The title of this course has a double meaning. On the one hand, the title suggests ours is a study of a religiously important figure. Jesus is one such historical personage. Hence his life is the object of study. The course title also points to the character of the gospels. They are ?lives,? ?religious lives? of Jesus that arose out of storytelling cultures. In those contexts, stories were read and heard aloud, often ?performed? and adapted. Gospels are not ?biographies? of Jesus, as we typically think of that genre. It is important to recognize that in ?telling the story of Jesus,? the gospel writers were also telling us a story of their own communities, framing stories that would influence how early Christians lived out their religious commitments to Jesus in a world shaped by the forces of late ancient Judaism and Greco-Roman imperialism. We must follow tantalizing clues and draw conclusions from texts--usefully compared to the scripts of plays--that were not interested, primarily, in objective, non-partisan, historical description. Both Jesus and the gospels rivet our attention in this course.
This course provides a historical and theoretical introduction to issues, thinkers, and texts in the academic study of religion. Topics covered include the development of religious studies as distinct from Christian theology; definitive questions and problems within the discipline; and the study of religions in relation to race, class, and gender realities.
What do Americans believe? Is there a singular religion or set of religious beliefs that bind together the varieties of American faith traditions and ethnic cultures into a common national identity? E pluribus unum--from the plurality a unity is formed--is one of three official mottoes adapted in 1782 to define and represent the U.S. To what extent is this true, both today and in the past? Americans are faced with the difficult task of creating a harmonious society from the encounter, repulsion, and attraction of discrete civilizations. At the vanguard of modern republican democracy, the U.S. is the central playing field upon which cultural/religious pluralism is negotiated, defined, and legislated. The course explores the evolution of the American nation as a pluralistic belief or faith community and explores the meaning and potential for a singular national religious community.
This course introduces students to the three major monotheistic religious traditions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In the process of tracing the long and rich histories of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, we examine the beliefs and practices that became central and definitive for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. We begin with the ancient heritage of each religion (scriptures, founders, early institutions). Then we explore how these foundational traditions were preserved and re-invigorated in response to centuries of social change and critical moments of political upheaval. Most significant, in this regard, is the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim encounter with their respective holy Scriptures--as generation after generation of adherents have attempted to understand the revealed words of God, to proclaim their continual relevance for all places and all times and to inscribe them upon their bodies and hearts through prayer, worship, and daily life.
This is an introduction of some of the major East Asian religious and ethical traditions, focusing on Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto. By examining both translations of sacred texts as well as scholarly analyses, we explore the basic ideas, practices, and historical development of these varied and interconnected traditions. Special attention is paid to how people incorporate East Asian religious and ethical ideas and beliefs into contemporary life and how gender shapes the experience of religion.
This course is an analytical/critical study of selected books of the Bible with an emphasis on its literary qualities, genres and influence. We read the Bible, one of the most important works in all of Western culture, as a masterpiece of literature. Rather than focusing on theological questions about this work as inspired scripture, we instead focus on its rich literary qualities and explore some ways in which these stories have influenced modern society. Reading select passages, we discuss its literary genres, forms, symbols and motifs, many of which are important in modern literature, such as hero stories, origin stories, parables, apocalyptic literature, the loss of Eden and the Promised Land.
This course is an introduction to the study of religion through the examination of religious works and lives. For purposes of our exploration, we think of religion as a system of relationships between major ideas and everyday life practices that orients people to a view of the whole of existence. "Works" is a term that covers two major aspects of religions: rituals and moral codes. The term "works" has to do with behaviors, whether they are the behaviors involved in a specifically religious situation (often rituals) or the behaviors in everyday life that are addressed by religious commands and prohibitions (often morals). We also consider stories of lives and guidelines for "lives." Some of these lives are clearly related to daily life within the religious traditions. Some are stories of lives that seem utterly fantastic. We question why such lives are written, what the reader can take from them, and what points they might make.
This special travel course provides an opportunity for students to learn how certain major religions are globally engaged in the promotion of social justice through humanitarian relief work and cultural exchanges. In addition to a brief survey of the historical relationship between the beliefs, teachings, and social practices of the major Western traditions, the course offers hands-on experience and interaction with Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant relief agencies as well as other non-governmental organizations in Vienna, Austria, which has become the international center for UN-directed human services and humanitarian relief efforts as well as global headquarters for leading NGOs. Students discover how the culture, history, and geography of Vienna have nurtured the vast global human services "economy" to which these religious organizations contribute and which are built around the work of the United Nations.
This study abroad course focuses on the cultural and social history of the city of Vienna as the hub of politics, culture, and religion for Central Europe with special attention to its religious heritage as the seedbed for its rich cultural traditions. The course examines how its religious heritage, particularly Judaism, shaped its rich cultural heritage and the birth of modernism.
A historical introduction to the presence of Islam and Muslims in the United States, from an examination of the first Muslims in North America, to the substantive influence of the minority Indian evangelical Ahmadiyya movement, to Islam in African American communities. Also examines contemporary Muslim communities in the U.S. and the ways in which ritual and faith are today developing with "American" accents.
This course explores the religious terrain of Tibet by looking at the historical and cultural development of the four main Tibetan Buddhist traditions: Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu and Geluk, as well as the indigenous religion called Bon. Topics include the sacred landscape of Tibet; key doctrinal features; cultural artifacts like sacred biographies, art, and poetry; the 20th-century spread of Tibetan Buddhism from the Himalayas to North American communities; the future of Tibetan Buddhism in exile; and China and the West.
Exploration of different viewpoints on complex issues related to the assimilation, acculturation and reinvention of Asian Buddhist traditions both locally and globally in the past 150 years. Students consider the "two-way traffic" between recent developments in various traditions of newly Americanized Buddhism and their respective cultures of origin through the processes of globalization and transnationalism.
This course offers students a historically grounded introduction to the relationship(s) between Islam and United States politics. Students consider the role played by Islam and Muslims in early American political thought, Americans? relationships with Muslims abroad and at home, as well as evangelization efforts. It examines the impacts of the Nation of Islam, the Cold War, Iranian Revolution and Gulf War I, as well as of the September 11 terror attacks, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the 2006 and 2008 elections, and concludes by reflecting on the 2012 election and suggesting how Islam might impact U.S. politics over the next decade.
This course offers students a substantive introduction to the major Islamic thinkers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Starting with Abu `Ala Maududi, whose work on Qur'anic interpretation and the meaning of jihad laid the groundwork for new waves of radical activism in the modern Muslim world, this course exposes students to the works of major "movers and shakers" like Sayyid Qutb and Ayotollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Students engage these thinkers through a mixture of primary and secondary sources, developing a sense of context as they work through these thinkers' arguments. The course continues with an examination of some of the major later 20th-Century Islamic thinkers active in Muslim-minority spaces, focusing on Bosnian Grand Mufti Mustafai Ceric and the late Moroccan-French scholar Mohammed Arkoun. It concludes by looking at two major figures of the early 21st century, noting how they blend intellectual and political activism: Iranian cleric Mohsen Kadivar and American scholar Amina Wadud. Throughout the course, student groups present on various contemporary issues, helping them develop presentation and writing skills while allowing them to apply course knowledge to real-world issues.
The legacy of the Hebrew Bible has been great for both Western and world culture. In this course, we read the books of the Hebrew Bible critically as literature, as religious text and as a source of sociological knowledge. The students gain a general overview of the narrative and historical development of the text while simultaneously being introduced to the various modes of biblical interpretation. Emphasis is placed on situating the literature and religious expression of the Bible within its ancient Near Eastern milieu.
This course takes a multifaceted approach (historical, literary, and critical) to the writings that comprise the Christian New Testament. The New Testament are read as a collection of primary documents that chronicle the primitive Church?s slow and often painful process of self-definition. In these writings it is possible to discern the tension that arose because of the strong religious and cultural ties early Christianity maintained with Palestinian Judaism, from which it emerged as a sectarian or reform movement. The careful reader also finds evidence of the new religion?s encounter with the Greco-Roman world from whose variegated ethos and culture it borrowed considerably on the way to becoming an important religious force in the first century. In exploring the New Testament, then, we attempt to recover something of the sense of what it meant to be a Christian in New Testament times.
Theories of social justice, beginning with the ancient Hebrews and Greeks and running up through the modern era. The religious sources of these ideas, drawn primarily from the monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, are profiled.
Through religious, sociological and historical sources, as well as documentaries, movies and scholarly readings, this course examines religious diversity in Israel since its establishment (1948) to current events in its 64th year (2012).
This course uses the medium of film to introduce students to the history, faith, practice, culture(s), and politics of Islam. Focusing on feature films and documentaries, it employs film to open up a broad spectrum of questions relating to personal piety, gender equity, generational conflicts, social class, governmental repression, and ritual practice. Proceeding thematically along a broad historical frame, the course focuses on the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, presenting a balanced picture of life in Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority countries and highlighting the complex picture of Muslim life today.
Designed to provide undergraduate majors and minors with valuable experience in non-profit, educational, faith-based, governmental, and related organizations. It helps students translate the knowledge and analytical skills learned in Religious Studies courses into a professional context, while exploring potential career paths and professional opportunities. Students interested in pursuing an internship must meet with the Undergraduate Advisor at the start of the previous quarter to discuss internship goals and identify potential placements. Student meet weekly with a faculty supervisor to monitor their internship experience, and complete the internship by writing a reflective essay. Restrictions: junior or senior standing; at least 20 credits of RLGS courses for majors or at least 12 credits for minors.
A literary and historical journey through Judaism. This course examines the "Jewish story" from its roots to its modern-day manifestations, focusing on select, classic Jewish texts in their historical contexts. From them, students will explore Jewish tradition and practice and will actively engage with and in the vivid interpretive imagination of the authors of Judaism throughout the ages.
Dead Sea Scrolls in their historical, literary and religious context in English translation, together with some relevant scholarly research.
Reading and discussion of influential historic books pertaining to Christian life and devotion.
This is an introductory course about the Christian religion, with a substantial component devoted to experiential learning. The primary goal of the course is to acquaint students with the richness, dynamism and diversity of one of the world?s largest and most influential religious traditions. Even those students who have some general knowledge of Christianity benefit from the disciplined approach of the academic study of religion.
It is the contention of this course that Christianity in the British Isles constitutes a singular chapter in the history of the religion and must be approached and appreciated as such. The circumstances surrounding Christianity?s introduction to Britain--as documented by the Venerable Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People--presaged a destiny for the English Church that would be ?peculiar.? With decidedly Roman sympathies, Bede?s reforming agenda is presented as historical fait accompli. The narrative nevertheless bears witness to the vibrant and resilient character of Celtic spirituality. Although Henry VIII officially brought the Protestant Reformation to England from the Continent in the 1530s when he severed the English Church from the Papacy, the extent to which the Reformation in England was ever as theologically ?Protestant? as it was in Europe is open to debate. The Oxford movement--at once reforming and catholicizing--would otherwise seem incongruous were that not the case. Indeed, as we shall see, the notion of semper reformanda ecclesia is, perhaps, most suited to this geographical context. Not surprisingly, playwrights, novelists, and filmmakers have found no little inspiration in Anglican reform?s concomitant turmoil and intrigue.
Using a variety of critical methods, this course explores the social, political, and religious influences that shaped the New Testament as it was written, copied, edited, canonized, and translated into its current forms. Students will perform a variety of exercises in class to illustrate the complicated process by which the New Testament was formed.
Beliefs, feelings and actions representing human religious response of experience; function of religion in individual life.
This writing-intensive course introduces students to the history and scope of fundamentalist movements in the Muslim world, focusing on the Middle East. Beginning with a look at the internal traditions of renewal and reform built around the idea of a return to the fundament or origins of Islam, the course examines the rise of major movements from the 1700s to the present. Students will engage with key questions, including the following: What distinguishes fundamentalism from radicalism? How do Sunni and Shii fundamentalisms differ? What roles have these movements played in politics and society, and how might these evolve in the future? How might policy makers and others best approach fundamentalist groups? A basic knowledge of Islam is assumed; students wishing to enroll without this background knowledge will be provided supplementary readings.
Philosophical foundations and research strategies of psychological studies of moral thought; Aristotelian, Kantian and utilitarian thought included, as well as religious dimensions of morality.
First and foremost, this is a course in religious studies. It is a course about Jesus, a religious reformer of late ancient Judaism whose movement, by the end of the first century of the Common Era, gave rise to an identifiably separate tradition. It is a course about New Testament portrayals of Jesus in the Gospels. It is a course about contemporary, historical research on the figure of Jesus. It is also a course about film and cinematography, about reading film critically as a ?text,? and, in this context, the way in which film ?translates? or ?transforms? Jesus into another medium. Finally, it is a course about how Jesus films serve to convey modern cultural assumptions.
Readings, discussion, and papers help students learn about the life, intellectual and social environment, and clinical and theoretical work of Sigmund Freud. Attention is given to the influence of Freud's work on the understanding of religion at the beginning of the 21st century.
Use of different psychological theories to understand life and religious experience of individuals known through historical records.
Inquiries into nature of religion, religious experience, language, methods of thinking.
A general inquiry, focusing on the modern and postmodern eras, into various forms of philosophical reflection on the relationship between religion and political theory. Survey of the seminal ideas of such major thinkers as Kant, Hegel, Schmidt, Strauss, Derrida, Agamben, Asad, and Zizek.
This course will involve an intensive reading and discussion of Friedrich Nietzsche's 'Thus Spake Zarathustra,' together with relevant associated materials, especially 'The Gay Science.'
Examines the development of the thought of the famous French postmodern thinker Gilles Deleuze with special attention to his cultural and semiotic theory to the degree that it is relevant to the philosophy of religion. The course also investigates how Deleuze's work has shaped, and is beginning to push in new directions, contemporary postmodern philosophy. Prerequisite: must be at least junior standing and have completed at least two undergraduate courses in philosophy.
Introduction to the history, faith, practice, culture(s), and politics of Islam, starting with the Judeo-Christian Near Eastern context in which it emerged and tracing its theological development and geographic spread around the world. Proceeding thematically along a broad historical frame, the course ends with an examination of the numerous, often competing, trends in contemporary Muslim communities.
Introduction to the ideas and practices of pilgrimage in Islam, focusing on the hajj as Islam's paradigmatic form of pilgrimage and the one to which all others are compared, but also considering other local or "lesser" pilgrimages, often known as ziyarat or visits. The course excavates the history of the practice of pilgrimage, situating it within the social, political, economic and cultural contexts that have helped frame Muslims' understandings of the spiritual and social meanings of various kinds of pilgrimages at different times and places across the Muslim world. The course includes consideration of the hajj experiences of non-Arab Muslims through documentary and news programs, investigates contemporary re-thinkings of the meaning of "hajj", and reflects on the key geo-political and religio-political issues that may surround Muslim pilgrimage in the 21st century.
This course introduces students to contemporary Islam. After a historical overview, the course looks thematically at different spheres of Muslim life. It considers changes that relate to political systems and forms of governance, styles of education, labor and professional work, changes in daily life habits such as timing and organization, changes in gender relations, and changes in religious authority. It also pays attention to the ways in which faith and practice are articulated through cultural practices like pop music and film.
This writing-intensive course introduces students to the key texts of Islam--the Qur?an and hadith--including their origins and meaning as well as how they have been interpreted by Muslims over time, and focusing as well on case studies that highlight issues of crucial relevance for today and the future.
Close focus on one or two moral issues in which religion is drawn into public debate in the contemporary U.S. Observation of the debate first hand at demonstrations, town meetings, and discussion groups, etc. Analysis of these observations is facilitated by readings on the subject and class discussion.
This course focuses on the cultural, religious and intellectual history of the city of Vienna as the hub of culture for Central Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries with special attention to the arts, philosophy, psychoanalysis, and the critique of Christianity. This course examines how religious past, particularly the influence of Judaism, shaped its rich cultural heritage and the birth of modernism. A special segment of the course is devoted to the Nazi period and the Holocaust, including a study of the resistance of religious groups. The course concludes with a history of the post-Nazi period with attention to the development of Vienna as the center of internation diplomacy and theories of globalization. The class combines lectures and online discussions with site visits to major cultural and historical sites as well as research centers around the city. The first week of the course is online.
Modes of reconciling private (faith) and public (ethics) in thought and careers of selected modern individuals.
Explores the relationship between racism and religious activism by focusing on the biographies of activists.
Interactions between religion and all forms of communications media in American life.
An exploration of various topics and issues related to the academic study of religion. The subject matter of the course varies and may be taught by the regular faculty of the department or a visiting scholar. Some offerings may include a travel component.
Understanding religion requires us to take culture seriously. In doing so, we must consider products of culture, including popular culture. This course engages both classic and more recent films as ?texts? to be analyzed, not as mere entertainments or diversions. We focus not only on those films that identify themselves explicitly as ?religious? or reflect a particular religious tradition, but also moved that render the subject more obliquely, which reveal ? via image and sound ? religion as a complex human activity.
This course examines the unique place of the body in biblical religion. We ask how the Bible and its interpreters have shaped current views on sex and the gendered body in Western society. How has the Bible been (mis)used in relation to current understandings of the physical body? Is the saying that a "human" does not have a body, but is a body as true for the Hebrew Bible as the Christian New Testament? How have Judaism and Christianity (de)valued sexuality, procreation, and celibacy? How do the biblical traditions shape our modern opinions about the ideal physical body and body modifications? How can we understand "out-of-body" experiences and notions of death and afterlife in Western religion? Students are encouraged to interpret the Bible and their own beliefs from a uniquely embodied perspective.
This course explores how religious movements around the world both affect, and are affected by, the process of globalization. A major segment of the course is devoted to various theories of globalization and how they account for the increasingly important role of religion. Focus is largely on the relationship between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
Classical and contemporary theories about the meaning, functions, and processes of ritual, and its relationship to "religion."
Doctrines, practices and history of South Asian Hinduism; conceptions of Gods and gods; image worship and temples; and the influences of caste and gender on the experience of Hinduism.
History of ancient and medieval Hinduism, viewed through the lens of religious texts.
Buddhist life and thought from origins to present in India, Tibet, Japan and China.
When forced to leave a homeland, displaced communities frequently turn to religion to maintain identity and adapt to--or resist--new surrounding culture(s). This course examines the role of religion and identity in three Jewish and Christian communities living in diaspora and poses questions such as the following: What is the relationship between religion and (home)land? How have the biblical themes of exodus, diaspora, promise and restoration been applied to contemporary experiences? And how have our American stories been interpreted through the lens of the Bible? As part of the service learning component, students have the opportunity to work with religious and immigrant aid organizations in the Denver community.
This is a service learning course designed for religious studies undergraduate majors, though non-majors are welcome to enroll.
This service learning / community engagement course introduces student to non-profit work and to scholarship on non-profit activities. It connects students with community partners, continuing the department's commitment to experiential learning and to engagement with living faith communities. Students spend course time discussing scholarly research on grant writing and non-profit grant support and discussing logistical and other issues related to their service learning placements. This course is intended to help provide M.A. students with arenas for future research, including possible thesis topics, while also offering a unique practical opportunity for professional development. Experience in forming a 501(c)3 corporation and writing grant proposals will be an asset for students planning to work in non-profits as well as for those continuing on to doctoral work.
The colloquium is the service learning core of the Vienna faculty-led study abroad program. Undergraduate students must sign up concurrently with RLGS 2401. In conjunction with the colloquium, students perform a total of approximately 60-75 hours of service learning as well as weekly "dialogue" sessions of two hours each. Dialogue sessions focus among students on common experiences, insights, problems, and challenges they have met in an intercultural and international service learning setting. A number of these sessions are conversations with representatives of, or visits to, different United Nations agencies of NGOs pertaining to social justice work and global issues. Dialogue sessions are scheduled in accordance with the availability of personnel and their relevance to the topic at hand.
This course begins with a brief overview of the history of the study of religion in the west, from antiquity to the modern period. When it reaches the modern period, the course shifts to considering "representative" theories of religion, broken down roughly along ideological and/or disciplinary lines.
This course is designed to train the student in the method and means of engaging in archeo-historical study of the Hebrew Bible. The content of this course focuses on ancient Israelite religion in Iron Age Palestine, particularly on emergent ideas about God ('El) and the development and evolution of the priesthood.
Reading seminar in Biblical Aramaic. This course focuses on the vocabulary, syntax and expression of Aramaic in the Bible as well as in some related post-biblical texts (Targums, Dead Sea Scrolls, etc.).
Using Islam and Muslim communities as case studies, this course examines the intersections between faith communities and media in the 20th and 21st centuries, looking at religious approaches to and use of print, radio, recorded voice and music, television, film, and the Internet.
A survey of the freshest texts, methods, and theories for the study of religiosity among Latinos in the United States.
Designed to provide masters students with valuable experience in non-profit, educational, faith-based, governmental, and related organizations. It helps students translate the knowledge and analytical skills learned in Religious Studies courses into a professional context, while exploring potential career paths and professional opportunities. Students interested in pursuing an internship must meet with the Undergraduate Advisor at the start of the previous quarter to discuss internship goals and identify potential placements. Student meet weekly with a faculty supervisor to monitor their internship experience, and complete the internship by writing a reflective essay. For MA students only.
The course serves two main functions: (1) to gather the students and faculty of the Religion and Psychological Studies concentration of the Joint Ph.D. Program to share research and examine trends in the field and (2) to study a topic of importance to the field, be it historical, contemporary, related to a cognate field, or oriented toward a sub-specialty. Students must be in a doctoral program in order to register.
Designed to provide doctoral students with valuable experience in non-profit, educational, faith-based, governmental, and related organizations. It helps students translate the knowledge and analytical skills learned in Religious Studies courses into a professional context, while exploring potential career paths and professional opportunities. Students interested in pursuing an internship must meet with the Undergraduate Advisor at the start of the previous quarter to discuss internship goals and identify potential placements. Student meet weekly with a faculty supervisor to monitor their internship experience, and complete the internship by writing a reflective essay. For PhD students only.