100 | 200 | 300 | 400 | 500 | 700 | 800 Level Course Listing

RELG 101: INTRODUCTION TO WESTERN RELIGIONS schedule # 33041
MW 1200-1250 + sections
Heather Warren

An historical survey of the origins and development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Subjects include the origins of monotheism, the rise of Israel as a nation, early Christianity, the rise of Islam in the Middle Ages, the Protestant Reformation, Christianity during the Enlightenment, and the influence of modern science and industrialism on 19th and 20th century religious life.

Prerequisites: None
Requirements: Weekly readings, a mid-term, and a final.

RELG 104: INTRODUCTION TO EASTERN RELIGIONS schedule # 31298
MW 1300-1350 + section
Timothy Lubin

This course surveys the major religious traditions of the east--Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Taoism, and Confucianism--from a historical and thematic perspective, with special attention to the relationship between religious belief and practice, death and afterlife, and comparative mythology. In addition to lectures, students are required to attend discussion sections, to attend the screening of videos on these religious traditions and to exchange ideas, with the aid of electronic mail.

Prerequisites: None

RELC/J 121: OLD TESTAMENT/HEBREW SCRIPTURES schedule # 30077 (C), # 30251 (J)
MW 1100-1150 + section
Esther Menn

The Bible continues to be a best-seller because of its fundamental place with Judaism and Christianity and because of its insights into Ancient Near Eastern religion and culture. This course introduces students to the literature of the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures, both in its original historical and cultural contexts and in the history of its reception as sacred scripture. It covers the major historical phases of the religion and institutions of ancient Israel and explores the diverse literary genres and religious perspectives found in the biblical corpus. Discussion of important themes (for example, the exodus from Egypt) incorporates material from the Ancient Near East and later Jewish and Christian interpretations.

Prerequisites: None
Requirements: Biblical and secondary readings, participation in discussion section, two mid-term examinations, and a final examination.
Fulfills: Non-Western Perspectives Requirement

RELJ 201: ADVANCED READINGS IN BIBLICAL HEBREW schedule # 33134
TR 0930-1045
Esther Menn

This course emphasizes the accurate translation of biblical Hebrew prose, with special attention to narrative. Over the course of the semester we will translate some of the classic narratives in Genesis, Exodus, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, Jonah, and Esther. Students will also review essential biblical Hebrew grammar and syntax, increase vocabulary, and learn how to use important translation tools, including reference grammars, lexicons, and commentaries. This course also addresses issues in text criticism, interpretation, and the genre of biblical narrative.

Prerequisites: Introduction to Biblical Hebrew (RELJ 112), or permission of instructor
Requirements: Translation of biblical passages, vocabulary and grammar quizzes, mid-term and final examinations.

RELC 205: HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY I schedule # 34214
MW 1300-1350 + section
Robert Wilken

How did Christianity evolve from a small Jewish sect in Palestine into a church that embraces the Mediterranean world, Europe, the middle East, Byzantium and the Slavic peoples? How did the teachings of Jesus and the events of his life become the foundation for a complex system of belief (e.g. Trinity), ethics (e.g. marriage), worship? What was the origin and development of Christian institutions and practices (e.g. bishops and clergy, the papacy, monasticism, Baptism, Communion, et al.)? How did the Bible take its present form? How was this faith understood and explained in rational terms? These are the broader questions addressed in a survey of the first thousand years of Christian history.

RELI 207: CLASSICAL ISLAM schedule # 30208
TR 0930-1045 + section
Aziz Sachedina

A historical and topical survey of the origins and development of Islamic religion. Special attention will be given to the life and career of the Prophet Muhammad, the teachings of the Qur'an, the development of the Muslim community and its principal institutions, theological and legal schools, philosophical and mystical developments, to about 1300 A.D. Readings will include M. G. S. Hodgson Venture of Islam, volume I; Fazlur Rahman, Major Themes of the Qur'an; Kenneth Cragg, Islam from Within.

Prerequisites: None
Requirements: A one-hour test and final examination. Two short papers on selected topics (4-5 pages). Participation in a field trip to the Islamic Center in Washington DC and the Freer Gallery of Art.

RELH 209: INTRODUCTION TO HINDUISM schedule # 32804
TR 1400-1515
Timothy Lubin

In this course, we will survey one of the world's most ancient living religions, tracing the evolution of Hindu gods, myth, religious practice and doctrine over 3500 years of history. Themes receiving special attention will include sacred time and space, death and afterlife, sacrifice, acts of gods and heroes, Hindu society, yoga, and mysticism. After the fashion of the Hindu tradition itself, the course will make use of stories--Hinud myths and legends--to illustrate and interpret basic concepts.

Requirements: There will be two one-hour examinations and a final.

RELB 213: TAOISM & CONFUCIANISM schedule # 30139
TR 1100-1215 + section
Paul Groner

This course focusses on native Chinese religions and is divided into three distinct parts. In the first, some of the classical Chinese texts that determine religious discourse are examined. Among them are the Analects, Mencius, Tao te ching, Chuang tzu and I Ching

Prerequisites: None

RELG 214: ARCHAIC CULT & MYTH schedule # 33295
TR 0930-1045 + section
Ben Ray

Fertility, magic, cosmology--what do cave paintings, hunting rituals, megalithic monuments, ancient myths, and shamanistic rites mean? The course will survey recent studies and classical theories as well as popular ideas about these subjects. Students will discuss answers to questions about the origins of religion, the meaning of paleolithic cave art, megalithic monuments (Stonehenge, Egyptian pyramids, Easter Island statues), Mayan myths, Aztec sacrifice, rites of initiation, the Gilgamesh Epic, Egyptian myth and ritual, and shamanism. The course will consider how interpretations of such prehistoric and ancient religious phenomena reflect an understanding of ourselves.

Prerequisites: none

RELJ 222: JEWISH CIVILIZATION: BIBLE TO MIDDLE AGES schedule # 32503
TR 1230-1345
Michael Satlow

Judaism is a complex cultural system that has always combined religious belief and practice with strong ethnic and nationalist components. In this course we will trace the history of the Jews from biblical period (including the formation of the Hebrew Bible, c. 500 BCE) through the emergence and flourishing of rabbinic Judaism (c. 800 CE). We will study both the political and social history of the Jews as well as the development of the religious system that ultimately became "Judaism," focusing on how history and religion related to and interacted with each other. Although this will primarily be a lecture class, you will have ample opportunity to use and discuss primary source materials.

Prerequisites: None
Requirements: Two tests and a final exam.

RELG 227: NATURE AND TECHNOLOGY schedule # 32487
TR 1230-1345
Daniel Westberg

Pressures on the world's ecology and the need to develop new ethical approaches have created growing interest in revising traditional western perspectives on the environment, development, and technology. This course, newly designed, will address these concerns in the light of Christian thought and experience, examining the relevance of the doctrines of creation and redemption. There will be a historical aspect, dealing with the Christian contribution to the rise of science, the question of the responsibility for a harmful view of nature, as well as noting the positive aspects of the Christian tradition; and some comparison to other religious traditions will be made. But the primary focus will be on modern writings from a wide span of viewpoints, including Catholic, evangelical Protestant, process theology, and feminism. Treatment of broad themes such as humanity, work, and control of nature will be balanced by looking at specific current issues such as pollution, genetic engineering, and population control. The class will be conducted iwth informal lectures and discussion.

Requirements: Mid-term, exam, book review and essay.

RELC 236: THEMES IN CHRISTIAN THOUGHT schedule # 33004

Cancelled.

RELG 238: FAITH & DOUBT IN THE MODERN AGE schedule # 32404
MW 1000-1050 + section
M. Jamie Ferreira

Is belief in God based on wishful thinking; is it a neurotic response to life? How are fear and guilt related to it? Is it a primitive stage in human intellectual development? Is it inherently immoral? Can one be rational and a believer at the same time? In this course we will consider questions like these by looking at historically important examples of such criticisms. We will study both the "faith" which inspired these critiques and the implications of such critiques for believers.

Prerequisites: None except genuine interest.
Requirements: Careful and thorough reading of the texts, conscientious and thoughtful participation in sections, one or two short quizzes, a mid-term, and a final exam.

RELC 240: HISTORY OF AMERICAN CATHOLICISM schedule # 34476
TR 0930-1045
Gerald Fogarty

The election of John Kennedy signified on one level the acceptance of Catholics and Americans. The document of religious liberty of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) seemed to ratify what had long been a cherished American Catholic tradition. Proving to be loyal to the Catholicism of Rome and the democracy of the United States had been the dilemma of American Catholics. To understand this dilemma, the course will treat the following themes: the early Spanish and French settlements, the beginning of English-speaking Catholicism in Maryland, the establishment of the hierarchy under John Carroll and its early development, immigration and nativism, American Catholic support of religious liberty and conflict with the Vatican at the end of the 19th century, and the American Catholic contribution to Vatican II (1962-1965).

RELB 248: TIBETAN RELIGION AND ECOLOGY schedule # 30824
TR 1230-1345
instructor TBA

Traditional Tibet provides an excellent vantage from which to pursue critical thinking about the ideal and actual relationship between people and the environment, and how religious define, mediate, and limit this fundamental relationship. We shall consider the full range of Tibetan religious life: monastic and lay levels, local cults, and village-level ritual and beliefs.

RELB 252: TIBETAN BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY schedule # 30778
TR 1400-1515
Jeffrey Hopkins

An introduction to Buddhist psychological and reflective doctrines by way of exploring Tibetan presentations of types of awareness including modular mental factors; coarser and subtler levels of conciousness as indicated in the process of dissolution at death; creative imagination in deity yoga as a technique to embody and enact socially beneficial attitudes and to confront the dreadful, including an examination o fJung's warnings against identifying with the divine; developing recognition of anger, self-control, and patience; dealing with guilt--the Vajrasattva meditation and repetition of mantra as well as exorcism-- and possible physical reactions; and the transformative process of tantric initiation.

Prerequisites: None
Requirements: two mid-terms, 7-10 page paper, optional final.

RELG 265: THEOLOGY, ETHICS & MEDICINE schedule # 30259
MWF 1100-1150 + section
Jim Childress

An analysis of the ethical principles that should undergird decisions in science, medicine, and health care. The lectures, readings, and discussions will focus on ethical principles developed within different ethical traditions (such as Protestantism, Catholicism, Judaism, and Humanism) and on their implications for cases in abortion, death and dying, research involving human subjects, artificial reproduction, genetic engineering, and allocation of resources. Several films, videotapes, and cases will be used.

Requirements: Midterm, final examination,4 brief papers (2 pages) and participation in discussion.

RELC/J 303: THE HISTORICAL JESUS schedule # 32008 (C), 32619 (J)
TR 1100-1215
Harry Gamble

This course focuses on Jesus of Nazareth as an historical figure, that is, as he is accessible to the historian by means of historical methods applied to historical evidence. Careful attention will be given to all the potentially useful sources including the canonical gospels, apocryphal gospels, and Jewish and Graeco-Roman sources, as well as to the problems of dealing with them. A reconstruction of the activity and teaching of Jesus will be attempted, with a view to determining Jesus' place within ancient Judaism and the relation of Jesus to the emergence of Christianity.

Requirements: Elected on a contract basis, variously combining papers, book essays, film essays, quizzes and examinations.

RELI 311: MUHAMMAD AND THE QUR'AN schedule # 33158
MW 100-1050
Aziz Sachedina

A detailed study of Muhammad's biography in the light of the Qur'anic revelation. Students will study the life of the founder of Islamic faith and relate it to his spiritual as well as temporal experience. The study of biography will aim at a fuller understanding of the meanings of the apostle of God (rasul Allah) and the Seal of the Prophets (khatim al-anbiya') in the context of the methods used in the History of Religions in studying the ideas about "holy man" in the community of believers. The study of the Qur'an will be concerned with providing the contextual and intertextual appreciation of the event of revelation in Islam, both as a source of Muslim piety and Muslim experience of divine-human interaction. Readings will include: Tor Andrea, Muhammad, the Man and His Faith; A. Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad; Martin Lings, Muhammad; Annemarie Schimmel, And Muhammad is the Messenger of God.

Prerequisites: None
Requirements: Two book reports; research paper (15-20 pages); final exam.

RELB 315: SEMINAR IN BUDDHIST STUDIES schedule # 31746
M 1530-1800
Karen Lang

This seminar takes as its point of departure Carolyn Bynum's statements: "No scholar studying religion, no participant in ritual, is ever neuter. Religious experience is the experience of men and women, and in no known society is this experience the same." The unifying theme of this seminar is gender and Buddhism. We will explore historical, textual, and social questions relevant to the status of women in the Buddhist world of India and Tibet from the time of Buddhism's origin to the present day. We will locate feminine voices in patriarchal religious texts and consider the issue of gender in relation of Buddhist views on selflessness, duality, and sexuality. We will also discuss the application of western feminist analysis to Buddhist texts and the efforts of contemporary western Buddhists to establish a post-patriarchal Buddhism. Texts include Anne Klein, Meeting the Great Bliss Queen; Susan Murcott, The First Buddhist Women; Diana Paul, Women in Buddhism; and Miranda Shaw, Passionate Enlightenment.

Prerequisites: None

REELJ 335: JEWISH SOCIAL ETHICS schedule # 32654
TR 1400-1515
David Novak

This course will deal with some of the major social issues that adherents of the Jewish tradition must deal with as ethical questions. Topics to be discussed are war and peace, criminal punishment, ecology, and economic justice. Readings will be selected from various contemporary Jewish thinkers who have addressed themselves to these questions. The course will examine how they draw upon the classical Jewish sources (especially the Bible and the Talmud), how they analyze ethical issues in the light of contemporary experience (both Jewish and general), and why they often come to differing ethical conclusions.

Requirements: This course will consist of classroom discussion almost entirely. There will be a mid-term and a final examination.

RELG 347: RELIGION AND SCIENCE schedule # 34497
TR 1400-1515
Langdon Gilkey

A course designed to introduce some of the major contemporary issues between science and religion, particularly with regard to the understanding and evaluation of "nture." The scientific knowledge of nature, the philosophical understanding of science and of knowing generally, and various religious apprehensions of nature are discussed in order to develop a more creative view of nature's reality and integrity.

Prerequisites: Some familiarity with natural science, with philoosphy of science, or with religious studies.

RELG 360: RELIGION AND MODERN THEATER schedule # 32465
TR 1230-1345
Larry Bouchard

Are there connections among theater, ritual, myth, and portrayals of the self and its moral and political communities? What differences do such relations make in our enjoyment, understanding, and criticism of drama? This course explores such questions. We will discuss some plays with explicitly religious themes or historical subjects (as in medieval Christian drama, Denys Arcand's film Jesus of Montreal, S. Ansky's play The Dybbuk, and Wole Soyinka's uses of African and European theatrical traditions). We will also read more ostensibly secular plays that nonetheless implicitly pursue religious and moral issues (as do, for example, plays by Bertholt Brecht, Peter Shaffer, and Caryl Churchill). Models of ritual communication and transformation, and their applications to drama, will also be examined. Two special tasks will guide us: We will try to identify acts of interpretation (and misinterpretation) taking place between characters in plays, as well as between performance and audience. We will also explore how theater dramatizes questions of "integrity," both as a moral quality of actions and as a dynamic relationship among persons and their communities.

Mode: some lectures, much discussion, perhaps play attendance.
Requirements: regular class attendance and participation; two essay exams and one paper; or three short papers for students wishing to complete the second writing requirement.
Fulfills: Second Writing Requirement (see above)

RELG 400: MAJORS SEMINAR: SACRED TEXTS schedule # 30606
MW 1530-1800
Michael Satlow

This seminar will examine the place of sacred texts in religion, with particular emphasis on Judaism and Christianity. How do certain texts become "sacred"? How are they interpreted? What roles do they play in the development of particular religions? What is their relation to myth, symbol, ritual, and ethics? How do they relate to culture and society?

Requirements: Weekly reading and discussion. Writing assignment TBA.
Fulfills: Second Writing Requirement.

RELA 405: AFRICAN RELIGIONS IN THE AMERICAS schedule # 32877
W 1300-1530
Cynthia Hoehler-Fatton

This course explores the African religious heritage of the Americas. Our survey of religions of the African dispora will include Haitian Vodou, Brazilian Candomble, and Cuban Saneria. We will also consider African religious influences in the United States from slave religion to African-American Muslim movements to recently established African Independent Churches in American urban areas. Possible texts include: J. Murphy, Working the Spirit; M. Deren, Divine Horsemen; L. Desmangles, The Faces of the Gods; K. M. Brown, Mama Lola; G. Naylor, Mama Day; A. McCloud, African American Islam.

Prerequisites: None, but some background in Religious Studies, African history, or Anthropology is recommended.

RELC 406: READINGS IN PATRISTIC GREEK schedule # 32997
MWF 0800-0850
Robert Wilken

Readings from select early Christian authors who wrote in Greek, e.g. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Gregory Nazianzus, Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, Cyril of Alexandria. Class will not meet at the assigned time. Please contact the instructor.

Prerequisites: Course is designed for students who have at least two years of classical Greek. Admission by permission of instructor only.

RELG 422: AMERICAN RELIGIOUS AUTOBIOGRAPHY schedule # 33367
W 1500-1730
Heather Warren

A multidisciplinary examination of religious self-perception in relation to the dominant values of American life. Readings represent a variety of spiritual traditions and autobiographical forms, among them Thomas Merton's The Sign of Jonas, The Autobiography of Malcom X, Charles Colson's Born Again, and Kathleen Norris' Dakota: A Spiritual Geography.

Prerequisites: Courses in Religious Studies, American history, or American literature.
Requirements: Two short papers (5-7pp. each) and an autobiography (20 pp.).
Fulfills: Majors Seminar Requirement.

RELG 508: RELGION AND AMERICAN CULTURE I schedule # 33344
W 1500-1730
Heather Warren

An historical examination of Americans' religious identities in relation to the dominant values of American social and intellectual life with particular attention to the concept of community. Subjects include Puritanism, the Mennonites, the Shakers, Mormonism, and the growth of evangelicalism.

Prerequisites: A course in either American history of American religious history. Open to upper-level undergraduates.

RELC 512: DEVELOPMENT OF 19th & 20th CENTURY CATHOLIC THEOLOGY schedule # 32969
R 1530-1800
Gerald Fogarty

European Catholic theology in the 19th century responded to the issues of rationalism raised by the French Revolution and its legacy throughout the century. The course will introduce the student to some of the concrete Catholic responses to such issues as religous freedom, papal authority (Vatican I), the social question (Rerum Novarum), and biblical criticism in the 19th century and the emergence of a "new theology" in the decades preceding Vatican II.

RELG 517: HISTORY OF RELIGIONS schedule # 31861
TR 1230-1345
Ben Ray

An introduction to the basic thinkers in the field of History of Religions (Otto, van der Leeuw, Eliade, Wach) and to fundamental problems in the study of religious sociology, mythology, and ritual (Geertz, Douglas, Turner, Levi-Strauss, Doniger, Rorty, Smith, etc.).

Requirements: Four written presentations.

RELB 525: SEMINAR IN JAPANESE BUDDHISM schedule # 32764
TR 1400-1515
Paul Groner

This course is a survey of the issues in the study of Shinto, Japanese Buddhism, Christianity and the New Religions, and their roles in Japanese culture and society. Among the topics discussed are syncretism between Buddhism and Shinto, the relationship between folk religion and the monastic traditions, the development of uniquely Japanese forms of Zen and Pure Land Buddhism, the use of Shinto as a nationalistic ideology, and the survival of magic and exorcism in a modern society.

RELJ 529: BIBLICAL NARRATIVE schedule # 32967
R 1530-1800
Esther Menn

The Bible contains some of the best-known and loved narratives in world literature. In this course, students will read many of the classical biblical stories (with special emphasis on those found in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible) and consider them in light of current literary theory. Secondary readings for the course include selections from Alter, Auerbach, Bal, Frye, and Sternberg, Trible, and others. Core questions for the course include: Does biblical narrative have any distinctive characteristics? What is the relationship between narrative and theology in the Bible? Does biblical narrative elicit certain interpretive strategies from its readers? In conjunction with this last question, we will examine examples of the interpretive genre known as Midrash.

Prerequisites: None, but previous course in biblical studies recommended.
Requirements: Biblical and secondary readings, participation and leadership in class discussion, several short papers and one longer paper.
Fulfills: Second Writing Requirement.

RELB 535: LITERARY AND SPOKEN TIBETAN III schedule # 33779
MWF 0800-0850 + section
Amy Miller

First semester of second year Tibetan which includes reading texts, oral debates, and exercises in spoken Tibetan.

Prerequisites: 1st year Tibetan. Requirements: Quizzes, mid-term and final examiniation. Five contact hours, four credits.

RELC 542: EARLY CHRISTIAN THOUGHT schedule # 32519
T 1230-1515
Robert Wilken

Graduate level introduction to the key persons, texts and ideas from the beginning of Christianity to the early Middle Ages. Persons to be considered: Origen, Tertullian, Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, Ambrose, Augustine, Cyril of Alexandria, Maximus the Confessor, et al. Open to advanced undergraduates with permission from the instructor.

RELH 544: READINGS IN SANSKRIT RELIGIOUS TEXTS schedule # 33260
MWF 1300-1350
Karen Lang

Readings in the Bhagavad Gita.

Prerequisites: One year of Sanskrit or instructor's permission.

RELB 546: SEMINAR IN MAHAYANA BUDDHISM: MIND-ONLY schedule # 31362
TR 1100-1215
Jeffrey Hopkins

The Mind-Only school represents one of the most important developments of Buddhist philosophy and practice. Through considering a work by the late fourteenth- and early fifteenth-century Tibetan scholar-yogi Dzong-ka-ba, we shall probe the Mind-Only School's presentation of emptiness. A focus of the course will be the principles of interpretation of diverfent scriptures and the application of those principles in the Mind-Only School. We also will consider the principles and the methods of interpretation used by Dzong-ka-ba's followers to explicate his system. Interpretations (from old and new world-wide scholarship) of the three natures and the three non-natures will be compared and contrasted.

Prerequisites: This course is structured to be accessible to those who have taken or seriously audited RELB 317 Buddhist Meditiation.
Requirements: Mid-term exercises; final 25-40 page paper; occasional presentations.

RELB 547: LITERARY AND SPOKEN TIBETAN V schedule # 32630
TR 1400-1515 + sections
instructor TBA

This is a combined class of the first semester of Third Year and Fourth Year Tibetan. We will read a text on the grounds and paths of Mantra, practice debate on Sutra grounds and paths, perform exercises in spoken Tibetan, and make dumplings.

Prerequisites: Second Year Tibetan.
Requirements: Class presentation from a clean text; weekly quizzes; mid-term exam; final exam. Five contact hours.

RELG 565: THE THEOLOGY OF AUGUSTINE schedule # 33125
W 1530-1800
Langdon Gilkey

This course will study the theology of Augustine, that is, the important doctrines that appear in his major works. Attention will be paid to his historical setting, his philosophical background, and his life, as well as to the traditions, both Catholic and Protestant, which have looked back to him. But our main concern will be what theologically he seemed to have said.

RELC 586: ETHICS OF THOMAS AQUINAS schedule # 33352
M 1530-1800
Daniel Westberg

An examination of the theological ethics of Thomas Aquinas. Attention will be paid to the influence of Aristotle on the description of practical reason and virtue, as well as to their theological setting. The course will try to describe a Thomistic view of the moral life, including social and political aspects.

Prerequisites: This seminar is intended for graduate students; undergraduates need permission from Mr. Westberg.

RELJ 594: JUDAISM & KANTIAN PHILOSOPHY schedule # 32972
R 1530-1800
David Novak

This seminar will deal with the enormous influence of the philosophy of Immanuel Kant on modern Jewish thought. It will primarily concentrate on the most important Jewish Kantian thinker, Hermann Cohen (1842-1918), by a careful reading of his major work on Judaism, Religion of Reason Out of the Sources of Judaism. It will examine the question of whether religion, especially Jewish religion, can be based on ethics, and whether the God proposed by Kant can be identified with the God of Israel presented in the classical sources of Judaism. The seminar will also deal with the whole question of how a philosophical constitution of Judaism is possible.

Requirements: Each student will be expected to serve as discussion leader for at least part of one seminar session. A term paper of 20+ pages is the final semester requirement.

RELG 700: READINGS IN CHINESE BUDDHIST TEXTS schedule # 31767
TR 0800-0915
Paul Groner

Readings in primary sources in Chinese.

RELC 704: HISTORY OF AMERICAN CATHOLICISM schedule # 31768
TR 0930-1045 + section
Gerald Fogarty

This graduate course will treat the same subject matteer as RELC 240, but in greater depth. While becoming aware of some of the themes that have shaped American Catholicism, graduate students will also investigate some of its historical interpretations by various schools of scholarship.

Requirements: A research paper.

RELG 722: RATIONALITY, JUSTIFICATION & RELIGIOUS BELIEF schedule # 33361
M 1530-1800
M. Jamie Ferreira

In this course we will survey the contemporary landscape of philosophy of religion in the English-speaking world. We will focus on what seem to be the current major approaches to the question of the justification of religious belief (namely, classical (Swinburnian), Wittgensteinian, and Reformed Epistemological); we will also attempt to assess the adequacy of this framework by reference to the Continental initiatives it excludes.

KARL BARTH schedule # 32879

Cancelled.

RELG 800: NEGATIVITY & RELIGIOUS IMAGINATION schedule # 33381
W 1530-1800
Larry Bouchard

This seminar will explore ways in which three modes of inquiry--imaginative literature, theology, and interpretation theory--encounter aspects of negativity realizedin the self and community, in history, and in religious discourse and experience. Literary sources will include those from Greek tragedy, Christian epic (Milton), and modern fiction (e.g. Elie Wiesel, Toni Morrison). Theological sources include classical and modern thinkers who interpret tragedy, sin, finitude, and suffering (e.g. Augustine, Barth, Fackenheim, Wendy Farley). Interpretation theorists will include figures concerned with language as incommensurate with both strict referential meaning and with experiences of tragedy, suffering, and evil (e.g. Ricoeur, Girard, Rorty). One of the aims of the course is to explore ways in which the literary arts serve as modes of inquiry that contribute to the structure and content of work in ethics and practical theology.

RELG 809: PROSEMINAR IN CLINICAL ETHICS schedule # 33311
W 1400-1600
John Fletcher

This proseminar explores the strengths and weaknesses of major ethical perspectives for clinical decisions: religious ethics, principalism, casuistry, and feminist perspectives.

RELG 812: FIGURES AND TRADITIONS IN PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS ETHICS schedule # 32666
R 0900-1015
Daniel Westberg and others.

The first semester of a two-semester course reviews the basic ethical thought and theories of central figures in the Western tradition.

RELB 820: LITERARY AND SPOKEN TIBETAN VII schedule # 33261
TR 1400-1515+ section
instructor TBA

This is a combined class of the first semester of Third Year and Fourth Year Tibetan. We will read a text on the grounds and paths of Mantra, practice debate on Sutra grounds and paths, perform exercises in spoken Tibetan, and make dumplings.

Prerequisites: Second Year Tibetan.
Requirements: Class presentation from a clean text; weekly quizzes; mid-term exam; final exam. Five contact hours.

RELB 823: ADVANCED LITERARY AND SPOKEN TIBETAN schedule # 33435
MWF 0800-0850
Jeffrey Hopkins

Examination of selected topics and techniques of Tibetan education.

Prerequisites: permission of instructor.

RELB 831: ADVANCED PALI schedule # 32993
MWF 0800-0850
Karen Lang

Readings in Pali texts from the Theravada Buddhist canon.

Prerequisites: One year of Pali or instructor's permission.

RELG 834: METHODS IN ETHICS schedule # 32866
T 1530-1800
Jim Childress

This seminar will explore the vigorous contemporary debate about methods in ethics (religious, philosophical, and practical ethics) by critically examining such approaches as principalism, casuistry, feminism, communitarianism, virtue theory, and narrative ethics.

RELC 844: SEMINAR ON THE REFORMATION: LUTHER AND CALVIN schedule # 32513
also listed as HIEU 822

Cancelled.

RELG 894: FOUNDATIONS OF MANAGEMENT schedule # 33440
also listed as GBUS 901
time TBA
Ed Freeman

The purpose of this course is to introduce incoming doctoral students to the full range of ideas, issues and concepts in three related areas of management theory: organization studies, strategic management, and business ethics. Each of these areas comprises one-third of the course, and the course goal is basic literacy in the literature in these three areas.

Prerequisites: Enrollment is limited to Darden doctoral students and other Ph.D. students with written permission of the instructor. Requirements: This course will be structured to give the students a heavy dose of critical reasoning skills. Each wee a key text will be assigned, and the students will be expected to prepare a 5-10 page critical analysis of the key arguments in the text. In addition, a final paper will be expected that pick out one particular research issue and develops a plan of scholarly study for that issue.

Last update: April 5, 1995