Department of Religious Studies
Course Offerings: Spring, 1999
| Religions of Asia |
Religious Studies 001 T 6:30-9:10. Instructor: Ellis (CGS) tellis@sas.upenn.edu http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~jharding/ General Requirement II: History and Tradition |
Representations of Asian traditions abound in popular culture. From Hollywood's depictions of Tibetan Buddhism to Madonna's songs in Sanskrit, the traditions of Asia provide ample materials for interpretation and understanding in the late twentieth century. As the first step in a truly global community is the exploration of different orientations to the world, this course will examine-the traditions of South, Central and East Asia, for example, Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. Emphasis will be on understanding the distinctive worlds of meaning disclosed, expressed; and maintained in these traditions. Integral to this endeavor is an examination of historical backgrounds, cultural interaction, and conceptual development. In the process of studying these traditions, the role of the observer will itself be examined through the consideration of Orientalist and postcolonial points of view.
Requirements: No prerequisites. Optional paper, in-class midterm and final examination.
| Religions of the West |
Religious Studies 002 MW 10-11, plus 1 hour recitation. Instructor: Treat jtreat@ccat.sas.upenn.edu http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~jtreat General Requirement II: History and Tradition |
This course introduces students to the study of religion through consideration of some important 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, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam. Special emphasis will be placed on origin, historical and conceptual development and variety within each of these monotheistic traditions. They will also be examined comparatively. Course Web Page: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rels/2/
| Types of Interpretation |
Religious Studies 004 M 6:30-9:10. Instructor: Derakhshani(CGS) derakhsh@ccat.sas.upenn.edu General Requirement III: Arts and Letters |
Aristotle defined humans as rational animals. But perhaps it would be more accurate to describe ourselves as interpretive beings. To say that we are always interpreting-and this includes the interpretation of specific texts and ideas but also of "existence" itself--is to say that we are always coming upon the scene with presuppositions. This course will examine a number of interpretive frameworks and their presuppositions. The course will be organized around central themes including "history," "narrative," "existence," and "culture: high/low," with an emphasis on ethics, whether religious or post-religious. We will focus on some interpretation theories for each area. Readings will include Marx, Freud, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Weber, Buber, Barthes, Gadamer, Levinas, Derrida, Foucault, Baudrillard.
| Women and Religion |
Religious Studies 005 MW 1-2, plus I hour recitation. Instructor: von Schlegell brvs@ccat.sas.upenn.edu http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~brvs 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 towards the body, 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-lslamic traditions.
| Religion and the Search for Meaning |
Religious Studies 104 TR 1:30-3. Instructor: Dunning sdunning@ccat.sas.upenn.edu http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/snd/sdunning.html Distribution II: History and Tradition |
Introduction to the study of religion through critical examination of contemporary accounts of personal experimentation with a variety of religious perspectives, e.g" the "Journey to the East" of Europeans and Americans, Islam in America, and the efforts by Jews and Christians to find their roots in their respective traditions. Background readings in Huston Smith's The World's Religions.
| Religious Ethics and Modern Society |
Religious Studies 112 W 6:30-9:10. Instructor: Washington(CGS) washingt@sas.upenn.edu Distribution I: Society |
This course is designed to discover Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish ethics, their contribution to the values and practices of the citizenry, as they relate in creative tension, competitive values; or conflicts of interest with contemporary medical legal educational, and social questions bearing upon such personal, interpersonal; and social issues as sex, abortion, euthanasia, marriage, divorce, child abuse, civil rights, care of the dying, fetal research, test tube babies, political conscience, war and peace. Students will be able to work through their own understanding of a critical issue through the development of a problem-oriented paper bearing upon the perspectives and teaching of Jewish or Christian ethics in relation to an issue.
| Major Western Religious Thinkers |
Religious Studies 113 R 6:30-9:10. Instructor: Peterson(CGS) petersig@ccat.sas.upenn.edu http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~petersig/ Distribution II: History and Tradition |
Topic for Spring 1999: Lady Wisdom, Wisdom Personified
Lady Wisdom (Hebrew Hokhma; Greek Sophia) is a prominent religious figure in the ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern world that gave rise to Christianity, to Rabbinic Judaism, and to Islam. Or, Lady Wisdom is an extremely obscure religious figure who has been ignored for good and substantial reasons. We will discuss this contradiction between the reception and the textual prominence of Lady Wisdom as personification. We will examine, in this course, the texts that delineate the personification of Lady Wisdom found in Jewish and Christian Scriptures, the works of Philo Judaeus, and the "pseudepigraphical" texts that become her literature, often named after Solomon. We will look at the specifics of her literary genres, including Wisdom sayings (Q), and their pervasiveness in Judaism and Christianity. We will also compare and contrast the figures, of Lady Wisdom, Dame Folly, Torah personified. Nous (Mind), and the Logos (Word), particularly as the latter occurs in the hymmc opening of the Gospel of John. Then we will examine Rabbiinc wisdom literature, including selections from Midrash Genesis Rabbah, Sayings of the Fathers (Pirkei Avot), and Midrashim on Proverbs. We will also apply our conceptions of Wisdom to the question of whether she is ever represented in modern film or television. Is Guinan in Star Trek: The Next Generation a representation of Wisdom? How do we understand Yoda in Star Wars? How do we gender wisdom in the modem world?
The course will be cross-disciplinary and wnting-intensive. We will be aiming to publish an anthology of student papers on the course web page. There will be an email discussion group. For further descriptive materials, see the course web page at http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rs113
The instructor, Dr. Sigrid Peterson, has a Ph.D. in Counseling/Clinical Psychology, and is nearing completion of her dissertation in Religious Studies.
| Science, Magic and Religion: 1600 to present |
Religious Studies 116 MW 10-11, plus 1 hour recitation. Instructor: Jacob mjacob@sas.upenn.edu General Requirement II: History and Tradition |
The Western world once had its share of witches, alchemists, astrologers and magicians. They are thin on the ground these days only to be replaced by New Age or cult-like movements. The course examines magic as it once was, explores the rise of science in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, looks at Mesmerism and theosophy within the framework of radical political movements culminating in the rise of Fascism, and for twentieth century America explores the nature of post- War Big Science and various anti-science movements. No prerequisites.
| Jews and Judaism in Antiquity |
Religious Studies 120 TR 3:00-4:30 Instructor: Goldenberg goldenberg@mail.cjs.upenn.edu General Requirement II: History and Tradition |
A broad introduction to the history of Jewish civilization from its beginnings until the late Middle Ages, with ithe main focus on the formative period of classical rabbinic Judaism and on the symbiqtic relationship between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. An overview of Jewish society and culture in its biblical, rabbinical, and medieval settings.
| Introduction to Classical Judaism |
Religious Studies 123 TR 12:00-1:30. Instructor: Koren skoren@ccat.sas.upenn.edu Distribution II: History and Tradition |
This course will survey the central concepts of Jewish life through its many manifestations. Issues to be discussed include biblical heritage, liturgy, religious law, mysticism, philosophy, theology and family life.
| Themes in the Jewish Tradition |
Religious Studies 129 TR 1:30-3:00. Instructor: Stern dstern@ccat.sas.upenn.edu http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jwst/stern.html |
An examination of Israeli culture and society through various literary genres.
Topic for Spring 1999: The Binding Isaac
| Islamic History to 1517 |
Religious Studies 147 MWF 11:00-12:00. Instructor: von Schlegell brvs@ccat.sas.upenn.edu http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~brvs/ General Requirement II: History and Tradition |
The transformation of the Middle East into an Islamic civilization and its historical development from the time of Mohammed to the establishment of Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires in the sixteenth century. Riseof Islam, the early Islamic empire, political fragmentation and cultural continuity in Muslim societies from Spain to North India. Within this chronological and geographical framework we will focus on the role of Islamic thought, institutions, and identities in a limited number of particularly revealing historical contexts. Primary sources in translation complement two course books.
Requirements: Take-home midterm, class presentation, and a final.
| Archaeology and Society in the Holy Land |
Religious Studies 215 TR 9:00-10:30. Instructor: Routledge routledg@sas.upenn.edu |
This course will survey the archaeological history of the southern Levant (Israel, West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, southern Lebanon and Syria) from the early complex societies of the Chalcolithic through the demise of the biblical states of the Iron Age. It will focus in particular on the changing organization of society through time, using excavated evidence from burials, houses, temples and places to track changes in heterogeneity, hierarchy and identity. In following the general themes of this course, students will have opportunity to familiarize themselves with the geographic features, major sites and important historical events of the southern Levant. Class material will be presented in illustrated lectures and supplemented by the study of artifacts in the University Museum's collections. Anyone interested in a better understanding of the land that has given us both the "Old Testament"/TaNak and so much of our daily news, should find much of interest in this course.
| Introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls |
Religious Studies 225 TR 10:30-12:00. Instructor: Kraft kraft@ccat.sas.upenn.edu Distribution II: History and Tradition |
With an eye towards the recent eruption of renewed interest in these materials, which were discovered in the Judean desert over fifty years ago, we will explore the identification and history of the people responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls found near the ruins of Qumran, their institutions and religious life, in relation to other known Jewish groups at that time (the beginning of the common era). The focus will be on detailed description and analysis of the writings (in English translation) found in the caves around the site--sectarian writings, "Apocrypha" and "Pseudepigrapha," biblical texts and interpretations. Computer network access is essential.
| Studies in Medieval Jewish Literature |
Religious Studies 228 TR 10:30-12:00 Instructor: Soloveitchik General Requirement III: Arts and Letters |
Topic for Spring, 1999: Responsa as History Source
| Sex and Eros in Judaism |
Religious Studies 229 TR 3:00-4:30. Instructor: Koren skoren@ccat.sas.upenn.edu |
Early Christian polemicists described Jews as carnal Israel. Some modern anthropologists have characterized orthodox Jewish sexual behavior as ascetic. This course will explore the Jewish ambivalence to the body and sexuality from the ancient to the modern period; from the Bible to Portnoy's Complaint.
| Middle East Religion and Society |
Religious Studies 240 T 4:30-7:30 Instructor: Spooner |
The relationship between religion and society in the middle East is significantly different from other parts of the world, and especially from the West. It is perhaps the single most significant factor that distinguishes the Middle East from other parts of the world. The study of this relationship is therefore an excellent way to enter the study of the Middle East in general. Since it is a relationship which anthropology specializes in, it is a particularly useful anthropological gateway to the region.
| Tibetan Buddhism |
Religious Studies 277 TR 12:00-1:30 Instructor: Young |
Introduction to the beliefs and practices of Tibetan Buddhists from the 7th century to tbe present. Attention to Indian Buddhist influences, indigenous pre-Buddhist practices, and the transmission of Tibetan Buddhism throughout Asia and the West. Readings include introductory works, primary texts in translation, and biographies of Tantric adepts.
| Computing and Humanities |
Religious Studies 302 MW 4:00-5:30 Instructor: Banner kbanner@ccat.sas.upenn.edu http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~kbanner |
This course is an introduction to the use of computers in the humanities. The
focus will be upon consideration of issues and techniques involved in developing
quality resources for use in the student's field of study. A major project will be the
creation of a web site related to the student's major. The class will utilize a
combination of lectures, discussion, presentations and practical lab experience.
Techniques will include the basics of HTML (for the development of humanities
web pages), graphics, and a brief introduction to simple programming concepts.
The course will also consider methodological issues such as the movement from text
to multimedia, ethical/legal problems, and the phenomenon of "cyberculture."
This class and its graduate counterpart are developments of the course which
previously existed as Religious Studies 409.
Course Web Page:
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rs302/
| Honors Thesis Seminar |
Religious Studies 309 Time arranged Instruction: Staff rstudies@sas.upenn.edu |
Please obtain section numbers from the department office or from the faculty member with whom you will be working.
| Independent Study-Undergraduate |
Religious Studies 399 Time and topicarranged Instruction: Staff rstudies@sas.upenn.edu |
Please obtain section numbers from the department office or from the faculty member with whom you will be working.
| Theories of Religion |
Religious Studies 400 T 4:00-7:00. Instructor: Kraemer rkraemer@ccat.sas.upenn.edu http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~rkraemer/ |
An intensive introduction to some of the models and theories formulated by Western thinkers in the last century or so about the nature and dynamics of religion. Among the issues we will consider are: who theorizes about religion, and why; religious belief and the formulation of theories of religion; gender and theories of religion; theories of religion as the product of cultural specificity; and the utility of theories of religion in the academic study of religion. The following list is representative of the thinkers we will read: Catherine Bell, Kenelm Burridge, Peter Berger, Mary Douglas, Emile Durkheim, Mircea Eliade, Sigmund Freud, Clifford Geertz, Carl Jung, Claude Levi-Strauss, Victor Turner and Max Weber.
| Christian Thought from 1000-1800 |
Religious Studies 434 T 3:00-6:00 Instructor: Matter amatter@ccat.sas.upenn.edu http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/eam/amatter.html Distribution II: History and Tradition |
This course is an overview of the main currents of Western Christian thought from the first age of reform (the turn of the twelfth century) through the reformations of the sixteenth-century; In these centuries, western Christendom underwent an almost constant process of internal and external self- definition. The most striking result of this process was the division of the western church into what became known as Protestant and Catholic Christianity. The formation of classical Roman Catholic and Protestant definitions will be the endpoint of this seminar. Our focus will be on the changing definitions of Christian culture, including theological formulations (definitions of orthodoxy and heterodoxy) trends of spirituality and mysticism, liturgical and cultic practice, and gender roles and definitions. Attention will also be given to institutions (ecclesiastical hierarchy, monasticism, schools), and the changing relationship between the secular and religious worlds. Readings will be from both original and secondary sources.
| The Life and Letters of Paul |
Religious Studies 436 R 3:00-6:00. Instructor: Kraft kraft@ccat.sas.upenn.edu http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/kraft.html Distribution III: Arts and Letters |
Paul thought of himself as Jewish. Others have credited/blamed him as the real founder of Christianity! The purpose of this course is to learn how to understand a noted author/thinker of the past on his own terms and in relationship to his own world. The specific subject matter is PAUL, a Jewish adherent and spokesman for the "Jesus movement," in the Greco-Roman world during the first century of the common era (CE). The larger historical context is Judaism and Christianity in the first two centuries CE.
This is a seminar. Intelligent class participation will be important. Each student will also prepare at least one carefully researched written paper of about 3000-4500 words based mainly on information culled from ancient sources by or about PAUL, and at the end of the course each student will participate in an oral evaluatory encounter (approximately 30 minutes) with the teacher, dealing with everything covered in the course. Access to the InterNet is crucial.
| Muslim Culture in South Asia |
Religious Studies 448 TR 10:30-12:00 Instructor: Gaeffke Distribution II: History and Tradition |
The course is based on the cultural experience of Mulla Nusrati, court poet of the Adil Sahis at Bijapiur, and follows his exposition of Muslim culture as represented in his MATHNAWI GULSAN-I ISQ ("The Rosegarden of Love"). The experience of this individual will be put into a historical frame which reaches from the Mediterranean culture of the Greeks to the culture- of the Muslims in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India.
| Religion and Healing |
Religious Studies 503 R 4:00-6:00. Instructor: Young |
Survey of anthropological studies about healing practices, ancient medical texts (Western and Asian), and discourses about health in selected eastern and western religious traditions.
| Religion in America: Texts and Interpretations |
Rettgious Studies 517 M 4:00-6:00. Instructor: Dunning sdunning@ccat.sas.upenn.edu http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/snd/sdunning.html |
Topic for Spring 1999: Tocqueville's Democracy in America
| Visions of the End: Medieval and Modern Apocalyptic |
Religious Studies 533 R 3:00-5:00. Instructors: Maggi/Matter amatter@ccat.sas.upenn.edu http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/eam/amatter.html |
This class examines apocalyptic literature and culture from ancient times to modernity. After a close analysis of the New Testament Book of Revelation (also known as the Apocalypse to John), the course focuses on a number of authors, including: Joachim of Fiore, Francis of Assisi, Geordano Bruno, Tommaso Campanella, Nostradamus, Mother Ann Lee and other Shaker authors, Nietzsche, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Tony Kushner, and Robert Stone. We will also take into account modern apocalyptic issues, such as controversies over the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, recent apparitions of the Virgin Mary, and the approaching end of the second millennium of the Common Era. The course includes a series of film screenings, including The Omen, Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom, and Apocalypse Now.
| Italian Women Mystics |
Religious Studies 536 W 4:00-6:00. Instructor: Maggi |
The course examines four major women mystics of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance: Catherine of Siena, Catherine of Genua, Angela of Foligno and Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi. The course studies their historical, theological, and linguistic background. Moreover, this class analyzes those European mystics who influenced the Italian mystics directly or indirectly: Meister Eckhart, Johannes Tauler, Marguerite Porete, and Teresa of Avila. Essays by Matter, Zarri, Lacan, Kristeva, Maggi, McGinn, de Certeau will be discussed in class.
| Technological Appraoches to the Humanities |
Religious Studies 602 S 9:30-12:10. Instructor: Treat jtreat@ccat.sas.upenn.edu http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~jtreat/jtreat.html |
Applicants for teaching positions are asked, "How have you used technology in instruction and research?"" This course will give graduate students in the Humanities the practical experience to answer. Students in the course will each create an instructional web site relevant to their research. They will incorporate images and sounds. They will learn to program in Perl, to analyze texts and quantitative data, and to create dynamic web pages. They will explore ethical issues ("Does technology create a new elite?") and pedagogical issues ("What makes effective teaching?") related to the use of technology.
Students are expected" to be engaged in advanced research in the Humanities (at least 24 course units prerequisite) and to have basic computing skills (word processing, e-mail). Enrollment is limited. Details may be found on the course web site: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/602/
| Archaeology and Society in the Holyland |
Religious Studies 615 TR 9:00-10:30. Instructor: Routledge routledg@sas.upenn.edu |
This course will survey the archaeological history of the southern Levant (Israel, West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, southern Lebanon and Syria) from the early complex societies of the Chalcolithic through the demise of the biblical states of the Iron Age. It will focus in particular on the changing organization of society through time, using excavated evidence from burials, houses, temples and palaces to track changes in social heterogeneity, hierarchy and identity. In following the general themes of this course, students will have opportunity to familiarize themselves with the geographic features, major sites and important historical events of the southern Levant. Class materials will be presented in illustrated lectures and supplemented by the study of artifacts in the University Museum's collections.
| Culture and Society in the Islamic World |
Religious Studies 646 TBA. Instructor: Spooner |
This course focuses on social and cultural processes in those parts of the Middle East in which the majority of the population is Muslim (whether or not the respective national government is explicitly styled "Islamic Republic"). It deals with the basic conditions of everyday life, and explores ideas and institutions that may distinguish these Middle Eastern societies from other parts of the world. Finally, it investigates how Islamic ways of thinking are reflected differently in the day-to-day life of culturally different communities in varuous parts of the Middle East from Morocco to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Selected recent anthropological monographs will be discussed.
| Seminar in Judaism and/or Christianity in the Hellenistic Era |
Religious Studies 735 Organizational meeting to be announced. Instructors: Kraft/Kraemer kraft@ccat.sas.upenn.edu http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/kraft.htm |
Topic for Spring 1999: Early Judaism and Christianity in Asia Minor
Online course materials: gopher://ccat.sas.upenn.edu:70/11/courses/rels735
| 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.
Please note: many of these offerings are cross-listed with other departments. Please consult the SAS Spring, 1999 Course Roster for cross-listings.
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