Course Listing
2008 - 2009
Official Yale College program and course information is found in Yale College Programs of Study, available on line at http://students.yale.edu/oci/
- Online Course Information
- Legend
- Freshmen Seminars
- General, Comparative And Thematic Courses
- Surveys Of Religious Traditions
- Topics in Religious Studies
- Advanced Topics In Religious Studies
- Other Courses
- Additional Courses Relevant To The Major
- Graduate Courses
- Appendix
Course Offerings Legend:
* Seminar and/or limited enrollment a Fall Term Course b Spring Term Course
The absence of "a" and "b" indicates a year long course.U Superscript "U"-- Graduate Course w/ Undergraduate Number G Superscript "G"-- Undergraduate Course w/Graduate Number
FRESHMEN SEMINARS
*RLST 001a/HIST 008a/HUMS 080a, Essential Heresies
Carlos Eire
TTh 2.30-3.45
Introduction to the major individuals and movements that have challenged the intellectual and spiritual status quo in Western civilization.
Enrollment limited to freshmen.
*RLST 006b, The Historical Jesus
Dale Martin
TTh 2.30-3.45
Analysis of the modern “quest for the historical Jesus” and the use of modern historical methods to construct the historical figure of Jesus of Nazareth. Attention to both scholarly and popular portrayals. Critical examination of modern historiography.
No background in New Testament assumed. Enrollment limited to freshmen.
*RLST 009a, Siva and Mahakala
Phyllis Granoff
TTh 1.00-2.15
This course introduces students to the myth, ritual, art, and philosophy of the great Hindu god Siva and the Tantric Buddhist deity Mahakala. Studens will read selections from texts in translation and study the temples, paintings and sculptures of these gods.
*RLST 010a/AMST 010a/HIST 002a, The Rise of Religion in Modern America
Jon Butler
MW 1.00-2.15
The survival and prosperity of religion in America from the 1870s to 2000. Topics include the relationship of religion to urbanization, industrialization, and American corporate life; efforts to realign religion to meet conditions of modernity; and ways that pluralism, gender equality, race, class, and expanding debates about values and culture challenged religion even as they expanded its influence in unexpected ways.
Enrollment limited to freshmen.
A. GENERAL, COMPARATIVE AND THEMATIC COURSES
RLST 100b, Introduction to World Religions
Gerhard Bowering
TTh 2.30-3.45
Introduction to the literature, ideals, concepts, practices, rituals and institutions of four major world religions as they appeared in history: Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. A historical survey combined with a phenomenological treatment of principal topics.
RLST 145a/JDST 110aG, Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible)
Christine Hayes
MW 1.00-2.15
The Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) as an expression of the religious life and thought of ancient Israel set against the backdrop of its cultural and historical setting in the Ancient Near East. A wide range of critical and literary approaches to the study of the Bible will be introduced. Students will view course lectures on-line, reserving class time for close reading and discussion of biblical texts and their subsequent interpretation.
By permission of instructor.
RLST 148aG/HIST 219aG/JDST 200aG, History of Jewish Culture to the Reformation
Ivan Marcus
TTh 11.35-12.50
A broad introduction to the history of Jewish culture from its beginnings until the late Middle Ages, focusing on the formative period of classical rabbinic Judaism and on the symbiotic relationships among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. An overview of Jewish society and culture in its biblical, rabbinic, and medieval settings.
For History majors, counts toward either Middle Eastern or European distributional credit.
RLST 163aG/HUMS 386a/REL 721a, Reason, Faith, and Feeling: Early Modern Christian Thought
Shannon Craigo-Snell
TTh 10.30-11.20 +1 HTBA
A survey of major developments in religious thought in the West from Descartes to Schleiermacher, focusing on the struggles to defend, discredit, or distance religious belief in relation to reason. Explores connections between theology, philosophy, and social history.
RLST 164bG/HUMS 387b/REL 724b, History, Hope and the Self: Modern Christian Thought
Shannon Craigo-Snell
TTh 10.30-11.20 +1 HTBA
An overview of important development in Western religious thought during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Connections between philosophy, theology, and social history are addressed. Authors include Hegel, Barth, Tillich, Rahner, and Gutierrez.
B. SURVEYS OF RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
RLST 134bG/EALL 200b, Buddhism in China & Japan
Koichi Sinohara
TTh 2.30-3.45
This course is an introduction to Buddhism in East Asia through a close reading of original sources in translation. We focus on the lives of several leading monks and their teachings on meditation, faith, rebirth, and secret rituals.
RLST 147b/JDST 235b/JDST 722b, Introduction to Judaism in the Ancient World: From Temple to Talmud
Steven Fraade
TTh 1.00-2.15
The emergence of classical Judaism in its historical setting. Jews and Hellenization; varieties of early Judaism; apocalyptic and postapocalyptic responses to suffering and catastrophe; worship and atonement without cult; interpretations of scriptures; religious imagination; law and life; the rabbi; faith in reason; Sabbath and festivals; history and its redemption.
No prior background in Jewish history presumed.
RLST 149bG/HIST 220bG/JDST 201bG, History of Jewish Culture, 1500 to the Present
Paula Hyman
TTh 11.35-12.50
A broad introduction to Jewish culture and history from the late Middle Ages until the present. Emphasis on the changing interaction of the Jews with the larger society as well as the transformation of Judaism in its encounter with modernity.
RLST 152b, Introduction to New Testament History and Literature
Dale Martin
MW 2.30-3.20
A study of earliest Christianity; its origins and development into the early second century; its literature and thought.
RLST 170a, The Religion of Islam
Gerhard Bowering
TTh 2.30-3.45
Introduction to Islam: Arabia and the rise of Islam; Muhammad and the Qur'an; Muslim tradition and religious law; Islamic philosophy and theology; basic beliefs and practices of the Muslim community; religious institutions and modern trends.
RLST 181b, Buddhist Masters of the Himalaya
Jacob Dalton
TTh 11.35-12.50
Mixtures of legend and historical fact, the biographies of Tibetan Buddhist masters are recounted in books, Buddhist statuary, paintings, local story-telling, and even are read into features of the region’s dramatic landscape. This course will look at some of these stories and how they shaped this ancient culture.
RLST 182a, Death, Dreams, and Visions in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism
Jake Dalton
W 2.30-4.20
The transitional state between birth and death is viewed as a rare opportunity for transformation. This course will explore how this transformation has been accessed through Tibetan techniques for meditation, dreaming, and ritual.
RLST 201aG/HUMS 392a/JDST 270/HIST 232JaG, Medieval Jews, Christians, and Muslims Imagining Each Other
Ivan Marcus
T 1.30-3.20
How members of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities thought of and interacted with members of the other two cultures during the Middle Ages. Topics include the cultural grids and expectations each imposed on the other; the rhetoric of otherness such as humans or devils, purity or impurity, and animal imagery; and models of religious community and power in dealing with the other when confronted with cultural differences.
For History majors, counts toward either European or Middle Eastern distributional credit, upon application to the director of undergraduate studies.
RLST 264a/REL 737a/HIST 242a, The German Reformation, 1517-1555
Bruce Gordon
Th 1.30-3.20
Examines the turbulent course of the Reformation in German lands from Martin Luther’s protest till the Peace of Augsburg. Students will consider crucial theological issues, the nature of Imperial religious politics, the development of local religious cultures in their urban and rural contexts, the radicalization of the Reformation, the emergence of theologies of political resistance, and the respective roles of print and oral media. Key documents and visual material will form the basis for class discussion.
RLST 423aG/CPTC 102aG, Introduction to Gnostic Texts in Coptic
Bentley Layton
MW 9.00-10.15
Readings in Gnostic and Valentinian scripture from Nag Hammadi, in several dialects of Coptic. Prerequisite: EGYP 110 or equivalent.
C. TOPICS IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES
RLST 141b/NELC 112b/ARCG 222b, Egyptian Religion through the Ages
John Darnell
TTH 1.00-2.15
Topics in Egyptian religion including religious architecture; evidence for protodynastic cults; foreigners in Egyptian religious celebrations; music and vocal expression in Egyptian religion; Re and Osiris; the Amarna interlude and the Ramesside solar religion; and the goddess of the eye of the sun. The approach is diachronic.
Readings in translation of primary and secondary sources.
*RLST 155aG/JDST 120aG, Worship in Ancient Israel
Baruch Schwartz
T 2.30-4.20
This course is appropriate for graduate students as it covers topics that relate directly to the major historical-critical and theological-phenomenological issues that concern the advanced study of ancient Israelite religion. The instructor will provide guidance for graduate students to conduct research on issues current in scholarship, and they will be expected to handle the primary texts in their original language (undergrads will study the texts in translation).
RLST 173bG/PLSC 285b, Bioethics: Freedom, Justice and Religion
David Smith
TTh 10.30-11.20 + 1 HTBA
Intensive study of ways in which freedom, justice and some religious convictions may conflict or reinforce each other. Some fundamental issues of political philosophy seen within the context of policy and philosophical arguments in bioethics.
RLST 185b, The Mahabharata
Hugh Flick
W 1.30-3.20
Examination of the religious and cultural significance of the world's longest epic poem within the Hindu bhakti religious tradition. Emphasis on the core narrative, the embedded narratives, and the internal philosophical discourses, including the Bhagavad Gita.
RLST 186a/EALL 205a, Mandalas and Mantras
Koichi Sinohara
M 1.30-3.20
A Study of the Buddhist tradition characterized by the use of magical spells, cosmic diagrams and visualization of deities. The topics to be covered include stories of esoteric deities, the evolution of distinctive rituals, art, and the tradition’s place in society.
RLST 191b, Ritual and Salvation in Indian Religions
Phyllis Granoff
T 1.30-3.20
An in-depth exploration of the role of ritual in Buddhism and Hinduism in India, Nepal and Tibet, the course covers the following topics: the origins of ritual in the Vedic fire sacrifice; domestic ritual and the beginnings of image worship; agamic and tantric yoga.
*RLST 192aG/JDST 241a, Introduction to Talmudic Culture
Samuel Secunda
TTh 11.35-12.50
Introduction to the cultural world of rabbinic Judaism as it developed in late antique Roman Palestine and Sasanian Mesopotamia. Thematic study of important values and cultural norms, as well as an introduction to major rabbinic literary works.
*RLST 197aG/PLSC 329aG, Islamic Law and Ethics
Andrew March
W 2.30-4.30
This course is intended as an introduction to Islamic legal and ethical thought for advanced students of ethics, law or political philosophy. The main aims of the course are to survey the history of (Sunni) Islamic jurisprudence and positive law, to cover the main doctrines and debates on the epistemic status of legal-ethical knowledge and the hermeneutical and analytic methods for deriving it, and then to study in relative depth a single substantive problem in Islamic legal and ethical thought.
RLST 198a/JDST 296a/HUMS 389a, Aviv: Between Image and Reality
Hizky Shoham
Th 9.25-11.15
Course description to be announced.
RLST 202bG/HIST 345bG/JDST 265bG, Jews in Muslim Lands from the Seventh to the Sixteenth Centuries
Ivan Marcus
TTh 11.35-12.50
Jewish culture and society in Muslim lands from the Prophet Muhammad to Suleiman the Magnificent. Topics include Islam and Judaism; Jerusalem as a holy site; rabbinic leadership and literature in Baghdad; Jewish courtiers, poets, and philosophers in Muslim Spain; and the Jews in the Ottoman Empire.
*RLST 212a/MGRK 210a/HUMS 262a/WGSS 247a, Irreverent Texts: Religion and Literature in the Modern Age
George Syrimis
F 1.30-3.20
The course examines the complex relationship between religion and modern literature from the nineteenth century to the present. Based mostly on the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian traditions as these two clash in the literary texts, the course focuses on questions of modernity and tradition, the legitimacy of ritual, the relationship between church and state, the reception of antiquity, as well as the emergence of the modern discourses of gender and sexuality in light of religious practices and dogma.
The class will be conducted as a seminar. Emphasis will be given on the literary texts with secondary attention to the critical material that accompanies them. The course will be conducted in English.
RLST 213b/JDST 298b/HUMS 366b, The Formation of New Hebrew Cultures
Hizky Shoham
Th 9.25-11.15
Course description to be announced.
*RLST 217aG/JDST 390aG/HIST 230JaG, Memory, Memoirs, and Modern Jewish History
Paula Hyman
M 2.30-4.20
Exploration of how memoir writers from the seventeenth century to the twentieth understand their own experience against the backdrop of Jewish history. Focus on the construction of identity and the relation of personal and collective memory, with special attention to the interaction of minority status, gender, and class in a variety of historical contexts.
Counts toward only European distributional credit within the major.
*RLST 225bG/HIST 433bG/JDS 385bG/WGSS 383b, Women and Judaism
Paula Hyman
M 1.30-3.20
An exploration of the roles and representation of Jewish women in the modern period. Special attention to the role of gender in Judaism; the social, cultural, and political activity of women; and the development and impact of feminism.
For History majors, counts toward either European or U.S. distributional credit, upon application to the director of undergraduate studies.
RLST 230aG/JDST 286aG/HIST 269aG, Holocaust in Historical Perspective
Paula Hyman
MW 10.30-11.20 +1 HTBA
A survey of the major historical issues raised by the Holocaust, including the roots of Nazism; different theoretical perspectives and ways of accounting for genocide; the behavior of perpetrators, victims, and bystanders; and problems of representation.
*RLST 275b, Self and Other: The 'Individual' in Western Religious Thought
Gene Outka
T 1.30-3.20
Senses of the Human Individual as an Irreducible Locus for Judgments of Value and Accountability. and Senses of the Self as Relational; as Social All the Way Down; as Shaped by Communal, Governmental, and Biotechnical Interventions. Selected 19th and 20th century texts.
RLST 279aG, Four Atheist Critiques of Christian Theism
Denys Turner
TTh 10.30-11.20
An exploration of four styles of atheistic rejection of classical Christian theism: those of Feuerbach, Marx, Nietzsche, and Derrida. Consideration of whether there are rational means for settling the question of the existence of the classical Christian God.
*RLST 280bG/REL 817b/F&ES 80071b, World Religions and Ecology: Asian Religions
Mary Evelyn Tucker John Grim
T 2.30-5.20
The course involves the study of humans and communities within the horizon of interdependent life. In particular it investigates the symbolic expressions of this interconnection in Asian religions as well as religious practices arising from human-earth relations.
*RLST 282bG/REL 877b/F&ES 80389b, American Indian Religions and Ecology
John Grim
T 9.25-11.15
This course approaches the religious beliefs of Native American peoples from the perspective of the history of religions, and is concerned with the oral-narrative and textual forms in which they have been recorded. The course focuses on myths, symbols, and ritual lifeways.
RLST 290b/PLSC 435b, Islam Today, Jihad and Fundamentalism
Frank Griffel
TTh 10.30-11.20 +1 HTBA
Introduction to modern Islam, including some historical background. Case studies of the most important countries in the contemporary Muslim world, such as Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. Islam as a reactive force to Western colonialism; the ideals of Shari’a and jihad; violence and self-sacrifice; and Islam as a political ideology.
D. ADVANCED TOPICS IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES
*RLST 406aG/JDST 415aG, Critical Methods in the Study of Bavli-Yerushalmi Parallels
Alyssa Gray
Th 2.30-4.20
The course requires a strong reading knowledge of rabbinic Hebrew and will be of interest primarily to undergraduates with talmudic training and graduate students in the field of Ancient Judaism.
*RLST 408aG/JDST 400aG, Midrash Seminar: Exodus 32 and its Midrashic Development
Christine Hayes
MW 2.30-3.45
A study of the midrashic career of the Golden Calf story. Examination of the rich and polyphonic tradition of interpretation found in the Bible itself, in ancient translations, and in classical rabbinic sources. Prerequisite: reading proficiency in Hebrew.
By permission of instructor.
*RLST 420aG/NELC 380aG/HIST 211JaG, The Making of Monasticism
Bentley Layton
W 2.30-4.20
The social and intellectual history of Christian monasteries, hermits, ascetics, and monastic institutions and values in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, as seen in classic texts of monastic literature and in monastic archaeology.
By permission of instructor.
*RLST 422bG, Egyptian Monastic Literature in Coptic
Stephen Davis
TTh 1.00-2.15
Readings in the early Egyptian classics of Christian asceticism in Sahidic Coptic, including the desert Fathers and Shenute. Prerequisite: CPTC 101 or equivalent.
OTHER COURSES
RLST 488a and 489b, Individual Tutorial
Paula Hyman
HTBA
For students who wish, under faculty supervision, to investigate an area in religious studies not covered by regular departmental offerings. This course may be used for research or for directed reading. A long essay or several short ones are required. To apply, students should present a prospectus with bibliography of work they propose to undertake to the director of undergraduate studies together with a letter of support from the faculty member who will direct the work.
RLST 491, The Senior Essay
Paula Hyman
TBD
Students writing their senior essay meet periodically in the fall and weekly in the spring for the colloquium directed by the director of undergraduate studies. The essay, written under the supervision of a member of the department, should be a substantial paper between 12,500 and 15,000 words.
ADDITIONAL COURSE RELEVANT TO THE MAJOR
*EGYP 137bG, Introduction to Gnostic Texts in Coptic.
Bentley Layton
For description see under Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations
*EGYP 147bG, Egyptian Monastic Literature in Coptic.
Stephen Davis
For description see under Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations
GRADUATE COURSES
RLST 510a, Theories in the Study of Religion: Major Thinkers
Brent Nongbri
T 3.30-5.20
A seminar on how various theoretical approaches to the study of religion create different visions of what counts as "religion." With a focus on the modern search for "origins" and on "gender," we analyze the theoretical assumptions of each methodology and inquire into the contexts each theorist creates. Besides some of the classics in our field (Durkheim, Eliade, Geertz) we read contemporary theorists (e.g., Kristeva, Chidester, Bell) and scholars of religion (Lopez, Gross, Jantzen).
By permission of instructor.
RLST 525b/HIST 721b, Research Seminar in United States History
Jon Butler
M 9.25-11.15
Research seminar in American history. Students may write on any aspect of U.S. history in any century; emphasis is on the completion of an article-length essay in U.S. history based on original research. Essays might stand on their own or preview Ph.D. dissertation research.
RLST 555b, Topics in the Study of Tibetan Buddhism
Jacob Dalton
Th 2.30-4.30
This course will examine the Buddhism of Tibet.
RLST 572bU/EALL 200b, Buddhism in China & Japan
Koichi Shinohara
TTh 2.30-3.45
This course is an introduction to Buddhism in East Asia through a close reading of original sources in translation. We focus on the lives of several leading monks and their teachings on meditation, faith, rebirth, and secret rituals.
RLST 573b, Sacred Place in Asia
Koichi Shinohara
W 9.25-11.15
Critical examination of representatives studies on sacred places in Asia.
RLST 575a, Esoteric/Tantric Buddhist Texts
Koichi Shinohara Jacob Dalton
T 1.30-3.20
A study of the "Compendium of Principles" (Tattva samgraha) based on close reading of Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan versions. Students must have some background in reading Buddhist literature at least in one of these languages.
RLST 576b, Jain Narrative Literature
Phyllis Granoff
W 1.30-3.20
This is an advanced course in Sanskrit/Prakrit. Students will read selections from medieval Jain prose and poetry.
RLST 577a, Jain Canonical Texts
Phyllis Granoff
W 1.30-3.20
This is an advanced course in Sanskrit/Prakrit. Students will read selections from jain canonical texts and medieval commentaries.
*REL 601b, The Required New Testament/ Ancient Christianity Seminar: Memory and Memorialization
Stephen Davis
T 3.30-5.20
The annual required seminar for doctoral students in New Testament studies and Ancient Christianity. Students not enrolled in a Ph.D. program require permission of the instructor.
RLST 605a, Greco-Roman Environment of the New Testament
Dale Martin
T 3.30-5.20
An introduction for advanced students to the religious, philosophical, and cultural milieu in which the New Testament took shape. The course requires extensive readings in primary sources and selected secondary literature.
*RLST 650aU/JDST 705aU, Worship in Ancient Israel
Baruch Schwartz
T 2.30-4.20
This course is appropriate for graduate students as it covers topics that relate directly to the major historical-critical and theological-phenomenological issues that concern the advanced study of ancient Israelite religion. The instructor will provide guidance for graduate students to conduct research on issues current in scholarship, and they will be expected to handle the primary texts in their original language (undergrads will study the texts in translation).
*RLST 651aU/JDST 728aU, Midrash Seminar: Exodus 32 and its Midrashic Development
Christine Hayes
MW 2.30-3.45
A study of the midrashic career of the Golden Calf story. Examination of the rich and polyphonic tradition of interpretation found in the Bible itself, in ancient translations, and in classical rabbinic sources. Prerequisite: reading proficiency in Hebrew.
By permission of instructor.
RLST 653aU/CPTC 502aU, Introduction to Gnostic Texts in Coptic
Bentley Layton
MW 9.00-10.15
Readings in Gnostic and Valentinian scripture from Nag Hammadi, in several dialects of Coptic. Prerequisite: EGYP 110 or equivalent.
*RLST 658bU, Egyptian Monastic Literature in Coptic
Stephen Davis
TTh 1.00-2.15
Readings in the early Egyptian classics of Christian asceticism in Sahidic Coptic, including the desert Fathers and Shenute. Prerequisite: CPTC 101 or equivalent.
*RLST 659aU/NELC 534aU/HIST 531aU, The Making of Monasticism
Bentley Layton
W 2.30-4.20
The social and intellectual history of Christian monasteries, hermits, ascetics, and monastic institutions and values in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, as seen in classic texts of monastic literature and in monastic archaeology.
By permission of instructor.
RLST 674b/JDST 710b, Ezekiel, The Priest Turned Prophet
Baruch Schwartz
TBD
Close reading and exegesis of selected passages from the Book of Ezekiel, with the aim of understanding the prophet’s message in its historical context and the diverse literary forms in which it is expressed. Emphasis will be placed on Ezekiel’s unique theological standpoint and his place in the history of Israelite prophecy, and particular attention will be paid to his priestly heritage and its impact on his prophetic teaching.
RLST 675b/JDST 722b, Ancient Judaism
Steven Fraade
T 9.25-11.15
An in-depth survey of the history and literature of Judaism in late antiquity through the rabbinic period. Special attention is given to the problems and possibilities of employing rabbinic sources for the purposes of historical reconstruction in the period that saw the emergence of the Gospels and the formation of Christianity. Emphasis on methodological trends and cutting edge scholarship. This course is designed primarily for students in the Ph.D. program in New Testament and Ancient Christianity. Doctoral students in Hebrew Bible and Ancient Judaism are also welcome.
*RLST 676aU/JDST 735aU, Critical Methods in the Study of Bavli-Yerushalmi Parallels
Alyssa Gray
Th 2.30-4.20
The course requires a strong reading knowledge of rabbinic Hebrew and will be of interest primarily to undergraduates with talmudic training and graduate students in the field of Ancient Judaism.
RLST 677a/HIST 563a, The Catholic Reformation
Carlos Eire
W 3.30-5.20
Reading and discussion of scholarship on the Catholic Reformation and of key primary texts written between 1500 and 1600.
*RLST 713aU/PLSC 589aU, Islamic Law and Ethics
Andrew March
W 2.30-4.30
This course is intended as an introduction to Islamic legal and ethical thought for advanced students of ethics, law or political philosophy. The main aims of the course are to survey the history of (Sunni) Islamic jurisprudence and positive law, to cover the main doctrines and debates on the epistemic status of legal-ethical knowledge and the hermeneutical and analytic methods for deriving it, and then to study in relative depth a single substantive problem in Islamic legal and ethical thought.
RLST 714b, Proofs for God's Existence in Islam
Frank Griffel
W 2.30-4.20
Based on Kant's categorization of proofs.
*RLST 720a, Seminar on the Qur'an
Gerhard Bowering
Th 3.30-5.30
Intensive study of the Qur'an. Readings in the literature of Qur'anic commentary. Special emphasis on the pre-Islamic background of the Qur'an.
Prerequisite: reading knowledge of Arabic; permission of instructor.
*RLST 720b, Seminar on Islamic Religious Thought
Gerhard Bowering
Th 3.30-5.30
Intensive study of Islamic theological and mystical texts. Select readings in classical Arabic sources.
Prerequisite: reading knowledge of Arabic; permission of instructor.
*RLST 750aU/JDST 241a, Introduction to Talmudic Culture
Samuel Secunda
TTh 11.35-12.50
Introduction to the cultural world of rabbinic Judaism as it developed in late antique Roman Palestine and Sasanian Mesopotamia. Thematic study of important values and cultural norms, as well as an introduction to major rabbinic literary works.
RLST 751aU/HUMS 392a/JDST 763aU/HIST 554aU, Medieval Jews, Christians, and Muslims Imagining Each Other
Ivan Marcus
T 1.30-3.20
How members of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities thought of and interacted with members of the other two cultures during the Middle Ages. Topics include the cultural grids and expectations each imposed on the other; the rhetoric of otherness such as humans or devils, purity or impurity, and animal imagery; and models of religious community and power in dealing with the other when confronted with cultural differences.
For History majors, counts toward either European or Middle Eastern distributional credit, upon application to the director of undergraduate studies.
*RLST 756b/JDST 756b, The Required Ancient Judaism Seminar
Isaiah Gafni
W 1.30-3.20
The topic of this seminar changes yearly. This year the seminar examines the nature and development of the diaspora in post-biblical Judaism, the ideological challenges or dispersion for the self-image of a cohesive community, and the practical as well as theoretical manifestations of the center-diaspora phenomenon and their impact on Judaism as a religion and a society, placing into question the role of the “The Land” as a marker of Jewish self-identity.
*RLST 762aU/JDST 784aU/HIST 952aU, Memory, Memoirs, and Modern Jewish History
Paula Hyman
M 2.30-4.20
Exploration of how memoir writers from the seventeenth century to the twentieth understand their own experience against the backdrop of Jewish history. Focus on the construction of identity and the relation of personal and collective memory, with special attention to the interaction of minority status, gender, and class in a variety of historical contexts.
Counts toward only European distributional credit within the major.
RLST 768aU/JDST 788aU/HIST 979aU, Holocaust in Historical Perspective
Paula Hyman
MW 10.30-11.20 +1 HTBA
A survey of the major historical issues raised by the Holocaust, including the roots of Nazism; different theoretical perspectives and ways of accounting for genocide; the behavior of perpetrators, victims, and bystanders; and problems of representation.
RLST 773aU/HIST 535aU/JDST 761aU, History of Jewish Culture to the Reformation
Ivan Marcus
TTh 11.35-12.50
A broad introduction to the history of Jewish culture from its beginnings until the late Middle Ages, focusing on the formative period of classical rabbinic Judaism and on the symbiotic relationships among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. An overview of Jewish society and culture in its biblical, rabbinic, and medieval settings.
For History majors, counts toward either Middle Eastern or European distributional credit.
RLST 774bU/HIST 566bU/JDST 781bU, History of Jewish Culture, 1500 to the Present
Paula Hyman
TTh 11.35-12.50
A broad introduction to Jewish culture and history from the late Middle Ages until the present. Emphasis on the changing interaction of the Jews with the larger society as well as the transformation of Judaism in its encounter with modernity.
RLST 776b/HIST 541b/JDST 790b, The Jews in Medieval Societies
Ivan Marcus
T 1.30-3.20
Research seminar that focuses on a comparison of the two medieval Jewish subcultures of Ashkenaz (northern Christian Europe) and Sefarad (mainly Muslim and Christian Spain). Issues in historiography and comparative methodology complement discussions about the symbols and reality of literary, political, and economic features of each society.
RLST 777bU/HIST 532bU/JDST 764bU, Jews in Muslim Lands from the Seventh to the Sixteenth Centuries
Ivan Marcus
TTh 11.35-12.50
Jewish culture and society in Muslim lands from the Prophet Muhammad to Suleiman the Magnificent. Topics include Islam and Judaism; Jerusalem as a holy site; rabbinic leadership and literature in Baghdad; Jewish courtiers, poets, and philosophers in Muslim Spain; and the Jews in the Ottoman Empire.
*RLST 795bU/HIST 950bU/JDST 787bU/WGSS 383b, Women and Judaism
Paula Hyman
M 1.30-3.20
An exploration of the roles and representation of Jewish women in the modern period. Special attention to the role of gender in Judaism; the social, cultural, and political activity of women; and the development and impact of feminism.
For History majors, counts toward either European or U.S. distributional credit, upon application to the director of undergraduate studies.
*RLST 801a, Hebrew Bible Seminar: The Book of Kings
Robert Wilson
M 1.30-3.20
A close reading of the Hebrew Text of Kings with attention to evaluating recent scholarly theories about the book's literary history. Prerequisite: two years of Biblical Hebrew or the equivalent; reading knowledge of German helpful but not required.
RLST 805a, History and Methods of Old Testament Interpretation
Robert Wilson John Collins
W 1.30-3.20
Reading and critical evaluation of major classic works in the history of Old Testament studies from Wellhausen to the present. Prerequisite: working knowledge of Biblical Hebrew; reading knowledge of German helpful but not required.
RLST 806b/REL 693b/HIST 543b, Jewish Apocalyptic Literature
John Collins
M 1.30-3.20
This course will survey the origins of apocalyptic literature and the primary examples of the genre in ancient Judaism, in the books of Daniel, Enoch, the Dead Sea Scrolls, 4 Ezra and other Pseudepigrapha.
RLST 816a/REL 694a, Hellenistic Judaism
John Collins
F 1.30-3.20
The purpose of the course is to sample the literature of Hellenistic Judaism, with a focus on the questions of Jewish identity and explanation of the conflicts that arose between Jews and Greeks.
Greek desirable, but not required.
RLST 846b/REL 746b/AFAM 742b, Vexations: Religion and Politics in the Black Community
Emilie Townes
T 1.30-3.20
This course explores the theo-ethical perspectives of selected Black Christian thinkers with special attention to how their thought intersects with and also responds to contemporary public policy issues. The challenge is to relate the essentials of Christian ethics to contemporary personal and social issues, identify basic elements of Christian ethical reflection in public discourse, consider a variety of ethical perspectives for decision making, and evaluate Black ethical thinkers as they respond to concrete social issues and public policy statements.
RLST 847a/REL 742a, Warrior Chants and Unquiet Spirits
Emilie Townes
T 8.30-10.20 +1 HTBA
An exploration of the spiritual writings and social actions of significant representatives of the Christian protest tradition. Study of public and private documents, analysis of personal disciplines and basic commitments for social justice form the framework for exploring the nature of a spirituality that is a social witness.
RLST 855a, Lutheran Ethics in a Comparative Context
Gene Outka
Th 1.30-3.20
Basic claims in Luther's ethics and in subssequent developments, and comparisons with Roman Catholic and Reformed tradtions. Attention to struggles in 20th century Germany and contemporary developments in North America.
RLST 862a/REL 773a, Religion and Morality
Gene Outka
T 1.30-3.20
Inquiries into the prospects for a common morality and for affirming natural law. Current evaluations of theocracy and democrady, that a range of religious believers and nonbelievers offer, in both theoretical and practical writings.
RLST 866b, Theories of Love
Gene Outka
Th 1.30-3.20
A study of contemporary writings on love in the Christian tradition. Authors include Nygren, Rahner, Niebuhr, Canning, Vacek, O'Donovan, Outka, Jackson, Volf, and Hampton.
*RLST 872bU/REL 817b/F&ES 80071b, World Religions and Ecology: Asian Religions
Mary Evelyn Tucker John Grim
T 2.30-5.20
The course involves the study of humans and communities within the horizon of interdependent life. In particular it investigates the symbolic expressions of this interconnection in Asian religions as well as religious practices arising from human-earth relations.
*RLST 873bU/REL 877b/F&ES 80389b, American Indian Religions and Ecology
John Grim
T 9.25-11.15
This course approaches the religious beliefs of Native American peoples from the perspective of the history of religions, and is concerned with the oral-narrative and textual forms in which they have been recorded. The course focuses on myths, symbols, and ritual lifeways.
RLST 874bU/PLSC 285b, Bioethics: Freedom, Justice and Religion
David Smith
TTh 10.30-11.20 + 1 HTBA
Intensive study of ways in which freedom, justice and some religious convictions may conflict or reinforce each other. Some fundamental issues of political philosophy seen within the context of policy and philosophical arguments in bioethics.
RLST 903b, The Doctrine of God in Some High and Late Medieval Christian Theologians in the Latin West
Denys Turner
TTh 4.00-5.15
This course consists of seminars on texts relating to the doctrine of God. In the first term the texts are Bonaventure, The Soul's Journey into God; Thomas Aquinas, selected texts from Summa Theologiae; selected texts from Duns Scotus, Reportata Parisiensia. In the second term the texts are Marguerite Porete, A Mirror of Simple Souls; Meister Eckhart, selected sermons; and Nicholas of Cusa, On Learned Ignorance. All the texts may be studied in English translation. A reading knowledge of the relevant languages would be a help, but is not required.
RLST 906aU, Four Atheist Critiques of Christian Theism
Denys Turner
TTh 10.30-11.20
An exploration of four styles of atheistic rejection of classical Christian theism: those of Feuerbach, Marx, Nietzsche, and Derrida. Consideration of whether there are rational means for settling the question of the existence of the classical Christian God.
RLST 920a/HUMS 386a/REL 721a, Reason, Faith, and Feeling: Early Modern Christian Thought
Shannon Craigo-Snell
TTh 10.30-11.20 +1 HTBA
A survey of major developments in religious thought in the West from Descartes to Schleiermacher, focusing on the struggles to defend, discredit, or distance religious belief in relation to reason. Explores connections between theology, philosophy, and social history.
RLST 921bU/HUMS 387b/REL 724b, History, Hope and the Self: Modern Christian Thought
Shannon Craigo-Snell
TTh 10.30-11.20 +1 HTBA
An overview of important development in Western religious thought during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Connections between philosophy, theology, and social history are addressed. Authors include Hegel, Barth, Tillich, Rahner, and Gutierrez.
*RLST 922a/REL 853a, Theology, Theatre and Performance
Shannon Craigo-Snell
M 1.30-3.20
Exploration of the historical connections, theoretical intersections, and thematic interplays between Christian theology and theater in the West. This includes study of performance theory, theoretical approaches to theater, liturgical theology, and dramatic texts. Topics addressed include the construction of the self through communal performance, embodied interpretation of texts, conventions of normativity and liminality, negotiations of communal identity in relation to external and internal norms, and creation of communal hermeneutics. No prior background is required.
This course is open to qualified undergraduates.
APPENDIX
Undergraduate Course List by Category
FRESHEMEN SEMINARS
*RLST 001a/ |
Essential Heresies |
Carlos Eire |
*RLST 006b |
The Historical Jesus |
Dale Martin |
*RLST 009a |
Gods and Demons in Indian Religions |
Phyllis Granoff |
*RLST 010a/ |
The Rise of Religion in Modern America |
Jon Butler |
A. GENERAL, COMPARATIVE AND THEMATIC COURSES
RLST 100b |
Introduction to World Religions |
Gerhard Bowering |
RLST 145a/JDST 110aG |
Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) |
Christine Hayes |
RLST 148aG/ |
History of Jewish Culture to the Reformation |
Ivan Marcus |
RLST 163aG/ |
Reason, Faith, and Feeling: Early Modern Christian Thought |
Shannon |
RLST 164bG/ |
History, Hope and the Self: Modern Christian Thought |
Shannon |
B. SURVEYS OF RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
RLST 134bG/EALL 200b |
Buddhism in China & Japan |
Koichi Sinohara |
RLST 147b/JDST 235b/ |
Introduction to Judaism in the Ancient World: From Temple to Talmud |
Steven Fraade |
RLST 149bG/ |
History of Jewish Culture, 1500 to the Present |
Paula Hyman |
RLST 152b |
Introduction to New Testament History and Literature |
Dale Martin |
RLST 170a |
The Religion of Islam |
Gerhard Bowering |
RLST 181b |
Buddhist Masters of the Himalaya |
Jacob Dalton |
RLST 182a |
Death, Dreams, and Visions in |
Jakob Dalton |
RLST 201aG/HUMS 392a/ |
Medieval Jews, Christians, and Muslims Imagining Each Other |
Ivan Marcus |
RLST 264a/REL 737a/ |
The German Reformation, 1517-1555 |
Bruce Gordon |
RLST 423aG/CPTC 102aG |
Introduction to Gnostic Texts in Coptic |
Bentley Layton |
C. TOPICS IN RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
RLST 141b/NELC 112b/ |
Egyptian Religion through the Ages |
John Darnell |
*RLST 155aG/JDST 120aG |
Worship in Ancient Israel |
Baruch Schwartz |
RLST 173bG/PLSC 285b |
Bioethics: Freedom, Justice and Religion |
David Smith |
RLST 185b |
The Mahabharata |
Hugh Flick |
RLST 186a/EALL 205a |
Mandalas and Mantras |
Koichi Sinohara |
RLST 191b |
Ritual and Salvation in Indian Religions |
Phyllis Granoff |
*RLST 192aG/JDST 241a |
Introduction to Talmudic Culture |
Samuel Secunda |
*RLST 197aG/PLSC 329aG |
Islamic Law and Ethics |
Andrew March |
RLST 198a/JDST 296a/ |
Aviv: Between Image and Reality |
Hizky Shoham |
RLST 202bG/ |
in Muslim Lands from the Seventh to the Sixteenth Centuries |
Ivan Marcus |
*RLST 212a/
MGRK 210a/ |
Irreverent Texts: Religion and Literature in the Modern Age |
George Syrimis |
RLST 213b/JDST 298b/ |
The Formation of New Hebrew Cultures |
Hizky Shoham |
*RLST 217aG/JDST 390aG/ |
Memory, Memoirs, and Modern Jewish History |
Paula Hyman |
*RLST 225bG/HIST 433bG/ |
Women and Judaism |
Paula Hyman |
RLST 230aG/JDST 286aG/ |
Holocaust in Historical Perspective |
Paula Hyman |
*RLST 275b |
Self and Other: The 'Individual' in Western Religious Thought |
Gene Outka |
RLST 279aG |
Four Atheist Critiques of Christian Theism |
Denys Turner |
*RLST 280bG/REL 817b/ |
World Religions and Ecology: Asian Religions |
Mary Evelyn Tucker John Grim |
*RLST 282bG/REL 877b/ |
American Indian Religions and Ecology |
John Grim |
RLST 290b/PLSC 435b |
Islam Today, Jihad and Fundamentalism |
Frank Griffel |
D. ADVANCED TOPICS IN RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
*RLST 406aG/JDST 415aG |
Critical Methods in the Study of Bavli-Yerushalmi Parallels |
Alyssa Gray |
*RLST 408aG/JDST 400aG |
Midrash Seminar: Exodus 32 and its Midrashic Development |
Christine Hayes |
*RLST 420aG/NELC 380aG/ |
The Making of Monasticism |
Bentley Layton |
*RLST 422bG |
Egyptian Monastic Literature in Coptic |
Stephen Davis |
OTHER COURSES
RLST 488a and 489b |
Individual Tutorial |
Paula Hyman |
RLST 491 |
The Senior Essay |
Paula Hyman |
ADDITIONAL COURSES RELEVANT TO THE MAJOR
*EGYP 137bG |
Introduction to Gnostic Texts in Coptic |
Bentley Layton |
*EGYP 147bG |
Egyptian Monastic Literature in Coptic |
Stephen Davis |
