| Religions of the West |
|
Religious Studies 002
(JWST 122) |
| This course introduces students to the
academic study of religion through examination of Judaism, Christianity
and Islam from their historical origins to the present time. Beliefs
and practices of each of these faith traditions will be explored within
broad historical contexts, paying attention to the diversity of
practitioners, and to cross-cultural encounters. We will consider the
ways in which each of the monotheistic cultures responded to the advent
of modernity, and reflect on the roles played by these religions – and
their exponents – in contemporary society. |
| Religious Violence and Cults |
| Religious Studies 006 MW 1:00-2:00, plus 1 hour recitation Instructor: Dunning sdunning@ccat.sas.upenn.edu General Requirement I: Society |
| Since September 11, 2001, America has become more aware than ever that there is a connection between religion and violence. But what is it? Why do religious people embrace violence? Are all cults prone to violence? And do terrorists tend to belong to cults? This course will introduce students to representative terrorist groups from five different religious traditions and to cults that have taken the path of group suicide. We will also examine a number of ways to understand religious terrorism, religious suicide, and cult affiliation in general. |
| Note: Since this is a new
course that is combining aspects of RELS 006: Understanding the Cult
Controversy and RELS 108: Religion and Violence, it is not open to
students who have taken either of those courses without special
permission from the instructor. |
| Classical Indian Epics |
| Religious Studies 008 (SAST 020) MW 2:00-3:30 Instructor: Cox |
| In this course we will explore the two Indian
epic masterpieces, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, poems that are
among the most important pieces of imaginative writing in world
history. By examining these, both through translation of their Sanskrit
originals as well as reworkings in test and performance (including film
and other media), we’ll try to understand the fundamental claims made
by the epics about family and political life, the ethics of violence,
and the status of gender. The epics present startling and contrasting
understandings of the social world in its ideal state as well as in its
destruction, and these visions of order and chaos will be our recurrent
themes throughout. This course is introductory and assumes no previous
knowledge. |
| The Bible as Literature |
| Religious Studies 015 (ENGL 033) MWF 12:00-1:00 Instructor: Hall adhall@english.upenn.edu Distribution III: Arts and Letters |
| Successive generations have found the Bible
to be a text which requires – even demands – extensive interpretation.
This course explores the Bible as literature, considering such matters
as the artistic arrangement and stylistic qualities of individual
episodes as well as the larger thematic patterns of both the Old and
New Testaments and the Apocrypha. A good part of the course is spent
looking at the place of the Bible in cultural and literary history and
the influence of such biblical figures as Adam and Eve, David, and
Susanna on writers of poetry, drama, and fiction in the English and
American literary traditions. |
| Science and the Sacred |
| Religious Studies 102 TR 9:00-10:30 Instructor: Russell brodmanarea51@earthlink.net Distribution I: Society Benjamin Franklin Seminar |
| An introduction to the rapidly expanding
dialogue between religion and science. Episodes from the historical
interaction between Judeo-Christian theology and the nature sciences
will highlight parallel revolutions in each accompanying fundamental
shifts in world view. This serves as crucial background to
understanding the present relationship between scientific understanding
and religious reflection and the implications they have for each other.
The basic findings of classical and modern physics, biology and the
neurosciences will be introduced in the context of issues such as
divine action, the nature of the human, and the relationship of
scientific and religious ways of knowing. |
| Modern Religious Thought: Religion and Existentialism |
| Religious Studies 106 W 5:30-8:40 Instructor: Graves (CGS) agraves@sas.upenn.edu Distribution II: History and Tradition |
|
This course will cover some of the key religious issues that surfaced within the existential “movement” (ethical responsibility, the nature of faith, human freedom and finitude, etc.) by embarking on a close reading of major existentialist thinkers, including Kierkegaard, Heideggerr, Jaspers, Marcel, and Sartre.
|
| Religion and Secular Values: Hip-Hop Culture |
| Religious Studies 111 (URBS 111, AFRC 111) MW 12:00-1:00, plus 1 hour recitation Instructor: Dyson mdyson@sas.upenn.edu General Requirement I: Society |
| This course will examine the history and
development of hip-hop culture, paying special attention to its social,
cultural, racial, political and spiritual dimensions. We will probe the
origins of hip-hop culture in political crisis and racial conflict,
charting its evolution as a form of collective self-expression among
black and brown youth. The course will explore the four fundamental
elements of hip-hop culture – breakdancing, graffiti-writing, dj-ing
and rap music. We will also engage the internal debates in rap music –
i.e., underground versus commercial rap, gangsta vs. conscious rap – as
well as the class tensions within hip-hop. The course will also examine
the political controversies around hip-hop culture, including rap
music’s misogyny and homophobia, and the attempt of politicians and
other authority figures to suppress its public consumption and
expression. Finally, we will explore the interracial and global
dimensions of hip-hop culture and probe the implications of its
consumption by white Americans and citizens around the world. |
| Introduction to the Bible |
| Religious Studies 125 (NELC 150, JWST 150) TR 4:00-5:00 Instructor: Tigay jtgay@ccat.sas.upenn.edu Distribution III: Arts and Letters |
| A survey of the major themes and ideas of the
Bible, with special attention paid to the contributions of archaeology
and modern Biblical scholarship, including Biblical criticism and the
response to it in Judaism and Christianity. |
| Introduction to Christianity |
| Religious Studies 133 TR 10:30-12:00 Instructor: Matter amatter@ccat.sas.upenn.edu Distribution II: History and Tradition |
| A survey of the classical Christian
Traditions (Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Protestant groups). The basic
perspective is phenomenological, but historical and folkloric
considerations are also raised. Topics include the symbols of Christian
faiths, perspectives on human nature, and views of evil. |
| Christian Origins |
| Religious Studies 135 M 5:30-8:40 Instructor: Wellman (CGS) tjwellman@mindspring.com Distribution II: History and Tradition |
| Christianity did not begin in a vacuum –
indeed it emerged from the complex Jewish world of which we catch a
glimpse in the “Dead Sea Scrolls”and it blossomed into various forms
among the “mystery religions” of the Greco-Roman world around the
Mediterranean Sea and farther east. In this course, we will explore
these developments in the first two centuries of the Common Era,
including the “New testament” collection. The goal of this course is
neither conversion nor its opposite, but understanding as best we can
from this chronological and geographical distance what the participants
in the various developments thought was happening, and how they shaped
and were shaped by their worlds. We will get very involved in
discussing what can be known about the period, and how much we as
interpreters contribute to any resulting “historical” picture. |
| Introduction to Indian Philosophy |
| Religious Studies 155 MW 3:00-4:00, plus 1 hour recitation Instructor: Barretta General Requirement II: History and Tradition |
| The fundamentals of Hindu and Buddhist
philosophy, the main patterns of Western response to it, and some basic
questions of “comparative philosophy”. Selected readings from classical
Indian texts in English translation. |
| Introduction to Hinduism |
| Religious Studies 163 (SAST 163) R 5:00-8:00 Instructor: Adluri (CGS) sadluri@sas.upenn.edu Distribution II: History and Tradition |
| Hindu religious beliefs and practices from
the earliest period to the present, stressing contemporary religious
thought, performances and institutions and their historical
backgrounds. Basic human issues such as the origin and nature of the
world and society, the meaning of personal existence, sex, birth,
death, human responsibility, the family, and destiny – and the variety
of Hindu understandings of them as revealed in myth, story, philosophy,
and ritual will be the focus of this course. Readings will mostly be
from original sources and all will be in English translations. |
| Jewish Folklore |
| Religious Studies 221 (AMES 243, FOLK 280, JWST 260) TR 10:30-12:00 Instructor: Ben-Amos dbamos@sas.upenn.edu General Requirement II: History and Tradition |
| The Jews are among the few nations and ethnic
groups whose oral tradition occurs in literary and religious texts
dating back more than two thousand years. This tradition changed and
diversified over the years in terms of the migrations of the Jews into
different countries and the historical, social, and cultural changes
that these countries underwent. The course attempts to capture the
historical and ethnic diversity of Jewish folklore in a variety of oral
literary forms. A basic book of Hasidic legends from the 18th century
will serve as a key text to explore problems in Jewish folklore
relating to both earlier and later periods. |
| Studies in Rabbinic Literature: The Synagogue in Late Antiquity |
| Religious Studies 226 (HEBR 257, JWST 257) T 2:00-5:00 Instructor: Bregman General Requirement III: Arts and Letters |
| From the Talmudic period and on, the
synagogue has served as the social and religious center of Jewish
life. In this course we will attempt to enter the world of the
ancient synagogue through the portals of its architecture, art and literature. Texts for preparation and
study in class will include passages from rabbinic literature viewed as
artifacts off synagogue sermons, piyyutim (liturgical poems) and
selections from traditional liturgy in rabbinic Hebrew. English
translations will be supplied as necessary |
| Muslims, Christians, Jews |
| Religious Studies 311 (NELC 335) M 2:00-5:00 Instructor: Sharkey hsharkey@sas.upenn.edu Distribution II: History and Tradition |
| This class is a reading- and
discussion-intensive seminar that addresses several recurring questions
with regard to the Middle East and North Africa. How have Islam,
Judaism, and Christianity influenced each other in these regions
historically? How have Jews, Christians, and Muslims fared as religious
minorities? To what extent have communal relations been characterized
by harmony and cooperation, or by strife and discord, and how have
these relations changed in different contexts over time? To what extent
and under what circumstances have members of these communities
converted, intermarried, formed business alliances, and adopted or
developed similar customs? How has the emergence of the modern
nation-state system affected communal relations as well as the legal or
social status of religious minorities in particular countries? How
important has religion been as one variable in social identity (along
with sect, ethnicity, class, gender, etc.), and to what extent has
religious identity figured into regional conflicts and wars? The focus
of the class will be on the modern period (c. 1800-present) although we
will read about some relevant trends in the early and middle Islamic
periods as well. Students will also pursue individually tailored
research to produce final papers. |
| Religion and Society in the Iberian World |
| Religious Studies 313 (HIST 313) TR 3:00-4:30 Instructor: Feros aferos@sas.upenn.edu |
| The purpose of this course is to study the
relationships between religion and society and religion and national
identity in the early modern Spanish empire. Between the late 15th and
the early 19th centuries, the Spanish empire controlled numerous
territories – the Iberian Peninsula, Hispanic America, Naples, Sicily,
the Low Countries, Philippines and many others – and thus had
jurisdictional authority over many religiously and ethnically diverse
people – Catholic, Muslim, Protestant, Jewish, Native Americans,
Africans, Filipinos, etcetera. In addition to studying the relationship
between religion and national identity, we will use the Iberian case as
an example of a society inhabited by individuals with different
religious faiths and beliefs; we will examine women’s roles within and
outside the Church; the emergence of theories of religious tolerance;
the use of religion to justify political resistance; and the surge of
new forms of Catholicism among Native Americans and Africans in the New
World. Finally, we will study the role religion played in defining
social and ethnic identities by analyzing, for example, the “purity of
blood” laws and the Catholic Church’s views on slavery in the New
World. |
| Religion in American History: 1877-2005 |
| Religious Studies 315 (HIST 325) TR 1:30-3:00 Instructor: Gordon sgordon@law.upenn.edu |
| This course will explore major themes and
moments in religious history that have shaped the development of the
nation since the Civil War era. The approach will be chronological, but
also topical. The course will move through time from the mid-nineteenth
to the early twenty-first century, from Native American religions to
Evangelicalism, African American religions, Catholicism, Judaism,
Islam, Buddhism, Mormonism, Scientology and more. It will also connect
past events to issues and problems that continue to affect religious
beliefs and practices in our own culture, including the revival that
has characterized American religious life for the past three decades.
Rather than debating religious truth, the course explores and analyzes
the many religious perspectives that have shaped American history. This
exploration includes looking at things that many students would not
consider “religious” at first glance, and thus thinking deeply about
how we have defined religion. At times, the course will use a “case
study” approach to explore specific events and ideas that have a wider
applicability, rather than trying to cover every significant religious
development and every religious group. |
| Modern Jewish Intellectual and Cultural History |
| Religious Studies 320 TR 1:30-2:30, plus 1 hour recitation Instructor: Ruderman ruderman@sas.upenn.edu Distribution II: History and Tradition |
| An overview of Jewish intellectual and
cultural history from the late 18th century until the present. The
course considers the Jewish enlightenment Reform, Conservative and
Neo-Orthodox Judaism, Zionist and Jewish Socialist thought, and Jewish
thought in the 20th century, particularly in the context of the
Holocaust. Readings of primary sources including Medelsohn, Gieger,
Hirsch, Herzl, Achad-ha-Am, Baeck, Buber, Kaplan and others. No
previous background is required. |
| Independent Study - Undergraduate |
| Religious Studies 399 Time and topic arranged Instructor: Staff rstudies@sas.upenn.edu |
| Please obtain section numbers from the
department office or from the faculty member with whom you will be
working. |
| Topics in Jewish History |
| Religious Studies 429 (HIST 490, JWST 490) W 4:00-7:00 Instructor: Hacker Distribution II: History and Tradition |
| Topic: The Transformation of Sephardic Jewry
in the Early Modern period: From Hispanic Decline to Ottoman Revival This course explores Jewish society in the Iberian Peninsula during the era of explusions. Topics include Jews, Conversos and Christians; social and religious values; economic and social crises; spiritual character and intellectual trends; the explusions and their reprecussions on Sephardic Jewry; Messianic reactions and inner-criticism; migrations to the Ottoman Empire; the new demography of Mediterranean Jewry; the encounter between Sephardic Jewry and other Jewries, such as Romaniotes, Italians, Mustaaribs and Ashkenazic Jews; the structure and the organs of the communities; language, education, culture and ways of life; the encounter between the Spanish heritage and Moslem culture; local partriotism; attitudes toward the Moslem authorities and Moslem society; cultural and religious trends; the world of Ottoman Jewish scholars; Hebrew printing in the Empire; high culture and popular education; messianic impulses; the rise of Kabalah; Safed and its mystical societies; Ottoman Jews and European Christians; sixteenth century and Ottoman Jewry. |
| Requirements: Hebrew is
required for this course. |
| Sources for the Life of Jesus |
|
Religious Studies 435
Instructor: Treat |
| A critical assessment of early Christian
traditions about Jesus (to ca. 200 CE) with special attention to
methodology. Emphasis on applying consistent critical criteria in the
analysis of ancient materials and traditions concerning Jesus, from
whatever source (opponents, enthusiastic advocates, relatively
uninvolved reporters). Problems encountered by any historian dealing
with any subject of which the historian was not an eyewitness will be
illustrated and elaborated in the investigation of what is known about
Jesus. |
| Japanese Buddhism |
| Religious Studies 489 (EALC 269/669) R 2:00-4:45 pm Instructor: Lafleur lafleur@sas.upenn.edu Distribution III: History and Tradition |
| An introduction to the history and cultural
role of Buddhism in Japan. Emphasis is on Buddhism as a component in
the religious, intellectual and cultural life of the Japanese,
especially in poetry and the visual arts. Includes a short review of
prior Buddhism in India and China. |
| Theories of Religion |
| Religious Studies 500 (GRMN 554) W 3:00-6:00 Instructor: Dunning sdunning@ccat.sas.upenn.edu |
| A study of the various ways of interpreting
religion as a phenomenon in human life. Analysis of the presuppositions
involved in psychological, sociological, and phenomenological
approaches. Authors include James, Weber, Freud, Otto, and contemporary
writers offering historical, anthropological and philosophical
perspectives. |
| Science and the Sacred: Neurotheology |
| Religious Studies 502 M 11:00-1:00 Instructor: Newberg newberg@rad.upenn.edu Distribution I: Society |
| This course is designed to present students with the vast amount of information regarding the relationship between the body and spiritual and religious phenomena, including theology, in an attempt to break down the traditional dualism between them. The data will be derived from research articles and books that encompass the scientific, medical, psychological, pastoral care, spiritual and religious disciplines. Since this data is often expressed with distinctions between the body and the spirit, this course will begin with the usual presentation of such research reports and explore whether this duality can ultimately be broken down. The notion of a field of neurotheology will be considered. This course is available for students interested in both the cognitive and biological sciences as well as in religious studies and philosophy since it will present material in a multidisciplinary fashion. The course will explore the relationship between the brain, the mind, and spiritual experience and will consider the most up-to-date theories on their relationship. |
| Class attendance and
participation and the readings are required and constitute 25% of the
grade. Unexcused absence from more than two classes may result in
failure from the course. There will be a journal article presentation
in which students will critically review an article in the literature
that pertains to some aspect of neurotheological analysis that will
constitute 25% of the grade and there will be a final paper (10-15
pages in length) in which students will describe a research study of
their own design that will constitute 50% of their grade. |
| Ethnography of Belief |
| Religious Studies 507 (FOLK 510) M 1:00-3:00 Instructor: Hufford dhufford@sas.upenn.edu |
| This course will examine traditional systems
of supernatural belief with an emphasis on the role of personal
experience in their development and maintenance. The course will focus
on subjects of belief generally conceived of as being "folk” in some
sense (e.g., beliefs in ghosts), but will not exclude a consideration
of popular and academic beliefs where appropriate (e.g., popular
beliefs about UFO's and theological doctrines of the immortality of the
soul). The course will be multidisciplinary in scope. |
| Topics in American Religion: The Radical Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. |
| Religious Studies 517 (AFRC 518, FOLK 517) M 2:00-5:00 Instructor: Dyson mdyson@sas.upenn.edu |
| This course will examine the radical social,
moral and religious legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. We will situate
King’s thinking in the contexts of black religious and social thought
and practice. We will explore his career in the light of the shifting
emphasis of his social activism and religious thought, tracing his
evolution from energetic integrationist to radical social prophet of
aggressive nonviolence. We will explore the complex human and moral
dimensions of his personal and political struggles. We will explore the
themes of King’s mature ministry – his challenge to militarism,
materialism and deep-rooted social and economic inequality, and wrestle
with his call for a “revolution of values.” Finally, we will also probe
the constructions of King as a toothless saint and American hero,
juxtaposing to these images his threat as a radical social critic and
courageous moral prophet. |
| Spirit and Law |
| Religious Studies 520 (JWST 320/520, NELC 454) M 2:00-5:00 Instructor: Fishman tfishman@ccat.sas.upenn.edu |
| While accepting “the yoke of the
commandments”, Jewish thinkers from antiquity onward have perennially
sought to make the teachings of revelation more meaningful in their own
lives. Additional impetus for this quest has come from overtly
polemical challenges to the law, such as those leveled by Paul,
medieval Aristotelians, Spinoza and Kant. This course explores both the
critiques of Jewish law, and Jewish reflections on the Law’s meaning
and purpose, by examining a range of primary sources within their
intellectual and historical contexts. Texts (in English translation)
include selections from Midrash, Talmud, medieval Jewish philosophy and
biblical exegesis, kabbalah, Hasidic homilies, Jewish responses to the
Enlightenment, and contemporary attempts to re-value and invent Jewish
rituals. |
| Religious World of the Latter-Day Saints |
| Religious Studies 532 (ANTH 594) M 6:00-9:00 Instructor: Hammarberg (CGS) mhammarb@ccat.sas.upenn.edu |
| An ethnography of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints in its role today as an emerging world religion,
and in its historical origins as an American revitalization movement.
Considers world view, social organization, conversion, acculturation,
life-course development, belief and disbelief, and the use of advanced
technology in the administrative direction of the Church’s culture. A
research paper is required (20-25 page limit). |
| Varieties of Early Christianity: Apocalyptic |
| Religious Studies 535 (COML 535) T 3:00-5:00 Instructor: Kraft kraft@ccat.sas.upenn.edu |
| A primary focus of earliest Christianity was the belief that the expected end-times had in some sense arrived with “Messiah Jesus” and that a “new age” was about to begin (or had already begun). When things didn’t develop exactly as expected, various adjustments were made including projection of a new set of end-times expectations. In this seminar, we will explore the (largely Jewish) backgrounds of early Christian “apocalyptic” orientation (centering on “revealed” information about God’s plans, especially for the future) and the ways in which different early Christian representatives expressed and transmitted (or transformed) their apocalyptic hopes and fears as time went on. |
| No prerequisites, but
knowledge of Christian origins at the level of RELS 135 is expected
(remedial readings will be recommended, where necessary). |
| Readings in Urdu |
Religious Studies 555 Selected readings in Urdu. |
| |
| American Religion to 1860 |
| Religious Studies 614 (HIST 610) W 2:00-6:00 Instructor: Zuckerman mzuckerman@history.upenn.edu |
| This class will certainly seek to span time,
place, and denominations, but it will not attempt a comprehensive
survey of American religion. It will focus instead on relatively recent
works (and perhaps some older ones) that provide models and point
directions for understanding American religious life in the 250 years
from the first settlement in Virginia to the time of the Civil War.
Alternatively, students with a decently defined line of research in
early American religion may use this course to pursue it. |
| Latin Paleography |
| Religious Studies 736 (HIST 736) M 3:00-5:00 Instructor: Matter/Waldman amatter@ccat.sas.upenn.edu twaldman@sas.upenn.edu |
| Selected topics in medieval religious
studies, especially biblical exegesis. Reading knowledge of medieval
Latin required. |
| Independent Study - Graduate |
| Religious Studies 999 Time and topic arranged. Instructors: Staff rstudies@sas.upenn.edu |
| Please obtain section numbers from the department office or from the faculty member with whom you will be working. |