to human religious life. Our inquiry will explore the nature of religion as manifested in a variety of experiences and expressions, encounter with the Holy, scared symbols, myths, rituals, belief systems and institutional structures. By the end of the course, students should be capable of thinking cogently about and understanding religious images, ideas, experiences and movements that are both powerful and pervasive in human society. |
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Religions - Religion 360/661 This course provides an introductory survey of most of the major world religious traditions. Beginning with India, we will study the emergence and development of the Hindu and Buddhist traditions and, to a lesser extent, Jainism and Sikhism. We will follow the spread of Buddhism into China and explore the Confucian and Taoist tradition. In Japan, our focus will be on the indigenous tradition of Shinto, Zen and Pure Land Buddhism. The final section of the course examines Islam, the world's second largest religious tradition. This course will not deal explicitly with other traditions originating in the Near East (Zoroastrianism, Judaism and Christianity) thought central tenets of these traditions will be noted periodically for comparative study and reflection. In addition to incorporating seven or eight excellent videos, the course features a project where teams of three students interview an adherent of one of the traditions we are studying. There are no prerequisites for this course. |
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Islam - Religion 362/662 This course introduces Islam, the world's second largest tradition. Beginning with the Qur'an, the life of Muhammad and the emerging Muslim community, we will examine the formative early history of Islam, the development of the Sunni and Shi'ite traditions, the mystics (Sufis) of Islam and the remarkable contributions by Muslims in disciplines such as mathematics, chemistry, medicine, philosophy, horticulture, navigation, architecture, and calligraphy. We will also explore both the positive and confrontational ways in which Muslims have interacted with Christians and Jew over the centuries. The study will conclude by focusing on the contemporary period with particular emphasis on the turbulent politics of Islam. The course will include several excellent videos and guest lecturers. |
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Conceptions
of the Afterlife - Religion 364/664 |
