Professors: Betsy Halpern-Amaru, Lawrence H.
Mamiya, Deborah Dash Moore; Associate Professors:
Mark S. Cladis (Chair), Judith Weisenfeld; Assistant
Professors: Marc Michael Epstein, E.H. Rick Jarow, Lynn
R. LiDonnici; Post Doctoral Fellow: Jin Park;
Lecturer: Tova Weitzman.
The concentration in religion is intended to provide an
understanding of major religious traditions, an exposure to
a variety of approaches employed within the study of
religion, and an opportunity for exploration of diverse
problems that religions seek to address.
Requirements for the Concentration: 11 units,
including 270, 271, 3 seminars at the 300 level, and a
senior thesis or project. It is recommended that students
take Religion 270 in the sophomore or junior year. Students
are expected to pursue a program of study marked by both
breadth and depth. Of courses in Hebrew, 206, 305 and 121
may be counted toward the concentration. After declaring a
concentration in religion, no courses taken under the
Non-Recorded Option serve to fulfill the requirements.
Senior-year Requirements: 271 and a 300-level
senior thesis or project.
It is possible to integrate the study of religion with
another concentration by means of a correlate sequence in
religion.
Requirements for the Correlate Sequence: 6 units:
1 unit at the 100-level, 3 at the 200-level and two seminars
at the 300-level. Various tracks within the correlate
sequence may be devised in consultation with a department
adviser. After declaring a correlate sequence in religion,
no courses taken under the Non-Recorded Option serve to
fulfill the requirements.
Advisers: Ms. Amaru, Mr. Epstein, Mr. Cladis, Mr.
Jarow, Ms. LiDonnici, Mr. Mamiya, Ms. Moore, and Ms.
Weisenfeld.
I. Introductory
[101. The Religious Dimension] (1)
Is religion best described as a personal, inward
experience or as a communal, social activity? The course
explores the relation between religion, society, and the
individual. The second half of the course investigates the
ways religions, as social institutions, shape particular
notions of the self.
Open to all students.
Not offered in 2000/01.
102a. Love: The Concept and Practice (1)
A study of love (in classical and modern texts and in
film) that explores a host of religious and ethical issues.
Topics include the potential conflict between divine and
human love, and the nature of friendship, romance, and
marriage. Focus is on love in the Western world, but the
Kamasutra and other Eastern texts furnish a
comparative component. Authors will include Plato,
Aristotle, Augustine, Dante, Simone Weil, and Alice Walker.
Mr. Cladis.
120a. Sacred Literature: Strategies of Interpretation
(1)
What we learn from any given text is largely determined
by interpretative choices we make when we read. In this
course, we work with several core religious texts from a
variety of traditions, and explore the many "meanings" they
may have when regarded from cultural, psychological, and
other perspectives. Ms. LiDonnici.
Open only to freshmen. Satisfies requirements for a
Freshman Course.
150a and b. Western Religious Traditions (1)
An historical comparative study of Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam. The course focuses on such themes as origins,
development, sacred literature, ritual, legal, mystical, and
philosophical traditions, and interactions between the three
religions. Mr. Epstein and Ms. LiDonnici.
Open to all students.
152b. Eastern Religious Traditions (1)
An introduction to the religions of Asia (including
Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist traditions) through a study of
their basic doctrines, sensibilities, and practices. The
focus is comparative as the course explores numerous themes,
including creation (cosmology), revelation, action, fate and
destiny, human freedom, the existence of evil, and ultimate
values. Mr. Jarow.
Open to all students.
180a. Religions of China, Korea, and Japan (1)
(Same as Asian Studies 180a) An introduction to the
religious tradition and culture of East Asia with an
emphasis on Buddhism and Confucianism. Attention is paid to
issues of Buddhist meditation, Confucian self-motivation,
and their relation to society in the modern world. Ms.
Park.
181. Religion and American Film (1)
An examination of relationships between religion and
American film, with particular attention to interactions
between American religious institutions and the film
industry, issues of race and gender, and representations of
religious beliefs, practices, individuals, and institutions.
Films may include: Broken Blossoms, The Jazz Singer,
Hallelujah, The Ten Commandments, Gentleman's Agreement,
the Exorcist, Daughters of the Dust, the
Apostle. Ms. Weisenfeld.
II. Intermediate
201b. Religion Gone Wild: Spirituality and the
Environment (1)
(Same as Environmental Studies 201) A study of the
dynamic relation between religion and nature. Religion, in
this course, includes forms of spirituality within and
outside the bounds of conventional religious traditions (for
example, Buddhism, Christianity, and Jainism, on the one
hand; ecofeminism, the literature of nature, and Australian
Aboriginal religion, on the other). Topics in this study of
religion, ethics, and ecology may include: religious
depictions of creation, nature, and the position of humans
in the environment; religious aspects of environmental
degradation and contemporary ecological movements;
environmental justice; and environmentalism as a religion.
Mr. Cladis.
Prerequisite: one unit in religion or permission of
instructor.
[203a. The Origins and Development of Islamic
Literature] (1)
(Same as Africana Studies 203) Ms. Berkley.
Not offered in 2000/01.
[205b. Modern Problems of Belief] (1)
Some say it is impossible to be both a modern and a
religious person. What are the assumptions behind this
claim? The course explores how religion has been understood
in the context of the eclipse of religion in Western culture
from the Enlightenment to the present. Kant, Hegel,
Kierkegaard, Neitzsche, Freud, and Buber are some of the
thinkers whom we study. Mr. Cladis.
Prerequisite: 1 unit in philosophy or religion, or by
permission of instructor.
Not offered in 2000/01.
[211a. Religions of the Oppressed and Third-World
(1)
Liberation Movements]
(Same as Africana Studies 211) Mr. Mamiya.
Not offered in 2000/01.
215a. Religion and the Arts (1)
An exploration of various aspects, spiritual and
political, of the interdependence of art and religious
culture from the dawn of human consciousness through
postmodernity. May be taken more than once for credit when
content changes.
Prerequisite: 1 unit in religion at the 100-level, or by
permission of instructor.
220a. Text and Tradition (1)
Study of selected oral and written text(s) and their
place(s) in various religious traditions. May be taken more
than once for credit when content changes. Ms. Amaru.
Topic for 2000/01: Adam and Eve. A comparative
study of Jewish and Christian interpretations of the
biblical myth of the first man and woman. This course
examines a variety of interpretations and explores the
significance of the myth within Western culture.
Prerequisite: 1 unit in religion or by permission of
instructor.
225b. The Hebrew Bible (1)
The books of the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament)
are about a very long and tempestuous relationship between a
people and a God. But who are these people, and where did
they come from? Why were they chosen, and by whom? What were
they chosen for? Where did the biblical books come from, and
why are they so influential? In this course we examine these
and other questions that relate to the interpretation of one
of the most important books of Western civilization. Ms.
LiDonnici.
Prerequisite: 1 unit in religion, or by permission of
instructor.
227a. The New Testament and Early Christianity
(1)
The Christian Scriptures speak with many different
voices. Some advocate peace, some rebellion; some praise
duty, others a radical rejection of family and all it
represents. What was the earliest Christian message, and how
did it evolve? How do the texts of the New Testament both
reflect and shape the developing Christian communities? This
course examines these unique texts and relates them to the
religious, cultural, and intellectual realities found by
individuals and groups in the Mediterranean world from the
first century b.c.e. through the third century c.e. Ms.
LiDonnici.
Prerequisite: 1 unit in religion, or by permission of
instructor.
[231. Hindu Traditions] (1)
An introduction to the history, practices, myths, ideas
and core values that inform Hindu traditions. Beginning with
the pre-Vedic period, the course traces major religious
practices and developments up to and including the
contemporary period. Among topics examined are yoga and
upanishadic mysticism, the spiritual paths (marga) of
action (karma) knowledge (jnana) and love
(bhakti), the worship of (and ideologies surrounding)
gods and goddesses, and issues of gender, caste, and
ethnicity in both pre- and postmodern times. Mr. Jarow.
Prerequisite: Religion 152 or by permission of
instructor.
Alternate years: not offered in 2000/01.
233a. Buddhist Traditions (1)
An introduction to Buddhist traditions, beginning with
the major themes that emerged in the first centuries after
the historical Buddha and tracing the development of
Buddhist thought and practice throughout Asia. The course
examines how Buddhist sensibilities have expressed
themselves through culturally diverse societies, and how
specific Buddhist ideas about human attainment have been
(and continue to be) expressed through meditation, the arts,
political engagement, and social relations. Various schools
of Buddhist thought and practice are examined including
Theravada, Mahayana, Tantra, Tibetan, East Asian, and Zen.
Mr. Jarow.
Prerequisite: Religion 152 or by permission of
instructor.
Alternate years: offered in 2000/01.
236a. Christian Traditions (1)
An exploration of the variety of perspectives within
Christian self-understanding as it has developed in the
course of Western history. Particular attention is paid to
expressions of spirituality both in terms of the individual
and of the Christian community. Ms. Amaru.
Prerequisite: 1 unit in religion or history, or by
permission of instructor.
243b. Islamic Traditions (1)
(Same as Africana Studies 243). The religion of Islam in
its historical expressions, including sectarian developments
and Sufi mysticism. Special attention is given to the role
of Islam in Africa through Arabic conquest and to the impact
of Islam with the Black Muslim movement in American culture.
Mr. Mamiya.
Prerequisite: Religion 150, 152, or by permission of
instructor.
Alternate years: offered in 2000/01.
245b. Religion and Antisemitism (l)
A study of the intersections of religion and antisemitism
that examines antisemitism as a cultural phenomenon within
western civilization. The course explores various
formulations of antisemitic ideologies with particular
attention to such issues as the place of
antisemitism/anti-Judaism in the theological development of
Christianity; antisemitism and Islam in the West;
antisemitism as a unifying political force; and antisemitism
as a secular religion in totalitarian and nontotalitarian
contexts. Ms. Amaru.
[246b. Jewish Politics and Religion]
(1)
(Same as History 246) An exploration of the development
of Judaism as a spiritual response to political empowerment
and disempowerment in the context of Jewish encounters with
the empires of the ancient world. Special attention is given
to the themes of land and exile; religion and revolution;
messianism; and modes of spiritual empowerment. Ms.
Amaru.
Prerequisite: 1 unit in religion or history, or by
permission of instructor.
Not offered in 2000/01.
248a. Out of the Ghetto (1)
(Same as History 248) Starting in the seventeenth
century, Jews gradually moved out of the physical,
political, social, and religious ghettos to which Christian
Europe had consigned them. The course explores the
implications of such an exodus. It looks at Jewish piety and
politics, individuality and community in Europe, North
America and northern Africa. Topics include changing gender
roles, migration, hasidism, religious reform, and
antisemitism. Ms. Moore.
Prerequisite: Religion 150, or 1 unit in history, or by
permission of instructor.
[249a. The Jewish Experience in the Twentieth
Century] (1)
(Same as History 249) The twentieth century shattered and
transformed Jewish life throughout the world altering our
understanding of evil and challenging accepted meanings of
modernity. This course explores the rise of political and
racial antisemitism and its culmination in the Holocaust;
the growth of Zionism and the establishment of the State of
Israel; the transformation of Jews from a largely small-town
people into a highly urbanized one. The implication of these
eventswhat it has meant for Jews to live in a post-Holocaust
world, how Jews interpret political sovereignty, the Jewish
response to American lifeform the second part of the course.
Ms. Moore.
Prerequisite: Religion 150, or 1 unit in history, or by
permission of instructor.
Not offered in 2000/01.
250b. Across Religious Boundaries: Understanding
Differences (1)
The study of a selected topic or theme in religious
studies that cuts across the boundaries of particular
religions, allowing opportunities for comparison as well as
contrast of religious traditions, beliefs, values and
practices. May be taken more than once for credit when the
content changes.
Topic for 2000/01b: Religious Responses to Suffering
and Death. This course examines the ways in which
various religious traditions theoretically understand and
practically encounter suffering and death. Along with
exploration into Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Hindu, and
Buddhist responses to death and dying, the course examines
contemporary religious and ethical issues around euthanasia,
hospice care, the aids epidemic, near death experiences, and
contentions of life after death. The course includes a
number of films and guest speakers who are specialists in
their fields. Mr. Jarow.
Prerequisite: 1 unit in religion.
255b. Western Mystical Traditions (1)
Textual, phenomenological and theological studies in the
religious mysticism of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. May
be taken more than once for credit when content changes.
Topic for 2000/01: Kabbalah. A survey of the
historical and phenomenological development of the
theoretical/theosophical and practical/magical dimensions of
the Jewish mystical tradition from its biblical origins to
postmodernity. Mr. Epstein.
Prerequisite: one 100-level course or by permission of
instructor.
[256b. Religion and Popular Culture]
(1)
While the study of religion encompasses the construction
of dogma and theology by a clerical elite, it also concerns
itself with the popular and phenomenological manifestions of
religious culture. This course examines various popular
movements in the history of religion as well as the
reception of theology and dogma by the masses, and the
repercussions of class, race and gender relationships on
interreligious and intrareligious conflict and collusion.
May be taken more than once for credit when content
changes.
Prerequisite: 1 unit in Religion, or by permission of
instructor.
Not offered in 2000/01.
266. Religion in America (1)
An historical introduction to the study of religion in
America, focusing on religious innovation and change,
especially the introduction and creation of new religions
and religious movements and redefinition of boundaries of
margins and mainstream in American religious life. Topics
include the role of religion in politics, culture, ethnic
group life, and the social construction of gender. Ms.
Weisenfeld.
Prerequisite: 1 unit in religion, or by permission of
instructor.
267a. Religion, Culture and Society (1)
An examination of the interaction between religion,
society, and culture in the work of classical theorists such
as Freud, Marx, Durkheim and Weber, and in the writings of
modern theorists like Berger, Luckman, Bellah, and Geertz.
Students learn to apply theoretical concepts to the data of
new religious movements in American society. Mr. Mamiya.
Prerequisite: 1 unit at the 100-level in religion, 1 unit
at the 100-level in anthropology or sociology, or by
permission of instructor.
268b. Sociology of Black Religion (1)
(Same as Africana Studies 268 and Sociology 268) Mr.
Mamiya.
270b. Departmental Colloquium
(1/2)
Joint exploration of methods in the study of religion.
The department, Mr. Cladis.
Permission required.
One two-hour period during the first half of the
semester.
271a. Advanced Methods in the Study of Religion
(1/2)
A continued exploration of methods in the study of
religion and their application to research questions. Mr.
Cladis.
Senior religion majors only. Permission required.
One two-hour period bi-monthly.
281b. Women in the Asian Imagination (1)
(Same as Asian Studies 281b) A critical investigation of
the images of women in East Asian religions (e.g.,
Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and Shamanism) and their
influences on the positions of women in East Asian societies
and cultures. Ms. Park.
282. African-American Religion (1)
A survey of the history of religion among Americans of
African descent from slavery to the present. Major topics
include: African religious backgrounds and transformations
in the Atlantic world, religions under slavery, the rise of
the independent black churches, black women and religion,
new religious movements, folk traditions, music, and
religion and the Civil Rights Movement. Ms. Weisenfeld.
290a or b. Field Work (1/2 or
1)
Supervised field work in the community in cooperation
with the field work office. The department.
By permission, with any unit in religion as prerequisite
and work in other social sciences recommended.
Prerequisite: 1 unit in religion or as specified.
Permission required.
[297.01. Feminism and Theology]
(1/2)
Mr. Cladis.
Not offered in 2000/01.
297.03. Buddhist Texts in Translation
(1/2)
Mr. Jarow.
Prerequisite: Religion 233.
297.04. Hindu Texts in Translation
(1/2)
Mr. Jarow.
Prequisite: Religion 231.
[297.05. The Qumran Scrolls ("Dead Sea
Scrolls")] (1/2)
Ms. Amaru.
Prerequisite: Religion 225 or 246.
Not offered in 2000/01.
297.06. Religion and the Black Experience
(1/2)
297.07. The Method to Our Madness: Introductory
Methods in the (1/2)
Study of Religion
298a or b. Independent Work (1/2
or 1)
The department.
Prerequisite: One semester of appropriate intermediate
work in the field of study proposed. Permission of
instructor required.
Prerequisite for all 300-level courses unless otherwise
specified: 1 unit at the 200-level or permission of
instructor.
300b. Senior Thesis or Project (1)
An essay or other project in religion written under the
supervision of a member of the department. Normally taken in
the second semester, and in the first only under special
circumstances.
Permission required.
301b. Religion and Critical Thought (1)
An examination of philosophical and social theoretical
issues in religious thought and practice. Topics may include
the rationality of religious belief, attempts to explain the
origin and persistence of religion, or problems in the
interpretation of religion. May be taken more than once for
credit when the content changes.
Topic for 2000/01: Reason Within the Bounds of
Religion. An investigation of the intellectual status of
religious thought, posing such questions: Is religious
belief reasonable? Does it need to be? Can it respond to the
challenges of Darwin or Marx? Mr. Cladis.
[310b. Politics and Religion: Tradition and
Modernization (1)
in the Third World]
(Same as Africana Studies 310) An examination of the
central problem facing all Third-World and developing
countries, the confrontation between the process of
modernization and religious tradition and custom. Along with
social, economic, and political aspects, the course focuses
on the problems of cultural identity and crises of meaning
raised by the modernization process. Selected case studies
are drawn from Africa and Asia. Mr. Mamiya.
Prerequisite: Sociology/Religion 261 or Africana Studies
268, or 2 units in Religion or Africana Studies at the
200-level, or by permission of instructor.
Alternate years: not offered in 2000/01.
320a. Studies in Sacred Texts (1)
Examination of selected themes and texts in sacred
literature. May be taken more than once when content
changes.
Topic for 2000/01: The Matriarchs and Their Sisters.
An examination of the "heroine" typologies in Hebrew
Scriptures and Apolcrypha. Analysis of selected
characterizations in the biblical literature and exploration
of the portrayals as interpreted and reinterpreted in modern
western art, music, and literature. Ms. Amaru.
320b. Studies in Sacred Texts (1)
Topic for 2000/01: The Historical Jesus: Constructs
and Conflicts. Christian communities have always
differed from each other in their theologies of Christ, but
our times have seen the extension of these debates into
historical writing and secular humanism. In this course, we
examine the sources. We also focus upon the many biographies
of Jesus, and on how a secular Christ is being constructed
in a postmodern world. Ms. LiDonnici.
346b. Studies in Jewish Thought and History
(1)
Advanced study in selected aspects of Jewish thought and
history. May be taken more than once for credit when the
content changes.
Topic for 2000/01b: Portraits of Biblical Women.
An examination of the portrayals of women in Hebrew
Scriptures and a study of how the characterizations are
reinterpreted and the portraits reworked in post-biblical
Jewish literature. Ms. Amaru.
350a. Comparative Studies in Religion (1)
(Same as Asian Studies 350) An examination of selected
themes, issues, or approaches used in illuminating the
religious dimensions and dynamics within particular cultures
and societies, with attention to the benefits and limits of
the comparative method. Past seminars have focused on such
topics as myth, ritual, mysticism, and iconography. May be
taken more than once for credit when content changes.
Topic for 2000/01: The Goddess Traditions of India,
China and Tibet. Beginning with a study of the Great
Mother Goddess tradition of India and its branching out into
China and Tibet, this course considers the history, myths
and practices associated with the various goddess traditions
in Hinduism and Buddhism. The relationship of the goddess
and her worship to issues of gender, caste, and ethics, and
spiritual practice are also considered. Mr. Jarow.
382. Religion and Constructs of Race (1)
An examination of ways in which "race" has functioned in
the American context as a prism through which people have
understood and experienced their own religious lives and
interpreted the religions of others. Topics include American
explanations of race in the Bible, religion and slavery,
religious constructions of whiteness, religion and race in
popular culture, and the comparative example of religion and
race in South Africa. Ms. Weisenfeld.
Hebrew Language and Literature
I. Introductory
105a-106b. Elementary Hebrew (1)
Introduction to the language. Basic phonics and
grammatical structures. Stress on development of reading
comprehension, simple composition, and conversational
skills. For Hebrew 105, no background in the language is
assumed; admission to Hebrew 106 is possible with the
demonstration of previous work equivalent to Hebrew 105. Ms.
Weitzman.
May not be counted toward fulfillment of requirements for
concentration.
Open to all students.
221b. Voices from Modern Israel (1)
(Same as Jewish Studies 221)
Prerequisite: One 100-level course or permission of
instructor.
II. Intermediate
205a, 206b. Continuing Hebrew (1)
Formal study of Hebrew language with emphasis on oral
practice and writing skills. Ms. Weitzman.
Prerequisite: Hebrew 105-106, or equivalent of two years
in high school.
298. Independent Work (1/2 or
1)
III. Advanced Hebrew
305a. Advanced Hebrew (1)
Expansion of language proficiency through intensified
study of cultural and literary texts, including poetry,
prose, essays, newspapers, films, songs. Extensive
discussion of issues related to contemporary Israel. Ms.
Weitzman.
Prerequisite: Hebrew 205/206 or equivalent.
|