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1 - 10 of 30 results for: RELIGST

RELIGST 9N: What Didn't Make it into the Bible (CLASSICS 9N, JEWISHST 9N)

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 seminar 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 learn about the content and history of the Bible, 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: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors: Penn, M. (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: Aut | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP

RELIGST 32: Spiritualism and the Occult

T.W. Stanford, Leland Jr¿s uncle, was on the original board of trustees for Stanford, and his will left money for founding psychic studies at Stanford. His apports, or occult séance objects are now in the University collections and he claimed to speak with Leland Jr. after his death through a séance encounter. The Stanfords were far from alone in engaging in occult practices. Millions of people in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries described themselves as spiritualist. Far from being the rejection of science, this movement saw itself--and often was seen by others¿as the forefront of scientific inquiry. From spirit rapping to telepathy, its practitioners often drew a thin line between physics and metaphysics mixing the most recent technological innovations with traditions as diverse as Christianity, Jewish Kabbala, Buddhism, and Jainism.nnnOur class will examine spirit photographs allegedly capturing images of dead relatives (and Satan himself), explore novels about outer space travel enabled by electrical beverages, read the account of a walking and talking seance table named "Mary Jane," and handle artifacts that TW Stanford used to communicate across the astral plane and beyond the grave. These sources will immerse us in a technologically modernizing world experiencing a new wave of global empires, a world in which spiritualists blend Eastern and Western mystical concepts, hitch spiritual understanding to the emerging prestige of the scientific, and focus on the unseen, inner, and mystical as the new frontier awaiting full revelation.
Terms: Aut | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors: Willburn, S. (PI)

RELIGST 53: Exploring Jewish Spirituality (JEWISHST 53)

It was once accepted as fact that Judaism is a purely rational religion devoid of any authentic mystical tradition. But the past century of scholarship has reversed this claim, demonstrating that the spiritual life has been integral to Judaism's vital heart since ancient times. This yearning for a direct immediate experience of God's Presence, a longing to grasp the mysteries of the human soul and know the inner dynamics of the Divine realm, has taken on many different forms across the centuries. This course will introduce students to the major texts and core ideas of Jewish mysticism and spirituality, tracking their development from the Hebrew Bible to the present day. Close attention will be paid to the sources¿ historical context, and we will also engage with broader methodological questions regarding the academic study of religion and the comparative approach to mysticism.
Terms: Aut | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
Instructors: Mayse, E. (PI)

RELIGST 56: Exploring Chinese Religions

An overview of major themes and historical developments in 5000 years of Chinese religion. In this course, we will try as much as possible to appreciate Chinese religion from the Chinese perspective, paying particular attention to original texts in translation in an attempt to discern the logic of Chinese religion and the role it has played in the course of Chinese history. To a greater extent perhaps than any other civilization, Chinese have left behind a continuous body of written documents and other artifacts relating to religion stretching over thousands of years, providing a wealth of material for studying the place of religion in history and society.
Terms: Aut | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP

RELIGST 115X: Europe in the Middle Ages, 300-1500 (HISTORY 15D, HISTORY 115D)

This course provides an introduction to Medieval Europe from the fall of Rome to the Renaissance. While the framework of the course is chronological, we'll concentrate particularly on the structure of medieval society. Rural and urban life, kingship and papal government, wars and plagues provide the context for our examination of the lives of medieval people, what they believed, and how they interacted with other, both within Christendom and beyond it. This course may count as DLCL 123, a course requirement for the Medieval Studies Minor.
Terms: Aut | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-SI

RELIGST 135: Islam in America (AFRICAAM 135A, AMSTUD 135X, CSRE 135, GLOBAL 137)

This course explores the history of Islam in North America with special emphasis on the experience of Muslims in the United States. Contrary to popularly held belief, Muslims have been critical participants in the construction of American identity from the 16th century onwards when Muslim slaves were forcibly brought to Colonial America. Our course will explore the diverse ways Muslims in America have imagined, practiced, and negotiated their religious identity. We will move chronologically, and we will focus upon three crucial themes: the convergence of constructions of racial, religious, and national identities in America; the ever-shifting terrain of notions of authority and authenticity amongst Muslims in America; and global resonances of the practices and ideas of American Muslims.
Terms: Aut | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
Instructors: Morgan, A. (PI)

RELIGST 171A: Biblical Greek (CLASSICS 6G, JEWISHST 5)

This is a one term intensive class in Biblical Greek. After quickly learning the basics of the language, we will then dive right into readings from the New Testament and the Septuagint, which is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. No previous knowledge of Greek required. If demand is high for a second term, an additional quarter will be offered in the Spring.
Terms: Aut | Units: 3-5
Instructors: Shi, P. (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 223: Advanced Readings in Jewish Mysticism

This seminar allows students and faculty to explore foundational concepts of Jewish mystical literature through immersion in primary sources. Together we will examine these texts from a wide range of philosophical, historical and theological perspectives, seeking to decode their historical importance and understand their contemporary significance. Ability to read sources in Hebrew is strongly recommended, and permission of the instructor is required. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut | Units: 1-2
Instructors: Mayse, E. (PI)
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