RLST - Religious Studies
RLST 100D Intro to the Study of Religion: 3 Credits (3 Lec)
(Su) The great themes of the world's religions and the methodological approaches to the academic study of religion and culture.
RLST 201 Islam: 3 Credits (3 Lec)
The textual traditions and historical forms of Islam will be studied from literary, historical, archaeological, and/or cultural perspectives.
RLST 202D Hindu Traditions: 3 Credits (3 Lec)
The sacred texts and the historical forms of religious thought and practice in the traditions of India.
RLST 203D Buddhist Traditions: 3 Credits (3 Lec)
The sacred texts and images of the religious thought and practices in the traditions of China, Korea, India, Southeast Asia, and/or Japan.
RLST 204IH Intro to the Hebrew Bible: 3 Credits (3 Lec)
The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and its interpreters will be studied from literary, historical, archaeological, anthropological, and cultural perspectives.
RLST 205IH Introduction to New Testament: 3 Credits (3 Lec)
The New Testament and it interpreters will be studied from literary, historical, archaeological, anthropological, and cultural perspectives.
RLST 207IH Myth and Belief: 3 Credits (3 Lec)
The study of religion through story and image from their early contexts to their re-imagined forms. We will examine riddles such as myth and metaphor within a demythologized or literal worldview. We will apply and critique theorists of myth and of metaphor to topics such as the monster or the trickster, and to themes such as cosmogony or metamorphosis.
RLST 217IH Religion, Sci & Environment: 3 Credits (3 Lec)
The interdisciplinary course investigates models for interpreting the relationship of religion, science, and nature using cultural, textual, and historical approaches. The purpose of this course is neither to examine nor to critique the conclusions of scientific work; neither is it a course in theology nor a testing ground for faith.
RLST 223IH Sacrifice, Rite & Ritual: 3 Credits (3 Lec)
The course explores how nature may be an idea shaped by cultural influences or worldviews. Analyses will include perspectives on myth, scientific theories, technologies, gender, geography, history and politics, film, literary and visual studies.
RLST 291 Special Topics: 1-4 Credits (1 Lec)
PREREQUISITE: None required but some may be determined necessary by each offering department. Courses not required in any curriculum for which there is a particular one-time need, or given on a trial basis to determine acceptability and demand before requesting a regular course number
Repeatable up to 12 credits.
RLST 321 Religion and Gender: 3 Credits (2 Lec, 1 Other)
PREREQUISITE: Any RLST or PHL course. Investigation of metaphors and myths of gender and world cultures
RLST 325 Religion and Literature: 3 Credits (3 Other)
PREREQUISITE: At least two 200 level courses in any one or combination of Religious Studies, English, Humanities, Modern Languages, or permission of the instructor. This course explores the intersection of religion with literary and other narrative cultures, with a focus on close reading and the interpretation of texts
RLST 326 Topics in Religion: 3 Credits (3 Other)
PREREQUISITE: Any RLST course. Charismatic individuals, whether they found, reform, or depart from existing tradition, are an important feature of religion worldwide. This course examines such persons from different disciplinary perspectives. Topics may include guru culture; religion and colonialism; mystical experience and more
RLST 330 Religion of Ancient Egypt: 3 Credits (3 Lec)
PREREQUISITE: Any RLST course. Survey of Egyptian culture, religion, and society from the beginning of the history of a unified kingdom of ancient Egypt in the middle of the third millennium BCE through the Hellenestic conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great
RLST 402 Natural/Unnatural/Supernatural: 3 Credits (3 Lec)
PREREQUISITE: Any RLST course. This course considers how secular and religious thinkers have defined the supernatural and distinguished it from the natural world, with attention to the contemporary implications of debates about supernaturalism
RLST 405 Text and Image: 4 Credits (3 Lec, 1 Other)
PREREQUISITE: Any RLST course. From iconoclasts to bibliophiles, religion has remained deeply entangled in matters of text and image. This course situates religion within the interdisciplinary study of visual, material, and media cultures using theoretical, cultural studies, anthropological, art historical, and/or literary approaches
RLST 407 Violence & Religion: 3 Credits (3 Other)
PREREQUISITE: Any RLST course. This course will examine the religious roots of various social and political categories in today's world which might include, among others, nationalism, fundamentalism, or sexism, and examine the means by which these categories affect contemporary society and events
RLST 410 What is Religion?: 3 Credits (3 Lec)
PREREQUISITE: Any RLST course. This course is a cross cultural investigation of the ideas of personhood, including theories of the individual, the social, the body, and the transpersonal and transtemporal
RLST 490R Undergraduate Research: 1-6 Credits (1 Other)
PREREQUISITE: Any RLST course. Directed undergraduate research. Course will address responsible conduct of research. May be repeated
Repeatable up to 12 credits.
RLST 491 Special Topics: 1-4 Credits (1 Other)
PREREQUISITE: Course prerequisites as determined for each offering. Courses not required in any curriculum for which there is a particular one-time need, or given on a trial basis to determine acceptability and demand before requesting a regular course number
Repeatable up to 12 credits.
RLST 492 Independent Study: 1-3 Credits (1 Other)
PREREQUISITE: Junior standing, consent of instructor, and approval of department head. Directed research and study on an individual basis
Repeatable up to 6 credits.
RLST 494 Seminar: 1-3 Credits (1-3 Other)
Each semester is given over to the detailed study of a major figure or problem in religious studies. Since the figures and problems studied vary from semester to semester, the course may be repeated for credit. -.
Repeatable up to 6 credits.
RLST 499RH Senior Capstone: 3 Credits (3 Other)
PREREQUISITE: Consent of instructor. Religious Studies majors will explore significant themes relevant to the academic study of religion, using advanced research techniques, appropriate bibliographic tools, and in-depth analysis of historical, literary, theoretical, and/or visual sources
RLST 592 Independent Study: 1-3 Credits (1 Other)
PREREQUISITE: Graduate standing, consent of instructor, approval of Associate Dean, and Dean of Graduate Studies. Directed research and study on an individual basis
Repeatable up to 6 credits.