printer friendly pageRELIGST 1: Religion Around the Globe
A survey of significant religious traditions of the world with emphasis on contemporary manifestations. We will address aspects of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism. In addition, we will discuss interaction between individuals and communities in diverse and complex religious settings such as East Asia, the Middle East, and North America.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
RELIGST 2: Is Stanford a Religion?
This course seeks to introduce students to the study of religion by posing a two-part question: What is a religion, and does Stanford qualify as one? Scientific, pragmatic, seemingly secular, Stanford may not seem at all similar to religions like Christianity, Judaism or Buddhism, but a deeper look reveals that it has many of the qualities of religion--origin stories, rituals and ceremonies, sacred spaces and times, visions of the future, even some spirits. By learning some of the theories and methods of the field of religious studies, students will gain a better understanding not just of Stanford culture but of what motivates people to be religious, the roles religion plays in people's lives, and the similarities and differences between religious and secular culture.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, GER:DB-Hum
Instructors:
Lum, K. (PI)
RELIGST 2N: 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 Shint¿.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
Instructors:
Mross, M. (PI)
RELIGST 11N: The Meaning of Life: Philosophical, Aesthetic, and Religious Perspectives
Raise ultimate questions about life. Yes, the unexamined life is not worth living, but also the unlived life is not worth examining. Students and professor examine their own lives in the light of questions that the readings and lectures bring up: 1. The big picture: Is there such a thing as "the" meaning of life? 2. What is entailed in making personal-existential sense of one's own life? 3. What constitutes the good life, lived in society? 4. How can a university education bear upon the search for a meaningful life? 5. What "methods" for or approches to life can one learn from studies in the humanities? After introductory lectures, the seminar studies a series of artworks, poems, diverse texts, and a film, all of which bear on the questions mentioned above -- works such: 1. Plato's Allegory of the Cave, from "The Republic" 2. Manet's "A bar at the Folies Bergere" 3. A comparison/contrast of Monet's early (1862) "Still Life" and van Gogh's late (1889) "Irises" 4. Lyric poetry T.S. Eliot: "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," "The Waste Land," and "East Coker"; Edwin Muir: "The Heart Could Never Speak"; Philip Larkin: "Days" 5. Martin Heidegger's "What Is Metaphysics?" 6. Jean-Paul Sartre's novel "Nausea" 7. Marx's Paris Manuscripts of 1844 8. Bergman's "The Seventh Seal"
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
Instructors:
Sheehan, T. (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: Aut
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
Instructors:
Yearley, L. (PI)
RELIGST 13N: Losing My Religion: Secularism and Spirituality in American Lives (AMSTUD 117N, EDUC 117N)
In this seminar you will explore theory and practice, sociological data, spiritual writing, and case studies in an effort to gain a more nuanced understanding about how religion, spirituality, and secularism attempt to make legible the constellation of concerns, commitments, and behaviors that bridge the moral and the personal, the communal and the national, the sacred, the profane, and the rational. Together we will cultivate critical perspectives on practices and politics, beliefs and belonging that we typically take for granted.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Kelman, A. (PI)
RELIGST 19N: Everyone Eats: Food, Religion and Culture (CSRE 19N, JEWISHST 19N)
Food is one of the most essential aspects of the human experience. The decisions and choices we make about food define who we have been, who we are now, and who we want to become. In this seminar we will study how food habits have shaped religious traditions, and vice versa, how religious traditions have shaped food ways. Some traditions are centered around food regiments such as the dietary laws, derived from biblical law that shapes Jewish and Christian tradition very differently. Indeed, many religious and ethical thinkers, as well as anthropologists, have interpreted the meanings of the dietary laws very differently. Further, in many religious traditions the killing of animals and consumption of meat is deeply fraught. We will explore the history of food practices and their contemporary impact; the connections between food, religion, and identity; the meanings that religious thinkers and anthropologists have attributed to food habits; as well as the creative translations of religious traditions into contemporary food ethics by various social movements and groups, predominantly in the U.S..
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
RELIGST 26: The Bible and its Interpreters
Introduction to major stories, figures, and themes of the Christian Bible and their retellings in theological writing, art, literature, film, and music throughout the ages.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
Instructors:
Pitkin, B. (PI)
RELIGST 31: 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 38S: Who Am I? The Question of the Self in Art, Literature, Religion, and Philosophy
In 2013, the Oxford English Dictionary declared selfie to be the word of the year, as researchers revealed that usage of the term had increased 17,000% since the previous year. By 2014, the New York Times, following on the heels of a study conducted by the Pew Research Foundation dubbed millennials the selfie generation. And today, identity politics have moved to the forefront of public discussion in unprecedented ways. It seems that everyone is talking about the self, but what or, better yet, who is this mysterious entity we speak for each time we use the first person pronoun?nnThis seminar engages the question of the self through the exploration of art, literature, religion, philosophy, and pop culture. Through close, guided readings and analysis of classic, contemporary, and popular materials, we will attempt to understand and complicate the notion of the self and inquire into the personal, social, and political relationships that define its contours and boundaries.nnCourse content will be drawn from a diverse but complementary range of works including those by: Plato, Plotinus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Martin Heidegger, James Baldwin, William Blake, Guy Debord, Christopher Noland, and Friedrich Nietzsche. We will also interrogate what films such Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man, artists such as Ana Mendieta and Barbara Kruger, and countercultural musical movements such as punk rock and black metal have to add to our inquiry. Short lectures will contextualize the topics treated; but the focus will be on fostering robust and substantive discussion while developing the philosophical skills needed to think through and debate the notion of the self and its attendant issues in a reflective and nuanced manner.nnBy drawing from different eras and cultural contexts, we will gain a new appreciation for the historical background of the existential questions that concern us today, while confronting the radical diversity of possible responses. However, since the question of the self must necessarily be raised in the first person, you will be the most important subject of this course. In this spirit, the seminar¿s ultimate aim is to engage with multimedia materials that help you develop, articulate, and ultimately live out your own personal response to a very pressing question: Who am I?nnAll are welcome. No previous experience with philosophy, literature, art, or religious studies will be assumed.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
Instructors:
Gentzke, J. (PI)
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