Print Settings
 

RELIGST 3: The Religious Life of Things

Temples, prayer beads, icons, robes, books, relics, candles and incense, scarves and hats, sacred food and holy water; objects of all sorts play a prominent role in all religions, evoking a wide range of emotional responses, from reverence, solace and even ecstasy, to fear, hostility and violence. What is it about these things that makes them so powerful? Is it beliefs and doctrines that inspire particular attitudes towards certain objects, or is it the other way around? Many see a tension or even contradiction between religion and material pursuits and argue that the true religious life is a life without things. But is such a life even possible? This course adopts a comparative approach, drawing on a variety of traditions to examine the place of images, food, clothing, ritual objects, architecture and relics in religious thought and practice. Materials for the course include scholarship, scripture, images and at least one museum visit.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP

RELIGST 6N: Religion in Anime and Manga

Religious themes and topoi are ubiquitous in Japanese anime and manga. In this course, we will examine how religions are represented in these new media and study the role of religions in contemporary Japan. By doing this, students will also learn fundamental concepts of Buddhism and Shinto.WIN '24: This class will be meeting in room 338 in the East Asia Library.
Terms: Win | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
Instructors: ; Mross, M. (PI)

RELIGST 12N: Perspectives on the Good Life

The question is how to approach and evaluate different perspectives on the good life, especially when those perspectives are beautifully, and elusively, presented to us as texts. We will consider both classic and modern writers, from the West and from China; some are explicitly religious, some explicitly secular; some literary, some philosophical. Most of the class will revolve around our talk with each other, interpreting and questioning relatively short texts. The works we will read - by Dante, Dickenson, Zhuangzi, Shklar, and others - are not intended to be representative of traditions, of eras, or of disciplines. They do, however, present a range of viewpoint and of style that will help frame and re-frame our views on the good life. They will illustrate and question the role that great texts can play in a modern 'art of living.' Perhaps most important, they will develop and reward the skills of careful reading, attentive listening, and thoughtful discussion. (Note: preparation and participation in discussion are the primary course requirement. Enrollment at 3 units requires a short final paper; a more substantial paper is required for the 4-unit option.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
Instructors: ; Yearley, L. (PI)

RELIGST 61: Exploring Islam

Explorations, like those of the so-called New World, have historically aimed at capturing the object of their discoveries, which may explain why the word appears to have been originally used within the context of the hunt. It is in this sense that we will attempt to uncover how Islam continues to be "explored" by observers in the West. Yet in doing so; that is, by collapsing the dam of secular discourse which would attempt to contain Islam in order to regulate its movement, we will also be able to "explore" Islam so as to cause it to flow once again, as the other etymology of the term would suggest (pluere). This (de)constructive task?of analyzing Islam as both a discursive object and a way of life?will be achieved through a collective historical-philosophical study of Islamic texts, performances, practices, sounds, events, communities, and images.
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP

RELIGST 115: Interfaith Peacebuilding and Global Justice

Can religions get along, and can interreligious relations be used to achieve positive social change in a complex global world? Efforts to pursue interfaith cooperation by a number of development agencies, policy think tanks, non-profit organizations, and local activists have become ever-more popular in the past decades, producing an avalanche of materials and approaches on how to promote and achieve interfaith harmony. These efforts come with a new set of thorny questions: who gets to be included at the interfaith table? How do religious worldviews change the aims and methods of peacebuilding? How do global relations of power affect the aims and means of justice? This class will travel around the world to explore the promises and limitations of changing the world through interfaith relations. We will explore groups attempting to preserve the Amazonian rainforest, Indian sacred sites shared by Hindus and Muslims, the work of interfaith icons like the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, the challenges of LGBTQ+ interfaith organizers, and the utopian visions of large interfaith organizations like the Parliament of the Worlds' Religions. We will take a hands-on approach based on case studies in order to assess best practices, persistent challenges, and limitations in the work of leveraging religion to foster global peace and justice. Guest speakers and active class discussion will encourage students¿ own reflections on what religion is, its political import, and the historical and ongoing challenges of applying the lens of interfaith relations to conflict resolution and transformation.
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI

RELIGST 116X: The Hebrew Bible: Readings in religion and culture (JEWISHST 116)

This course will provide an introduction to the Hebrew Bible as well as later, classical Jewish literature. We will examine ancient Jewish texts in their social context and explore both the history of Ancient Israel as well as later, diasporic forms of Jewish practice and culture. The class will begin at 11:00 am. This course is under review for WAYS SI and EDP.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Aranoff, D. (PI)

RELIGST 122: Theological Reading Group

What happens when you put a group of smart undergraduates - many of whom are alienated from "organized religion," some of whom consider themselves "spiritual" - into conversation with the most sophisticated (and honest) Christian theologian of the past three centuries? This reading group aims to find out. We will focus on a single, recent proposal in constructive theology, paying special attention to its philosophical and methodological underpinnings. Just what "theology" was, is, or should be will be central to the conversation. This is an un-course, even an anti-course: Bleeding-edge classroom technology, innovative pedagogical practices, the cesspool of opinion that is social media, the instructor's politics, and even Canvas will be quietly ignored. Our syllabus will fit on a page and take shape as we go - depending on student interest and where the shoe pinches. The amount of reading will be modest, given the subtlety of the proposal under consideration. Students who attend all meetings and participate actively will receive 1 unit of credit. Those wishing to pursue something in more depth may receive a second unit of credit by writing a short paper. It goes without saying in a non-sectarian university that all interested brains and minds, bodies and souls, are welcome. Enrollment limited; permission of the instructor required. Please complete this brief survey before December 25: https://forms.gle/PPG5Tm3abDdSSGty7.
Terms: Win | Units: 1-2
Instructors: ; Sockness, B. (PI)

RELIGST 199: Individual Work

Prerequisite: consent of instructor and department. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum | Units: 1-15 | Repeatable for credit (up to 99 units total)

RELIGST 210: Translating Religion (RELIGST 310)

What happens to Buddhism when the Buddha speaks Chinese? Is the Qur'an still the Qur'an in English? What did Martin Luther do for the German language? We try to answer these and other such questions in this course, which explores the translation of sacred scripture and other religious texts from the earliest times to the present day. Taking a global perspective, and looking at Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism, the course is designed to introduce students to the theory and practice of translation and get them thinking about its broader cultural, aesthetic and political significance. Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II

RELIGST 224: Ritual and the Senses in Asian Religions (RELIGST 324)

This seminar studies how practitioners throughout Asian religious traditions have utilized and theorized the senses in rituals. We will study primary sources, secondary literature, visual culture, and multimedia expressive forms. Undergraduates must enroll for 5 units; graduate students can enroll for 3-5 units. WIN '24: This course will be meeting in room 212 in the East Asia Library.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5

RELIGST 237: William James on Religion (RELIGST 337)

Among the extensive and influential writings of William James, from technical texts on psychology to popular essays on education, this course will focus on the 'Varieties of Religious Experience' and its importance for a contemporary understanding of religion. Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units. Limited enrollment; consent of instructor required.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5
Instructors: ; Yearley, L. (PI)

RELIGST 246: Constructing Race and Religion in America (AMSTUD 246, CSRE 246, HISTORY 256G)

This seminar focuses on the interrelationships between social constructions of race and social interpretations of religion in America. How have assumptions about race shaped religious worldviews? How have religious beliefs shaped racial attitudes? How have ideas about religion and race contributed to notions of what it means to be "American"? We will look at primary and secondary sources and at the historical development of ideas and practices over time.
Terms: Win | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Lum, K. (PI); Mueller, J. (PI)

RELIGST 264: Hindu Tantra (RELIGST 364)

What is Tantra? Tantric forms of ritual and philosophy have been integral to the practice of Hinduism for most of its history. Tantra has provided initiates with a spiritual technology for embodying the divine and transcending the cycle of rebirth; on a social and political level, Tantra has mediated the institutions of Hindu kingship and appealed to a diverse population of initiates. This course covers a number of influential and well-documented Hindu tantric traditions, exploring several prominent features of Tantric religion as they develop historically, including: tantric ritual practice (core technologies of the subtle body, mantras, ma, alas, etc., along with the more notorious elements of sex and transgression), theology and philosophical speculation, as well as Tantra's relationship to the outside world and state power.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
Instructors: ; Fisher, E. (PI)

RELIGST 290: Majors' Seminar: Theories of Religion

Required of all majors and combined majors. The study of religion reflects upon itself. Representative modern and contemporary attempts to "theorize," and thereby understand, the phenomena of religion in anthropology, psychology, sociology, cultural studies, and philosophy. WIM.
Terms: Win | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II

RELIGST 297: Senior Essay/Honors Thesis Research

Guided by faculty adviser. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor and department.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr | Units: 3-5 | Repeatable for credit

RELIGST 310: Translating Religion (RELIGST 210)

What happens to Buddhism when the Buddha speaks Chinese? Is the Qur'an still the Qur'an in English? What did Martin Luther do for the German language? We try to answer these and other such questions in this course, which explores the translation of sacred scripture and other religious texts from the earliest times to the present day. Taking a global perspective, and looking at Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism, the course is designed to introduce students to the theory and practice of translation and get them thinking about its broader cultural, aesthetic and political significance. Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5

RELIGST 324: Ritual and the Senses in Asian Religions (RELIGST 224)

This seminar studies how practitioners throughout Asian religious traditions have utilized and theorized the senses in rituals. We will study primary sources, secondary literature, visual culture, and multimedia expressive forms. Undergraduates must enroll for 5 units; graduate students can enroll for 3-5 units. WIN '24: This course will be meeting in room 212 in the East Asia Library.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5

RELIGST 337: William James on Religion (RELIGST 237)

Among the extensive and influential writings of William James, from technical texts on psychology to popular essays on education, this course will focus on the 'Varieties of Religious Experience' and its importance for a contemporary understanding of religion. Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units. Limited enrollment; consent of instructor required.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5
Instructors: ; Yearley, L. (PI)

RELIGST 348: Readings in Race and Religion in America

This graduate-level readings course investigates the relationship between "religion" and "race" in the United States, showing how the categories cannot be understood separately, even as they are often considered as such. The course will focus on preparing students for general exams as well as for teaching, giving students the opportunity to create and collaboratively share lecture notes on chosen topics with each other.
Terms: Win | Units: 3
Instructors: ; Wells-Oghoghomeh, A. (PI)

RELIGST 351: Readings in Indian Buddhist Texts

Introduction to Buddhist literature through reading original texts in Sanskrit. Prerequisite: Sanskrit. WIN '24: This class will be meeting in the Ho Center Library in Littlefield Management Center, Room 340.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | Repeatable for credit
Instructors: ; Harrison, P. (PI)

RELIGST 359A: American Religions in a Global Context: Proseminar

This 1-unit proseminar is open to graduate students interested in American Religions in a Global Context. We will meet once a month to discuss student and faculty work-in-progress and important books in the field. Enrollment in the proseminar is required for students pursuing the Graduate Certificate in American Religions.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr | Units: 1 | Repeatable 10 times (up to 10 units total)
Instructors: ; Lum, K. (PI)

RELIGST 364: Hindu Tantra (RELIGST 264)

What is Tantra? Tantric forms of ritual and philosophy have been integral to the practice of Hinduism for most of its history. Tantra has provided initiates with a spiritual technology for embodying the divine and transcending the cycle of rebirth; on a social and political level, Tantra has mediated the institutions of Hindu kingship and appealed to a diverse population of initiates. This course covers a number of influential and well-documented Hindu tantric traditions, exploring several prominent features of Tantric religion as they develop historically, including: tantric ritual practice (core technologies of the subtle body, mantras, ma, alas, etc., along with the more notorious elements of sex and transgression), theology and philosophical speculation, as well as Tantra's relationship to the outside world and state power.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5
Instructors: ; Fisher, E. (PI)

RELIGST 382: Research in American Religions

Graduate independent study in American Religions. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum | Units: 1-15 | Repeatable for credit

RELIGST 384: Research in Christian Studies

Graduate independent study in Christianity. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum | Units: 1-15 | Repeatable for credit

RELIGST 385: Research in Buddhist Studies

Graduate Independent study in Buddhism. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum | Units: 1-15 | Repeatable for credit

RELIGST 386: Research in Islamic Studies

Graduate Independent study in Islamic Studies. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum | Units: 1-15 | Repeatable for credit

RELIGST 387: Research in Jewish Studies

Graduate Independent study in Jewish Studies. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum | Units: 1-15 | Repeatable for credit

RELIGST 388: Research in Religious Thought, Ethics, and Philosophy

Graduate Independent study in Religious Thought, Ethics, and Philosophy. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum | Units: 1-15 | Repeatable for credit

RELIGST 389: Individual Work for Graduate Students

May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum | Units: 1-15 | Repeatable for credit

RELIGST 392: Paper in the Field

Prerequisite: consent of graduate director. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr | Units: 1-15 | Repeatable for credit

RELIGST 399: Readings in Theories and Methods

Directed readings in secondary literature for Religious Studies doctoral students. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Win | Units: 1-5 | Repeatable for credit
Instructors: ; Sockness, B. (PI)
© Stanford University | Terms of Use | Copyright Complaints