printer friendly pageRELIGST 174: Religious Existentialism-Kierkegaard
Existentialism is often understood to be a secular or anti-religious philosophy of life, a substitute for Christian ethics in a post-theistic world come of age. Yet this twentieth-century philosophical movement owes many of its concerns and much of its vocabulary to the hyper-Protestant Danish thinker Soren Kierkegaard, and much of the best Christian and Jewish thought in the 20th-century (Bultmann, Buber, Tillich) adopted existentialism as the ¿best philosophy¿ for making sense of these traditions in a secular age. This course will examine the origins of existentialist thought in the writings of Kierkegaard and its appropriation by a handful of influential 20th- century religious thinkers.
Terms: not given this year
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Units: 4
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UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
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Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit
RELIGST 180: Gender Relations in Islam (FEMGEN 180)
This course investigates the ways in which gender identities and relationships between men and women have been articulated, constructed, and refashioned throughout the Muslim world. Starting with problematizing the fixed notions of gender and sexuality, we map the attitudes toward these notions through visiting a diverse array of sources from the Qur¿an, Sunna, and legal documents to historical and anthropological case studies, literature, and film from South East Asia to Europe and North America. We examine the notions of femininity and masculinity in the Qur¿an, family laws, and attitudes toward homosexuality and transgendered populations. We read examples of ambiguous use of language with regards to gender and sexuality in Persian poetry and mystical traditions. We study the dynamic relationship between Islam and Feminism in the Muslim world. Finally, we witness the implications of these attitudes in our case studies and stories, from a divorce court in Iran to a wedding in Sudan.
Terms: not given this year, last offered Autumn 2017
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Units: 4
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UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
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Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit
RELIGST 181: Heidegger and Mysticism (PHIL 133S)
A close reading of Heidegger's
Being and Time in light of the new paradigm for reading his work, as well as a study of his long-standing interest in mysticism and the question of the divine.
Terms: Aut
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Units: 4
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UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
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Repeatable for credit
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Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit
Instructors:
Sheehan, T. (PI)
RELIGST 205: Religious Poetry
Religious poetry drawn from the Islamic, Christian, Confucian and Daoist traditions. Limited enrollment or consent of the instructor required.
Terms: not given this year, last offered Winter 2014
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Units: 4
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UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
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Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP)
RELIGST 217: The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Buddhism (RELIGST 317)
This seminar explores the influence of the Lotus Sutra, one of the most important Mahayana scriptures, in Japan. We will study how different Japanese Buddhist schools have interpreted this sutra and analyze a wide range of religious practices, art works, and literature associated with this text. nAll readings will be in English.nPrerequisites: Solid foundation in either Buddhist studies or East Asian Studies. You must have taken at least one other course in Buddhist Studies. nNOTE: Undergraduates must enroll for 5 units; graduate students can enroll for 3-5 units.
Terms: Aut
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Units: 3-5
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UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
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Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit
Instructors:
Mross, M. (PI)
RELIGST 221: The Talmud: Research Methods and Tools (RELIGST 321)
This seminar introduces students to the academic study of the Talmud and related classical rabbinic texts from late antiquity. Students will engage the major philological and historical questions concerning the making of the Talmud, along with textual tools to help them decode the texts. Prerequisite: Hebrew.
Terms: Aut
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Units: 5
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UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
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Repeatable for credit
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Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP)
Instructors:
Fonrobert, C. (PI)
RELIGST 224: Classical Islamic Texts (RELIGST 324)
The course is based on readings in primary Arabic sources in the key fields of pre-modern Islamic scholarship. The list of readings and topics will depend on the interests of the students. In addition to focusing on the language, contents, and context of the texts covered, the course introduces genre-specific historical research methods. The reading selections may be derived from Qur¿anic interpretation (tafsir), the hadith literature, adab, biographical dictionaries, fiqh, ta'rikh, kalam, or Sufism. Reading knowledge of Arabic is required.
Terms: not given this year, last offered Autumn 2014
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Units: 3
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UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
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Repeatable for credit
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Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit
RELIGST 230X: Religion, Radicalization and Media in Africa since 1945 (AFRICAST 248, AFRICAST 348, HISTORY 248, HISTORY 348, RELIGST 330X)
What are the paths to religious radicalization, and what role have media- new and old- played in these conversion journeys? We examine how Pentecostal Christians and Reformist Muslims in countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Sudan, and Ethiopia have used multiple media forms- newspapers, cell phones, TV, radio, and the internet- to gain new converts, contest the authority of colonial and post-colonial states, construct transnational communities, and position themselves as key political players.
Terms: Spr
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Units: 4-5
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UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ED
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Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP)
Instructors:
Cabrita, J. (PI)
RELIGST 231: European Reformations (HISTORY 231G, HISTORY 331G, RELIGST 331)
Readings in and discussion of theological and social aspects of sixteenth century reformations: Luther, Radical Reform, Calvin, and Council of Trent, missionary expansion, religious conflict, creative and artistic expressions. Texts include primary sources and secondary scholarly essays and monographs.
Terms: Aut
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Units: 3-5
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UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
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Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit
Instructors:
Pitkin, B. (PI)
;
Stokes, L. (PI)
RELIGST 235: Religion in Modern Society: Secularization and the Sacred (RELIGST 335)
What is the status of religion in modern life? Is the modern world "secular" in some fundamental, irreversible way and what does this mean? This course will explore these questions through variety of readings from leading sociologists, philosophers, and anthropologists. Our goal will be to understand in what ways industrialization, political liberalization, the rise of technology, and the success of modern science have been used to support the "secularization" thesis that the modern West rendered religion a thing of the past. A central question to be asked will be: do assessments of the place of religion in modernity necessitate a philosophy of history i.e., a theory not only of historical change, but of the meaning of this change as well?n The course will begin by looking at the origins of the theory of secularization from its beginnings in Enlightenment attempts to understand the meaning of history. We will then turn to contemporary debates over the term "secular" against its counterpart, "religious", and the problems with their application to non-Western societies. We will read works by Talal Asad, Saba Mahmood, Max Weber, Charles Taylor, Jürgen Habermas, and Pope Benedict XVI.
Terms: not given this year, last offered Spring 2014
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Units: 4
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UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
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Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit
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