Religious Studies

Professors: Brooks, Gallagher; Associate Professors: Kim, Uddin; Assistant Professor: Portnoff; Visiting Instructors: Wellman, Willsky; Professor Harlan, chair

The Major in Religious Studies

The major consists of at least nine courses in religious studies, including the following:

1. Course 101

2. Course 114, 202, 203, or 204.

3. Course 205, 206, 207, 208, or 209.

4. Course 401, normally taken in the junior year.

5. Course 402, taken after 401

6. One Advanced Study Seminar (493 or 494).

7. Two additional courses at the 300 or 400 level.

The details of the major program must be prepared in consultation with the major adviser. One of the elective courses for the major may be chosen from another department with the approval of the major adviser.

Advisers: R. Brooks, E. Gallagher, L. Harlan, D.K. Kim, S. Portnoff, S. Uddin

The Minor in Religious Studies

The minor consists of at least five courses in religious studies, including at least two at the 300 or 400 level.

Learning Goals in the Religious Studies Major

The Department of Religious Studies is committed to teaching students to think analytically about religion. Introducing students to a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives, the Department helps students understand how religious categories and boundaries are constructed, challenged, and changed by religious practitioners and others, including scholars. The Department fosters the development of key critical skills, including writing, oral presentation, and information literacy.

Progressing through the major or minor, students gain sophistication in their capacity to evaluate and express what they have learned in readings and classes. They also develop expertise in doing research on issues related to religion. Members of the Department encourage students to utilize and construct theories so that they can venture informed and creative comparisons among and within religions traditions. The Department is dedicated to cultivating religious literacy and facilitating independent thought based on exposure to religious histories located within diverse cultural matrices, including politics.

To achieve these ends, the Departments requires majors to take an introductory course in which they will learn about the construction of religious boundaries and contemplate various means of interpreting, analyzing, and comparing religious beliefs and practices. Majors must also enroll in eight additional courses, including ones that expose them to multiple religious traditions. Among those routinely taught are Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Daoism, and Confucianism. In addition, majors must cultivate depth of expertise by taking multiple courses treating a single tradition. Majors are required to do upper level coursework, including the seminar Theories of Religion and a capstone course in which they design and conduct advanced research projects resulting in extensive, theoretically nuanced essays. The capstone provides all students with the opportunity to present their ideas and gain feedback about the constructs that they have learned, utilized, and challenged. Majors are offered opportunities for doing guided research in independent studies and are encouraged to pursue honors study.

Minors are required to take five courses in the study of religion. They must enroll in at least one course at the advanced level. Like majors and other students taking Religious Studies courses, they are afforded multiple opportunities to refine their skills in written and oral communication. They are also offered multiple opportunities to develop information fluency and cultivate other research skills.

Both majors and minors are encouraged to participate in a community of inquiry through advance study in topical seminars and to develop leadership skills by serving on the department′s Student Advisory Board.

Courses

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 101 INTRODUCTION TO RELIGION: UNDERSTANDING GLOBAL RELIGION An introduction to the study of religion, focusing on the various roles religions play in today′s globalized world. This course begins with definitions, characterizations, and trends in religion, then uses case studies to examine the intersection of globalization and religion. This is a team taught course.

Enrollment limited to 60 students. This course satisfies General Education Area 6 and is a designated Writing course. E. Gallagher and S. Uddin

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 112 RELIGION, MEMORY, TRADITION An introduction to study of religion through examination of the ways in which religious traditions relate to the formation and sustaining of memory. Students will engage with multiple religious traditions and develop religious literacy and repertoires.

Enrollment limited to 40 students. This course satisfies General Education Area 6. D.K. Kim

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 114 THE NEW TESTAMENT A study of the New Testament in its original setting in the early Christian community; its significance for the religious and cultural traditions of the West.

Enrollment limited to 40 students. Offered annually. This course satisfies General Education Area 6. Staff

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 158 HOLY BOOKS: THE WESTERN SCRIPTURAL TRADITION The origins, development, and uses of scripture in the West. Focus on the Hebrew Bible, Christian Scriptures, and Qur'an, with attention to other texts, such as the Book of Mormon.

Enrollment limited to 40 students. This course satisfies General Education Area 6 and is a designated Writing course. E. Gallagher

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 159 RELIGION, PROTEST, AND BEING AMERICAN An exploration of the relationship between religion and American identity, spanning American history and on a variety of topics including religious dissent and protest, slave religion, Mormonism, religion during wartime, expectations for the end of the world, the Civil Rights Movement, communism and anti-communism, Islam after 9/11, and the upcoming presidential election.

Enrollment limited to 40 students. This course satisfies General Eduaction Area 6 and is a designated Writing course. L. Willsky

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 202 JEWISH TRADITIONS An introduction to the long-existing monotheistic tradition of Judaism, its practitioners, and its identity. The course is an overview of Jewish history, texts, traditions, practices, and beliefs. We will emphasize the self-understanding of Judaism in continuity and change, on varieties of Judaism (″Judaisms″), and on the interplay between practice and doctrine.

Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 30 students. Offered annually. This course satisfies General Education Area 6. S. Portnoff

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 203 CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS The major teachings of Christianity as developed in the early, medieval, and Reformation church. Topics include the Trinity, the divinity and humanity of Jesus, sin and grace, reason and revelation, skepticism and mysticism, and the differences between Roman Catholic and Protestant doctrine.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 204 RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES The diversity and depth of religious practice in the United States, from its original settlement by Europeans to the present. Attention to those religions generally conceived to be "traditional" in the United States as well as those widely perceived as "non-traditional." Themes include civil religion, religion and race and gender, and the dynamics of liberalism and conservatism.

Enrollment limited to 60 students. This course is not open to students who have received credit for Religious Studies 250. This course satisfies General Education Area 6. E. Gallagher and L. Willsky

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 205 HINDU TRADITIONS The development of traditions of Hindu thought and practice including classical and contemporary Hinduism. This is the same course as Anthropology 205.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 206 BUDDHIST TRADITIONS Indian Buddhism; its migration to South and East Asia and its relation to Jainism, Taoism, and Confucianism. This is the same course as Philosophy 208.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 207 ISLAMIC TRADITIONS A look at Islam from three perspectives: historical, phenomenological, and anthropological. Focus on the early historical developments which have marked the emergence and early development of the Islamic community. The basic myths and rituals which shape the principle Islamic identities of Sunnis and Twelver Shiites. Contemporary issues in the Muslim world.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 208 CONFUCIAN TRADITIONS This is the same course as History 224/Philosophy 213. Refer to the History listing for a course description.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 209 DAOIST TRADITIONS This is the same course as History 278/Philosophy 214. Refer to the History listing for a course description.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 213 NATIVE AMERICAN RELIGIONS An introduction to the historical background, development, and major characteristics of Native American religions. The course explores the diversities and continuities that characterized pre-contact Native religious traditions, and the ways in which Native American have responded to ongoing relations with Euro- and African-American cultures. This is the same course as American Studies/Anthropology 213.

Enrollment limited to 30 students. This course satisfies General Education Area 6. T. Wellman

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 217 GREEK AND ROMAN RELIGIONS This is the same course as Classics 217. Refer to the Classics Department listing for a course description.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 219 VAMPIRES, MIRACLES, GHOSTS, AND GOD(S): THE SUPERNATURAL IN AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE A study of popular culture from the 1960s to the present, employing historical and context-specific methods to examine how Americans use supernatural and religious beings, events, symbols, and ideas to think about complex issues and identities. This is the same course as American Studies/Anthropology 219.

Prerequisite: One course in religious studies or permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 30 students. This course is not open to students who have received credit for Religious Studies/American Studies 305. This is a designated Writing course. T. Wellman

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 226 FUNDAMENTALISMS An exploration of “fundamentalism” as a modern response to the predicaments of religion and secularity through an examination of selections from Christian and Muslim authors/leaders often labeled as "fundamentalists"; theories that attempt to explain the nature of religion in the public square; and the relation between religion, modernization, and violence.

Enrollment limited to 30 students. This course satisfies General Education Area 6 and is a designated Writing course. This course is not open to students who have received credit for Religious Studies 304. L. Willsky

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 229 THE DISCONTENTS OF CHRISTIAN MODERNITY The fate of religion and freedom under conditions of Christianmodernity through a selective survey of modern religious, philosophical, and intellectual history. An exploration of notions of experience, faith, freedom, reason, authority, tradition, and the self in works of Descartes, Emerson, DuBois, Feuerbach, Hume, Kant, Luther, Marx, and Cady Stanton.

Enrollment limited to 40 students. This course satisfies General Education Area 6 and is a designated Writing course. D.K. Kim

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 231 RELIGIOUS ETHICS An examination of the positions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam on holy war. What do the various religious traditions of the world have to say about its necessity and/or permissability? How does each position play out in contemporary circumstances. Consideration ofthe secular alternative and the impact of war on the environment.

Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 30 students. S. Portnoff

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 236 MYSTICISM An exploration of the notions of ″mysticism″ and ″mystical experience″ through an examination of selected writings from Hindu, Christian, and Muslim traditions; the so-called ″New Age″ spirituality; and scholarly approaches from the comparative history of religions, psychology of religion, and neurobiology. This course is not open to students who have received credit for Religious Studies 306.

Enrollment limited to 30 students. This course satisfies General Education Area 6. Staff

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 248 HOLOCAUST AND POST-HOLOCAUST RESPONSES An examination of the Holocaust as an historical event, as well as the historical, theological, and literary responses to it. Consideration of what, if any, role Holocaust memory should play, how to continue to believe in a God who was absent at Auschwitz, and how to speak about the event in memoir, poetry, and fiction.

Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 30 students. S. Portnoff

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 251 STORIES IN JUDAISM'S BIBLE The origin, development, and character of the Hebrew Scriptures. Focus on how narrative creates religious meaning.

Enrollment limited to 30 students. Offered annually. This course is not open to students who have received credit for Religious Studies 113. This course satisfies General Education Area 6 and is a designated Writing course. S. Portnoff

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 252 ISLAM AND THE UNITED STATES An exploration of the overlapping phenomena of the past and present of Muslims who were brought to, were born in, or who immigrated to the United States; the images of Islam and Muslims in popular American culture; and the fluctuations in the relationships between the United States and a number of predominantly Muslim countries.

Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 30 students. This course is not open to students who have received credit for Religious Studies 230 or 350. This course satisfies General Education Area 6 andis a designated Writing course. S. Uddin

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 253 HERO WORSHIP An examination of the ways in which heroes serve as prisms of cultural values and religious commitments. Considering heroes and heroic paradigms (gladiators, warriors, martyrs, teachers, and superheroes) from various cultures, the course contemplates meanings of sacrifice, glory, honor, resistance, homeland, and protest.

Enrollment limited to 30. Students may not receive credit for both this course and Course 493P, 494P. This course satisfies General Education Area 6 and is a designated Writing course. L. Harlan

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 254 RELIGION AND THE SPIRIT OF POLITICS An examination of human agency in light of the relationship among the religious, the moral, and the political spheres. Among the questions the course will ask are: How does religious identity affect political life and action? How does religion enable as well as disable political possibilities? The course will be comparative in approach. This is the same course as Comparative Race and Ethnicity 254.

Enrollment limited to 30 students. This course is not open to students who have received credit for Religious Studies 328. This course satisfies General Education Area 6 and is a designated Writing course. D.K. Kim

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 255 RELIGION AND PUBLIC LIFE An examination of religion and public life in contemporary society and culture, with particular focus on questions of religion and politics ("church and state"), secularism, religion and identity (race, gender, sexuality, class), and considerations about civil society and the common good. This is the same course as Comparative Race and Ethnicity 256.

Enrollment limited to 40 students. This course satisfies General Education Area 6 and is a designated Writing course. D. Kim

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 257 RELIGION IN THE ARTS A comparison of artistic representations (literary, musical, visual arts) in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We will compare and contrast how each religion uses (or suppresses) the arts or particular artistic representations to express its faith, as well as how these representations inform the political manifestations of the religion in particular times and places.

Enrollment limited to 30 students. This course satisfies General Education Area 6 and is a designated Writing course. S. Portnoff

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 258 WOMEN, RELIGION, AND MODERNITY An examination of modern discourses on women's roles, rights, and obligations in contemporary religious communities. Liberal, conservative, feminist, and fundamentalist treatment of myth, ritual, secular and religious law will be the focus of this course. The course also explores the question of global "sisterhood," its strengths, influence, and limitations. This is the same course as Gender and Women's Studies 258.

Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 30 students. This course satisfies General Education Area 6 and is a designated Writing course. S. Uddin

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 259 LOVE AND JUSTICE Exploration of Christian social ethics through key imperatives of love and justice. Examines Christian responses to problem of evil, social injustice, and poverty from global perspectives, including liberation theology, social gospel, and movements and figures such as Francis of Assisi, Luther, Voltaire, Dorothy Day, Gutierrez, and Martin Luther King. This is the same course as Comparative Race and Ethnicity 259.

Enrollment limited to 30 students. This course satisfies General Education Area 6 and is a designated Writing course. D. K. Kim

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 260 PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION This is the same course as Philosophy 260. Refer to the Philosophy listing for a course description.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 311 MUSLIM WOMEN'S VOICES This course looks at women through their own articulations of identity while challenging current assumptions of Muslim women as victims. We will explore the discourse surrounding construction of gender roles across different periods and regions. To do this, the course takes into consideration women's fiction and non-fiction writing. This is the same course as Gender and Women's Studies 311.

Prerequisite: One course in religious studies or permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 30 students. S. Uddin

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 315 ISRAEL With the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, Jews gained political sovereignty for the first time since the Destruction of the Temple in ancient times. This has presented Jews with the opportunity to flourish culturally, politically, and religiously. But the gaining of a political state in modern times has posed specific challenges both to Jews and to traditional normative Jewish self-definition. This course will examine some of these changes and challenges to introduce the dynamic and multi-ethnic nature of Israeli society.

Open to juniors and seniors; and to sophomores with permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 30students. This is a designated Writing course. S. Portnoff

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 316 RELIGION AND VIOLENCE IN LATIN AMERICA (In Spanish) This is the same course as Hispanic Studies 316. Refer to the Hispanic Studies listing for a course description.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 317 JEWISH ETHICS Medical, sexual and professional ethical issues through the life cycle from birth through marriage and adulthood to death.

Prerequisite: Course 202 or permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 30 students. Staff

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 320 JEWS IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN SOCIETY An introduction to American Jewish thought and experience in the modern period. Topics include the question of whether Judaism is a race, an ethnicity, or a religion; American Jewish identity; how contemporary Jews are perceived and how they perceive themselves; the histories of Israel and Zionism; and Jewish secularism.

Open to juniors and seniors, and to sophomores with permission of instructor. Enrollment limited to 30 students. This is a designated Writing course. S. Portnoff

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 321 LATIN AMERICAN RELIGIONS IN ACTION (In Spanish) This is the same course as Hispanic Studies 321. Refer to the Hispanic Studies listing for a course description.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 342 SHAMANS DISCOVERED, IMAGINED, AND REINVENTED This is the same course as Anthropology 342. Refer to the Anthropology listing for a course description.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 346 CULTS AND CONVERSION IN MODERN AMERICA A historical and comparative study of new religious movements in the contemporary U.S.

Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Enrollment limited to 30 students. E. Gallagher

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 401 THEORIES OF RELIGION The most important and influential modern proposals concerning the nature, function, and value of religion in human culture. Readings and analysis of major texts in the study of religion, including authors such as Durkheim, Weber, Freud, and Eliade.

Prerequisite: Two courses in religious studies. Open to juniors and seniors. Enrollment limited to 16 students. Offered annually. This course satisfies General Education Area 6 and is a designated Writing course. Staff

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 402 CAPSTONE SEMINAR A research and writing seminar that encourages students to reflect on their prior academic study of religion, formulate a research project that will deepen and extend their previous experience, and compose and present a significant piece of research that culminates their study of religion at Connecticut College.

Prerequisite: Course 401. Enrollment limited to 16 students. This is a designated Writing course. E. Gallagher

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 493, 494 ADVANCED STUDY SEMINARS Intensive study of specific topics in religious studies for students with significant preparation in the field.

Prerequisite: Unless otherwise statedtwo courses in religious studies. Open to juniors and seniors. Enrollment in each seminar limited to 16 students.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 493A, 494A WOMEN AND RELIGION IN SOUTH ASIA An investigation of relationships between gender roles (male and female) and caste duties in South Asia, especially India. Readings on myth, ritual, law, and folklore. This is a designated Writing course. L. Harlan

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 493B, 494B END OF THE WORLD IN AMERICA A study of the persistence of the expectation of the coming of the millennium in American religious history. Groups considered will include the Shakers, the Millerites, the Branch Davidians, and the readers of the "Left Behind" series.
Prerequisite: Unless otherwise stated two courses in religious studies. Open to juniors and seniors. Enrollment limited to16 students. This course satisfies General Education Area 6 and is a designated Writing course. E. Gallagher

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 493D, 494D PROPHECY AND HERESY: CONSTRUCTION, CLASSIFICATION, AND SOCIETY Analyzes the types and functions of prophecy and heresy and focuses on the ways in which prophecy and heresy were linked as a form of cultural critique. Emphasis is placed on the construction of the ″heretic″ as prophet and vice versa and on the issues of gender, authority, and polemic. Staff

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 493E, 494E PILGRIMAGE An investigation of ritual, spiritual, and metaphorical pilgrimages. Readings include theoretical and narrative perspectives drawn from a variety of cultures, particularly Hindu, Christian, and Muslim. This course satisfies General Education Area 6 and is a designated Writing course. L. Harlan

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 493L, 494L TO HELL AND BACK: PAGAN, CHRISTIAN, AND MODERN VISIONS OF HUMANITY An examination of the role of the journey to Hell in human experience. The course compares the descriptions of the journey in texts, artwork, and films from various periods and cultures. Emphasis on whether the journey serves as a means to responsibility and/or conformity, and whether it is an accurate description of the human experience. This is the same course as Medieval Studies 493L, 494L.

Open to juniors and seniors, and to others with permission of the instructor. S. Portnoff

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 493M, 494M RELIGIOUS CONFLICT A study of collisions between and coincidences of key religious boundaries, including those related to sacred space (especially shrines), time (especially festivals), and identity (of person and of community). Case studies are drawn especially from South Asia and the Caribbean.

Prerequisite: One course in religious studies or permission of the instructor. This course satisfies General Education Area 6 and is a designated Writing course. L. Harlan

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 493N, 494N WORLDVIEWS OF JEWS IN EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST An examination of the religious, cultural, and historical contexts of the Jews of Europe and the Middle East. Differences between Jewish experiences living side by side with European Christians and with Middle Eastern Moslems will be considered. Countries studied will include France, Germany, Russia, Iraq, and Yemen. This is the same course as Slavic Studies 449.

Prerequisite: One course in religious studies. Open to juniors and seniors, and to sophomores with permission of the instructor. This is a designated Writing course. S. Portnoff

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 493R, 494R RELIGION AND POPULAR CULTURE An examination of diverse popular genres of religious expression. Treats representations, dilemmas, and controversies in media such as movies (Hollywood, Bollywood, Anime), television, music, fashion, and comic books. Examines theories of ″the popular″ in this rapidly emerging subfield of Religious Studies. Provides an opportunity to do individual research.

Prerequisite: Open to juniors and seniors; and to sophomores with permission of the instructor. This is a designated Writing course. L. Harlan

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 291, 292 INDIVIDUAL STUDY

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 391, 392 INDIVIDUAL STUDY

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 491, 492 INDIVIDUAL STUDY

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 497-498 HONORS STUDY