Course Schedule

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Only show courses available to first-year students.

Course Listing for RELIGIOUS STUDIES - Spring 2027 (ALL: 01/25/2027 - 05/14/2027)

Class No.	Course ID	Title	Credits	Type	Instructor(s)	Days:Times	Location	Permission Required	Dist
2333	RELG-151-01	Religions of Asia	1.00	LEC	Angowski, Elizabeth	MW: 2:55PM-4:10PM	TBA		GLB2
		Enrollment limited to 29		Waitlist available: N		Mode of Instruction: In Person
		An introduction to the major religions of Asia: Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism, with special emphasis on how each of these modes of thought gives rise to a special vision of man in the universe, a complex of myth and practice, and a pattern of ethical behavior. (May be counted toward international studies/Asian studies.)
2334	RELG-181-01	Understanding Islam	1.00	LEC	Koertner, Mareike	MW: 1:30PM-2:45PM	TBA		HUGI
		Enrollment limited to 35		Waitlist available: N		Mode of Instruction: In Person
		This survey course explores the diversity of Muslim experiential and intellectual approaches to the key sacred sources of the religion, the Qur'an, and the figure of the Prophet. The course addresses pre-Islamic Arabia and the rise of Islam; Muhammad and the Qur'an; prophetic traditions and jurisprudence; theology and mysticism; art and poetry; basic beliefs and practices of the Muslim community; responses to colonialism and modernity; and Islam in the United States.
2958	RELG-202-01	Political Christianity	1.00	SEM	Jones, Tamsin	MW: 10:50AM-12:05PM	TBA		HUM
		Enrollment limited to 15		Waitlist available: Y		Mode of Instruction: In Person
		While Jesus distinguished between that which his followers owed to “Caesar” and that which they owed to “God,” nonetheless, Christianity has never not been political. Christians have taken many different positions on the relation between faith and politics or the church and the state. Ought Christianity serve the empire/nation or critique it? This course examines flashpoints of very different positions on political Christianity in the early, medieval and modern periods. We will spend some time exploring the paradox of American Christianity: slavery vs abolition, prosperity gospel vs Christian socialism; Christian nationalism and white supremacy vs Christian social critics such as Dorothy Day, Howard Thurman, Thomas Merton, and Martin Luther King.
2742	RELG-205-01	Religions of Africa	1.00	SEM	Landry, Timothy	TR: 2:55PM-4:10PM	TBA		GLB2
		Enrollment limited to 15		Waitlist available: N		Mode of Instruction: In Person
						Cross-listing: ANTH-205-01
		This course is an exploration of the ways in which Africans make sense of their worlds through religion. By reading a wide range of ethnographic and historical texts, students will consider the challenges that post-colonial politics present to understanding religion in Africa and in the diaspora Students will examine a variety of African religious traditions ranging from indigenous practices to the ways in which Christianity and Islam have developed uniquely African beliefs. In so doing, students will frame African religions as global phenomena while considering the historical and contemporary salience of the many canonical themes found in African religion such as spirit possession, divination, healing, magic, witchcraft, sorcery, and animal sacrifice.
2335	RELG-212-01	New Testament	1.00	LEC	Hornung, Gabriel	TR: 9:25AM-10:40AM	TBA		HUM
		Enrollment limited to 40		Waitlist available: N		Mode of Instruction: In Person
		Also cross-referenced with CLASSICS
		An examination of the New Testament in the context of the first century C.E. to study the formation and themes of these early Christian writings. The course will stress the analysis of texts and discussion of their possible interpretations. How did the earliest writings about Jesus present him? Who was Paul? Is it more accurate to call him the founder of Christianity instead of Jesus? How do we understand Gospels that are not in the New Testament? We will attend to these and other social, political, and historical issues for studying the New Testament and Early Christianity.
2336	RELG-213-01	The David Story	1.00	LEC	Hornung, Gabriel	TR: 10:50AM-12:05PM	TBA		HUM
		Enrollment limited to 25		Waitlist available: N		Mode of Instruction: In Person
		Although David is often lauded as ancient Israel’s greatest king, his character is one of deep flaws. By exploring the many and often conflicting depictions of the founder of the ancient Israelite monarch, this course will probe this most important moment in biblical history: What are the theological implications of David’s divine election? How do the king’s painful missteps ricochet forward and influence later events? By focusing mainly on the Old Testament story, we will examine the historical institution David initiated and the religious problems it engendered.
2447	RELG-224-01	American Jewish Literature	1.00	LEC	Catlin, Samuel	TR: 1:30PM-2:45PM	TBA		HUM
		Enrollment limited to 25		Waitlist available: Y		Mode of Instruction: In Person
		Also cross-referenced with ENGL				Cross-listing: JWST-223-01
		An exploration of the relationship between US Jewish identity and literary form, through the reading of major works in a range of genres such as prose fiction, lyric poetry, drama, graphic novels, and essays, from the late 19th century to the present. We may also view some films and TV episodes. Throughout, we will insistently pose the question of what makes a literary work count as "Jewish" or "American." Readings may address such topics as immigration, assimilation, nationalism, racialization, whiteness, ethnic identity, antisemitism, class and labor politics, the Cold War and McCarthyism, the impact of the Holocaust, the memory of pre-WWII Europe, Zionism, gender and sexuality, HIV/AIDS, the politics of "Jewish languages," and religious vs. secular textual traditions.
2959	RELG-237-01	Interpreting the Holocaust	1.00	LEC	Catlin, Samuel	TR: 2:55PM-4:10PM	TBA		HUGI
		Enrollment limited to 25		Waitlist available: Y		Mode of Instruction: In Person
						Cross-listing: JWST-237-01
		This course explores how postwar writers, theologians, filmmakers, jurists, politicians, artists, philosophers, and nation-states have responded to, represented, and interpreted the Holocaust (or Shoah): the Nazi state’s genocide of six million Jews and mass murders of millions of other victims in 1933–1945. With an emphasis on Jewish responses, we'll consider the various, sometimes contradictory lessons that have been drawn from the Holocaust and debate the questions it raises about a range of critical topics: humanity, morality, truth, meaning, reason, progress, suffering, identity, guilt, power, the nation-state, racism, colonialism, aesthetics, historiography, justice, and memory.
2961	RELG-244-01	Tibetan Buddhism	1.00	SEM	Angowski, Elizabeth	MW: 10:00AM-11:15AM	TBA		GLB2
		Enrollment limited to 19		Waitlist available: Y		Mode of Instruction: In Person
		This course provides an introduction to Buddhism in Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism as a global phenomenon. Topics include Buddhism’s transmission to Tibet from India; the development of the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and several key beliefs and practices; monasticism and gender in Tibetan Buddhism; Tibetan medicine; the figure of the Dalai Lama; and Tibet in international politics. Special attention will be paid to how Tibetan Buddhism has been represented, both in international scholarship and popular media.
2840	RELG-281-01	Anthropology of Religion	1.00	LEC	Landry, Timothy	TR: 9:25AM-10:40AM	TBA	Y	GLB5
		Enrollment limited to 29		Waitlist available: Y		Mode of Instruction: In Person
						Cross-listing: ANTH-281-01
		NOTE: 10 seats reserved for first year students, 5 for sophomores, 5 for juniors.
		Introduction to the foundations of religion through an examination of religious phenomena prevalent in traditional cultures. Some of the topics covered in this course include a critical examination of the idea of primitivity, the concepts of space and time, myths, symbols, ideas related to God, man, death, and rituals such as rites of passage, magic, sorcery, witchcraft, and divination. (May be counted toward anthropology and international studies/global studies.)
2744	RELG-288-01	Religion, Politics, and Policy	1.00	LEC	Ribovich, Leslie	TR: 10:50AM-12:05PM	TBA		HUM
		Enrollment limited to 25		Waitlist available: N		Mode of Instruction: In Person
						Cross-listing: PBPL-288-01
		The old saying goes, "Never discuss religion and politics in polite company." Yet, from theological views on abortion to the Black liberation struggle, it is hard to avoid intersections of religion and politics, especially as they relate to gender and race. In this course, we examine these examples and more to ask why religion and politics are so intertwined and pervasive in our global society, and what they have to do with racial and gendered power. We focus on the United States and consider religious studies and public policy perspectives. We conclude by examining our local context.
2746	RELG-316-01	The Book of Genesis	1.00	SEM	Hornung, Gabriel	W: 1:30PM-4:10PM	TBA		HUM
		Enrollment limited to 19		Waitlist available: N		Mode of Instruction: In Person
		Also cross-referenced with JWST
		Description An examination into the biblical book of Genesis, this seminar will study the famous text from three distinct perspectives. The course will begin with the literary-critical impulse to divide the book along source divisions; it will then move to explore the comparative method suggested by Ancient Near Eastern analogues; and conclude with theological approaches that insist on reading Genesis as the opening note in a larger canonical collection.
2747	RELG-327-01	Religion & Environment Justice	1.00	SEM	Koertner, Mareike	MW: 1:30PM-2:45PM	TBA		GLB2
		Enrollment limited to 19		Waitlist available: N		Mode of Instruction: In Person
						Cross-listing: ENVS-327-01
		This course examines various environmental crises that confront humanity today and how these crises are being addressed by religious traditions from around the world, including Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and indigenous traditions in Africa and the Americas. We will look at contemporary case studies for each tradition to explore how activist groups around the world rely on their respective religious teachings as the foundation for their activism toward local, regional, and global environmental justice.
1141	RELG-399-01	Independent Study	0.50 - 2.00	IND	TBA	TBA	TBA	Y	HUM
		Enrollment limited to 15		Waitlist available: N		Mode of Instruction: In Person
		Advanced work on an approved project under the guidance of a faculty member. Submission of the special registration form, available in the Registrar’s Office, and the approval of the instructor and chairperson are required for enrollment.
2679	RELG-419-01	Research Assistant	0.50 - 1.00	IND	TBA	TBA	TBA	Y
		Enrollment limited to 100		Waitlist available: N		Mode of Instruction: In Person
		Submission of the special registration form, available online, and the approval of the instructor are required for enrollment.
1142	RELG-466-01	Teaching Assistant	0.50 - 1.00	IND	TBA	TBA	TBA	Y
		Enrollment limited to 15		Waitlist available: N		Mode of Instruction: In Person
		Submission of the special registration form, available online, and the approval of the instructor are required for enrollment. Guidelines are available in the College Bulletin. (0.5 - 1 course credit)
2191	RELG-497-01	Senior Thesis	1.00	IND	TBA	TBA	TBA	Y	WEB
		Enrollment limited to 15		Waitlist available: N		Mode of Instruction: In Person
		Submission of the special registration form and the approval of the instructor and chairperson are required for enrollment in this single-semester thesis.
2189	RELG-499-01	Senior Thesis Part 2	1.00	IND	Staff, Trinity	TBA	TBA	Y	WEB
		Enrollment limited to 20		Waitlist available: N		Mode of Instruction: In Person
		This course is the second part of a two semester, two credit thesis. Submission of the special registration form and the approval of the thesis adviser and the director are required for enrollment. The registration form is required for each semester of this year-long thesis.