DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES

In 1949, conservationist Aldo Leopold published an essay entitled, “The Land Ethic.” He argued that humans are in community with, and have moral obligations to, soil, water, plants and animals. His call for the development of “ecological consciousness” has since been taken up, expanded, and critiqued by environmentalists. More recently, indigenous peoples have fought for recognition that such ethics have long guided their communities, before and during European colonization and settlement. Around the world, indigenous communities have taken the lead in demanding changes to the ways in which modern societies relate to the land. This course explores the idea of a land ethic, what it must consider and how it might come to be successfully embedded within culture and consciousness. In particular, we will look at how the various cultural formations and personal experiences that are often named “religion” and “spirituality” can reflect and promote various land ethics, particularly inasmuch as the prerogatives of “religion” might provide a context for experiencing and valuing land outside and/or alongside its aesthetic, economic and political value. Over the term, students will select and connect with a particular piece of land, which will provide both an object of study as well as a context for learning and reflection. Spending time in the field, each student will explore the land’s natural and cultural history, recording its (mis)use and how it has been transformed thereby. Students will use all of this to articulate a land ethic, and the final project will be an effort to embed that ethic in some creative cultural form. (Spring 2021, Professor Mark McClish)

Explore the role of religious ideas and practices in shaping American life between 1945 and 2020, specifically instances of public religious expression, religious motivations for political decisions, and the complexity of religious tolerance as a foundation in American life. Topics include Cold War religious identities; the Civil Rights Movement; Vatican II Catholicism; religious immigration, women and gender in religious thought and practice; evangelical Christianity in politics and media; Islamophobia; interfaith initiatives; and contemporary religious demographics. Counts towards Religion, Law and Politics (RLP) major concentration. (Spring 2021, Dr. Stephanie Brehm)

Contrary to what many assume, magic and religion are not binary opposites. Rather, magic often draws upon the belief systems, the rituals, even the structures of authority provided by religion. Frequently it meets disapproval from others in the religious tradition, but not always. If magic in many of its forms is integrally linked to religion, however, we still have to examine how the two are connected, how a particular form of magic relates to a specific religious tradition, how it challenges what people believe, how it can both subvert and be coopted by authority, and how it serves people's perceived needs differently from other religious practices. Counts towards Religion, Health and Medicine (RHM) major concentration. (Spring 2021, Professor Richard Kieckhefer)

This graduate seminar will probe the notion of modernity and modernism in the field of Buddhist studies. Through weekly readings of some of the most recent monographs on the subject, students will consider the meanings and implications of modern Buddhism as it is understood in relation to different contexts including Myanmar, China, Mongolia, Tibet, and the U.S. Questions we will explore include: What are the distinguishing features of modern Buddhism (and Buddhist modernism), and how are recent scholars invoking these categories? Who are the agents of Buddhist modernity, and how do they relate to forms of secularism, colonialism, and nationalism? What socio-political and intellectual forces are mobilizing innovation and rationalization of Buddhism on a global scale? Is modernism about homogenization? Is dis-indigenization and the re-emphasis on canonical scriptures aimed at appealing to Euro-American societies? Is mindfulness the new yoga? These questions and more that are tailored to the research interests of students in the course will fuel our classroom conversations. (Spring 2021, Professor Antonio Terrone)

This course is intended to familiarize students of literature with the most influential text in Western culture. No previous acquaintance with the Bible is presupposed. We will consider such questions as the variety of literary genres and strategies in the Bible; the historical situation of its writers; the representation of God as a literary character; recurrent images and themes; the Bible as a Hebrew national epic; the New Testament as a radical reinterpretation of the “Old Testament” (or Hebrew Bible); and the overall narrative as a plot with beginning, middle, and end. Since time will not permit a complete reading, we will concentrate on those books that display the greatest literary interest or influence. From the Torah we will read Genesis, Exodus, and parts of Deuteronomy; from the Prophets, Amos, Jonah, Second Isaiah, and Daniel; and from the Writings, the books of Judges, Ruth, Psalms, and the Song of Songs, along with the saga of King David and portions of the Wisdom literature. In the New Testament, we will read the Gospels according to Matthew, Luke, and John and the book of Revelation. Counts towards religious studies major and minor. (Spring 2021, Professor Barbara Newman)

Fyodor Dostoevsky is one of the most important artists and thinkers of the modern era. His writings prompted new developments in philosophy, theology, psychoanalysis, and existentialism, and his writings continue to have an impact around the world; much of Western thinking since his death has been a response to his provocations. In this class, we read enduring works of literature that challenge us to address questions such as: what are the consequences of believing in God and immortality, or rejecting such beliefs? What is a meaningful life? What is the purpose of my life—if it has a purpose?

We will study Dostoevsky as a biting social critic, in the acerbic essays on the bourgeoisie in Winter Notes on Summer Impressions; as an artist whose depth of religious and philosophical questioning compels us to study him together with figures like Nietzsche and Kierkegaard; and as the first and perhaps best analyst of what we think of as some distinctly modern afflictions, such as excessive self-consciousness and despair.

Texts: Winter Notes on Summer Impressions, Notes from Underground, and Crime and Punishment, selections from Diary of a Writer

Counts towards religious studies major and minor. (Spring 2021, Professor Susan McReynolds)