History of Religions
A detailed study of selected aspects of Buddhism.Course Timetable
RLG101H5F
Derry
Introduction to the Study of Religion
Theories about the variety and nature of religious experience, personal and collective. How religious life is expressed in such forms as myth, narrative and ritual, systems of belief and value, morality and social institutions.
TU 5-7
RLG101H5S
Derry
Introduction to the Study of Religion
Theories about the variety and nature of religious experience, personal and collective. How religious life is expressed in such forms as myth, narrative and ritual, systems of belief and value, morality and social institutions.
TU 5-7
RLG202H5F
TBA
Introduction to Judaism
This course studies Jewish religious thought and activity in both ancient and modern times through selected biblical, rabbinic, medieval, and modern Jewish writings. It explores the roots of Jewish religion, the variety of Jewish traditions, and how these traditions worldwide have been transformed throughout history in response to major political and religious crises.
M 11-12
RLG203H5F
Smith
Introduction to Christianity
This course introduces the diverse history of the Christian religious tradition, from Jewish sect to global movement. How has the essence of Christianity been defined through the centuries? Why have various people from very different times and places, and from very different social strata, become, or remained, Christians? How have Christian beliefs and practices adapted to changing historical circumstances? How have various churches related to ruling powers? These are the main questions we will be focussing on throughout the year. In pursuing answers to these questions, the emphasis will be on how and why Christianity has been shaped by various social and cultural environments throughout its long history, as well as how it has helped to shape society and culture.
TU 9-11
RLG204H5F
TBA
Introduction to Islam
The faith and practice of Islam: historical emergence, doctrinal development, and interaction with various world cultures.
M 6-8
RLG205H5F
Rao
Introduction to South Asian Religions
An historical and thematic introduction to the Hindu religious tradition as embedded in the socio-cultural structures of India.
W 11-1
RLG205H5S
Irani
Introduction to South Asian Religions
An historical and thematic introduction to the Hindu religious tradition as embedded in the socio-cultural structures of India.
TH 3-5
RLG206H5F
Emmrich
Introduction to Buddhism
The teachings of the Buddha and the development, spread, and diversification of the Buddhist tradition from southern to northeastern Asia.
F 9-11
RLG207H5S
TBA
Introduction to Sikhism
An introduction to the historical and religious context in which the Sikh religion emerged and developed, its principal doctrines, practices and institutions and its evolution from its origins to the present, both in South Asia and the diaspora.
W 9-11
RLG208H5S
Raffaelli
Introduction to Zoroastrianism
A survey of the historical development of Zoroastrianism and its canonical texts, doctrines, rituals, and observances from the time of Zoroaster to the present. It also explores the emergence of Zoroastrian diasporic communities in India, Europe, and North America.
TU 11-1
RLG305H5S
TBA
Islamic Aesthetic Traditions
This course explores aesthetic traditions in the Muslim world, including art, architecture, music and literature. Case studies may range from the majestic Taj Mahal to the sonorous voice of Umm Kulthum, from the enthralling worlds of the 1001 Arabian Nights to the lilting lyricism of poets like Hafiz and Rumi
W 5-7
RLG310H5F
TBA
The Ramayana
A study of the Ramayana of Valmiki in translation. Themes include aesthetic, ethical, and socio-political issues in the text, as well as commentary and the rise of Rama worship
M 5-7
RLG312H5F
Derry
Method and Theory in the History of Religions
A team-taught course which examines the historical emergence of the discipline of religious studies, representative works of the nineteenth- and twentieth- centuries, and the application of theoretical and methodological approaches to one or more religious tradition. (Required of specialists and majors)
TH 12-3
RLG313H5S
TBA
The Literature of Ancient Israel
The Hebrew Bible (i.e. the Old Testament) is not a single book, but an anthology selected from a larger body of ancient Jewish literature reflecting different authors, historical circumstances, literary genres, and religious agendas. This course familiarizes the student with critical study of the Hebrew Bible and related literature of ancient Jewish communities (Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls). Among the topics to be examined are the basic forms of ancient Hebrew literature, the issues of textual development, the process of canonization, and the ancient Near Eastern cultural environment from which this literature emerged.
M 11-1
RLG314H5F
Krishnamurti
Religion and Gender
This course focuses on the interaction of gender and religion from a comparative and multidisciplinary perspective; topics include creation myths, authority and leadership, sainthood, expressions of the divine, and gendered ritual.
F 11-1
RLG315H5S
Metso
Biblical Wisdom and Poetry
Ancient Jewish sages understood wisdom as a "skill in living." Wisdom for them was an approach to life, a way of looking at the world, and a quest for meaning and purpose in the relationships with God and fellow human beings. Some of history's most enduring collections of ancient wisdom are included in the Hebrew Bible (i.e., Old Testament) books of Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Wisdom perspectives are also found in the Song of Songs and many of the Psalms. Sometimes joyful and exultant, at other times cynical and fatalistic, the ancient sages wrestled with the ups and downs of life, and grappled with them rationally from the perspective of experience and community wisdom. This course investigates the genre of wisdom literature - its style, language, and historical and theological backgrounds - and explores the pluriformity of the biblical heritage.
TU 11-1
RLG324H5F TBA
The Writings of Paul
TH 5-7
RLG332H5S
TBA
Reel Religion
The role of film as a mediator of thought and experience concerning religious worldviews. The ways in which movies relate to humanity's quest to understand itself and its place in the universe are considered in this regard, along with the challenge which modernity presents to this task. Of central concern is the capacity of film to address religious issues through visual symbolic forms.
F 11-2
RLG333H5S
Derry
Biblical Themes in Modern Literature
This course examines of the role and representation of Christian traditions, teachings, and themes in various (non-Biblical) literary works. Topics may include: sin and salvation; myth and parable; selfhood and identity; missionizing and conversion; evil and "othering"; love and forgiveness; guilt and sacrifice; and suffering and transcendence.
TH 1-3
RLG340H5F
Lehto
Topics in Christianity: Byzantine Christianity
A detailed study of selected aspects of Christianity.
W 1-3
RLG340H5S
Smith
Women and Gender in Early and Medieval Christianity
A detailed study of selected aspects of Christianity.
TU 9-11
RLG349H5S
Lehto
Foundations of Christian Europe (400-1000 C.E.)
After the withdrawal of Roman administration from the western provinces in the 5th century, the legacy of Rome was preserved in Latin Christianity. The Roman Church encountered challenges and opportunities in its dealings with the warrior cultures of the Germanic tribes that had taken over the former imperial provinces. This course charts the initial stages of the solidification of papal authority in the West, through an expanding network of bishops, monasteries, and missions. It also considers why pagan rulers would have considered conversion an attractive option, and the sometimes strained church-state relations that ensued. The roots of the Catholic Church, and the foundations of the Christian world view of Europe, lie in these processes.
M 11-1
RLG351H5F
TBA
Major Themes in the Study of the Quran
An introduction to the Quran, the scripture of Islam. Surveys of the history of the text and the development of traditions of Quranic interpretation and commentary, including tafsir and ta'wil, from early to modern times
W 5-7
RLG352H5S
TBA
Jews and Muslims: The Medieval Encounter
This course examines the encounter between Jews and Muslims during the Middle Ages, when a large majority of the Jewish people subsisted under Muslim rule: an overview of the religious, political, communal, material and intellectual settings of the Judaeo-Muslim experience
F 9-11
RLG360H5F
Irani
Topics in South Asian Religions
A detailed study of selected aspects of South Asian Religions
TU 3-5
RLG361H5S
Rao
Encounters Between Indo-Islamic and Hindu Cultures
This course explores historical encounters between Indo-Islamic and Hindu cultures in pre-colonial South Asia, including narratives of conquest and resistance, iconoclasm and the reuse of images, patterns of courtly dress, translations of Sanskrit sources into Persian, indigenous Islamic practices, and sufi and bhakti poetry
TU 11-1
RLG370H5F
TBA
Topics in Buddhism
A detailed study of selected aspects of Buddhism.
TU 6-8
RLG374H5S
Emmerich
Buddhist Literatures
The course looks at popular Buddhist educational storytelling, courtly dramas, Buddhist poetry or the life-histories of the buddhas, bodhisattvas and Buddhist holy men and women. It reflects on how popular motifs, aesthetic styles and literary media have helped transport Buddhist doctrines across various times, regions and languages.
W 9-11
RLG380H5S
TBA
Topics in Comparative Religions
An in-depth study of the main teachings, practices and institutions of the major, and several of the minor, religious traditions: namely, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism and Zoroastrianism
W 9-11
RLG435H5F
Metso
Dead Sea Scrolls
This course provides a survey of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a brief history of the period in which the Scrolls were written, and a presentation of the various ways in which scholars have interpreted them. The course also includes in-depth study of selected texts and themes illuminating the formation of the Hebrew Bible, ancient Judaism, and the historical and theological background of the New Testament and early Christianity.
TU 11-1
RLG440H5S
Lehto
Advanced Topics in Christianity: Christianity and Science
A critical exploration of selected topics in the history of Christianity.
M 3-5
RLG445H5F
Lehto
Making Martyrs: From Socrates to the Suicide Bomber
Comparative study of martyrdom and the idea of the martyr beginning with Greco-Roman philosophical concepts of 'noble death' and continuing through Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in ancient, medieval, and contemporary contexts.
TU 1-3
RLG449H5S
Ruffle
Islamic Sexualities
This course focuses on the diverse attitudes and expressions of sexuality in Islam. Taking a broad approach, this course examines issues of sexuality, including homosexuality, fe/male sexuality, birth control, divorce, marriage, transgender identity and performance, and feminist sexual ethics.
TU 11-1
RLG450H5F
TBA
Advanced Topics in Islam
A critical exploration of selected topics in the history of Islam.
TH 6-8
RLG60H5S
Rao
Advanced Topics in South Asian Religions
A critical exploration of selected topics in the history of South Asian religions.
TU 3-5
RLG70H5F
Emmerich
Advanced Topics in Buddhism
A critical exploration of selected topics in the history of Buddhism.
F 1-3