ELEMENTARY COURSE
1. Patterns of Religious Experience
08F, 09W, 09F, 10W: 11
A comparative study of some of the basic patterns of religion. The course will focus upon such themes as religious experience, myths of creation, stories of religious founders and heroes, the origin and resolution of human suffering, and the structure and meaning of religious community and ritual. Source material for these themes will be taken from the literary and artistic resources of the following religious traditions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV or INT. The staff.
INTRODUCTORY COURSES
3. Modern Religious and Anti-Religious Thinkers
10W: 12
Critical examination of some of the most influential modern proponents and opponents of religious faith, with special emphasis on the question: what is involved in belief in God?
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Frankenberry.
For courses at the Intermediate level in Philosophy of Religion, see courses numbered 20.3, 23, 24, 25, 29, 32, 35, 36.
4. Religion of Israel: The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) (Identical to Jewish Studies 4)
09W: 10 09F: 2
An introduction to the religion of ancient Israel through an examination of a number of the books of the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible), including Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, Samuel, the Psalms, Job, and the prophets. Attention will also be given to the religion of Israel’s Phoenician and Mesopotamian neighbors.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Roberts.
For courses at the Intermediate level in biblical and ancient Near Eastern religions, see courses numbered 20.4, 55-58.
5. Early Christianity: The New Testament
09S: 10
An examination of primitive Christianity as witnessed by the writings of the New Testament. Emphasis will be given to the literary and historical analysis of the Gospels and Epistles and to an understanding of the pre-Christian and non-Christian religions of the Hellenistic world.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Roberts.
For courses at the Intermediate level in biblical and ancient Near Eastern religions, see courses numbered 20.4, 55-58.
6. Introduction to Judaism (Identical to Jewish Studies 6)
08F: 10
This course offers an introduction to Judaism by examining three of its central spiritual manifestations: (1) development, observance, and study of the Halaka (religious law); (2) philosophical contemplation; and (3) mystical experience and theosophical speculation. Ancient and modern challenges to the tradition will be studied in some detail, and an attempt will be made to determine what might constitute a unity of such a diverse tradition.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Benor.
For courses at the Intermediate level in Judaism, see courses numbered 21-24.
7. First-Year Seminars in Religion
Consult special listings
8. Introduction to Islam (Identical to Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 8)
09X: 12
This course will provide students with useful tools for reading about, thinking about, or otherwise engaging with Islam and Muslims. It is first a survey of important topics in the study of the religion of Islam, including the Qur’an and the Prophet, the role of Islamic mysticism, Islam and the state, Islamic law, and Islamic theories of family and person. We also discuss Orientalism and the western study of Islam, so that we can understand ourselves as students of the Islamic tradition.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: NW. Reinhart.
For courses at the Intermediate level in Islam, see courses numbered 25-28.
10. The Religions of China (Identical to Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 10)
09S: 11 10W: 10
An introduction to China’s three major religions—Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism—through the reading of classic texts. Also, a look at important elements in Chinese folk religion—ancestor worship, temples, heavens and hells, and forms of divination. Special attention will be paid to the importance of government in Chinese religious thought and to continuity and change in the history of Chinese religion.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: NW. Raz.
For courses at the Intermediate level in East Asian Religions, see courses numbered 46-49.
11. Religion and Morality
08F, 09F: 10A
An examination of the process of moral reasoning and its relationship to religious belief. Emphasis will be given to the analysis of issues that have drawn the special attention of religious ethicists; among these are abortion, stem cell research, the treatment of congenitally impaired newborns, same-sex marriage, and physician-assisted suicide.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV. Green.
For courses at the Intermediate level in Ethics, see course numbered 29.
12. Religion and Society in America
09W: 10 09F: 9L
A study of religious groups and movements in this country, ranging from the major institutional faiths to religious protest groups, cults, and the religions of the ‘counter-culture.’ Special attention is given to the social forces which shape religious expression in America.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Hardy.
For courses at the Intermediate level in Religion in America, see course numbered 61.
13. Beyond God the Father: An Introduction to Gender and Religion (Identical to Women’s and Gender Studies 43.1)
Not offered in the period from 08F through 10S
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: W.
15. The Christian Tradition
09S: 10 10W: 12
An introduction to the variety of Christian beliefs, institutions, and practices from the first century to the end of the sixteenth century. Attention will be focused on understanding how Christian communities adapted and developed religious beliefs and practices in the face of changing historical circumstances.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: W. MacEvitt.
For courses at the Intermediate level in the Christian tradition, see courses numbered 30-34, 60-62.
16. Modern Islam (Identical to Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 15)
10S: 12
In all the attention focused on Islam at present, a newspaper reader could be forgiven for supposing that between Muhammad and Usamah bin Laden, there has been no change in Islam. This course surveys developments in Islamic religious history, thought, and practice since 1800, with special emphasis on topics of current controversy, including the status of women, the nature of government, and the place of Islamic law. Readings will be mostly from primary texts written by contemporary Muslims, both modernists and Islamists.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: NW. Reinhart.
For courses at the Intermediate level in Islam, see courses numbered 25-28.
17. Introduction to Black Religion in the United States (Identical to African and African American Studies 37)
09W: 12
This course explores and analyzes the highly diverse religious expressions and postures among persons of African descent in the United States. While the direction of the course is largely chronological, it is not intended as a comprehensive survey of black religion in the United States. This course will, however, situate black religious practice and thought in the larger terrain of American religious history and explore several themes that will help us grapple with how black people have shaped their religious culture and thought since slavery.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Hardy.
For courses at the Intermediate level in Black Religion, see course numbered 61.
18. Indian Buddhism
Not offered in the period from 08F through 10S
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: NW.
For courses at the Intermediate level in the Religions of India, see courses numbered 40-42.
19. Special Topics in Religion—Introductory Level
08F: 2 09W: 12 09S: 10 10W: 10A
The contents of this course will vary from term to term. Dist: TMV (except when otherwise noted). WCult: Varies.
In 08F, Introduction to Japanese Religions. This course will trace the development of Japan’s diverse religious traditions, including Buddhism, Shinto, Christianity, Neo-Confucianism, and so-called “New Religious Movements.” We will also examine the role of religion in modern Japan, how Japanese religious values inform contemporary debates on social issues, and the introduction of Japanese religions to North America.
Dist: TMV: WCult: NW. Drott.
In 09W, Zen Buddhism. This course will examine the history of Zen and explore the various ways in which modern scholars have sought to explain its doctrines and practices. Although we will focus on Zen in Japan, students will also learn about its development in China and recent attempts to establish the tradition in North America.
Open to all classes. No pre-requisites. Dist: TMV. Drott.
In 09S, Introduction to Shinto. Shinto is commonly regarded as Japan’s indigenous religion, a tradition preserving ancient customs and values. But just as Japan has undergone radical transformation over the course of history, so too has Shinto. This course will trace Shinto’s development from prehistoric times to the present. Among the topics to be explored: Shinto’s status as a “faith”; Shinto’s relationship with other religions, particularly Buddhism; Shinto’s contribution to Japanese nationalism and wartime ideology; Shinto and environmental ethics.
Open to all classes. No pre-requisites. Dist: TMV . Drott.
In 10W, Evangelical Life in Modern America. Dist: TMV . Hardy.
THEORIES IN THE STUDY OF RELIGION COURSES
20.1. Foundational Figures in the Study of Religion
09X: 10
In this course we will read the works of a number of the “greats”—Tylor, Durkheim, Freud, Weber, among others—who shaped the modern, scholarly study of religion. We will also read critical literature on their work. The course is designed to give students a grounding in the methods and approaches taken for granted in the field of the study of religion.
Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Dist: TMV. Reinhart.
20.2. Magic, Science, and Religion
09W: 2
Can significant distinctions be drawn between religious and magical ritual? Do magic and religion thrive in opposition to the science of their time or in congruence with it? The course addresses such theoretical questions in the study of religion from perspectives of history, philosophy of science, anthropology, and cognitive science. The course will suggest a general theory of conditions under which religion tends to be or tends not to be magical. Students will be invited to challenge that theory.
Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Benor.
20.3. Reason and Religious Belief
08F: 12 10S: 11
A study of the principal religious and philosophical arguments for and against religious belief. The first part of the course will consider the question of the justifiability of religious belief through an appeal to religious experience and mysticism, to rational theistic arguments, and to faith, showing the difficulties in each case. The second part of the course will cover alternatives to classical theism and the contemporary challenge of conceptual relativism and religious pluralism.
Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Dist: TMV. Frankenberry.
For courses at the Introductory level in Philosophy of Religion, see courses numbered 2 and 3.
INTERMEDIATE COURSES
21. Judaism in Late Antiquity: The Rabbinic Revolution (Identical to Jewish Studies 60)
10W: 10
The course begins with a survey of the development of Judaism from a Persian-era temple religion into the religion of the synagogue and the academy in response to Greco-Roman civilization and its eventual Christianization. The course engages the students in careful interrogation of texts from the Mishna and the Talmud to recover the theological and experiential contours and concerns of a religious world in formative transition. Some of these developments are then traced through the Middle Ages to early modernity.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Benor.
For courses at the Introductory level in Judaism, see course numbered 6.
23. Jewish Mysticism (Identical to Jewish Studies 62)
08F: 12
The course examines the nature of claims to mystical experience or knowledge that appear in various aspects of the Jewish tradition, with primary focus on the enchanted and demonic worlds of the Kabbala. Forms of ecstasy and magic will be studied, along with their theoretical and social backgrounds and their impact on elitist and popular Jewish practice. Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Benor.
24. Jewish Philosophers of Religion (Identical to Jewish Studies 63)
10W: 2
The course is conducted through close reading and discussion of works by Spinoza, Buber, and Levinas that translate insights from the Jewish experience to the idiom of modern European culture and, in so doing, make unique contributions to such subjects of modern religious thought as: God and infinity; religion, morality, and politics; autonomy and transcendence; and the role of Jewish intellectuals in the modern era.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Benor.
For courses at the Introductory level in Philosophy of Religion, see courses numbered 2 and 3. For courses at the Introductory level in Judaism, see course numbered 6.
25. Islamic Mysticism (Sufism)
09S: 12
An introduction to Sufism, using primary texts, films, and recordings. The course will first trace the development of Sufism, including its Christian and Hindu heritage. Then, using a Sufi manual of instruction, students will work their way through one influential approach to Sufi metaphysics. Finally, using films and recordings, the class will consider the rituals, practices, and role of the Sufi orders of Islam in Islamic history.
Desirable background: Religion 1, 8, or another College course on Islam or Islamicate culture, or permission of the instructor. Dist: TMV; WCult: NW. Reinhart.
For courses at the Introductory level in Islam, see courses numbered 8 and 16.
27. The Qur’an and the Prophet
10S: 10
The Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad are the source and center of Islam. In this course we will consider the form and content of the Qur’an and the form and content of various accounts of the Prophet’s life: the hadith or anecdotes of the Prophet’s life, the sirah, or biography of Muhammad, and the maghazi, or accounts of the Prophet’s battles and campaigns. Topics covered include the aural Qur’an, the dating of the Qur’an and the hadith, diverse images of the Prophet, and “what can we know about the life of Muhammad?”
Desirable background: A College course on Islamic history, culture, or society, including Religion 8 and Religion 16. Dist: TMV; WCult: NW. Reinhart.
For courses at the Introductory level in Islam, see courses numbered 8 and 16.
29. Kierkegaard and Existentialism
08F, 09F: 2A
A study of the thought, writings, and influence of Søren Kierkegaard, who is widely acknowledged to be the founding figure of existentialism. The course will examine the development of Kierkegaard’s philosophical and religious thinking and will follow its influence on both religious and non-religious thinkers, including Martin Buber, Reinhold Niebuhr, Jean Paul Sartre, and Simone de Beauvoir.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Green.
For courses at the Introductory level in Philosophy of Religion, see courses numbered 2 and 3.
31. Sex, Celibacy, and the Problem of Purity: Asceticism and the Human Body in Late Antiquity (Identical to Women’s and Gender Studies 43.2 and Classical Studies 11)
09S: 2A
Late Antiquity (c. 300-500 C.E.) was a time when Christians struggled to understand how gender, family life, and religion could intermesh. Did virgins get to heaven faster than those who marry? Can a chaste man and woman live together without succumbing to lust? Were men holier than women? What about women who behaved like men? This course examines the changing understanding of the body, marriage, sexuality, and gender within Christianity through reading saints’ lives, letters, polemical essays, and legal texts.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: W. MacEvitt.
For courses at the Introductory level in the Christian tradition, see courses numbered 5 and 15.
33. Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Age of the Crusades
09F: 2A
This course will focus on the interactions of the three major religious communities of the medieval Mediterranean—Christians, Jewish, and Muslim—beginning with the First Crusade in 1096 and ending with the arrival of the Black Death in 1347. By examining topics such as pilgrimage, crusade, and jihad, the status of minority communities, and intellectual life, we will explore how Christians, Jews, and Muslims clashed, cooperated, influenced, and misunderstood each other.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV. MacEvitt.
34. Christianity and Conversion in the Northern World: Vikings, Celts, and Anglo-Saxons
09W: 2A
This course explores the transformation of Christianity in the early medieval period. The conversion of ‘barbarian’ peoples in northwest Europe between 400-1000 meant Christianity had to adapt to a new environment—one without the Roman Empire, without cities, with different languages, cultures, and notions of relations between the human and divine worlds. By exploring the impact the conversion of the people of Ireland, England, and Iceland had on Christianity, we will understand how ancient Christianity was transformed into medieval Christianity. We will also explore the appeal this Mediterranean religion had for communities that surrounded the much colder North Sea.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: W. MacEvitt.
For courses at the Introductory level in the Christian tradition, see courses numbered 5 and 15.
35. Religion and Science
Not offered in the period from 08F through 10S
Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Dist: TMV.
For courses at the Introductory level in Philosophy of Religion, see courses numbered 2 and 3.
36. New Directions in American Religious Thought
09W: 11
This course explores a distinctively American tradition of religious thought that developed outside of the strictly doctrinal or theological thinking of churches, synagogues, and mosques. Readings range from the religious writings of the classical pragmatists, including Peirce, James, Santayana, and Dewey, to neopragmatists, such as Richard Rorty, and prophetic pragmatists, such as Cornel West, and their critics. Topics include the character of religious experience, divinity and nature, the problem of evil, and the meaning of truth.
Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Frankenberry.
For courses at the Introductory level in Philosophy of Religion, see courses numbered 2 and 3.
40. Topics in the Religions of India
10S: 12
This course will focus in some depth on a particular aspect of religion in India—for example, a particular religion, sect, time period, body of literature, type of religion, or religious movement. The topic will change with each offering, and students may take the course more than once. Sample topics include: “Gods, Demons, and Monkeys: The Ramayana Epic of India,” “Women In Indian Religions,” and “Modern Hinduism.”
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: NW.
In 10S, Gods, Demons, and Monkeys: The Ramayana Epic of India. Ohnuma.
For courses at the Introductory level in the Religions of India, see courses numbered 9 and 18.
41. Readings in Buddhist Literature
10S: 10
This course will focus in some depth on a particular body of Buddhist literature from a specific region of the Buddhist world, such as sacred scriptures, philosophical treatises, narrative texts, ritual texts, and sacred biographies. Special attention will be paid to a close and careful reading of the texts, as well as to placing them within their proper historical, social, and cultural contexts. The topic will change with each offering, and students may take the course more than once. Sample topics include: “Indian Buddhist Narratives,” “Mahayana Buddhist Texts,” “Chan/Zen Tradition,” and “Tantra in East Asia.”
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: NW.
In 10S, Mahayana Buddhist Texts. Ohnuma.
For courses at the Introductory level in the Religions of India, see courses numbered 9 and 18.
42. Goddesses of India (Identical to Women’s and Gender Studies 43.4)
10W: 2
This course will use both elite and popular Hindu religious texts in conjunction with contemporary sociological and anthropological accounts, scholarly analyses, visual art, and film to explore the diverse identities and roles of India’s many goddesses, both ancient and modern. Special emphasis will also be given to the relationship between goddesses and women.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: NW. Ohnuma.
For courses at the Introductory level in the Religions of India, see courses numbered 9 and 18.
46. Daoism: Transformations of Tradition
09W: 2
In this course we will explore the historical developments and transformations of Daoism from its ancient roots to present-day practices. We will begin by looking at early traditions of immortality seekers and self-cultivation and at the religious and philosophical ideas in the ancient Chinese texts of the Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Guanzi. We will also examine recent archaeological findings, imperial religious practices, and the complex interaction of Daoism with Buddhism. We will in addition look at contemporary Daoist practices in China and Taiwan. Along the way we will devote special attention to meditation and divination techniques; alchemy and sexual techniques for transcendence; the place of women and the feminine in Daoism.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: NW. Raz.
For courses at the Introductory level in Chinese Religions, see course numbered 10.
47. Buddhism in China
10S: 11
A study of the advent of Buddhism in China, its accommodating yet transforming response to Chinese traditions and values, the emergence of the authentically Chinese schools of T’ien-T’ai, Hua-yen, Ch’an, and Pure Land Buddhism, and the enduring Buddhist heritage of China.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: NW. Raz.
For courses at the Introductory level in Chinese Religions, see course numbered 10.
48. Body and Sex in Chinese Religions
Not offered in the period from 08F through 10S
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: NW.
For courses at the Introductory level in Chinese Religions, see course numbered 10.
49. Topics in East Asian Religions
08F: 10 09S: 2
In this course students will read and discuss the latest research on one of the religions of East Asia, or a particular sect, movement, or time period in the history of East Asian religions. The topic will change with each offering. Thus, students may take this course more than once. Sample topics include: “Literature and Religion in China,” “Politics and Religion in China,” and “The Body in Japanese Religion.”
Dist: TMV; WCult: NW.
In 08F, Japanese Buddhism and the Arts. Can art be a religious pursuit? In Japanese traditional arts, the production of beautiful objects is commonly understood to be of less concern than the spiritual transformation of the artist. This course explores how religion, particularly Buddhism, has influenced the development of Japanese arts, aesthetics, and theories of artistry. It will examine Japanese literary, visual, and dramatic arts—including “practical arts” such as tea and ikebana—within the context of Japanese religious thought and practice. Drott.
In 09S, The Body in Japanese Religion. An examination of the role of the body in Japanese religion and the ways in which religion has shaped somatic experience in Japan. Topics will include the relationship of religious knowledge and medical knowledge prior to the introduction of European medicine, asceticism and philosophies of cultivation in Japanese religious thought, the influence of religion on the construction of gender roles and life-stages, and how traditional religio-cultural attitudes have influenced bio-ethical debates in contemporary Japan. Drott.
For courses at the Introductory level in East Asian Religions, see course numbered 10.
57. Readings in the Biblical Tradition
09W: 12
In this course, we will engage in an in-depth study of a particular biblical book or of a particular biblical motif. The topic will change with each offering, and students may there¬ fore take this course more than once. Sample topics include: “The Exodus Tradition”; “Job and the Joban Tradition”; “Apocalyptic Traditions.”
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: Varies.
In 09W, Monarch to Messiah: The Kingship of God in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). This course will trace the development of the idea of the kingship of God from Israel’s earliest period, through the rise of the human monarchy, and down to the time of full-blown messianic expectations, exploring the factors that influenced and shaped that development.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Roberts.
For courses at the Introductory level in biblical and ancient Near Eastern religions, see courses numbered 4-5.
58. Topics in the Bible and Archaeology
Not offered in the period from 08F through 10S
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV. WCult: Varies.
For courses at the Introductory level in biblical and ancient Near Eastern religions, see courses numbered 4-5.
60. The Protestant Reformation: Origins, Legacies, and Modern Appropriations
Not offered in the period from 08F through 10S
Open to juniors and seniors, and to sophomores by permission. Dist: TMV; WCult: W.
For courses at the Introductory level in the Christian tradition, see courses numbered 5 and 15.
61. Martin Luther King, Black Religion, and the Civil Rights Movement (Identical to African and African American Studies 82)
Not offered in the period from 08F through 10S
Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors, and to first-year students by permission. Dist: SOC; WCult: CI.
62. Contemporary Christianity
09S: 10A
A survey of Christianity from World War I to the 1980s. The emphasis will be placed on intellectual and social developments in the Christian Church as it adjusted itself to the social and cultural effects of the World Wars and the Depression, changes in historical and scientific outlooks, the civil rights struggles of minorities, the end of the colonial era, and the rise of mass urbanism and high technology in Euro-America.
Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Hardy.
For courses at the Introductory level in the Christian tradition, see courses numbered 5 and 15.
70. Foreign Study in Religion I
08F, 09F: D.F.S.P.
Credit for this course is awarded to students who have successfully completed a religion course at the University of Edinburgh while a member of the Dartmouth Foreign Study Program in Religion.
Prerequisite: two courses in Religion. Dist: TMV.
71. Foreign Study in Religion II
08F, 09F: D.F.S.P.
Credit for this course is awarded to students who have successfully completed a religion course at the University of Edinburgh while a member of the Dartmouth Foreign Study Program in Religion.
Prerequisite: two courses in Religion. Dist: TMV.
72. Foreign Study in Religion III
08F, 09F: D.F.S.P.
Credit for this course is awarded to students who have successfully completed a religion course at the University of Edinburgh while a member of the Dartmouth Foreign Study Program in Religion.
Prerequisite: two courses in Religion. Dist: TMV.
74. Special Topics in Religion—Intermediate Level
08F: D.F.S.P. 09X: 10A 09F: D.F.S.P.
The contents of this course will vary from term to term.
Dist: TMV (unless otherwise indicated). WCult: Varies.
In 08F D.F.S.P., The Jew in the Text. Heschel.
In 09X, to be announced.
In 09F, D.F.S.P., Magic, Science, and Religion. Benor.
ADVANCED COURSES
80-81. Seminars
80. Seminars
08F: 10A 09F: 2 10S: 10A
In 08F, Richard Dawkins and His Critics. Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion (2006) has become a touchstone in the contemporary debate between atheists and believers. But why are Dawkins’ arguments so provocative? Why are his critics so anxious to refute him? What is the relationship between religious beliefs and science? This seminar is devoted to a close reading of Dawkins’ major writings, as well as the work of his most prominent critics. Requirements: oral presentations and one 20-page paper. Dist: TMV. Frankenberry.
In 09F, Black Religion in the Modern World. Dist: TMV. Hardy.
In 10S, The Lotus Sutra. Dist: TMV. Raz.
81. Dickinson Distinguished Scholar Seminars
09S: 10A
In 09S, Conversion, Creation, and Controversy: Buddhism and Daoism in Medieval China. This course examines the complex interaction between Buddhism, Daoism, and traditional Chinese religion in medieval China. During this fascinating historical era Buddhism was integrated into Chinese society and culture and Daoism emerged as a new religion. The two religions were in constant competition and mutually influenced one another. During this course we will examine various topics, including definitions of religion, inter-religious competition, religious debates, conversion, and translation.
Dist: TMV. Raz.
82. Joint Research in Religious Studies
All terms: Arrange.
Two or more students may enroll in this course to pursue through independent reading and research a topic mutually agreed upon between themselves and the instructor. This course may be used in satisfaction of the seminar requirement.
Permission of the Chair is required.
83. Research in Religious Studies (Independent Study)
All terms: Arrange.
84. Advanced Research in Religious Studies (Independent Study)
All terms: Arrange.
Serves in fulfillment of the Culminating Experience requirement. Open to senior majors only; by permission only. Majors electing this option must submit a research proposal for Departmental approval no later than the end of the Spring term of the Junior year. Students who choose to enroll in Religion 84 as their Culminating Experience are normally expected to participate in the Senior Colloquium but are excused from the writing component of the Colloquium. For more information, consult with the Chair.
85. Senior Colloquium
09W, 10W: 10A
As a culminating activity for senior majors, this colloquium serves as a forum for researching and writing the Senior Essay. Two faculty members convene the colloquium and guide the selection of essay topics. Other faculty and guest speakers may visit during the first five weeks of the term for discussion of common readings. The 25-page Senior Essay is expected (1) to display expertise in at least one cultural area, historical period, methodological approach, or body of literature, (2) to build upon previous course preparation, and (3) to engage with one of several approaches or readings discussed in the colloquium. Students who choose to enroll in Religion 84 or Religion 86 and 87 as their Culminating Experience are normally expected to participate in the Senior Colloquium but are excused from the writing component.
Prerequisite: Religion 1. Open only to senior majors. Dist: TMV.
In 09W, The Invention of Religion. Frankenberry.
In 10W, Truth and Justification. Frankenberry.
86. Honors I (Research)
All terms: Arrange
Open to seniors only; by permission only. Students who choose to enroll in Religion 86 and 87 as their Culminating Experience are normally expected to participate in the Senior Colloquium but are excused from the writing component of the Colloquium.
87. Honors II (Writing)
All terms: Arrange
Open to seniors only; by permission only. Students who choose to enroll in Religion 86 and 87 as their Culminating Experience are normally expected to participate in the Senior Colloquium but are excused from the writing component of the Colloquium.