KEY:
200-level = upper divisional undergraduate courses for which students do additional work and receive graduate credit; Pre-requisite: instructor's permission
300-level = MA-level courses, but open to Ph.D. students; Pre-requisite: instructor's permission
400-level = Ph.D.-level courses, but open to MA students; Pre-requisite: instructor's permission
Sabbaticals: S. Davis, C. Helmer, Z. Ng, T. Schneider
Staff
REL 301 Basic Christian Ethics
This course introduces students to the sources, forms, and criteria for moral decision-making related to the Christian tradition. Other objectives of the course are: (a) To introduce students to some of the major figures and ongoing debates in the field of Christian ethics. (b) To improve students’ ability to comprehend, apply, evaluate, and craft an argument. (c) To explore the changing context in which Christian ethics is applied and to reflect on the dynamic relationship between faith and history. (d) To encourage students to think critically about the intersection between faith and ethics in theory and practice.
REL 385 Greek II
Christ, Carol
REL 320 Process and Feminist Theologies
Do spiritual feminism (Christian, Jewish, and Goddess) and process though need each other? Can spiritual feminism make the implicit feminism of process thought explicit, thereby sharpening its critique of traditional ways of conceiving God and the world? Can process philosophy (when translated into ordinary language) offer spiritual feminism a way of re-imaging the divine in the (female) body and in the body of the world? Thinkers to be considered may include Charles Hartshorne, Carol P. Christ, Sallie McFague, Majorie Suchocki, Melissa Raphael, Rita Nakashima Brock, Catherine Keller.
REL 442 Goddess and God-She
Contemporary Goddess feminism is one of the few living religions created and led by women. We will study Goddess feminist theology and practice with attention to its influence on Christian and Jewish image of God as She, including Shekhina and Sophia. We will consider the archaeomythology and its critics, theology, historical, and social science studies. Works by Marija Gimbutas, Carol P. Christ, Melissa Raphael, Susan Reed, Kathryn Rountree, Ronald Hutton, Starhawk, Lusiah Reish, and others may be considered.
Clayton, Philip
REL 496 From Kant to Hegel
The heyday of German Idealism represents the most intensely productive period in the history of German philosophy, as this reading of some of the central texts of Kant, Fichte, Schelling and Hegel will show. We analyze their systems in light of their claim to have synthesized empiricism and rationalism and with the goal of understanding their immense influence on subsequent philosophy up to the present.
De Troyer, Kristin
REL 318 Introduction to the Psalms
This course is entirely devoted to the Psalms. The formation, composition, different editions, their use in the New Testament, in worship, as well as theological issues related to the Psalms will be studied. Different methods for analyzing and reading Psalms will be applied.
REL 416 Textual Criticism and Hermeneutics: Leviticus
Eisenstadt, Oona
REL 258 Jewish Mysticism
REL 262 Modern Jewish Thought
Ferrell, Lori Anne
REL 428 Religion and Society in Early Modern Britain
REL 486 Reformation Text Tutorial
Gabra, Gawdat
REL 306 Egyptian Monasticism and Coptic Art
This course will provide a general survey of Coptic monasticism. Students will be introduced to Egypt’s strong monastic traditions, including textual sources, art, and architecture from the fourth through the thirteenth century. Special emphasis will be given to monastic art from the sixth and the seventh centuries. The format of the course includes slide lectures and discussions. Extra material for the bibliography will be distributed to students. Regular attendance in class is essential and is considered a form of participation.
Gilbert, Gary (CMC)
REL 232 Messiahs and the Millennium
Course traces the origins and development of apocalyptic thought, studies those who have espoused apocalyptic ideas and lead millennial communities, and surveys contemporary responses to the “end of time.”
REL 263 Women and Gender in the Jewish Tradition
Examines representation of women and gender in Jewish tradition and how women from biblical period to present have experienced Judaism. Attention to articulation of these issues in biblical and rabbinic texts, influence these texts have had on Jewish attitudes and practices, particular religious activities practiced by women, and opportunities and questions raised by developments in contemporary Judaism including liturgical revisions and ordination of women as rabbis.
Glezakos, (CMC)
REL 243 Philosophy of Religion
Can God’s existence be proved? Is religious faith ever rationally warranted? Are religious propositions cognitively meaningful? Can one believe in a good, omnipotent God in a world containing evil? Readings from historical and contemporary sources.
Griffin, David
REL 301 Major Christian Doctrines
This course is an introduction to the major topics of Christian theology. The treatment of these topics is brief and intensive within the time limits of one semester. The intention is to acquaint one with the language and content of 20th century theological discussion in order to form a basis for one’s own orientation.
Hess, Carol
REL 314 Women’s Development in Communities of Faith
REL 404 Formative Figures in Religious Education
Horn, Patrick
REL 418 Knowledge and Culture
In this course we will examine the concepts of knowledge and culture as they pertain to the goal of understanding in the humanities and the social sciences. The issues will be philosophical and theoretical, but we will also consider the implications for sociology, anthropology, and other scholarly attempts to understand cultural beliefs and practices. We will read and discuss works from Gadamer, Foucault, Winch and Geertz. Discussion topics will include the nature of understanding in the humanities and the sciences, the relation between history and understanding, whether language has a unity, the relation between language and knowledge, problems with understanding a culture, the function of theory in understanding a culture, and other questions concerning the nature of reality, the status of religious and ethical truth claims, and the radical diversity of the world in light of the interpretation of a culture.
Irish, Jerry (POM)
REL 251 Spirit Matters: In Search of a Personal Ecology
REL 255 Religion, Ethics, and Social Practice
How do our beliefs, models of moral reasoning, and communities of social interaction relate to one another? To what extent do factors such as class, culture, and ethnicity determine our assumptions about the human condition and the development of our own human sensibilities? Discussion and a three-hour-per-week placement with poor or otherwise marginalized persons in the Pomona Valley.
Jackson, David
REL 303 Hebrew II
Jackson, Howard
REL 226 Gnosticism
An introduction to the great religious movement known as Gnosticism, its origins in the Hellenic and Roman Near East, its radical Hellenization of Christianity, its varieties, its historical evolution into a world religion in the form of Manichaeism, its rediscovery in the important manuscript finds of the past century in Egypt and Central Asia, and its influence on modern literature and philosophy.
Kassam, Zayn (POM)
REL 264 Engendering and Experience: Women in Islamic Traditions
Explores the normative bases of the roles and status of women and examines Muslim women’s experience in various parts of the Muslim world in order to appreciate the situation of and the challenges facing Muslim women.
REL 280 Interpreting Religious Worlds
Kreiger, William
REL 448 Archeology of the Lands of the Bible
The archaeology of the land of Israel will be studied. Methods of excavation and theory will be examined as well as pertinent evidence from neighboring countries.
MacDonald, Dennis
REL 415 The Passion Narratives
REL 479 Hellenistic Jewish Texts (in Greek)
This course will examine, in Greek, the texts of several Hellenistic Jewish books, such as Tobit, 4 Ezra, and the Book of Macabees. Prerequisite: Elementary Greek.
REL 457 New Testament Seminar/Graeca
This course meets every other week, alternating between discussing major papers and the Graeca (translating Hellenistic Greek texts).
Marshall, Ellen
REL 305 Moral Agency of Women
Begins with the observation that traditional Western moral thought has made certain assumptions about the moral agent, and that these assumptions do not resonate with women’s experience. If this is true, then what does women’s moral agency look like? Does it, in fact, differ from that which has been described traditionally? And, given the plurality within women’s experience, can we even speak in a monolithic way about the moral agency of women? With these considerations, the course investigates the moral agency of women in a variety of ways: theoretically (using feminist thought), narratively (using literature and film), and topically (reflecting on particular social, political, economic, or medical circumstances).
McBride, Richard (POM)
REL 217 The World of Mahayana Scriptures: Art, Doctrine, and Practice
Examines Mahayana Buddhist scriptures in written texts and through their visual representations and the spiritual practices (e.g., ritual, meditation, pilgrimage) they inspired. Doctrinal implications will be discussed, but emphasis will be on the material culture surrounding Mahayana scriptures.
REL 252 Buddhist Philosophy
An introduction to the fundamental traditions of Buddhist philosophy in historical perspective. Traces the development of Buddhist thought from its origin in Indian religious traditions through further development in East Asia. Four Buddhist intellectual traditions will be discussed in detail: Abhidharma, Madhyamaka, Yogacara, and Huayan.
Min, Anselm
REL 435 Heidegger
REL 479 Postmodern Theology
Parker, Joseph
REL 268 Culture and Power
Introduces different theories of the relation of culture to power within and between societies, as well as to such processes as cultural nationalism, cultural imperialism and cultural appropriation. Attention given to the interaction of gender, race, class, sexual orientation, religion, nation, and other factors in the distribution of circulation of power.
Phillips, D. Z.
REL 429 Wittgenstein and Religion
A study of the central themes in Wittgenstein’s Investigations and his relevance for religion. Work by Wittgensteinian philosophers of religion will be drawn on.
REL 465 Problems in Kierkegaard
For this course four texts will be studied: Philosophical Fragments, Concluding Unscientific Postcript (pseudonymous works), Purity of Heart, and Works of Love.
Riley, Greg
REL 303 Basic Aspects of the Study of the New Testament
This course introduces students to the content and scientific study of the New Testament. The course focuses on exegetical methods of understanding early Christian literature in its historical context.
REL 327 John and the Johannine School
An exploration of the early Christian literature under the name of the apostle John: the Gospel of John, the letters of John, the Revelation of John, the Acts of John, and the Apocryphon of John.
Robbins, Michael
REL 385 Greek II
REL 489 Advanced Greek Grammar and Reading
Roth, John (CMC) and Petropoulos,
REL 259 Researching the Holocaust: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives
Interdisciplinary, team-taught exploration of research and reflection on current issues and debates of Nazi Germany’s attempt to annihilate the Jews. In a seminar-style inquiry designed for students who want to take their previous Holocaust studies to a more advanced level, attention focuses on film and internet resources, as well as on recent books and articles.
Ruprecht, Louis, Jr.
REL 325 Religio Athletae: The Modern Olympics & Spirituality in Modern Sport
Designed to offer students an introduction to the history of the Modern Olympic revival. The idea behind studying this revival is that it is one of the best examples of the distinctively modern appropriation of the past, in this case, an allegedly Greek past which may have been imagined. The course is thus also a case-study in Romanticism, one in which Classicism and Christianity were intermingled in complex and ritually powerful ways. In a final section we will examine the ascetic impulses lying at the heart of much modern sport, especiallyin its ritual and media presentations.
Shimkhada, Deepak
REL 275 Visions of the Divine Feminine: An Exploration of the Goddess in World Religions from Ancient to Modern Times
How different cultures have conceived of the Divine as gendered. Study world myths originating from ancient Sumeria to Modern America. Themes include nature of myths and their relation to reality, significance of myths for women’s and men’s roles, feminist theories of religion, patriarchal inversion of myths, and role of historical change in interpreting mythical texts.
Sweeney, Marvin
REL 321 Old Testament Theology
Survey of the field of Old Testament theology.
REL 471 The Elisha Traditions
Taves, Ann
REL 302 History of Christianity II
A history of Christianity from the Reformation to the present which focuses on the worldwide expansion of Christianity in the modern era and the diversity of forms which Christian faith and practice have taken in different time periods and cultural contexts. Extensive use will be made of primary sources as means of illuminating historical and historiographical.
REL 334 Approaches to the Study of Religion
Introductions to various ways of looking at the history of religions in the U.S. Perspectives will include that of traditions/denominational families, peoplehood (including nationality, ethnicity, and race), regionalism, and influence/hegemony (including class and gender).
Torjesen, Karen
REL 304 Introduction to Women’s Studies in Religion
An examination of timeliest critiques of androcentric approaches to the study of religion and society, studies which emphasize the recovery and/or creation of female images and roles in religion, and efforts to reframe the study of religion and society in light of feminist critiques and reconstruction’s. The course will highlight the dynamic relationship between critical, separatists, and integrationist approaches to the study of women and religion.
Wimbush, Vincent
RREL 324 The City and Piety.
A study of the city as settings for and refractions of ancient (and modern and contemporary) constructions of piety. Readings of ancient (mostly ancient Christians) and modern texts will be engaged in multidisciplinary keys.
REL 414 Making Apologies: Early Christian Discursive and Social Formations
A seminar designed to account for the rhetorics and politics of first through seventh century Greek and Latin writers as apologetic framers of “Christianity” as rhetorical, ideological and political formation.
Zuckerman, Phil
REL 441 Religion and Society: Religion in Sociological Perspective
