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Please verify all of your course selections with the ONLINE COD. As you may know from previous enrollment procedures, the online COD changes from day to day, while the printed COD was accurate only on the day it was printed. All meeting times and locations subject to change.
| RELB 102 Literary
and Spoken Tibetan II (First Year Tibetan) Travis McCauley (twm4g@virginia.edu) Schedule#71797 0900-0950 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday This course offers an introduction to literary and spoken Tibetan and is designed with special attention to undergraduates. Students will study classical and modern grammar systematically with examples drawn from a wide variety of literature, and with a native speaker use new digital instructional materials to develop proficiency in spoken Tibetan. This sequence of courses can count towards fulfilling the University requirement of two years of foreign language study. Prerequisites: Tibetan I. Requirements: Class attendance and participation, three exams, four translation assignments. |
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RELG 104
Intro to Eastern Religions
This course provides an historical and thematic overview to
the major religious traditions of "the East" (i.e., Asia), focusing
particularly upon those of India, Tibet, and China. Through
careful examination of a variety of primary and secondary sources,
we will consider the many ways in which South Asian Hindus,
Tibetan Buddhists, and Chinese Confucians have attempted to
understand the nature of the world, human society, and the individual
person's place therein. In examining religious traditions that
for many may seem wholly foreign or "other," our emphasis will
be on the internal logic of each, on the resources that each
provides for the construction of meaning, value, and moral vision.
Requirements: weekly readings, participation in discussion section,
three one-hour examinations. Fulfills: Non-Western Perspectives
Requirement Hun Lye (hl2m@virginia.edu) Schedule # 70356 1300-1350 Monday, Wednesday + section |
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| RELC 122
Early Christianity & the
New Testament
Harry
Gamble (HGamble@virginia.edu)
Schedule # 73097 1000-1050 Monday &Wednesday + section This course surveys the origins and early history of Christianity on the basis of a historical and analytical study of early Christian writings belonging to the "New Testament." Topics covered include the origins of Christianity in Judaism; the activity and significance of Jesus; the formation, beliefs and practices of early Christian communities; the varieties of Christianity in the first century; and the progressive distinction of Christianity from Judaism. Requirements: Two quizzes and a final examination, and occasional short papers in connection with discussion sections. Regular attendance at discussion sections is mandatory. |
| RELC 206
History of Christianity II 1054-1800 Augustine Thompson (AThompson@virginia.edu) Schedule # 73114 0900-0950 Monday, Wednesday + section A survey of Christianity from the Middle Ages to Modern Times. Topics discussed will include: Medieval spirituality and theology in the Age of the Cathedrals; the rise of medieval dissent and the Inquistion, the impact of the Black Plague and Papal Western Schism on late Medieval Catholicism. In the modern period we will examine the Protestant Reformation in the work of Luther and Calvin; the witch hunts of 16th century; the rise of mysticism in the 15th to 17th centuries; the Enlightenment attack on traditional religion and the response of revivalists like John Wesley and the Methodists. We will also look at the formation of modern Eastern Orthodoxy. The course concludes with an examination of the elements that came to form American Christianity in the early 19th century. All readings are from original sources: Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, Francis of Assisi, Medieval "Heretical" Authors, the mystic Catherine of Genoa, Martin Luther, Russian Orthodox Writers, and J. W. Nevin. Requirements: 3 short papers, cumulative final. This course presupposes no previous courses in Christianity. |
| RELI 208 Islam
in the Modern Age Aziz Sachedina (Sachedina@virginia.edu) Schedule # 70832 0930-1045 Tuesday & Thursday + section REL 208 will study the Muslim community in the modern world characterized by individualism, secularism, rationalism and political empowerment through democratization. That which characterizes the Muslim community is their devotion to the classical faith, Islam, with its culture and civilization that continues to inspire its major thinkers. The course is primarily concerned with the study of Islam and its people in the last two centuries, - the period of Islamic reform in the wake of Western hegemony and the efforts of the community to readjust under the challenges of the liberal and technical age. The course will explore ways of evaluating religious and political pluralism, freedom of religion and other human rights in the context of global religious revival in the world's religions. |
| RELG 216
Religion in America Since 1865 Heather Warren (HWarren@virginia.edu) Schedule # 73532 1200-1250 Monday & Wednesday + section An historical survey of religion in America from the Civil War to the present. The course includes study of theological change in Protestantism, the emergence of three kinds of Judaism, controversy and change in American Catholicism, the origins of fundamentalism and Pentecostalism, and various expressions of African-American faith. It attends to the effects of immigration, urbanization, politics, and other social and cultural changes on American religious life. This course fulfills the Second Writing Requirement. Requirements: Three papers (6-7 pages each), a mid-term exam, and a final exam. |
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RELG 219 Religion
& Modern Fiction
Larry Bouchard (LBouchard@virginia.edu) Schedule # 70144 1100-1215 Tuesday & Thursday + section We will explore ways in which modern literature asks persistent questions that are intrinsically religious in character: questions concerning the relation between human spirit and human nature, the fact of evil and suffering, the desire for personal and communal wholeness or fulfillment, and whether human beings need to be rooted in a symbolic order of meaning. Some of the authors we will consider (such as Elie Wiesel, Flannery O'Connor, or Susaku Endo) write fictions that are intended to reflect explicitly their religious traditions. Others (such as N. Scott Momaday, Seamus Heaney, Annie Dillard, or E. L. Doctorow) employ a variety of religious and cultural traditions to create more idiosyncratic religious interpretations. And others (such as Joseph Conrad, Milan Kundera or Tony Morrison) create secular narratives that nonetheless raise philosopohical and moral questions that have religious implications. In addition, the course will consider other authors and interpreters of religion. |
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GREE 224 New Testament Greek
(Intermediate Greek)
This course is not offered by the department, but may be of interest to religious studies students Sheila Griffith (sdg5a@virginia.edu) Schedule# 73033 1400-1515 The aims of this course are to solidify your knowledge of Hellenistic Greek grammar and vocabulary and to gain speed and proficiency in reading and translating the Greek New Testament. We will read passages from I Corinthians and Romans, as well as some passages from the Acts of the Apostles. We will also consider some of the principles of New Testament textual criticism. Prerequisite: Greek 101-102 or permission of the instructor. Graduate students should consult instructor about registration. This course is offered by the Department of Classics. |
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RELG 229
Business Ethics |
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RELG 230 Religious
Ethics and Moral Problems
Michelle Meyer (mnm3e@virginia.edu) Schedule # 70417 1200-1250 Monday & Wednesday + section In this course, we will critically analyze various Western approaches to a survey of contemporary, Western moral issues. The approaches we will examine are grounded in traditions both theological (Jewish, Catholic and Protestant) and secular humanistic (e.g., liberal, communitarian, utilitarian, feminist, Marxist). The moral problems themselves cover a wide spectrum of human experience of relevance to students, and are likely to include: truthfulness, sexual ethics (sex, marriage, homosexuality, sexual 'deviance'), pornography, capital punishment, warfare, affirmative action, and obligations to animals and the environment. Particular attention will be paid to the conclusions reached on these issues by the authors we read, the type and strength of the arguments used to support these conclusions, and how the authors' broader theological and philosophical commitments influence their moral judgments. |
| RELJ 243 Jews
in the Visual Arts Asher Biemann (Biemann@virginia.edu) Schedule # 72424 1400-1450 Monday, Wednesday & Friday Early 19th century art historians still considered the Jews a thoroughly "un-artistic" people, incapable of visual creativity because of a prohibition against "graven images" in the Ten Commandments. By the end of the same century, the Science of Judaism and the Zionist movement in Europe had not only created an extensive field of research but also an historical and ideological battle about the essence and use of "Jewish Art." This course will examine both the study of Jewish art throughout modern history and the works of Jewish art, with a focus on modern and contemporary artists in Europe, Israel, and the United States. In addition to the visual part, we will read relevant selections from Biblical, Rabbinic, modern, and contemporary sources. |
| RELB 254 Tibetan
Buddhism William Gorvine (Gorvine@virginia.edu) Schedule # 73938 0900-0950 Monday & Wednesday + section (This course was originally scheduled from 10-10:50 and has been changed) This course surveys Tibetan Buddhist religious culture in terms of its history, biographical traditions, religious communities, cultural patterns, ritual life, contemplative traditions, and philosophical discourses. The focus will be on how tantric Buddhism has historically functioned in Tibet to relate these different dimensions together as an identifiable cultural zone of vast geographical terrain, despite never achieving any form of political unity. These range from controversies over antinomian practices pertaining to sexuality and violence, to Tibet¹s religo-political solution to tantra¹s decentralized paradigm of religious leaders understood to be Buddhas with local mandalas of absolute authority. We will look into the rise of the institution of reincarnate lamas that culminated in the Dalai Lama, and address the theory that Tibet¹s lack of centralization led to the importance of so-called "shamanic" trends of Buddhism. Finally we will also examine at great depth Tibetan innovations in Buddhist philosophy, ritual and yoga. |
| RELA 276 Traditional
and Contemporary Christianity in Africa Isabel Mukonyora (im9b) Schedule # 71826 1900-2130 Monday The title and description for this course listing have changed significantly The course begins with analysis of the gender dimensions of the religious language of well known theologians of early Christianity, Origen, Cyril, Tertullian, St. Augustine etc. who have been reclaimed by Africanists as forefathers whose ideas western theologians have benefited from in the evolution of Christian Orthodoxy of the west. Now viewed as traditional to Africa, these Early Fathers are looked as examples of African Christians who inform us about a part of Africa during Late Antiquity. A careful study will be made of the use of anthropomorphic ideas to communicate religious truths with the topical interest in gender providing spectacles through which to revisit Christianity in Greco-Roman times. This is followed by a study of African Traditional Religions found in sub-Sahara Africa for which there is no in-depth scholarship dating beyond half a century ago. The ideas of Africans who have been anxious to show that African Traditional Religion has continuities with Christianity will be critiqued against a background knowledge of other thoroughgoing studies of African Traditional Religion produced mainly by anthropologists. The male focus in studies of African Traditional Religion is counter-balanced with the discovery of an abundance of uses of female imagery in African Traditional Religion. This leads to the setting up of new parameters for handling this African religious heritage. Finally, ideas from African Independent Churches, which arouse the curiosity of anyone who visits Africa today, will be used to show how gender imagery, a lot which marginalizes the women of Africa by making them part of religious language of nature to be subjugated by man (cf. Aristotle's hierarchy of being), continues to flourish. There are many lessons about the way human experience feeds into into talk about divine realities. Altogether this course raises questions about anthropomorphic language and matters of the divine that should be of interest to both male and female students. Many of the historical and philosophical issues that are of interest to any student of religion are raised for discussion in this survey of the different waves of religious movements in Africa. |
| RELJ 308 Israeli
Fiction in Translation Asher Biemann (Biemann@virginia.edu) Schedule #72442 1400-1515 Tuesday & Thursday Israel, barely 50 years old, has produced an astonishing number of world class writers and poets. To understand Israeli society, culture, and identity through the eyes of fiction will be the goal of this course. In novels and short stories from the early period of modern Hebrew writing to the present we will encounter such topics as life in exile and in the pre-State Yishuv, clashing generations and values, the challenges of Israeli multiculturalism, the memory and scars of the Holocaust, the dynamics of Arab-Jewish relations, the experience of war, terror, and liberation, the creation of a new, secular society, the changing role of women - and of course: love. Readings will include texts by Micha Y. Berdyczewski, S. Y. Agnon, Ahron Megged, Moshe Shamir, Yehuda Amichai, A. B. Yehoshua, Amos Oz, Orly Castel-Bloom, Ruth Almog, Yoel Hofmann, and others. |
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RELJ 310
Medieval Jewish Theology |
| RELI 312 Sufism:
Islamic Mysticism Aziz Sachedina (Sachedina@virginia.edu) Schedule # 73168 1530-1800 Tuesday REL 312 is a historical and topical survey of the origins and development of Islamic mysticism. The course is primarily concerned with the growth of mystical tradition in Islam, the rise of asceticism, the early Sufis, the development of Sufi orders, the systematization of Sufi teaching and the evolution of theosophical dimensions of mysticism, and finally, the contribution of Sufism in the Islamic art and literatures. In doing so, we will attempt to study the lives and teachings of the outstanding Sufis as Rabi'a, Hallaj, Rumi, Gazali and others. For the first time the course will include multi-media component to explore Spiritual Dimensions of Islamic Art and Architecture to underscore the Sufi influence in the material cultures of Muslims. Reading assignments include Annemarie Schimell, Mystical Dimensions of Islam (This is the basic textbook for the course.); Menahim Milson, A Sufi Rule for Novices; J.S. Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam; A.W. Chittick, Sufi Path of Love and Sufi Path of Knowledge. Requirements: Regular attendance at weekly sessions. Term paper on some aspect of Sufism (12-15 typewritten pages. Mid-term and Final exam. Prerequisites: RELI 207 or RELI 208; or instructor's permission |
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RELB 315 Theravada Buddhism: Doctrines
and Practices |
| RELB 318 Tibetan
Wisdom P. Jeffrey Hopkins (JHopkins@virginia.edu) Schedule # 71918 1100-1215 Tuesday & Thursday We will examine Tibetan presentations of selflessness/emptiness as well as other topics in the purported four Indian schools of Buddhism. Limited to 20 students; Prerequisites: RELB 255, or RELB 317 or permission of instructor. |
| RELC 320 Medieval
Church Law Augustine Thompson (AThompson@virginia.edu) Schedule # 71889 1530-1700 Tuesday & Thursday This course focuses on the law of the medieval Church or "Canon Law" in its classical period, 1140-1348. During this period the most of the principles that underlie modern western law, including that of the United States, were first elaborated. We will study canon and Roman law texts in translation: including the first treatise on legal theory, forms of procedure, the laws on marriage and sorcery, and actual court cases. Format: Introductory historical lectures, followed by "socratic analysis" of legal texts--as done in the medieval law faculties and still today in many law schools. Requirements: Active participation during in-class analysis of legal texts (will influence grade); and four in-class exams (25% of grade each). Exams will be exercises in analyzing and solving legal "story" problems using the principles and doctrines of medieval canon law. Topics of exams: 1) general theory; 2) sorcery law; 3) general marriage law 4) specific marriage problems. Each exam will be preceded by a practice take-home (discussed but not graded). Graduate Option: I will allow graduate students to take this course as "directed research" (RELC 895) and substitute a research paper for the exams. Reading knowledge of Latin is required for this option. |
| RELC 323 Pentecostalism Wallace Best (Wallace@virginia.edu) Schedule # 71510 1100-1215 Tuesday & Thursday This course will analyze the Pentecostal movement of the past 20th century as a transcultural religious phenomenon. Looking to a wider international context, we will explore the development of Pentecostalism in such countries as Mexico, Brazil, Korea, and China. We will also concern ourselves with the way ethnic minorities within the United States have reshaped the practice and the meanings of Pentecostalism, as well as Evangelicalism in general, particularly with regard to race and gender. Because the course is about a religious movement, our analytical approach will be historical, anthropological, and theological. Using various Pentecostal texts and articles, we will work toward a clearer understanding of the basic tenets of Pentecostalism, namely “divine healing,” “baptism in the Holy Spirit,” and “speaking in tongues.” We will also investigate how the most recent internationalist shift within the Pentecostal movement has renewed millennialist thought and efforts for Christian ecumenism. |
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RELB 324 Mysticisms in East
Asia
Jin Hua Chen (Chenjinhua@virginia.edu) Schedule # 71894 1100-1150 Monday, Wednesday and Friday This course surveys some main trends of the East Asian mystical tradition, as were manifested in some major East Asian religions including Daoism, Buddhism, Shinto and Confucianism (a long-forgotten East Asian mystical trend). We focus on the main features and interactions between these traditions in medieval East Asia. In particular, we will discuss how these interactions contributed to the configuration of some specific East Asian religious schools, like the formation of Chan Buddhism and Neo-Confucianism as a response to the interactions between Daoism and Buddhism, Confucianism and Buddhism respectively. After a detailed examination of the mystical features in East Asian cultures: arts (painting and sculpture), literature (poems, novels and literary critical theories) and politics (statecraft and some political institutions), this course will end with a brief comparison of the East Asian mystical tradition with its counterparts in Indian (an important source for the East Asian tradition), Islamic, Judaic and Christian cultures. |
| RELJ 331 Law in
Judaism Elizabeth Alexander (esa3p@virginia.edu) Schedule # 72387 1100-1215 Tuesday & Thursday Jewish law has provided a primary framework for relating to God from biblical to modern times. Jews throughout the ages have asked: How does the law mediate between humans and God? Why adhere to laws that appear to have no basis in reason? Should the law be understood as universal or particularistic? In this course we will analyze classical legal sources in order to answer these and related questions; we will also survey medieval and modern responses to them. |
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RELJ 332 Judaism, Medicine and Healing
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RELG 347 Religion and Natural
Science
John Milbank (jmilbank@virginia.edu) Schedule # 71283 1600-1830 Thursday This course will investigate the relationship between theology and scientific enquiry, from the Middle Ages to the present day. No prior knowledge is assumed. |
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RELJ 351 Yiddish Literature
and the Response to Modernity
Jeffrey Grossman (jg2t@virginia.edu) Schedule # 74428 1400-1515 Monday & Wednesday How did East European and Jewish immigrants to the new world encounter the modern, secular societies emerging around them? How did questions of tradition and belief, cultural and social change, the idea of Jewish peoplehood, and the image of the non-Jew figure in this encounter? In focusing on Yiddish literature, this course seeks to address these questions. It focuses also on the role for Yiddish writers of storytelling, literary form, and Yiddish language itself. And it seeks to show how Yiddish writers responded to the fall of traditional societies by engaging with modern literary and artistic movements, philosophies, and politics, while projecting new images of what it means to be a Jew and a minority in Eastern Europe and North America. |
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RELC 355
Faith and Reason
Jamie Ferreira (JamieF@virginia.edu) Schedule # 73064 1400-1515 Tuesday & Thursday In this course we will reconsider the classical question of the relation between reason and faith. In our readings we will focus on the role of reason and the role of passion (or non-rational factors) in faith. Requirements are attendance at each class, carefully prepared and informed participation in class discussion, occasional brief group presentations to class, and 25-30 pages of written material (which will be downgraded if late). Some of the written assignments will be short analyses of themes in the reading (these should ensure better discussions); other assignments will be 4 or 5 page essays. There will be no final exam during exam period. Prerequisite: one other class in religious studies or philosophy. |
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RELC 362 20th Century Theology
Eugene Rogers (GRogers@virginia.edu) Schedule # 71519 1230-1345 Tuesday & Thursday + section This course will address issues and trends in 20th century Christian theology from Adolf von Harnack and Karl Barth to Hans von Balthasar and contextual theologies. Figures covered may include Harnack, Barth, Bultmann, Tillich, Rahner, von Balthasar, Robert Jenson, Eastern Orthodox, and liberation theologians. Issues may include the historical Jesus, changing doctrines of Israel, the resurgence of interest in the Trinity, ecumenical dialogues, liberation theology, the twinned rise of science and fundamentalism, feminist critiques of God-language and responses, changes in biblical interpretation, sexuality issues, third-world Christianities, and Jewish thinkers in conversation with Christian ones. Requirements: weekly participation in discussion section and electronic newsgroup; your choice of 2-3 papers OR in-class tests. Can fulfill the Second Writing Requirement for those writing papers. |
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RELC 370 Luke-Acts and the Legacies of
Israel |
| RELC 379 Augustine
of Hippo Robert Wilken (rlw2w@virginia.edu) Schedule # 73054 0930-1045 Tuesday & Thursday Augustine of Hippo (354-430) was the most important Christian thinker in the early church. Course will examine Augustine as a man of late antiquity, as bishop, and as a Christian thinker. Readings from his major writings, e.g. On True Religion, Confessions, City of God, Christian Doctrine, his biblical commentaries, polemical works, and letters. Discussion of his theological ideas (grace, love, sin, faith, et al.) and his approach to moral issues (marriage, sexuality, war, lying, coercion in religious matters, et al.). Consideration of Augustine's influence on Christian tradition and his ongoing significance |
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RELG 386 Human
Bodies and Parts as Property
Jim Childress (Childress@virginia.edu) Schedule # 71139 1400-1515 Monday & Wednesday An analysis and assessment of different historical and contemporary theological, philosophical and legal interpretations of "rights holders" (e.g. individuals while alive, their families after death, and the society) and the "rights held" (e.g. to transfer, to donate, or to sell) in the living and dead human body, with particular attention to current disputes about the use of human body parts in organ and tissue transplantation and new reproductive technologies. Permission of instructor required. |
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RELC 391 / RELJ 391 Women and the Bible |
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RELG 400 Majors
Seminar: Spiritual Journeys
Vanessa Ochs (vlo4n@virginia.edu) Schedule #71670 1530-1800 Wednesday Restricted to Religious Studies Majors This is an interdisciplinary course focussing on the theme of "the spiritual journey" which draws upon important theories that religious scholars turn to in the history of religions, psychology, anthropology and sociology. Through the lens of these theories, we will look at modern and contemporary literary spiritual journeys, both fictional and autobiographical. Literary works may include: Maugham, Rilke, Colette, May Sarton, Baldwin, Annie Dillard, Nathan England, Henri Nouen, Sharon Butala and Rebecca Goldstein Prerequisite: 3rd and 4th year Religious Studies Majors only |
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RELG 415 Salem Witch Trials
in History and Literature
Benjamin Ray (BenRay@virginia.edu) Schedule # 71196 1530-1800 Thursday Restricted to Majors in Religious Studies, History, and English This seminar will explore the rich range of historical scholarship, literary fiction, and primary source materials relating to the witch trials of Salem Village in 1692. How and why did the accusations begin? How and why did they stop? Serious theories and wild speculations abound, both then and now. Who were the heroes and villains of this tragic episode? Some of the most gripping personal stories may be found in the primary sources and literary treatments. Explore the impact of this small-scale, 300 year-old event on the American cultural heritage -- why has "Salem witchcraft" become part of the American cultural imagination? In addition to a few classic historical studies, Boyer & Nissenbaum, SALEM POSSESSED, Carol Karleson, THE DEVIL IN THE SHAPE OF A WOMAN , and Rosenthal, SALEM STORY, and literary works, Hawthorne, HOUSE OF SEVEN GABLES, Longfellow, GILES CORY OF SALEM FARMS, Miller's THE CRUCIBLE, the course will make extensive use of the Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft which contains all the original court documents and contemporary accounts. |
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RELG 423
Bioethics Internship Seminar
Margaret Mohrmann (mem7e@virginia.edu) Schedule # 73933 1200-1400 Thursday This course is designed to provide students with experience in discerning and analyzing ethical issues as they arise in particular clinical settings. Each student will spend one half-day each week in a clinic or other health-care-related setting (the same setting throughout the semester) under the mentorship of a health care professional engaged in that setting. Seminar time will focus both on the role of the ethicist/observer and on the particular issues that commonly arise in clinical medicine. During the second half of the semester, students will give presentations related to their specific areas of observation. Students are expected to have some background knowledge of bioethics methods and common questions. Admittance to the course is by application; for details, see the Undergraduate Bioethics Program Website at http://www.uva.edu/~bioethic/intern.htm. |
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SOC 486 Sociology of Religion
This course is not offered by the department, but may be of interest to students of religious studies Ekaterina Makarova (kmakarova@virginia.edu) Schedule# 70022 1400-1515 Tuesday and Thursday This course explores the role of religion in modern societies. It provides a broad comparative cultural and historical perspective, drawing on examples from America, Western Europe, and former communist countries of Eastern Europe. Topics include classic sociological theories of religion, church-state relations, civil religion, and religion and nationalism. |
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Graduate Courses For information on the Graduate Program please contact the graduate secretary, Sarah Adams, email: sea3n@virginia.edu |
| RELB 501 Literary
and Spoken Tibetan II (Second Year Tibetan) Travis McCauley (twm4g@virginia.edu) Schedule# 71160 0900-0950 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday This course offers an introduction to literary and spoken Tibetan and is designed with special attention to undergraduates. Students will study classical and modern grammar systematically with examples drawn from a wide variety of literature, and with a native speaker use new digital instructional materials to develop proficiency in spoken Tibetan. This sequence of courses can count towards fulfilling the University requirement of two years of foreign language study. Prerequisites: Tibetan I. Requirements: Class attendance and participation, three exams, four translation assignments. |
| RELB 502 Tibetan
Buddhist Tantra P. Jeffrey Hopkins (JHopkins@virginia.edu) Schedule # 72004 1400-1515 Tuesday & Thursday An introduction (in translation) to highly systematized forms of Tibetan presentations of Buddhist tantra. We will examine the difference between the Sutra and Tantra styles of meditation as found in the works of Bu-don, Long-chen-ba, and Dzong-ka-ba and will utilize the model of paradigm change as found in Hans Kng's adaptation for theology of Thomas Khun's theory. The yogic path of Action Tantra will be considered in detail, and Euro-American interpretations, preconceptions, misconceptions, and insights into tantra will be analyzed. A focal point will be the problem of pride in tantric practitioners' imagination of themselves as a deity, especially in the light of Carl Jung's warnings about positive and negative inflation. We will also examine the issue of the difference between the four classes of tantras as presented by Bu-don. |
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RELG 504 Seminar
on American Religious Social Reform
Heather Warren (HWarren@virginia.edu) Schedule #74422 1500-1730 Monday This is a research seminar on the history of American religion and social reform. We will meet every other week to discuss a book in common and our research projects. Each student will carry out original research and present it to the class at the end of term. Books will include: Charles Marsh's God's Long Summer (civil rights), Cynthia Gorney's Articles of Faith (abortion), and Burce Nichol's The Uneasy Alliance (Protestant foreign relief efforts and U.S. foreign policy). |
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RELH 506 The Development of Religion in
Southern India |
| RELG 514 Thomas Aquinas
Eugene Rogers (GRogers@virginia.edu) Schedule #71497 1530-1800 Wednesday The course will introduce Aquinas's theology and ethics in the _Summa Theologiae._ We will focus on 1) Christ and the knowledge of God--how Christ's knowledge is the source of ours, and how Christ can know and not know the same thing at the same time; and 2) the Holy Spirit acting _both_ in the heart as an internal principle of human action, producing virtue; _and_ in God's providential ordering of the world as an external principle of human action, producing law--including the "New Law," which is grace. We will consider contemporary American, Scottish, French, and German interpreters, and the revaluation of Aquinas in Protestant-Catholic dialogue. Four short (five-page) papers or one long (20-page) paper. Graduate students with incompletes and undergraduates must take the four-paper option and finish by the last day of class. |
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RELG 517 Seminar in the History
of Religions
Benjamin Ray (BenRay@virginia.edu) Schedule # 70018 1230-1345 Tuesday & Thursday 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-Straus, Doniger, Rorty, Smith, etc.). Requirements: Four written presentations. |
| RELJ 522 Literary
Approaches to Rabbinic Literature Elizabeth Alexander (esa3p@virginia.edu) Schedule # 71673 1530-1800 Tuesday Rabbinic literature has shaped the values, rituals and theology of Judaism as it is practiced by Jews around the world today. Yet the texts of the rabbinic corpus rarely state their values, rituals or theology in straightforward manner. This course gives students the skills to tease out the essential kernel of a given passage by applying the insights of contemporary literary theory. We will identify the chief literary characteristics of midrash (biblical interpretation), mishnah (legal codification and case law) and gemara (legal argumentation and interpretation). We will also identify literary theories that clarify the goals, purposes and meaning of exemplary passages in each of these genres. The insights culled from literary theory include attention to intertextuality, hermeneutical presuppositions, the use of recurring images and motifs and the constructive role of the reader. Class time will be largely devoted to close readings of primary texts. |
| RELJ 524 Enlightenment
and the Jews Asher Biemann (Biemann@virginia.edu) Schedule # 72484 1900-2130 Tuesday Modern Jewish history in Europe is largely defined by the lasting impact of the enlightenment and the consequent emancipation of the Jews. This course will explore the transition in European Jewish life and culture from a traditional society to a modern cultural identity. Focusing mostly on German speaking and French Jewry, we will study the enlightenment as both a European phenomenon and a phenomenon within Judaism (Haskalah). Our goal will be to understand the historical and intellectual origins of the enlightenment as well as its role in shaping modern Judaism. |
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RELC / J 529 Women and the Bible |
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RELB 534 Colloquial
Tibetan 4
Sonam Germano (Sonam@virginia.edu) Schedule # 74230 1000-1050 Monday
& Wednesday
A continuation of Colloquial Tibetan III, this course uses multimedia programs in Colloquial Tibetan to develop verbal fluency, acquire vocabulary, and master advanced topics in spoken Tibetan. Prerequisites: Tibetan III. Requirements: "Requirements: class attendance, participation, preparation of programs outside of class, multiple exams and quizzes. |
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RELB 536
Literary Tibetan 4
Wangchuk Tsering (tw5j@virginia.edu) Schedule # 71717 1530-1645 Tuesday & Thursday A continuation of Literary Tibetan III, this course is designed to expose students to a variety of styles/genres in Tibetan literature and advanced Tibetan grammar. Prerequisites: Literary Tibetan III. Requirements: Class attendance and participation, three exams, four translation assignments. |
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RELB 543 Colloquial
Tibetan 6
Sonam Germano (Sonam@virginia.edu) Schedule # 72981 1100-1150 Monday
& Wednesday
A continuation of Colloquial Tibetan V, this course uses multimedia programs in Colloquial Tibetan to develop verbal fluency, acquire vocabulary, and master advanced topics in spoken Tibetan. Prerequisites: Tibetan V. Requirements: "Requirements: class attendance, participation, preparation of programs outside of class, multiple exams and quizzes. |
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RELB 548 Literary
Tibetan 6 |
| RELG 556 Issues in
African-American Religion Wallace Best (Wallace@virginia.edu) Schedule # 71168 1530-1800 Wednesday The literature on African American religion and religious history has grown substantially in the past half century. In this course we will examine many of the crucial texts as a way to understand how scholars have gone about the study African American religion and history, and as a way to understand the issues that have shaped the religious development of American people of color. In this way the emphasis in the course will be both methodological and historiographical. Topics will include: black religion as history and phenomenon, dialectical models of black faith, black Christian nationalism, religious pluralism, and politico-religious organization. Requirements will include weekly short papers and a final research essay. |
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RELG 557 Suffering Medicine
and Faith
Margaret Mohrmann (mem7e@virginia.edu) Schedule # 74433 1530-1800 Monday This seminar will begin with a review of medical understandings of pain -- neuroscience, palliation, et al. -- and move to personal and cultural interpretations and/or expressions of pain and concepts of suffering. With that background, we will explore the intersection of faith with the experience of pain and suffering, an investigation that will include, but not be limited to, a study of theodicy. The medical literature will not be highly technical (i.e., knowledge of neuroanatomy is not a prerequisite); readings will be drawn from a variety of genres and disciplines. Class presentations and a final paper or project will be required. |
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RELG 559 Social
and Political Thought: Religion, Morality and Public Policy
Jim Childress (Childress@virginia.edu) Schedule # 71007 1530-1800 Tuesday This seminar for graduate students and advanced undergraduates will carefully and critically examine various perspectives on the role of religious convictions in formulating public policies in a liberal democratic society. Within the context set by the US constitutional framework of separation of church and state, the seminar will focus mainly on important debates (1) in political and social philosophy and (2) in theology and religious ethics about the legitimate role of religious convictions in forming public policy. Permission of instructor required. |
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RELB 702 Readings
in Chinese Buddhist Texts
Jin Hua Chen (Chenjinhua@virginia.edu) Schedule # 74170 TBA TBA This course has two complimentary parts: in-class coursework, and individually supervised research. For the coursework, we will read selections from Chinese Buddhist texts belonging to different periods and schools, emphasizing some common doctrinal and methodological problems in reading Chinese Buddhist texts. We will introduce and develop the skills needed for these problems. For the individual supervision, the instructor will work with each student separately on the specific text that s/he is currently studying as a basic source for his or her Ph. D. Dissertation or MA thesis. In addition to intensive reading of the original texts, participants of this course will be introduced to some basic methods indispensable for Sinological research in general and for the study of Chinese Buddhism in particular. By the end of this course students are expected to be able punctuate Chinese Buddhist texts correctly, translate them appropriately and interpret them both literally ("read the lines") and creatively ("read between the lines"). |
| RELC 711 Catholic
Moral Theology TBA Schedule # 71639 TBA After a quick review of the scholastic "handbook" tradition of moral theology, this course will center on the issues and thinkers forming the different currents of ethical thought in the Catholic Church after Vatican II. Included will be such topics as the distinctiveness of Christian ethics, natural law, conscience, the authority of the magisterium, proportionalism, and the application of norms to social issues. |
| RELG 722 Rationality
Justification and Religious Belief Jamie Ferreira (jamief@virginia.edu) Schedule # 72436 1300-1515 Wednesday Examination of some major approaches to the question of the justification of religious belief. These are classic texts with which you need to be familiar in order to make sense of contemporary discussions in philosophy of religion, including those discussions which shift the emphasis away from knowledge claims, justification, and ontology. We will read works by Kant (Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone), Hegel (Introduction to Lectures on Philosophy of Religion), Kierkegaard(Philosophical Fragments), and Wittgenstein (On Certainty). Short weekly papers and a term paper are required. |
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RELC 732 20th Century Theology
Eugene Rogers (GRogers@virginia.edu) Schedule # 71530 1230-1345 Tuesday & Thursday + section This course will address issues and trends in 20th century Christian theology from Adolf von Harnack and Karl Barth to Hans von Balthasar and contextual theologies. Figures covered may include Harnack, Barth, Bultmann, Tillich, Rahner, von Balthasar, Robert Jenson, Eastern Orthodox, and liberation theologians. Issues may include the historical Jesus, changing doctrines of Israel, the resurgence of interest in the Trinity, ecumenical dialogues, liberation theology, the twinned rise of science and fundamentalism, feminist critiques of God-language and responses, changes in biblical interpretation, sexuality issues, third-world Christianities, and Jewish thinkers in conversation with Christian ones. Requirements: weekly participation in discussion section and electronic newsgroup; your choice of 2-3 papers OR in-class tests. Can fulfill the Second Writing Requirement for those writing papers. |
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RELG 745 Phenomenology and
Mysticism
Peter Ochs (POchs@virginia.edu) Schedule # 71498 1900-2130 Wednesday Tracing the neoplatonic heritage of phenomenology, from Plato to Plotinus to Meister Eckhart to Descartes to Kant to Husserl and after. In the process, students will be asked to isolate the elemental forms of perception, cognition, and reflection that structure phenomenological reduction. And to compare these with claims of mystics in the neoplatonic tradition. |
| RELG 810 Clinical Ethics
Walt Davis (wsd3e@virginia.edu) Schedule #74148 13:00-15:00 Thursday This course will explore some of the major ethical issues that arise in clinical medicine and provide an introduction to methods that are used in the clinical and research settings to address these issues. |
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RELB 821 Literary
Tibetan 8
David Germano (Germano@virginia.edu) Schedule # 73958 1530-1800 Monday A continuation of Literary Tibetan VII, this course is designed for training in the literary forms of the Tibetan language. Emphasis is on exposure to a wide variety of styles/genres in Tibetan literature and in-depth knowledge of Tibetan grammar. Prerequisites: Literary Tibetan VII. Requirements: Class attendance and participation, midterm, final and three translation assignments. |
| RELB 823 Advanced
Tibetan P. Jeffrey Hopkins (JHopkins@virginia.edu) Schedule #74177 TBA Individual translation projects |
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RELB 826 Advanced
Topics in Tibetan Literature
David Germano (Germano@virginia.edu) Schedule # 71779 TBA Directed readings in Tibetan literature for advanced students in Tibetan language. |
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RELB 828 Colloquial
Tibetan 8
Sonam Germano (Sonam@virginia.edu) Schedule # 73209 1100-1150 Monday
& Wednesday
A continuation of Colloquial Tibetan VII, this course uses multimedia programs in Colloquial Tibetan to develop verbal fluency, acquire vocabulary, and master advanced topics in spoken Tibetan. Prerequisites: Tibetan VII. Requirements: Requirements: class attendance, participation, preparation of programs outside of class, multiple exams and quizzes |
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RELG 849 The
Question of Time
John Milbank (jmilbank@virginia.edu) Schedule # 72647 1230-1500 Friday This course will explore the treatment of time in philosophy and theology, beginning with some ancient texts, and then concentrating on the twentieth century. |
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RELG 865 Nineteenth
Century Confession and Autobiography
Alison Milbank (agm2a@virginia.edu) Schedule # 74513 0930-1045 Tuesday & Thursday Nineteenth Century Confession and Autobiography Organised around a series of topics that constituted cultural crises for Victorian culture, this course will examine the ways in which models of religious understanding of the self and its development shaped individual and societal reponse to particular intellectual and social transformations. Six themes - the institutional role of the Church, chartism, faith and politics, the nature of the afterlife, the challenge of historical criticism of the Bible, and the rise of evolutionary theory - will be studied by means of historical document and first person narration.Indirect modes of traversing subjectivity in a covert form will also find a place. Literary works by believers and non-believers will include Newman's 'Apologia,' autobiographies of Josephine Butler and Thomas Huxley, Samuel Butler's 'The Way of All Flesh, 'Edmund Gosse's 'Father and Son,' Charles Kingsley's 'Water Babies' and 'Alton Locke the Taylor,' Thomas Cooper's 'Purgatory of the Suicides,' Ruskin's 'Praeterita,' Tennyson's 'In Memoriam' and Browning's 'Christmas Eve.' We shall also study George Eliot's translation of Strauss's life of Jesus. |
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RELC 892 Origen
of Alexandria
Robert Wilken (Wilken@virginia.edu) Schedule # 739561530-1800 Monday The seminar will focus on Origen's exegetical writings, in particularly his large theological commentary on the Gospel According to St. John. Besides close study of the text, the seminar will discuss Origen's approach to exegesis, the relation between his exegesis and his theology, and the importance of the Gospel of John in early Christian thought. Greek required. Requirement: seminar paper. |
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Guide to Undergraduate
Courses If you rely solely on the mnemonic listing of courses (RELB, RELC, RELJ, etc), which categorizes courses by traditions rather than by subject, you might miss out on some courses that would otherwise interest you. Please check the subject list below for reference: SUBJECT INDEX TO UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
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ATTENTION THIRD AND FOURTH YEAR STUDENTS All 500-level courses are open to undergraduate enrollment. Though these are graduate-level courses, they are designed to accommodate advanced undergraduates who have previously taken religious studies courses. Minors, and especially majors are encouraged to consider enrolling in these courses. For those considering graduate school, taking a 500-level course could prove immensely helpful. If you see any 500-level course in this syllabus that you think you might want to take, and you have questions about it, please contact the professor who will be offering it. The religious studies faculty as a whole welcomes all such inquiries. |
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RELIGIOUS STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: A BRIEF DESCRIPTION The Department of Religious Studies is a multi-disciplinary department that examines and interprets the religions of the world. Courses in the department stress skills such as critical thinking, clear writing, and persuasive use of evidence to support one's views, for these skills are central to the analysis and interpretation of the social and intellectual systems which constitute the data of religious studies. |
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The department offers a wide range of courses covering different approaches to the study of religion, and provides students with the opportunity to examine the major religious traditions of human history (Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam), as well as other traditions that have flourished independently of Asian and European influences. |
| At the undergraduate level, the department requires relatively little previous exposure to the academic study of religion. Introductory 100 and 200 level courses are open without prerequisites, although in certain cases a general preparation in introductory courses is often advisable. |
| The majors seminar (RELG 400) is required of all majors in Religious Studies, and should be taken in the third or fourth year. This course is designed to provide an overview of the different methodologies employed in the study of religion, and places a special emphasis on the development of the humanistic and social-scientific skills necessary for the interpretation of religious phenomena. |
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FOR THE STUDENT CONSIDERING A MAJOR Students interested in declaring a major may obtain the major declaration form in the Religious Studies Office B-10 Cocke Hall, or in Garrett Hall. Prospective majors must consult with a faculty member in order to plan their courses and to choose an adviser. |
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Requirements for Religious Studies Major (Effective Fall 1994) In order to complete a major in Religious Studies, each student must fulfill the following requirements: |
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A RELIGIOUS STUDIES MINOR Students who are interested in Religious Studies but do not wish to major may want to consider the department's minor program. The minor requires the completion of a minimum of five graded courses (15 credit hours). Six hours must be taken in the same religious tradition or cultural area and at least three hours must be taken at the 300-level-or-above. Applications are available in the departmental office and must be filled out in consultation with a departmental faculty member. |
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DISTINGUISHED MAJORS PROGRAM The Distinguished Majors Program in Religious Studies affords qualified students the opportunity to do advanced research and to receive, at graduation, the honor of "Distinction", "High Distinction" or "Highest Distinction." Entry into the program: |
Admission into the program will be considered by the Committee on Undergraduate Studies. |
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Cover photography and design by Doug Burgess, Dept. of Religious Studies |