RLST 10400-01,02 INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Rachel Wagner, Park Hall 237, Ext. 4-3249, rwagner@ithaca.edu.
ENROLLMENT: 25 per section.
OBJECTIVES: This course provides an introduction to the most critical scholarly issues relating to the development of the New Testament and its interpretation, focusing especially on: the gospel accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus; major themes in the letters by Paul; the Book of Revelation; and early Christian writings that rivaled those canonized in the New Testament. Along the way, students will be invited to critically analyze portions of films that portray elements of the New Testament and assess their accuracy. The course provides students with the historical-critical tools necessary for understanding how the New Testament was composed, what its authors believed about Jesus, and how these ideas were shaped over the first century of the Common Era.
RLST10600-01-03 INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS: WESTERN AND MODERN 1 g h HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Amanullah De Sondy, Park Hall 242, Ext. 45713, adesondy@ithaca.edu.
ENROLLMENT: 25 per section.
OBJECTIVES: What does it mean to talk about “Western” religions? Is there a common core of shared values that Western religions embrace? How do followers of these traditions articulate moral values and the reasons for them? What does it mean to be a “good” person according to religious values and practices? What role do stories and sacred texts play in the expression of religious beliefs? How is God described, and how have beliefs about God changed over time? What similarities and differences in belief and practice define the relationship between these three traditions? What new challenges do these religious traditions face in the modern world? This course offers a basic introduction to the history, beliefs, and rituals of the three “Western” religious traditions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The primary goal is to learn how these different religious traditions articulate questions of meaning in human life, and to look at some of the answers they propose.
STUDENTS: Religious Studies majors/minors, and any students interested in the topic.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Lecture/class discussions.
GRADING: 100% Coursework - (2 Essays (30% each), Classroom participation (10%) and Weekly Reflective Journal 30%).
RLST 20300-01 JUDAISM 1 g HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Rebecca Lesses, Williams 119H, Ext. 4-3556, rlesses@ithaca.edu.
ENROLLMENT: 25.
PREREQUISITE: One course in the humanities or social sciences.
OBJECTIVES: This course offers an introduction to Judaism as a religious civilization, with a focus on theology, ethics, and ritual practices. Readings include selected texts from the Biblical, rabbinic, medieval, and modern periods. Theological and ethical issues include God, good and evil, covenant, death and afterlife, justice and social responsibility. The course examines how these understandings are lived out through practices associated with birth and death, marriage and commitment, sexuality, and the life of study, prayer, and devotion. This semester we will especially focus on how Jewish life is lived in a variety of Jewish communities, Sephardic, Mizrahi (Jews from Arab countries), and Ashkenazic. Please note: This course is cross-listed with JWST 20300. Students may not receive credit for both JWST 20300 and RLST 20300.
STUDENTS: Students interested in religion, philosophy, and the study of diverse cultures.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Lectures, discussions, visits to local synagogues, student presentations, and films.
REQUIREMENTS: Exams, papers, class presentations and participation.
GRADING: A-F.
RLST 22100-01 RELIGION AND DEPTH PSYCHOLOGY HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Brian Karafin, Park Hall 241, Ext. 41585, karafin@ithaca.edu.
ENROLLMENT: 25.
PREREQUISITE: Sophomore standing.
OBJECTIVES: This course will explore the psychology of religion through an inquiry into the tradition of depth psychology. We will enter into that tradition through a focus on the psychology of Carl Gustav Jung and more recent writers in the field of archetypal psychology. We will then look at later developments in psychological thought about religion such as: the encounter between psychology and Asian religious thought, psychology and feminist spirituality, and the psycho-spiritual dimensions of non-ordinary states of consciousness.
STUDENTS: Any interested.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Discussions centered on intensive reading.
REQUIREMENTS: Readings may include:
Carl Gustav Jung, Memories, Dreams, Refrlections
Ginnette Paris, Wisdom of the Psyche
Mark Epstein, Thoughts Without a Thinker
Rita Nakashima Brock, Proverbs of Ashes
Stanislav Grof, When the Impossible Happens
GRADING: Journals and two papers.
RLST 28300-01,02 INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM 1 g h HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Brian Karafin, Park Hall 241, Ext. 41585, karafin@ithaca.edu.
ENROLLMENT: 25 per section.
PREREQUISITE: One course in the humanities or social sciences.
OBJECTIVES: An historical and cultural inquiry into the major themes of Buddhism, from the teachings of the historical Buddha to applications of Buddhist teachings and practices in contemporary life. Please note: PHIL 28300 is cross-listed with RLST 28300. Students may not earn credit for both PHIL 28300 and RLST 28300.
STUDENTS: Anyone with interest.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Lectures, discussions, films.
REQUIREMENTS: Readings may include:
Damien Keown, Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction
Pankaj Mishra, An End to Suffering
Shantideva, The Bodhisattvacaryaavatara
Stephanie Kaza, Hooked
Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart
GRADING: Journals and two exams.
RLST 31100-01 PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Jonathan Peeters, Park Hall 240, Ext. 4-3077, jpeeters@ithaca.edu.
ENROLLMENT: 15.
PREREQUISITES: Two courses in philosophy, with at least one at the 200 level.
OBJECTIVES: This course will focus on critically examining the doctrines that are commonly thought to comprise religious belief. We will be looking both at arguments in favor of believing those doctrines and arguments against those doctrines. Topics to be covered are likely to include: (1) The properties of God; (2) Arguments for and against the existence of God; (3) Faith; and (4) Religious Pluralism. Please note: PHIL 31100 is cross-listed with RLST 31100. Students may not earn credit for both PHIL 31100 and RLST 31100.
FORMAT AND STYLE: This class will be very heavily lecture based. Individual classes will mostly be focused on running through arguments, objections to those arguments and responses to those objections. The focus is on working through topics in the philosophy of religion in the contemporary style of analytic philosophy.
REQUIREMENTS: Attendance, reading, a research paper, essay exams.
RLST 34300-01 BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION IN JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Rebecca Lesses, Williams 119H, Ext. 4-3556, rlesses@ithaca.edu.
ENROLLMENT: 20.
PREREQUISITE: Three courses in the humanities, at least one of which is in English, Jewish studies, or religious studies.
OBJECTIVES: This course examines the theological and literary dimensions of reading the Bible in the Jewish and Christian traditions. In both religions, Biblical interpretation, or hermeneutics, is a special discipline that combines theology with techniques of literary exposition, or exegesis. The focus of the course will be the comparative study of Jewish and Christian readings of the Bible. The Hebrew Scriptures, which were formed out of the historical and religious experiences of the Israelites, became the religious and literary inheritance of two communities. Although it is often said that Jews and Christians share a common scripture, it is perhaps more accurate to say that the differing interpretations of a common scripture have defined the differences between the two communities. Thus, our comparative study will explore in the texts the evidence for conflict as well as those occasions when concurrence and even dialogue is possible. This semester the course will focus on the comparative understanding of stories of the beginning (creation) and the end of days (as revealed in apocalyptic texts). We will also devote some time to comparative Jewish, Christian, and Muslim interpretation of certain biblical stories. Please note: This course is cross-listed with JWST 34300-01. Students may not receive credit for both JWST 34300 and RLST 34300.
STUDENTS: All who meet the prerequisites are welcome.
REQUIREMENTS: Papers, in-class presentations, daily participation in discussion.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Discussion, some lecturing, student presentation.
GRADING: A-F.
RLST 37500-01 RELIGION AND FILM HU LA
3 CREDITS
INSTRUCTOR: Rachel Wagner, Park Hall 237, Ext. 4-3249, rwagner@ithaca.edu.
ENROLLMENT: 20.
PREREQUISITES: One course in religion; two additional courses in the humanities and/or social sciences.
OBJECTIVES: This course invites students to examine how film constructs and influences religious beliefs and spirituality in the modern world, as well as how religious beliefs and spirituality shape and inform film. Students will exercise visual literacy by applying various methods of filmic analysis to select films; consider the language of film criticism and theory when applied to religious ideas; become familiar with the academic currents of the study of religion and film; and learn how to write about film, its conventions, and the role of religious ideas in film.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Discussion, some lecture.
REQUIREMENTS: Exams, film reviews, one longer in-depth film analysis.
RLST 37600-01 SOUTH ASIAN RELIGIONS: GENDER, SEXUALITY AND THE BODY HU LA
3 Credits
INSTRUCTOR: Amanullah De Sondy, Park Hall 242, Ext. 45713, adesondy@ithaca.edu.
ENROLLMENT: 15.
PREREQUISITES: One course in religion; two additional courses in the humanities and/or social sciences.
OBJECTIVES: This course aims to explore gender, sexuality and the body in South Asian Religions (specifically Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism) and the way in which such notions do or do not shape their core beliefs. Such discussions will also include aspects of South Asian history, geography and politics. This course will include a mixture of textual and visual learning, including teaching an investigation into each faith’s sacred scripture, exploring their interpretation placing texts in the context of male and female activity – making effective use of South Asian film and the arts.
STUDENTS: Religious Studies majors/minors, and any students interested in the topic.
FORMAT AND STYLE: Lecture/class discussions.
GRADING: 100% Coursework - (2 Essays (30% each), Classroom participation (10%) and Weekly Reflective Journal 30%).
