Department of Religious Studies
Course Offerings: Spring, 2005
| Religions of Asia |
| Religious Studies 001 W 6:00-9:00 Instructor: Welbon (CGS) gwelbon@ccat.sas.upenn.edu General Requirement II: History and Tradition |
| Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Shinto - the essential beliefs, doctrines, institutions, and practices of the major religious traditions (or traditional worldviews) of Southern and Eastern Asia. Historical backgrounds and development will be surveyed briefly to provide context for the course's central focus: understanding the distinctive worlds of meaning created and maintained and expressed in these religions. Reading and discussion of representative primary texts in translation will be emphasized in this effort to understand basic attitudes and beliefs. Particular attention will be devoted to answering questions about the persisting influence and vitality of these religious traditions - about the nature and significance of change and about the importance of these great religions in shaping the sense of identity, aspirations, and expectations of their adherents in the face of the technological and ideological challenges of the contemporary world. |
| Requirements: No prerequisites. Moderate reading load. Optional paper. In-class midterm and final examinations. |
| Religions of the West |
| Religious Studies 002 (JWST 122) MW 11:00-12:00 plus 1 hour recitation Instructor: Matter amatter@ccat.sas.upenn.edu General Requirement II: History and Tradition |
| This course introduces students to the academic study of religion through consideration of the major religious traditions of the Western world. The religious expressions of the Ancient Near East will set the context of the living and intertwined belief systems of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Special emphasis will be placed on the historical and conceptual development and variety within each of these monotheistic traditions. The modern representations of these religions will be examined comparatively and in relation to the role of religion in modern society and the nature of institutional change and syncretism. There will be two lectures a week, which will make use of film, music, and art. An added dimension will be the use of the extensive resources available on the Internet and the World Wide Web. |
| Women and Religion |
| Religious Studies 005 (WSTD 109, FOLK 029) MW 12:00-1:00 plus 1 hour recitation Instructor: von Schlegell bvon@ccat.sas.upenn.edu General Requirement I: Society |
| For the last three decades religion has been at the top of some women's lists of organizations that have worked against women. In answer to this, some women continued to follow their family religious tradition while remaining feminists. Many women worked toward gender equity in leadership of their religions. Others dropped out altogether from religion or formed their own, woman-centered religions. A new movement has been building for the last ten years. Women with the power to make a choice to leave traditional religions have chosen to stay. Why? This course examines gender and religion in speaking of God, in creation narratives, in family structures, in attitudes toward the body and in the history of religious movements. We look at the new ways of reading foundational religious texts that attempt to expose and counter sexism in religious texts and social structures. While we will consider women in non-western religions for comparison, primary attention is directed toward women in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition. |
| Religion in Public Life |
| Religious Studies 010 M 2:00-5:00 Instructor: Dunning sdunning@ccat.sas.upenn.edu Freshman Seminar |
| This seminar is an introduction to several aspects of the hotly debated relation between religion and public life in America. The topics on which we will focus include · the role of the media in its coverage of religion issues · the phenomenon of religious "outsiders" in American history · the interpretations of the religion clauses of the Bill of Rights · the responsibilities of public school teachers and administrators · the challenge posed by religious diversity in America · the question of religious gestures performed in public settings. |
| Requirements: participation in class discussions, weekly interpretive questions (150 words max.) about the reading, and two papers, each about 10 pages (3000 words). |
| Archaeology and the Bible |
| Religious Studies 024 (AMES 155, ANTH 124, JWST 124) TR 10:30-12:00 Instructor: Boutin aboutin@sas.upenn.edu |
| The Hebrew Bible (Tanak) and archaeological research provide distinct, and at times conflicting, accounts of the origins and development of ancient Israel and its neighbors. Religion, culture and politics ensure that such accounts of the past have significant implications for the world we live in today. In this course we will discuss the latest archaeological research from Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Jordan as it relates to the Bible, moving from Creation to the Babylonian Exile. Students will critically engage the best of both biblical and archaeological scholarship, while being exposed to the interpretive traditions of Anthropology as an alternative approach to the available evidence. Open discussions of the religious, social and political implications of the material covered will be an important aspect of the course. |
| Modern Religious Thought |
| Religious Studies 106 M 6:00-9:00 Instructor: Derakhshani (CGS) Distribution II: History and Tradition |
| Existentialism describes the basic approach of a loosely connected group of European philosophers, novelists, theologians, dramatists and critics who lived and wrote roughly from 1850 to 1950. Their works are imbued with an attitude of rebellion against modern developments in Western culture. Philosophically, they stressed the need to raise questions about concrete human issues and human actions rather than the theoretical or scientific search for truth. Faced with the decline of religion in modernity, they first diagnosed the loss of meaningin a universe no longer ruled by a benevolent God. We will engage in a close reading of a number of existentialists on the issue of meaning in the modern world. We will establish the basics of an existential approach by reading the key thinkers Kierkegaard, Heidegger and Sartre. In the second half of the course, we will read two explicitly religious thinkersone Jewish and one Christian on the questions of faith, human relationships and ethical responsibility. |
| Religion and Secular Values: The American Jesus |
| Religious Studies 111 TR 1:30-3:00 Instructor: Callahan ldcallah@sas.upenn.edu General Requirement I: Society Benjamin Franklin Seminar |
| For Christians, he is proclaimed the Son of God. But within American culture Jesus has undergone transformations to fit the cultural moment and the current debate. Who is Jesus?and What would Jesus do?are questions that have been answered throughout American history in myriad ways by religious elites, writers, movie makers, and regular people, Christian and non-Christian alike. This course explores the images of Jesus in the popular culture throughout American history, with the goal of understanding the people who imagined Jesus as an American ideal. |
| Major Western Religious Thinkers |
| Religious Studies 113 (AFRC 113) T 1:30-4:30 Instructor: Dyson mdyson@sas.upenn.edu Distribution II: History and Tradition |
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Topic for Spring 2005: Searching for Black Jesus: Tupac Shakur, Black Masculinity and the Politics of Race Tupac Shakur was one of the most gifted and controversial figures of this generation. Poet, hip hop artist, actor, social critic and urban griot, he was a ghetto saint who evoked adoration and attack, nearly in the same breath. This course will examine the cultural, racial and religious significance of Shakur's life and thought. We will also probe the artistic, aesthetic and rhetorical dimensions of his craft. We will use Shakur as a lens through which to explore the issues of racial identity and black masculinity in hip-hop culture and the broader black culture. We will also probe the political, spiritual and social implications of Shakur's life and art, and reflect on these issues as they relate to hip-hop culture in general. Finally, we will investigate the moral and cultural consequences of memorializing Tupac in the wake of his violent death. |
| History of Jewish Civilization I: Jews and Judaism in Antiquity |
| Religious Studies 120 (AMES 156, JWST 156, HIST 156) MW 3:00-4:30 Instructor: Dohrmann dohrmann@sas.upenn.edu General Requirement II: History and Tradition |
| This course is an overview of Jewish history, culture, and society from its biblical settings through the Hellenistic-Roman and rabbinic periods. We will trace the political, social, intellectual-religious, and literary development of Judaism from its beginnings through the Second Temple period to the formation and evolution of Rabbinic Judaism. Topics to be covered include the evolution of biblical thought and religious practice over time, Jewish writing and literary genres, varieties of Judaism, Judaism and Imperialism, and the emergence of the rabbinic class and institutions. |
| History of Jewish Civilization II: The Hellenistic Period to the Seventeenth Century |
| Religious Studies 121 (HIST 140, AMES 157, JWST 157) MW 10:00- 11:00, plus 1 hour recitation Instructor: Fishman tfishman@ccat.sas.upenn.edu General Requirement II: History and Tradition |
| Exploration of intellectual, social, and cultural developments in Jewish civilization from the dawn of rabbinic culture in the Near East through the assault on established conceptions of faith and religious authority in 17th century Europe. Particular attention will be paid to the impact of Christian and Muslim host societieson expressions of Jewish culture. |
| Introduction to Judaism |
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Religious Studies 123 |
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Judaism, which gave the Bible to the world and is the ancestor of both Christianity and Islam, is still a thriving tradition more than 3000 years after its birth. In this course, you'll find out: - what Jews believe There's more to Judaism than Hanukkah. We'll learn about the Jewish holidays that really matter, and encounter the people that have shaped Judaism from biblical times through to our own day. |
| The Binding of Isaac |
| Religious Studies 129 (AMES 252, JWST 100) TR 10:30-12:00 Instructor: Stern dstern@ccat.sas.upenn.edu General Requirement II: History and Tradition Benjamin Franklin Seminar |
| The story of Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son Isaac - the Binding of Isaac - as told in Genesis 22, is perhaps the greatest of all tales in the Bible about religious obedience and faith. It is also one of the most problematic texts in all Jewish literature, the subject of numerous interpretations, and a source for countless later tales and re-imaginings in Jewish literature. In this course, we will study the history of this tale from the Bible through modern Jewish writing in order to show how a specific tradition in Jewish literature develops and changes in response to the historical changes and religious and cultural developments that Jewish civilization itself undergoes. In this way, we will also attempt to understand the very nature of Tradition itself as it figures in Jewish culture. For comparative purposes we will also consider the history of the tale in Christian and Islamic traditions as well. All readings will be in translation, and no previous background in Jewish literature or history is required. This course is intended to serve as a way of introducing Jewish literature and culture. Readings will include sections of the Bible, classical Jewish interpretations of the Biblical tale, Crusader Chronicles, poems both medieval and modern, and modern treatments of the theme by the Christian philosopher S. Kierkegaard and such writers as Kafka, Ch.N.Bialik, and A.B.Yehoshua, among others. |
| Christian Origins |
| Religious Studies 135 TR 3:00-4:30 Instructor: Gruen gruen@sas.upenn.edu Distribution II: History and Tradition |
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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 those developments in the first two centuries of the Common Era, with special focus on the evidence preserved in the earliest surviving Christian writings, including the "New Testament" collection. The goal of the 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. |
| Persian Mystical Thought: Rumi |
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Religious Studies 144
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This course examines the works and ideas of the thirteen century sufi, and founder of the Mevlevi order, Mowlana Jalaluddin Rumi. Although Rumi composed his mystical poetry in Persian, numerous translations in a multitude of languages have made this poet an international personality. In this course, we will examine Rumi's original mystical vocabulary and allegorical style in English translations. We will also look at Rumi's reception in different parts of the World, especially in America, where he has been on the best-seller lists for over a decade. |
| Cultural Legacies of South Asia |
| Religious Studies 152 (SAST 002) MW 1:00-2:00, plus 1 hour recitation Instructor: Behl abehl@ccat.sas.upenn.edu General Requirement II: History and Tradition |
| The aim of this course is to explore the religious and cultural history of India after the coming of Islam to the subcontinent and the establishment of an Islamic sultanate at Delhi (ca. 1206). We will investigate the making of cultural, political, religious, literary, and artistic identities, focusing on the texts, practices, and discourses of the new communities which come to the fore at this time. |
| Karma and Rebirth in Indian Thought |
| Religious Studies 165 (AMES 105, SAST 105) TR 1:30-3:00 Instructor: Stern Distribution II: History and Tradition |
| A comprehensive exploration of the Indian conceptions of Karma and rebirth and their roles and application in Indian history, culture, and religion. |
| Introduction to Buddhism |
| Religious Studies 173 (SAST 173) TR 10:30-12:00 Instructor: Welbon gwelbon@ccat.sas.upenn.edu Distribution II: History and Tradition |
| An examination of the fundamentals of Buddhist thought and practice. In addition to reading and discussing selected primary Buddhist sources (in English translation), we shall review the history and development of Buddhism from its Indian origin through its spread to Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan. Primary sources and historical materials will be supplemented by some ethnographic readings dealing with the actualities of Buddhist life in contemporary Southeast and East Asia. This course provides basic background for more advanced courses on Buddhism. |
| Sociology of Religion |
| Religious Studies 201 (SOCI 239) M 3:00-6:00 Instructor: Nelson tnelson@ssc.upenn.edu Distribution I: Society |
| This course offers a general survey of the sociological approach to religion. As such, it will introduce students to the role of religion in social life, its place in contemporary society, and general theoretical understandings of religious belief and practice. The course is organized into three broad sections: 1) basic components of religion, including religious belief, experience, ritual, and organization; 2) religion and the major social distinctions of gender, race/ethnicity and social class; 3) religion in contemporary society, including the process of secularization and the growth of alternative religions, the role of religion in politics and the media, social movements, and in delivering social services. Thus, students will first be grounded in what religion IS and then explore what religion DOES, particularly as it relates to contemporary American society and urban life and how these activities are shaped by the major social divisions of race, class and gender. There will be a midterm and a final exam, as well as shorter reflection papers due every two weeks. In addition, students will select from a menu of religious groups (congregations or campus groups), religiously-based social movement organizations, or religiously-based social service organizations, in which to conduct participant observation and interviews with leaders and members. These data, informed by theoretical concepts from lectures and readings, will form the basis of a 10-12 page research paper due at the end of the semester. |
| Anthropology of Religions |
| Religious Studies 206 (ANTH 251) R 1:30-4:30 Instructor: Wirtz kwirtz@sas.upenn.edu http://www.sas.upenn.edu/-kwirtz/ |
| What can studying religion cross-culturally tell us about its role in human societies? How have anthropologists accounted for both the seeming universality of religion as a category of human experience and for the diversity of forms religions take? How do people in different societies conceptualize the sacred and their relationship to it, and what effects do religious practices have on other spheres of human activity, from politics to kinship? How do religious practices respond (and contribute) to cultural change and upheaval? These are some of the questions we will address through our comparative study of religions, using readings, films, discussions, field trips, and short field research assignments. This course combines foundational readings in the anthropology of religion with cutting-edge ethnographies of particular religious traditions. |
| African Religions |
| Religious Studies 210 (AFRC 210, AFST 210, HIST 250) TR 12:00-1:30 Instructor: Donkoh kod@temple.edu |
| Religion permeates all aspects of African life and thought. There is no dichotomy between religion and society in Africa. Religion is therefore an essential tool for understanding and appreciating the behavior and lifestyle of African peoples. In this course, we will survey some of the indigenous religions of Africa and examine their nature and their philosophical foundations. We will examine African systems of beliefs, myths, symbols, and rituals, as developed by African societies to express their distinctive worldviews. We will also raise a few general questions about the interrelationship of religion and culture as well as religion and social change in Africa, and the challenges of modern technologies to African beliefs. We will examine the future of African religions and analyze the extent to which African peoples can hold on to their beliefs in this age of rapid technological and scientific development. Emphasis will be on themes rather than on individual national or ethnic religions. Case studies will be limited to West Africa among the Akan of Ghana, the Yoruba of Nigeria and the Mende of Sierra Leone. Questions are provided (a) to guide and direct reading (b) to form the basis for discussions (c) as exercises and (d) for examinations. |
| Folk Religion |
| Religious Studies 213 (FOLK 223) W 2:00-5:00 Instructor: Primiano lprimiano@cabrini.edu Distribution II: History and Tradition |
| This course will emphasize religion as it is believed, practiced, and experienced in everyday life. Emphasis will be placed on Christian belief systems in Europe and America in historical and contemporary perspective. Among the topics to be discussed in 2005 will be stigmata, healing miracles of the saints, apparitions of the Virgin Mary, possession, exorcism, the near-death experience, the Rapture, Vodou, and contemporary Witchcraft. |
| Studies in Hebrew Bible |
| Religious Studies 220 (AMES 256, JWST 256) TR 4:00-5:30 Instructor: Tigay jtigay@ccat.sas.upenn.edu http://www.sas.upenn.edu/-jtigay General Requirement III: Arts and Letters |
| The aim of this course is to introduce students to the critical methods and reference works used in the modern study of the Bible. To the extent possible, these methods will be illustrated as they apply to a single book of the Hebrew Bible that will serve as the main focus of the course. |
| Talmudic Narratives |
| Religious Studies 226 (AMES 257, JWST 257) M 2:00-5:00 Instructor: Wimpfheimer General Requirement III: Arts and Letters |
| An introduction to the reading of classical Rabbinic literature. Focus will be on the Mishnah and Babylonian Talmud with parallel readings from Tosefta, Midreshei Halkhah, and the Palestinian Talmud. While traditional Rabbinic commentators will be utilized, the class will be introduced to modern methodologies of Talmudic textual research. Spring 2005: We will attempt to acquire a method or methods of reading rabbinic stories in depth. To understand what rabbinic stories are, we will compare these stories to other story collections in the Ancient Near East-biblical stories, stories composed by Jews in the second temple period, and stories written in contemporaneous Christian and Greco-Roman societies. In addition to this comparative analysis, we will categorize rabbinic stories into different types of narratives, and make observations about the choice of characters in this literature-what the function of wonder workers, Gentiles, women, et al is in rabbinic narrative. Perhaps most importantly in examining the work of scholars who have written on rabbinic stories, we will highlight specific theories of literature that separate and distinguish different methods of reading rabbinic stories from one another. |
| Islamic Mysticism |
| Religious Studies 246 (AMES 236) R 5:00-8:00 Instructor: von Schlegell bvon@ccat.sas.upenn.edu Distribution II: History and Tradition |
| What is Islamic about Islamic mysticism? This is a seminar based on readings from the main schools of Sufi thought and practice. The texts concern the nature of God and the human self, the mystical Quran, sacred biographies, dreams and miracles, and the cosmic significance of sex and death. Along with ecstatics like al-Hallaj, we consider the sober Sufis like al-Junayd and al-Ghazali. We will discuss the social history of Sufism and the Sufi orders. In the latter part of the seminar we explore the contest for legitimacy and authority in the Muslim community between the Sufis and the anti-Sufis, including the modern battle waged by Wahhabireformers. Readings are mainly English translations of Arabic prose writings, but there will be important English selections from Persian literature as well. Previous knowledge of Islam or of another western religions mystical tradition is helpful. |
| Media and Religion in India |
| Religious Studies 268 (SAST 208, RELS 568, SAST 508, FILM 322) TR 10:30-12:00 Instructor: Novetzke cln@sas.upenn.edu Distribution II: History and Tradition |
| In this course we'll explore how cultural life and ideals in India are expressed through various media. Our aim is to acquire a familiarity with a variety of media forms, including traditional architecture, devotional poetry-music, visual-sensorial worship, modern film, recorded music, clothing, and live performance. We will situate these media within important cultural fields such as religion, primarily, but also politics, popular culture, and global culture, exploring past and present expressions. Though much of our study will immerse us in India's past, our endeavor is to understand contemporary India and its culture through selected media. |
| Buddhist Poets of Japan |
| Religious Studies 279 (AMES 289, AMES 689, RELS 679) T 2:00-5:00 Instructor: LaFleur lafleur@sas.upenn.edu |
| An exploration through readings, lectures, and analyses of what it might mean to refer to certain classical and modern poets of Japan as "Buddhist." Has the Buddhist tradition influenced the choice of topics, perspectives on the natural world, and formal developments such as haiku? Are there in such verses detectable connections with practices such as Zen meditation and with Buddhist perspectives on pain? How do medieval poets differ from modern ones? And, as a concluding question, has this tradition had much impact upon contemporary poetry in Americain, for instance, the verse of Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Anne Waldman, and W.S. Merwin? Japanese poets considered include Saigyô, Ikkyû, Zeami, Bashô, Ryôkan, and Miyazawa Kenji. Class materials are in English, although texts in Japanese are provided for people able to make use of them. |
| Honors Thesis Seminar |
| Religious Studies 309 TBA Permission needed from instructor |
| Required of honors majors. See department for section numbers. |
| Independent Study |
| Religious Studies 399 Time and topic arranged. Instructor: Staff rstudies@sas.upenn.edu |
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| Please obtain section numbers from the department office or from the faculty member with whom you will be working. |
| Joan of Arc |
| Religious Studies 413 M 6:00-9:00 Instructor: Pinzino (CGS) jpinzino@sas.upenn.edu |
| The story of Joan of Arc is nothing short of remarkable both in its historical origins and in its retelling over the course of six centuries. Her life (1412-31) and cultural "afterlife" in arts and letters offer us a valuable quarry for exploring questions about the leadership roles of women in western society, ideological constructions of gender and sanctity, historical movements in popular piety, responses from institutionalized authorities to charismatic leadership, cultural alliances between religion and politics, and the evolution of a unique "myth"- one that remains potent to the present day in devotional traditions, literature, film and a weekly television series: the myth that heaven intervened through a simple young woman to alter the course of human events and transform the trajectory of history from misery to joy. The course's approach is to examine Joan of Arc both in the ambivalence with which she was regarded by supporters and detractors in her own fifteenth century, and as a heroine in subsequent generations from multiple perspectives down to present day U.S. culture. We look at the varied historical record on what Joan said and did herself, as well as what others have said and done about her in a range of literary genres, including trial documents, correspondence, chronicles, novels, plays, films and a television series concerning the profound impact of one young woman's brief life upon her society. |
| Christian Thought from 1000-1800 |
| Religious Studies 434 TR 1:30-3:00 Instructor: Matter amatter@ccat.sas.upenn.edu Distribution II: History and Tradition |
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This course will trace the history of Christian thought from 1000 to 1800. Intellectual traditions of philosophy and theology will be presented in the context of social and political change. We will consider the role of scholastic theology, the rise of popular religious traditions including those deemed heretical, the rising role of women and the laity, and the emergence of western Christian sectarianism after the Reformation of the sixteenth century. Christian
Thought from 1000-1800 Christian Thought from 1000-1800
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| Memory, History, and Religion |
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Religious Studies 465 |
| This seminar explores academic and social debates about memory and history, highlighting the role of religion, trauma, and narrative in dividing these two modes of recollection. We will read foundational texts in the field that set up the parameters of inquiry and that sought some conclusions to various issues. As a means of focusing our exploration, we'll examine several case studies from South Asian history in light of our readings. In addition to texts, we'll examine a selection of films (Shoah, Earth, Memento, for example) and read them in light of the questions raised in this course. |
| Folk/Unorthodox Health Systems |
| Religious Studies 505 (FOLK 533, HSOC 505) M 1:00-3:00 Instructor: Hufford djh5@psu.edu |
| This course will offer students the opportunity to critically examine representative complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) health beliefs and practices found within the United States and their cultural position in American society. These will range from cosmopolitan systems such as chiropractic and traditional Chinese medicine to folk medicine. The philosophical and theoretical premises behind these health systems will be analyzed and compared to the premise of conventional, Western medicine and to one another. This will include a description and discussion of current models for understanding health behavior. Ethical issues and practical applications of this knowledge will also be discussed. The materials and methods of the course will draw on the literatures of the social sciences, history, philosophy, the allied health professions and medicine. |
| Topics in American Religion |
| Religious Studies 517 (AFRC 518, FOLK 517) T 11:00-1:00 Instructor: Callahan ldcallah@sas.upenn.edu |
| Topic for Spring 2005: Women, Religion and the Civil Rights Movement |
| Studies in Medieval Jewish Culture |
| Religious Studies 523 (AMES 541, JWST 523) M 2:00-5:00 Instructor: Fishman tfishman@ccat.sas.upenn.edu Spring 2005 Topic. "Packaging Jewish Knowledge" |
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This seminar will explore variables of "packaging" involved in the transmission of Jewish knowledge, their historical and cultural significance, and their impact on the formation of Jewish tradition. The first part of the course will examine regulations pertaining to the production of tradition's material textse.g., the choice of font, the ruling of guidelines in parchment, the presence of marks of vocalization or cantillation, presentation of the text in scroll or codex formand rabbinic claims about different sorts of material textse.g., whether they may be recited aloud, whether they are susceptible to ritual impurity, whether they may be read in translation, whether they are to be transmitted orally or in writing. The remainder of the course will examine discrete genres of Jewish tradition (e.g., Talmud, Talmud commentary, codes, kabbalah, homiletical compendia) and reflect on broader cultural implications of their formats: Are they single-authored compositions or agglomerations? Do they cite earlier sources, and if so, are the citations accurate? Why do they emerge when and where they do? What light do they shed on changing modes of pedagogy? How do they reflect changing conceptions of authorityand how do they shape them? Primary sources include readings from ancient, medieval and early modern Jewish texts. Secondary sources include readings from Drory, Carruthers, Rouse, Chartier and others. |
| Open to undergraduates only with the instructor's permission. |
| Varieties of Christian Thought before Irenaeus: Early Christian Gnosticism |
| Religious Studies 535 (COML 535) T 3:00-5:00 Instructor: Kraft kraft@ccat.sas.upenn.edu http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/ft.html Distribution II: History and Tradition |
| Within the known groups and perspectives that emerged in the first two centuries of the development of "Christianity" from its roots in Judaism and the Hellenistic world(s), the dualistic approach that came to be known as "Gnosticism" played a major role. We will focus on this development (or set of developments), with special attention to the Nag Hammadi corpus and to the polemical accounts from early Christian heresiologists, as well as to modern attempts at historical understanding and synthesis. |
| No prerequisites, although RELS 135 or its equivalent is presupposed. |
| Modern Christian Thinkers |
| Religious Studies 538 (COML 544) W 3:00-6:00 Instructor: Dunning sdunning@ccat.sas.upenn.edu Distribution II: History and Tradition |
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Topic for Spring 2005: Reason and Religion in Germany Intensive study of seminal texts by four major German philosophers of religion: Lessing, Lessing's Theological Writings; Kant, Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone; Schleiermacher, On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers; and Hegel, Reason in History and Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion (1827). The seminar is designed for graduate students but is open to undergraduates who have sufficient background and experience with such courses. Short weekly comments plus midterm and final papers are required. |
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Persian Mystical Thought: Rumi |
| Relgious Studies 544 (Ames 114, Ames 514, Rels 144) T 1:30-4:30 Instructor: Minuchehr pardis@sas.upenn.edu |
| This course examines the works and ideas of the thirteen century sufi, and founder of the Mevlevi order, Mowlana Jalaluddin Rumi. Although Rumi composed his mystical poetry in Persian, numerous translations in a multitude of languages have made this poet an international personality. In this course, we will examine Rumi's original mystical vocabulary and allegorical style in English translations. We will also look at Rumi's reception in different parts of the World, especially in America, where he has been on the best-seller lists for over a decade. |
| Media and Religion in India |
| Religious Studies 568 (SARS 208, RELS 568, SARS 508, FILM 322) TR 10:30-12:00 Instructor: Novetzke cln@sas.upenn.edu |
| In this course we'll explore how cultural life and ideals in India are expressed through various media. Our aim is to acquire a familiarity with a variety of media forms, including traditional architecture, devotional poetry-music, visual-sensorial worship, modern film, recorded music, clothing, and live performance. We will situate these media within important cultural fields such as religion, primarily, but also politics, popular culture, and global culture, exploring past and present expressions. Though much of our study will immerse us in India's past, our endeavor is to understand contemporary India and its culture through selected media. |
| Methodology Seminar |
| Religious Studies 601 (SAST 701) T 4:00-6:00 Instructor: Welbon gwelbon@ccat.sas.upenn.edu |
| Topic for Spring 2005: Theories of Ritual |
| Greek Divinations |
| Religious Studies 609 (GREK 609, COML 609) T 2:00-5:00 Instructor: Struck |
| This course will trace a history of signs, using Greek divination as the primary focus. We will explore ancient and contemporary sign theories and their usefulness in illuminating ancient practices of divinationor the reading of signs thought to be imbedded in the world. Participants in the seminar will be expected to contribute an expertise in one (or more) of three general areas: Greek literature, Greek and Roman religions, and contemporary theory in the humanities. The course is open to graduate students without Greek as well as classiciststhough please register appropriately. The particular areas we cover will to some extent be determined by the interests of the participants, but will surely include divination by dreams, entrails and oracles as attested by literary and (to a lesser extent) archaeological evidence; Platonic, Aristotelian, Stoic and Neoplatonic theories of signs; and contemporary semiotics as articulated mainly by Saussure, Barthes, and Eco. Ancient authors will include Homer, Xenophon, Sophocles, Plutarch, Cicero, Artemidorus, and Iamblichus. |
| Science and Religion in Early Modern History |
| Religious Studies 622 (HIST 620, JWST 620) M 3:00-6:00 Instructor: Zaki |
| This course will focus on problems in European political, social, cultural, and economic development from 1750 to the close of the second World War. Readings will be major works in the different fields of European historical scholarship, ranging from family to diplomatic history and covering a wide variety of methodological approaches. |
| Buddhist Poets of Japan |
| Religious Studies 679 (AMES 289, AMES 689) T 2:00-5:00 Instructor: LaFleur lafleur@sas.upenn.edu |
| An exploration through readings, lectures, and analyses of what it might mean to refer to certain classical and modern poets of Japan as "Buddhist." Has the Buddhist tradition influenced the choice of topics, perspectives on the natural world, and formal developments such as haiku? Are there in such verses detectable connections with practices such as Zen meditation and with Buddhist perspectives on pain? How do medieval poets differ from modern ones? And, as a concluding question, has this tradition had much impact upon contemporary poetry in Americain, for instance, the verse of Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Anne Waldman, and W.S. Merwin? Japanese poets considered include Saigyô, Ikkyû, Zeami, Bashô, Ryôkan, and Miyazawa Kenji. Class materials are in English, although texts in Japanese are provided for people able to make use of them. |
| 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. |