Department of Religion | Fall 2004 Course Atlas

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Fall 2004 Course Atlas

REL 100: Introduction to Religions: Hinduism and Judaism
Berger/Flueckiger, MWF 10:40-11:30, MAX: 50
Content: Introduction to basic questions and categories with which to approach the study of religion through examination of two religious traditions: Judaism and Hinduism. We will first inspect each religious tradition briefly but intensively through major categories of understanding articulated within each tradition, and then broaden our questioning to consider both similarities and differences between these indigenous categories, and what it means to study a tradition from outside of it.
Texts:

The Bhagavad Gita, tr. W. J. Johnson

Diana Eck, Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India

Vasudha Narayanan, The Hindu Traditions: An Introduction

Blu Greenberg, How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household

Samuel Heilman, Synagogue Life

Norman Solomon, Judaism: A Very Short Introduction

Joseph Telushkin, Jewish Literacy

selected articles

Particulars: Two site visits, two in-class exams; take-home final exam. Meets General Education Requirement V.C. (2/3 reserved for freshmen)

Although content is different in REL 100 courses, you may not repeat for credit.

REL 100: Introduction to Religions: Buddhism and Christianity
Reinders, MWF 2:00-2:50, MAX: 30
Content: This course is an introduction to the study of religions, to the comparison of religions, and to the relations between religions; focusing on Buddhism and Christianity. First, we take two weeks on the topic "Buddhism" and two weeks on the topic "Christianity" for a basic proficiency in discussing the two religious traditions. We discuss the etiquette of dialogue with other peoples’ religions, consider questions of hermeneutic good will and "epoche"; give attention to the voices we listen to and the voices we speak with; and consider the possible goals and desires of such encounters. As a particular example, we will consider the comparison of Buddhist and Christian sacred images and the notion of "idolatry." We will analyze some examples of Christian discourse on Buddhism and Buddhist discourse on Christianity with a focus on the logic of polemical arguments.

Texts: Required books: To be announced, but will include:

Rita M. Gross & Terry C. Muck, Buddhists Talk about Jesus, Christians Talk about the Buddha

and a course packet of readings.

Particulars: (2/3 reserved for freshmen). This class meets General Education Requirement V.C.

Although content is different in REL 100 courses, you may not repeat for credit.

REL 100: Introduction to Religions: Judaism and Buddhism

Smith, TTh 2:30-3:45, MAX: 30

Content: This course introduces the study of religion by way of the remarkable interest of many Jewish Americans in Buddhism. We will explore this unlikely convergence of two traditions through such texts as The Jew in the Lotus (Kamenetz), and That's Funny, You Don't Look Buddhist: On Being a Faithful Jew and a Passionate Buddhist (Boorstein). On the other hand many contemporary Buddhists have developed an "engaged Buddhism" that incorporates a prophetic focus on social justice and activism. Practitioners of engaged Buddhism include the premier Tibetan Buddhist, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the much esteemed Vietnamese Buddhist, Thich Nhat Hanh. Their focus on social change seems more characteristic of Judaism as an ethical monotheism derived from the Hebrew prophets. By contrast conventional Buddhism seems to foster a non-prophetic focus on individual enlightenment, stressing personal practices of meditation, detachment, and non-dualism. You are invited to explore these convergences and divergences as an introduction to the study of religion, and to consider their implications for your own interest in religion and ethics, spirituality and social change.

Texts:

Sylvia Boorstein, That's Funny, You Don't Look Buddhist: On Being a Faithful Jew and a Passionate Buddhist

John Cobb and Christopher Ives, eds., The Emptying God: A Buddhist-Jewish-Christian Conversation

David Cooper, Entering the Sacred Mountain: Exploring the Mystical Practices of Judaism, Buddhism, and Sufism

Lama Surya Das, Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World

Rodger Kamenetz, The Jew in the Lotus: A Poet's Rediscovery of Jewish Identity in Buddhist India

Michael Lerner, Jewish Renewal: A Path to Healing and Transformation

Particulars: 1) Weekly reflection papers; (2) midterm project (e.g., site visit, slides, interviews, powerpoint presentation); (3) final term paper. Meets General Education Requirement V.C. (2/3 reserved for freshmen)

Although content is different in REL 100 courses, you may not repeat for credit.

REL 190: Freshman Seminar: Suffering in Buddhism and Christianity
Farley, TTh 11:30-12:45, MAX: 18
Content: This class will investigate the different ways these traditions interpret human suffering and evil as well as the variety of interpretations within each tradition. Beginning with the presentation of the problem of evil in Dostoevski's The Brothers Karamazov, we will turn to religious writers to see how they formulate the problem and what useful things (or unuseful things) they have to say to human suffering. We will read both classical and contemporary literature, attention will be paid to class discussions that focus on close readings of texts and an evaluation of their approach to the problem of suffering. Several response papers will be required through the semester and we will conclude with a final paper and presentation to class which includes your own reflections on our subject.

Texts: (this list subject to some modifications):

The Four Noble Truths

Augustine, The City of God

Julian of Norwich, Showings

Pema Chodron, When Things Fall Apart

REL 205: Biblical Literature

Buss, TTh 10:00-11:15, (same as JS 205), MAX: 15
Content: In this course, we will seek to understand the dynamics of various parts of the Jewish Bible, called "Old Testament" by Christians. This will involve questions such as the following: What is said? How is it said? What appears to be the aim? Insofar as there can be disagreement in regard to these questions, we will look at different answers, both as they have been given by others and as they are presented by members of the class.
Texts:

JPS, Tanakh

S. Sandmel, The Enjoyment of Scripture

C. Buchmann and C. Spiegel, eds., Out of the Garden

M. Buss, Manuscript

Particulars: Students will bring to each class an analysis of the text studied and will be ready to discuss their analyses orally in class. Students who have to miss class more than occasionally can turn their analyses into short papers and discuss them in an individual conference (which will normally cover two or three such papers covering the topics of two or three missed classes). There will be a midterm and a final. The course fulfills General Education Requirement IV.A (Humanities).

REL 209: History of Religions in America
Laderman, TTh 1:00-2:15, MAX: 100
Content: Violence, hatred, and oppression; sexuality and gender politics; immigration, urbanization, and diversity; missions and empire building; solitary reflections and social experimentation--the history of religions in the United States is as much about these cultural topics as it is about particular traditions in American history. Indeed, historical investigations of Protestantism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, or any other religious group on American soil are greatly complicated when careful attention is given to the relations between specific traditions and the larger cultural contexts in which Americans live religious lives. While many introductory American religion courses present either a fairly straightforward historical survey or a cross-cultural thematic exploration of specific trends, in the interest of examining the great variety of religious expression in American history, we will try to do some of both. Particulars: This course meets General Education Requirement V.A. (United States history). Assignments will likely include presentations on primary sources, three exams, and two book reviews.

Texts: Texts may include:

Catherine Albanese, America: Religions and Religion

Colleen McDannell, Religions of the United States in Practice

Anthony Pinn, Varieties of African American Religious Experience

Jane I. Smith, Islam in America

Charles Reagan Wilson, Baptized in Blood: The Religion of the Lost Cause, 1865-1920

Particulars: This course meets General Education Requirement V.A. (United States history). Assignments will include close engagement with primary and secondary sources, two exams, a very brief essay, and class discussion.

REL 210: Classic Religious Texts: Taoism
Reinders, MWF 10:40-11:30, (same as CPLT 203 and ASIA 370), MAX: 15
Content: This course will begin with a detailed, close reading of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, a classic text of philosophical Taoism. We will read two different translations side by side, to facilitate our own inquiry into the meanings of texts, and discuss the views of language in the Tao Te Ching itself. Other themes of the text will include: its political philosophy, its relativism, the cultivation of the body, and its cosmology. We will then read the Taoist text Chuang Tzu, and a brief selection of later Taoist works. We will focus on two themes of the Tao Te Ching and other texts: the martial tradition and the utopian tradition, that is, what these Taoist texts have to say about war and violence, and about the ideal peaceful society.

Texts: Required books:

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, translated by D. C. Lau

Lao-tzu’s Taoteching, translated by Red Pine

Wandering on the Way: Early Taoist Tales and Parables of Chuang Tzu, trans. by Victor Mair

Sunzi, Art of War

and a selection of readings.

Particulars: This course fulfills General Education Requirement IV.A (Humanities).

REL 210: Classic Religious Texts: New Testament
V. Robbins, TTh 11:30-12:45, MAX: 35
Content: The approach to the New Testament and early Christian texts in this class is based on 21st century methods of the study of religion. The emphasis is on the meaning of biblical and other sacred texts in their first setting, but there is also an examination of their relation to the life of religious communities today. The course includes materials on Jewish and Hellenistic developments at the time of New Testament and early Christian texts which are considered essential for understanding earliest Christianity. The assumption is that the New Testament came into being as a collection of literature that is open to the normal methods of literary, historical, social, cultural, rhetorical, and theological investigation. In particular, there is an assumption that the story about Jesus in the gospels is the product of a believing and worshipping community of religious people.

Texts:

The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament. New York: Oxford, 2004.

Robbins, Vernon K. Exploring the Texture of Texts. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1996.

Particulars: The syllabus and special materials will be available on Blackboard. Students will post analysis and interpretation of texts on LearnLink. The three "exams" will feature analysis and interpretation of texts. This course fulfills General Education Requirement IV.A (Humanities).

REL 210: Classic Religious Texts: The Classical Texts of Vedanta, East and West
Majmudar, MWF 11:45-12:35, (same as ASIA 370), MAX: 25
Content: The class will first be introduced to the classical texts of Vedanta Hinduism. First, we will explore the meaning of "Vedanta" as a metaphysical inquiry into the nature of ultimate Reality (Brahman) and acquisition of "Self-knowledge," distilled from the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and the commentaries of Shankaracharya. Having acquired this basic understanding of major Vedanta principles, the class will focus on the first American exposure to Vedanta by Swami Vivekananda (the disciple of sage Shri Ramakrishna) through his famous address at the Chicago "Parliament of World Religions" in 1893. Several of Vivekananda's other classical works from his "Collected Writings" will also be examined. This will lead the class to learning about the later development of the Vedanta movement in Europe and America, with an establishment of various Vedanta Centers and societies, including the one in Atlanta, Georgia.

Texts: TBA

Particulars: This course fulfills General Education Requirement IV.A (Humanities).

REL 212: Asian Religious Traditions
Doyle, TTh 10:00-11:15, (same as ASIA 212), MAX: 15, TPL
Content: This “theory-practice-learning” (TPL) class is an introduction to a number of prominent texts and associated religious practices found within the Hindu and Buddhist traditions of South Asia. Texts will include Vedic hymns, selections from the Upanishads, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, the Devi-mahatmya, medieval bhakti poetry, Ashvaghosa’s Buddha-carita, the Satipatthana Sutta, Shantideva’s Bodhicaryavatara, and selections from Buddhist tantras. In line with the TPL nature of this course, students will also witness important rituals and/or festivals at the Hindu Temple of Atlanta and Wat Buddha Bucha, study about and practice Hindu yoga and Buddhist meditation, and watch performances of Carnatic devotional music and Tibetan chanting. All these will be studied within historical and contemporary contexts, thus revealing both the continuity and innovativeness of these two major religious traditions.
Texts:

Coburn, Encountering the Goddess

Eck, Darsan

Shantideva, Way of the Bodhisattva

Thich Nhat Hanh, Heart of Understanding

photocopied sourcebook of articles

Particulars: Class participation (15%), three 3-5 page reflection papers (30%), mid-term exam (25%), and final exam (30%). Meets General Education Requirement V.C.

REL 260: Introduction to Archaeology of the Bible
Borowski, TTh 1:00-2:15, (Same as MES 250 and JS 250), MAX: 5
Content: An examination of the relationship between Archaeology and the Bible with an introduction to the field of Biblical archaeology and a careful examination of theory and methodology. The famous discoveries (inscriptions, architecture) and important sites (Megiddo, Hazor, Gezer, Dan) which form the historical background to some of the biblical stories will be examined as well as issues and topics such as the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacobs), Exodus (Moses), and settlement of Canaan (Joshua), the kings of Israel and Judah, and more. Other topics that will be studied include daily life, religion and ancient art. There will be a few early evening video screenings on related topics.
Texts:

Rast, Walter E., Through the Ages in Palestinian Archaeology (Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1992)

May, H.G., Oxford Bible Atlas (New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press), 3rd edition

The Bible

Course Packet

Particulars: Examinations: Midterm (25%) and Final (35%), 2 papers (35%); quizzes (10%). Comments: This course fulfills the methodology requirements for a Minor in Mediterranean Archaeology; it fulfills Area V.C. in the GER.

REL 300: Interpreting Religion: Theories and Methods of Religious Studies
Patterson, TTh 8:30-9:45, MAX: 30, (For Permission Number, Contact Religion Dept.: Anny, ph. 7-7596, or Joy, ph. 7-7566)
Content: This course will introduce Religion majors to the history of the field and to basic methods and theories used in the interpretation of religion. The course will explore a variety of approaches to the study of religion, including history of religions, anthropology, sociology, psychology, theology, and cultural studies. Students will have the opportunity to directly apply the theories and methods examined in the course through a series of self-designed projects.
Texts: Readings will include: Wilfred Cantwell Smith, Abu Lughod, Mark C. Taylor, Katie Cannon, Bobby Paul, etc.
Particulars: Short focus papers and a final project proposal using methods studied in the class will be required. Class participation is emphasized.

REL 301SWR: Early & Medieval Hinduism

Patton, MWF 11:45-12:35, (same as ASIA 301SWR), MAX: 15
Content: The purpose of this course is to provide an historical overview of the origins of the religious movements in India we now call "Hinduism." Through the reading of mythological, philosophical and poetic primary texts, as well as historical and anthropological studies, we will show how such a tradition was constructed through a set of ongoing tensions: between ascetic and sacrificer, between villager and city-dweller, between outcaste and brahmin, between poet and philosopher. In tracing these tensions throughout Indian history, we will: 1) examine the roots of Indian tradition; 2) master the basic terminology of Indian thought; 3) use that terminology to study the development of Indian philosophy and popular religious movements. We will focus in particular on the mediation of religious conflict, and how Hindus have served as intriguing figures in this regard.
Texts:

Klostermaier, Klaus K. A Survey of Hinduism. Albany: SUNY Press, 1989

O'Flaherty, Wendy The Rg Veda. New York: Penguin, 1981

O'Flaherty, Wendy. Hindu Myths. New York: Penguin, 1977

Olivelle, Patrick. The Upanisads. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996

Ramanujan, A.K. Speaking of Siva. New York: Penguin, 1973

Dimock, Edward and Levertov, Denise. In Praise of Krishna. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1967

Radhakrishnan and Moore. A Sourcebook for Indian Philosophy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1957

Stoller Miller, Barbara. The Bhagavad Gita. New York: Bantam, 1986

Patton, Laurie. Authority, Anxiety, and Canon. Albany: SUNY Press, 1994

Hawley, Jack and Jurgensmeyer, Mark, eds. Songs of the Saints of India

Particulars: Two short answer exams, One mid-term paper (5-8 pp), One final research paper (15-20 pp).

REL 305: Buddhism: Taking Root in American Soil

Doyle, TTh 1:00-2:15, (same as ASIA 305), MAX: 15
Content: Since Shakyamuni Buddha's enlightenment in India, the Buddhist tradition has taken root in numerous cultures, both transforming and being transformed by the societies it encountered. In America this process began in the late 19th century, with the arrival of thousands of Chinese and Japanese immigrants. During this period, American intellectuals, artists, and wealthy dilettantes also became interested in Buddhism through exposure to Orientalist works of scholarship. From the 1960s onwards the number of Asian-American Buddhists and interest in Buddhism among non-Asian Americans has escalated dramatically, resulting in the establishment of a wide range of Buddhist temples, meditation centers, and institutions. Buddhism is thus now a vital part of America's religiously plural, rapidly changing demographic landscape.

In this course, we will trace this complex process, focusing particularly on Buddhist groups within easy reach of Emory. Films, discussions, fieldtrips to temples, and meetings with Buddhist teachers are integral to this course. We also investigate issues of Orientalism, identity formation, conversion, and pluralism in order to understand the various Buddhisms that exist today in the U.S.A.
Texts:

Seiger, American Buddhism

Glassman, Bearing Witness

Numrich, Old Wisdom in the New World

Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace

and a photocopy sourcebook of articles (sourcebook will be made available in class).

Particulars: Class participation (10%), two response papers (20%), ethnography of local Buddhist temple or meditation center (40%), final paper on socially engaged Buddhism (30%).

REL 312: Protestant Christianity
Nevell Owens, MWF 9:35-10:25, MAX: 30
Content: You are invited to the gargantuan feast at the table of Protestant Christianity: “gargantuan” because Protestant Christianity will not let itself be contained by one simple denominator; “feast” because we will explore issues in Protestant Christianity through the lens of its practices and protest, in particular its ritual/liturgical practices, its unveiling in primary documents, both treatises, sermons and lives, and its depiction in film. The course will cover the temporal span of Protestant Christianity and theology from its beginning in Luther’s protestation to present-day manifestations in America. Special consideration will be given to the ways in which Protestant theology has shaped culture and society and the many ways it continues to impact our thought, speech and action.
Texts:

William C. Placher, Readings in the History of Christian Theology, vol. 2

John Dillenberger & Claude Welch, Protestant Christianity: Interpreted through its development

James F. White, Protestant Worship: Traditions in Transition

Martin Luther, Three Treatises

Nathaniel Hawthorne, Scarlet Letter

Anne Tyler, Saint Maybe

Walker Percy, The Moviegoer

William Golding, Lord of the Flies

J. D. Salinger, Catcher in the Rye

James Baldwin, Go Tell It on the Mountain

Particulars: The syllabus and special course materials will be available on Blackboard. Students will form small groups and will be asked to make at least two classroom presentations as a group on a particular text and/or film. Blackboard can be used to facilitate group discussions. There will also be one short study paper and one final paper. Active attendance and informed participation count towards the final grade. There will be no examinations.

REL 316: Early and Medieval Islam

Martin, TTh 10-11:15, (same as MES 316), MAX: 10
Content: An introduction to the religious thought, practices, culture, and institutions characteristic of Islamic civilization from the time of the Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century to circa 1600. Course work includes a critical review of various scholarly approaches in the humanities and social sciences to the study of Islam. Topics covered will include the intellectual traditions of study of the Qur'an, hadith, theology, law, philosophy, and mysticism, historical sectarian divisions within the Muslim community, and Islamic institutions such as the Caliphate and the madrasah or college of law.
Texts:

Deliverance from Error, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali

The Miraculous Journey of Mohomet: Miraj Nameh, Anonymous

Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, 2nd ed. - Vol I: The Formative Period

The Mantle of the Prophet, Roy Mottahedeh

Approaching the Qur'an, Michael Sells

The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain, Maria Rosa Menocal

Coursepack of additional readings

Particulars: This is the first of a two course introduction to Islam. Students will post journal responses each week to an assigned reading, usually a text in translation or a reading on a major issue in Islamic studies. Depending on the size of the class, students will also make 2-4 brief class presentations on topics related to the readings. Examinations at midterm and the end of the semester will be take-home.

REL 320SWR: African-American Religion
Stewart, MW 2:00-3:15, (same as AAS 320SWR), MAX: 10
Content: This course examines a variety of religious traditions in the African American experience. The course begins with a brief overview of major trajectories in African American religious history and is followed by in-depth study of Black religions that have been typically classified as "sects and cults" in much of the social science literature. Representative traditions include Black Judaic, Islamic, Afrocentric, African-centered and marginal Christian religions such as the Hebrew Israelites, Nation of Islam, Ausar Auset, the Shrine of the Black Madonna, Rastafari and the Yoruba-Ifa movement. In many ways, a study of these traditions is a study of Black nationalism in America and thus our major aim will be to study how Black nationalism is configured and reconceived in various religious traditions. We will also interrogate their constructions of race and gender as well as their theological beliefs and religious practices.
Texts: TBA
Particulars: TBA

REL 323: Death and Dying
Bullock, MWF 9:35-10:25, MAX: 30
Content: Death is a universal fact of human life. Yet throughout history different cultures have responded to death, and the dead body, in a variety of ways. In this course we will explore human responses to mortality in a number of cultural settings, including the United States, examining the symbols, rituals, and meaning-systems people have used to make sense of the end of life.
Texts: Readings may include:

Philippe Aries, Western Attitudes Toward Death from the Middle Ages to the Present

Paul Barber, Vampires, Burial, and Death

Kenneth Kramer, The Sacred Art of Dying

Gary Laderman, Rest in Peace

David Moller, Confronting Death

Raymond Moody, Life after Life

Carol Zaleski, Otherworld Journeys

Particulars: Exams and papers; participation in discussions; field trips

REL 350: Jesus and the Gospels

V. Robbins, TTh 2:30-3:45, MAX: 30
Content: Differing views of Jesus existed during the first two centuries as well as today. Discoveries of lost ancient writings and excavations of forgotten archeological sites during the last fifty years have brought these differing views to light for scholar and general reader alike. This course will begin with the New Testament gospels and work progressively through ten or twelve Christian gospels and fragments of gospels written during the first two or three centuries. While studying these gospels, students also will read modern studies and debates about the historical Jesus and the different faces of Jesus in early Christianity and in the present.
Texts:

Robert Miller (ed.), The Complete Gospels

The New Oxford Annotated Bible

Gerd Theissen & Annette Merz, The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide

Vernon K. Robbins, Exploring the Texture of Texts

Particulars: Each student will write a series of short interpretations of selected passages in gospels both inside and outside the New Testament and report on the work of twentieth century scholars who have interpreted these gospels. In addition, each student will expand their interpretations into three 5-7 page papers, which may be integrated into one longer paper. The class will use both LearnLink and Blackboard.

REL 354R-WR-S: Jewish Ethics
Berger, MWF 12:50-1:40, (same as JS 354R-WR-S), MAX: 10
Content: As a discipline, ethics is the way one analyzes a situation and reaches a conclusion as to what one should do. As such, ethics must be done from within a particular tradition, maintaining certain assumptions and following unique patterns of thought. This course is meant to introduce the student to what ethical discourse is like in the Jewish tradition: what sources are used, how arguments are constructed, and how one weighs competing arguments. Through the analysis done largely in class, students will learn the skills involved in doing Jewish ethics, and actively participate in the process. Topics to be discussed are social ethics, such as lying and self-sacrifice, and sexual ethics. A final paper on medical ethics is the student's own attempt at writing Jewish responsum.
Texts:

Sourcebooks of primary texts (in translation), available at the department office.

Particulars: Two in-class exams, final paper on a topic approved by the instructor. One special project done in groups. Active participation in class is crucial, and is part of the grade.

REL 370R: Special Topics: Spiritual Practices and Social Change: A Buddhist and Christian Approach
Patterson/Negi, TTh 1:00-2:15, (same as ASIA 375), MAX: 25

Content: Using comparative methods and content, this class will examine underlying principles of Buddhist and Christian spiritual practices and thought as specifically related to social change. We will examine such principles as compassion, humility, community, patience, equanimity, and dealing with afflictive emotions such as anger and envy. Additionally, we will explore such practices as meditation, the uses of ritual, textual study, and teacher/student relationships. Our intention is to connect these theories and practices with how they have shaped Buddhist and Christian activism for social change in the past and today.

Texts:

New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton

The Parkticos by Evagrius

By Little and By Little: The Selected Writings of Dorothy Day

The Sayings by Dorotheos of Gaza

Working with Anger by Chodron

Particulars: Two short analytical and reflective papers on readings; journals recording practices and intellectual and personal responses; one study of an activist from a Buddhist or Christian organization and how spiritual practices shape their activism.

REL 370R: Special Topics: Mind, Body, and Healing: Tibetan and Western Perspectives
Negi, TTh 4:00-5:15, (same as ASIA 370), MAX: 15

Content: This course aims at examining the fundamental principles underlying the processes of body - mind connections from both Tibetan and Western perspectives. We will focus on the role of emotions, stress and addiction in understanding various psychological and physical ailments, as well as the mind’s role in healing as explored in current Western research and Tibetan Buddhist contemplative and medical traditions.

Texts: Readings may be drawn from:

Healing Emotions: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, Emotions, and Health, edited by Daniel Goleman

Tibetan Buddhist Medicine and Psychiatry: The Diamond Healing,Terry Clifford

Sleeping, Dreaming and Dying, Francisco Varela, Ed.

Molecules of Emotions: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine, Candice Pert

Beyond the Relaxation Response, Herbert Benson

REL 370S: Special Topics: Religion and Culture: Christian Visual Cultures
Jordan/Brintnall, TTh 1:00-2:15, MAX: 18

Content: This course will explore both the ways in which Christian communities have expressed or embodied themselves as visual cultures and the ways in which contemporary cultures borrow from and reinterpret the iconography of Christian communities. We will apply some contemporary accounts of visual culture, photography, and film to a wide variety of cases including iconoclasm, cults of figures and images (including the Virgin Mary), representations of the body and the suffering of Jesus, worship or liturgy as performed spectacle, and the parallels between Christianity and contemporary fan cultures. Texts:

Texts: The texts for course will include a range of historical documents or artifacts and such contemporary works as:

Sturken and Cartwright's Practices of Looking

Miles' Image as Insight

Morgan's Visual Piety

Camille's The Gothic Idol

Steinberg's The Sexuality of Christ

Barthes' Camera Lucida

Particulars: Beyond their energetic attendance and informed participation, members of the course will be asked to make at least one classroom presentation, to write several short reflections, and to submit a final essay. There will be no examinations.

REL 370R: Special Topics: Interpreting Psalms
Blumenthal, TTh 11:30-12:45, (same as JS 370), MAX: 10

Content: The Psalms remain one of the central documents of western culture and religion. Each generation reads them in the light of traditions received from previous generations and of current experience. This course will bring to the student various interpretations of the Psalms, especially those with literary, feminist, and midrashic points of view and, it will demand that students do their own interpretation of these great classic texts.

Texts:

Bible, any translation; best: Tanakh, Jewish Publication Society.

D. Blumenthal, Facing the Abusing God: A Theology of Protest.

P. Trible, Texts of Terror.

E. Wiesel, Night.

W. Brueggemann, The Message of Psalms.

C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms.

Reserve:

P. Trible, God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality.

M. Bal, Lethal Love.

H. Fisch, Poetry With a Purpose.

A. Laytner, Arguing With God.

N. Sarna, Songs of the Heart.

D. Boyarin, Intertextuality and the Reading of Midrash.

A. Feuer, Tehillim.

A. Hacham, Tehillim.

Particulars: We will read the texts very closely and consider the questions: What religious experiences lie behind the text of Psalms? What experience does the text evoke in us? This is a very writing- and reflection-intensive class. Very active class participation is expected. One final paper.

REL 370R: Special Topics: Islamic Theology and Ethics
Martin, Tues 2:30-5:00, (same as RLAR 710 and MES 370R), MAX: 3

Permission of the Instructor is Required

Content: What have been and continue to be the major issues debated in Islamic society? The seminar is designed for graduate students with an interest in theology and ethics and a desire to learn more about Islamic thought. Undergraduate students with a background in Islamic studies may be admitted to the seminar with the permission of the instructor. During the first half of the seminar, students will read texts of theological disputes about the Qur'an and the prophethood of Muhammad, the nature of religious authority, the role on theology (kalam) in Islamic society, and the conflict between reason and revelation, rationalism and fideism. With this as background, the seminar will take up the writings of modern Muslim intellectuals about the ethics of giving and taking life, social justice, human rights, modernity and secularism.

Texts will include:

G. Hourani, Islamic Rationalism: The ethics of `Abd al-Jabbar

R. Martin, Defenders of Reason in Islam

A. Reinhart, Before Revelation: The Boundaries of Muslim Moral Thought

R. McCarthy, The Theology of al-Ash`ari

M. Abduh, Theology of Unity

S. Qutb, Milestones

J. Brockopp, ed., Islamic Ethics of Life

Particulars: Each meeting of the seminar will focus on a text(s) and particular problem, in a general historical progression from medieval to modern thought. Students will submit responses to the readings prior to class time (on Learnlink), and one or more students will lead the discussions each week in seminar. Brief lectures by the instructor may introduce some topics. In addition to the weekly response essays and occasional leading of discussions, students will be asked to design a research project on some aspect of Islamic theology and ethics, to be submitted as a term paper at the end of the semester. Students with a reading knowledge of Arabic may opt to read portions of some of the texts in a special Arabic section (not required)

REL 370R: Special Topics: Philosophy of Religion
Zupko, MWF 2:00-2:50, (same as PHIL 358), MAX: 15

Content: This course examines the extent to which reason is applicable to traditional religious questions such as the existence of God, the divine attributes, the problem of evil, the relationship of faith to reason, religion and ethics, and personal immortality. We will pay close attention to religious language, asking ourselves what significance should be attached to the various ways we have of speaking about God and other religious ideas such as sin and evil. How do we grasp divinity and how has our understanding of this concept changed over time? What kind of evidential value should be attached to scriptural authority and religious experience? When should reason and ordinary considerations of evidence be rejected as inappropriate?

Texts:

Required Book: Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings, 3rd edition, ed. William L. Rowe and William J. Wainwright

E-text selections

Particulars: Two in-class examinations, a term paper written in two drafts, and class participation

REL 370R: Special Topics: Religion and Culture in Israel: An Ethnographic Approach
Seeman, TTh 1:00-2:15, (same as JS 370, MES 370 and ANTH 385), MAX: 5

Content: Contemporary Israel is a society of profound religious and cultural diversity. Sometimes that diversity leads to conflict over the meaning of citizenship, the distribution of resources or basic values. This course explores the religious and cultural diversity of Israel through ethnography, and also asks critical questions about the use of ethnography to understand a complex modern society. Issues to be discussed include: changing gender roles in Israeli religious life, the role of religion in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, debates over the secular or religious nature of public life, and the experience of ethnic or religious minorities like Ethiopian Jews. Through ethnography, we will focus on the everyday lives of people of different backgrounds and beliefs, and we will ask what special strengths or weaknesses ethnography brings to this task that might be different from other disciplines. We will show how large social and political questions often look different when we explore them "from the ground up," and we will do our best to provide a sympathetic and intellectually rigorous account of the people whose lives we study.

Texts: Readings will be available on reserve and also at the bookstore. Texts to be announced.
Particulars: Students are expected to attend class each week prepared to discuss that week's readings, and will be evaluated on the basis of:

1. Attendance and participation (20%). Failure to attend regularly and to participate actively will be the basis for a reduced grade. There will be a mandatory film and discussion night approximately four times during the semester.
2. Preparation of a 2-3 page précis of class readings at least once per semester, to be distributed before class on the assigned day, and used to facilitate class discussion (10%).
3. Mid-term exam, consisting of short answer and essay questions (30%).
4. Final paper, to be discussed (40%).

REL 370R: Special Topics: Judgment and Forgiveness: Art and Acts of Justice
Felman, TTh 2:30-3:45, (same as CPLT 389 and IDS 385), MAX: 4

Content: A study of scenes of judgment in literature and history, examining how and why creative people -- literary writers and philosophers --were put on trial, and how in turn they put culture and society on trial. Consideration will be given both to juridical events in literary contexts and to literary events in political and juridical contexts. Topics include the contrast/ interrelations between justice, forgiveness, truth, desire, testimony, injury, identity, assimilation, exile, memory and cross-cultural exchanges.

Texts: Authors discussed and read include: Plato; Oscar Wilde; E.M. Forster; Nella Larsen; Emile Zola; Hannah Arendt; Baruch Spinoza; Jacques Lacan. Some secondary literature, critical and theoretical.
Particulars: Regular attendance; two short papers to be assigned at particular given moments of the course frame; viewing of films in the margin of and as background for the readings of texts; occasional brief oral presentations; intensive weekly reading and active (annotated) preparation of texts for class discussion; ongoing participation.

REL 380R: Internship

Knight, Wed 2:30-5:00, TPL

Content: Have you wished for a chance to test out ideas you've learned in class, in a local community organization, in a local religious community? Would you like to develop your analytical skills while working with others in service? Do you want to develop better communication skills and learn how to be part of a team? The Religion Internship course offers students opportunities to practice classroom theory in local settings with supervision. Students will choose their community partners from a list including the Food Bank, The DeKalb County Child Advocacy Unit, The Women's Resource Center, The Neighborhood Development Association, The Consulate General of Israel's Atlanta Office, etc. Emphasis will be on the development of interdisciplinary critical and synthetic thinking, problem-solving, and reflective judgment with relevancy to the discipline of Religious Studies.

Texts: Readings and methods of this course are from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Some selections include: The Careless Society (McKnight); Call of Service (Robert Coles); The Demands of the Times and the American Research University (Ira Harkavy); Stages of an Internship (H.F. Sweitzer and Mary King); Common Fire (Daloz, Parks Keen); The Weight of the World (Bourdieu), and Building Communities From the Inside Out (an asset-based model).

Particulars: Students will meet weekly in a seminar class in addition to working in their placements. Each hour of credit requires 2 hours of work at a placement. Students may take this course for no less than 2 hours of credit and no more than 8 hours per semester. The course can be taken over several semesters, but cannot exceed a total of 12 hours of credit. Students should advise their supervisors that some weeks they will need to lessen their hours because of the academic requirements of the course. Students will present case studies of their work and keep a portfolio.

Non-Religion Majors are welcome. CLick HERE for more information.

REL 472RS: Special Topics in Religious Studies: Philosophy and Religion in Russia
Epstein/Glazov-Corrigan, TTh 1:00-2:15, (same as CPLT 389S, RUSS 420S, ST 680S), MAX: 5

Content: Russian philosophical and religious thought is deeply rooted in the meditative practice of Eastern Christianity and at the same time is strongly influenced by the systems of Western rationalism. The typically Russian combination of philosophy and religion (or atheism) has produced social movements that crucially changed the historical fates of Russia and Eurasia, but their intellectual sources and potentials are insufficiently known to the West. This course explores the development of Russian religious and atheistic philosophy from 19th century debate between idealists and nihilists through comprehensive philosophical systems of Solovyov and Berdyaev and Soviet "dialectical materialism" to Bakhtin's theory of dialogue and contemporary debates between "metaphysicians" and "ironists." The latest trends of 1980s-90s such as Cosmism, Culturology and postmodern Conceptualism are examined in the aspects of their Russian specificity and affinities with Western philosophical traditions.

Texts: TBA
Particulars: TBA

REL 495R: Directed Reading (honors)

Faculty, (Permission of Instructor Required)

Content: Independent research for senior major and joint major students selected to participate in the department's Honors program. Readings on special topics in Religion as arranged between individual students and a specific member of the Department who consents to guide the student in her/his study, arrange requirements and appointments.

REL 497R: Directed Reading

Faculty, (Permission of Instructor Required)

Content: Readings on special topics in Religion as arranged between individual students and a specific member of the Department who consents to guide the student in her/his study, arrange requirements and appointments.

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