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1 - 10 of 150 results for: RELIGST

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 4: What Didn't Make the Bible (CLASSICS 9N, HISTORY 112C, JEWISHST 4)

Over two billion people alive today consider the Bible to be sacred scripture. But how did the books that made it into the bible get there in the first place? Who decided what was to be part of the bible and what wasn't? How would history look differently if a given book didn't make the final cut and another one did? Hundreds of ancient Jewish and Christian texts are not included in the Bible. "What Didn't Make It in the Bible" focuses on these excluded writings. We will explore the Dead Sea Scrolls, Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus throwing temper tantrums while killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse ancient romance novels, explore the adventures of fallen angels who sired giants (and taught humans about cosmetics), tour heaven and hell, encounter the garden of Eden story told from the perspective of the snake, and learn how the world will end. The course assumes no prior knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, the bible, or ancient history. It is designed f more »
Over two billion people alive today consider the Bible to be sacred scripture. But how did the books that made it into the bible get there in the first place? Who decided what was to be part of the bible and what wasn't? How would history look differently if a given book didn't make the final cut and another one did? Hundreds of ancient Jewish and Christian texts are not included in the Bible. "What Didn't Make It in the Bible" focuses on these excluded writings. We will explore the Dead Sea Scrolls, Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus throwing temper tantrums while killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse ancient romance novels, explore the adventures of fallen angels who sired giants (and taught humans about cosmetics), tour heaven and hell, encounter the garden of Eden story told from the perspective of the snake, and learn how the world will end. The course assumes no prior knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, the bible, or ancient history. It is designed for students who are part of faith traditions that consider the bible to be sacred, as well as those who are not. The only prerequisite is an interest in exploring books, groups, and ideas that eventually lost the battles of history and to keep asking the question "why." In critically examining these ancient narratives and the communities that wrote them, you will investigate how religions canonize a scriptural tradition, better appreciate the diversity of early Judaism and Christianity, understand the historical context of these religions, and explore the politics behind what did and did not make it into the bible.
Terms: Aut | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI

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 8N: Gardens and Sacred Space in Japan

This seminar will explore gardens and sacred spaces in Japan. We will study the development of Japanese garden design from the earliest records to contemporary Japan. We will especially focus on the religious, aesthetic, and social dimensions of gardens and sacred spaces. This seminar features a field trip to a Japanese garden in the area, in order to study how Japanese garden design was adapted in North America.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors: Mross, M. (PI)

RELIGST 10N: The Good Death

We often discuss what makes a 'good life' - that is a life worth living, a life exemplary of one's values and ideals, a life full of meaning. But what makes a 'good death'? Far from being a topic to avoid, ideas of death - what it means, its variations, how it relates to the preceding life, how it should unfold - are rich topics in religion. For religious people, the question of how life is lived in preparation, anticipation, or ignorance of death is often quite central. So, how do religious people imagine what death is and what lies beyond? What guidance exists for the time of death and its aftermath? How is the body understood in relation to death and beyond - and how is it managed? How do the living coexist with the dead in various forms? How do changing ecological and technological concerns shape death practices in the USA and elsewhere? In this class we will explore conceptions of the good death through a variety of religious traditions and perspectives, looking at issues such as the after/next life, death rituals, burial practices, corpses, the holy dead, martyrs, ghosts and spirit guides, and others.
Terms: Aut | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors: Bigelow, A. (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 23X: Democracy and Disagreement (PHIL 3, POLISCI 31, PUBLPOL 3)

Each class will be focused on a different topic and have guest speakers. This class will be open to students, faculty and staff to attend and also be recorded. Deep disagreement pervades our democracy, from arguments over immigration, gun control, abortion, and the Middle East crisis, to the function of elite higher education and the value of free speech itself. Loud voices drown out discussion. Open-mindedness and humility seem in short supply among politicians and citizens alike. Yet constructive disagreement is an essential feature of a democratic society. This class explores and models respectful, civil disagreement. Each week features scholars who disagree - sometimes quite strongly - about major policy issues. Students will have the opportunity to probe those disagreements, understand why they persist, and to improve their own understanding of the facts and values that underlie them.
Terms: Spr | Units: 1 | Repeatable 4 times (up to 4 units total)

RELIGST 26S: Contemporary Islam & Muslims in America

In this course, we will explore contemporary Islam and Muslims in a post-9/11 and Trump-era America. Following some brief grounding history in Week 1, we will use ethnographic studies and digital media content to understand the American Muslim experience in the 21st century. Each week, we will also address how the lived experience of American Muslims interacts with theoretical and normative conceptions of Islam, and whether these interactions eventually create a distinctive American Islam. Topics covered include: racial & gender dynamics, ideological debates, institutions, social media wars, politics, and specific communities as case studies. Together we will develop a critical perspective on the American Muslim experience, particularly as a case of how one diverse religious community negotiates religion in a complex sociopolitical setting.
Last offered: Summer 2020 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP

RELIGST 35X: Introduction to African American Studies: Black Religion, Culture, and Experience to the Civil War

Beginning in 16th century West Africa and ending in the 19th century United States, this course will survey the religious, cultural, and experiential histories of African-descended people in the Atlantic world. From the early histories of the slave trade to the violence of American racial hierarchies, we will delve into the cosmologies, practices, rituals, aesthetics, and other cultural expressions of free and enslaved Africans and their descendants in the Americas, with a particular emphasis on the United States. What did Africa mean to those displaced from their ancestral homelands? How did African descended people perceive, navigate, and resist their racialization? How did they reshape the Americas through their intellect, creativity, and culture? Prioritizing the voices, thought, and sensory registers of the persons involved in these historical processes, this course will explore African Americans¿ experiences - from the spectacular to the quotidian - as windows into the human experience. This course has no prerequisites.
Terms: Aut | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI

RELIGST 36X: Dangerous Ideas (ARTHIST 36, COMPLIT 36A, EALC 36, ENGLISH 71, ETHICSOC 36X, FRENCH 36, HISTORY 3D, MUSIC 36H, PHIL 36, POLISCI 70, SLAVIC 36, TAPS 36)

Ideas matter. Concepts such as progress, technology, and sex, have inspired social movements, shaped political systems, and dramatically influenced the lives of individuals. Others, like cultural relativism and historical memory, play an important role in contemporary debates in the United States. All of these ideas are contested, and they have a real power to change lives, for better and for worse. In this one-unit class we will examine these "dangerous" ideas. Each week, a faculty member from a different department in the humanities and arts will explore a concept that has shaped human experience across time and space.
Terms: Spr | Units: 1
Instructors: Safran, G. (PI)
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