SPRING 2012 COURSES

RE 103 RELIGION & CULTURE  M 11:15 - 12:10, T/TH 11:10 - 12:30	4 Cr. G. Spinner
RE 103 RELIGION & CULTURE  M 1:25 - 2:20, T/TH 2:10 - 3:30	4 Cr. G. Spinner
RE 103 RELIGION & CULTURE  T/TH 3:40 - 5:30	4 Cr. M. Segol
*RE 202 CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES W/F 10:10 – 11:30	3 Cr. (AB) G. Spinner
RE 220 ENCOUNTERING THE GODDESSES IN INDIA  T/TH 3:40 – 5:00	3 Cr. (NAB) J. Smith
*RE 225 RELIGION & ECOLOGY T/TH 9:40 – 11:00	3 Cr. M. Stange
RE 241 THEORY & METHODOLOGY IN THE STUDY OF RELIGION  T/TH 12:40 – 2:00	3 Cr. M. Segol
*RE 330 - 001 SEMINAR IN KABBALAH  M/W 2:30 – 4:30	4 Cr. M. Segol
*RE 330 - 002 FEMINIST THEOLOGIES  T/TH 3:40–5:30	4 Cr. M. Stange

* Course Descriptions for designated courses:

RE 202 Christian Scriptures (AB) - G. Spinner

The New Testament is a collection of texts that mixes deep piety with social critique, in order to proclaim the radical ethic of the coming Kingdom of God. Focusing on the figure of Jesus, these sacred writings address important religious issues -- messiah and miracle, sin and salvation, among others -- in ways that continue to speak to millions of people today. To better understand such important texts, we situate them at the confluence of two powerful literary streams, the Hebrew Bible and Classics. Channeling currents from both types of sources, the first Christians fashioned a rich symbolism and formed their own distinct identities. Our goal in this course will be to understand the spiritual experiences of that early Church, rather than to read the New Testament through the lens of later theologies. So then, “let anyone with ears to hear, listen!”

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RE 225 - Religion and Ecology - M. Stange

An exploration of the critical connections between religion and the natural environment.
How do religious beliefs, symbol systems, and ritual behaviors shape human perceptions of, and interactions with, the nonhuman environment? How might the primary models provided by western, eastern and indigenous religious traditions help us to address specific local and global environmental concerns? For answers to these questions we’ll look to a variety of sacred traditions, drawing on primary and secondary resources in ecotheology, deep ecology, ecofeminism, nature mysticism, new age religious movements, bioregionalism and social ecology

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RE 330-001 Seminar in Kabbalah - M. Segol

In this course we will explore Jewish Mysticism from its earliest sources in the Torah and the Talmud to its manifestations on the self-help literature in the present. We'll focus on the development of its symbols, where they came from, and how they signify. We'll look at the role that bodies play- how much does it matter what its practitioners do, and how they do it? In that same vein, we'll look at gender categories, and how they organize thought and action in a kabbalistic cosmos. Finally we'll consider the notion of authenticity. Who has a right to claim its symbols, its texts, its cosmological models, and its powers as their own? By the end of the course students will be familiar with the core texts in kabbalah, they will have a good grasp of its cosmological models, knowledge of the range of ideas about how the texts work, for whom, and why people think so.RE 330-002 Feminist Theologies - M. Stange

A critical exploration of the various ways in which feminist theory is transforming discourse about religion. Topics include the feminist critique of conventional theological methods and assumptions, womanist theology, liberation theologies, goddess-oriented “theology”, lesbian spirituality and ethics, ecofeminism, radical or “cosmic” feminism, and neopaganism. This is not an introductory-level course; it presumes some prior acquaintance with the study of religion and/or women’s studies.

ADDITIONAL COURSES COUNTING TOWARDS RELIGION MAJOR/MINOR:

AH 209 Islamic Art (AB)
AH 233 Romanesque and Gothic Art
PH 215 Buddhist Philosophy (NAB)

Check the online catalog for additional course descriptions.

Course syllabi will be linked to the course listing prior to the beginning of each semester.