11 - 20 of 33 results for: RELIGST

The radical changes in ideas of God between Hegel and Heidegger, arguing that their questions about theism and atheism are still pertinent today. Texts from Hegel, Feuerbach, Marx, Nietzsche, and Heidegger: on God, history, and the social dimensions of human nature. N.B.: Class size limited. Apply early at tsheehan@stanford.edu.

Prerequisite: consent of instructor and department. May be repeated for credit.

This course is designed as a broad introduction to the religious and social history of the Sasanian Empire, encompassing the period from 224-651 CE as well as the early years of Islamic rule in Iran. Among the topics we will discuss are: the lives and deeds of the powerful Iranian emperors such as Shapur I and II in relation to the the Roman emperors Diocletian and Constantine; the transformation of Zoroastrianism into a powerful official religion of the state and its subsequent orthodoxy; the emergence of the prophet Mani and the confrontation of Manicheism with the Zoroastrian priesthood; the conversion of Constantine to Christianity and its political and social ramifications in Iran; the establishment of an independent Iranian Christian church; the importance of Armenia in the Sasanian- Roman conflict; and a brief discussion of the history of the Jewish community under the Sasanians. We will end the quarter by examining the Arab¿Islamic¿conquests of Iran and the profound social changes experienced by the Zoroastrian communities in the early centuries of Islam in Iran.

Although the Apostle Paul taught that "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28), men and women experienced medieval Christianity in ways that were often vastly different. In this course we examine the religious experiences of women from the origins of Christianity through to the end of the medieval period, with particular attention paid to female prophets and religious authority, saints and martyrs, sexuality and virginity, literacy and education within the cloister, mysticism, relations between religious women and men, and the relevance of gender in the religious life -- especially as gender intersected with fears of heresy, sin, and embodiment.

There are broadly two different, and sometimes mutually exclusive, ways of explaining social religious phenomena: idealism and materialism. One gives ideas ultimate causal primacy while the other emphasizes economic, technological, geographical, and demographic factors. This course examines arguments for and against each approach. Topics include rational choice theory, functionalism, Marxism, cultural materialism, and the unconscious. Case studies include Jewish and Indian dietary restrictions, competition between Christian denominations, survival strategies of minority religions, apocalyptic movements, etc. For the final paper, each student will write on a religious tradition of his/her choice.

Poetry, ethics, and theology in Dante's Divine Comedy. Supplementary readings from classical authors such as St. Thomas Aquinas, and from modern writers, such as Jorge Borges. Fulfills capstone seminar requirement for the Philosophy and Literature tracks. Students may take 271A without taking 271B. Consent of the instructor required.

This course will examine interactions between religion and education, focusing on both formal and experiential sites in which people and communities explore, articulate, encounter, and perform religious ideologies and identities. The class will focus on different religious traditions and their encounters the institutions and structures of education in American culture, both in the United States and as it manifests in American culture transnationally.

Guided by faculty adviser. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor and department.