2007-2008 SPRING COURSE OFFERINGS
Graduate Program
REL 503
Studies in East Asian Religions: How to Read a Buddhist Text
Professor(s): Stephen F. Teiser
Description: Introduction to Buddhist texts written in Classical Chinese. Intended for students with some background in Classical Chinese who want to learn how to read Buddhist texts. Analysis of grammar, vocabulary, and genre. Focuses on sutras translated from Indian languages into Chinese. Some attention to the early history of Buddhism and reference tools for reading Buddhist texts.
REL 504
Studies in Greco-Roman Religions: Constructing Orthodoxy and Heresy: Second Century “Fathers of the Church” and What They Called the “Illegitimate” Writings of Those They Called “Heretics”
Professor(s): Elaine H. Pagels
Description: The seminar will investigate primary sources involved in the construction of orthodoxy and heresy, comparing writings of the "church fathers" -- Irenaeus of Lyons, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria -- with a wide variety of "heretical" writings, including such sources as the Gospel of Judas, Gospel of Thomas, Secret Revelation of John, Interpretation of the Gnosis, Dialogue of the Savior, Allogenes, Gospel of Mary, Apocalypse of Peter, Testimony of Truth, and others of special interest to members of the seminar.
REL 507
Studies in Religion and Philosophy: Hegel
Professor(s): Jeffrey L. Stout
Description: The course will examine Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit and his Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion in light of recent disputes over how to interpret Hegel's philosophy.
REL 509
Studies in the History of Islam: Studies in the Social History of Egypt and Syria
Professor(s): Shaun E. Marmon
Description: This course will explore the social history of pre-modern Egypt and Syria from the twelfth through the sixteenth centuries. We will focus on themes such as legal and social status, identity, group loyalties and on the interplay between religious discourse and cultural realities. Readings will include a range of works of contemporary secondary scholarship as well as pre-modern texts in Arabic, including waqf documents.
REL 510
Special Topics in the Study of Religion: Issues in Japanese Religion: New Directions in Scholarship
Professor(s): Jacqueline I. Stone
Description: This seminar will explore major issues in recent scholarship on Japanese Religions in both English and Japanese (for seminar participants with sufficient reading capacity). Topics may include debates over understandings of "esoteric" Buddhism; new thinking about the origins of Shinto and the relation of kami and buddhas; religion and national identity formation; interactions of ritual, site and image; Buddhism and the family; the social roles of death ritual; and religious transformations in the modern period. Topics and readings can to some extent be arranged to accommodate student interests.
REL 512
Special Topics in the Study of Religion: The Binding of Isaac in Ancient Judaism and Christianity
Professor(s): Martha Himmelfarb
Description: This seminar will study ancient Jewish and Christian interpretations of the biblical story of God's command to Abraham to sacrifice his son (Genesis 22). The story plays a central role in Jewish tradition, and it also has an important place in the debates between Jews and Christians. For Jews, Abraham's obedience gives his descendants a claim on God's mercy while for Christians the near sacrifice of Isaac prefigures the crucifixion.
REL 519
Religion and Critical Thought Workshop
Professor(s): Jeffrey L. Stout
Description: A weekly seminar focused on current student and faculty research in religion and critical thought, designed primarily for graduate students working on dissertations and general examination essays on the philosophy of religion, religious ethics, and the role of religion in politics.
REL 522
Religion and Culture Workshop
Professor(s): Leigh E. Schmidt
Description: Continuation of the year-long workshop devoted to the critical discussion of research in progress in the ethnographic and historical study of religion and culture. Includes research utilizing textual analysis, historical analysis, material culture, and quantitative as well as qualitative methods. Designed for dissertation writers and postdoctoral fellows.
REL 524
American Religious History Workshop
Professor(s): Leigh E. Schmidt
Description: A weekly, year-long workshop focused on the current research of visiting presenters, current students, and faculty in American religious history. The workshop is designed primarily for Ph.D. students in the field, but is open as well to undergraduate concentrators with a strong background in the study of American religion and culture. Note: REL 523 (fall) and REL 524 (spring) constitute this year-long workshop. In order to receive credit and/or a grade, students must take the course both semesters.
REL 586 /NES 586
Religious Authority in Modern Islam
Professor(s): Muhammad Q. Zaman