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Course Listing for RELIGIOUS STUDIES - Fall 2024 (ALL: 09/03/2024 - 12/18/2024)
Class
No.		 Course ID Title Credits Type Instructor(s) Days:Times Location Permission
Required		 Dist Qtr
1739 RELG-109-01 Jewish Tradition 1.00 LEC Steiner, Benjamin TR: 10:50AM-12:05PM TBA GLB2  
  Enrollment limited to 40 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
    Cross-listing: JWST-109-01
  A thematic introduction to the major concepts, ritual cycles, holidays, and beliefs of Judaism. Readings and course material will be taken from classic Jewish texts as well as modern secondary sources. (May be counted toward International Studies, Middle Eastern Studies and Jewish Studies.)
2525 RELG-151-01 Religions of Asia 1.00 LEC Kerekes, Susanne F: 1:30PM-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.)
3070 RELG-206-01 Queer Religion 1.00 SEM Landry, Timothy TR: 1:30PM-2:45PM TBA GLB2  
  Enrollment limited to 19 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
    Cross-listing: ANTH-206-01
  Queer people from around the world have been both celebrated and harmed by religion. LGBTQ+ people have used religion to affirm their rights to exist and as a symbol for their oppression. In this course, students will explore the ways in which LGBTQ+ people engage with queer-affirming and queerphobic religious practices while considering how religion has shaped the queer experience. Through queer-centered ethnography, students will identify the religious strategies that have been mobilized by LGBTQ+ people in ways that give their lives meaning. We will also consider how colonialism, white supremacy, and the global dominance of Christianity has affected the ways that we've come to understand the queer experience from around the world.
2526 RELG-211-01 Intro Hebrew Bible/Old Testame 1.00 LEC Hornung, Gabriel TR: 2:55PM-4:10PM TBA HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 39 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Also cross-referenced with JWST
  Where did the Bible come from? This class will examine the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) in its evolution and complexity. We will pay careful attention to the text's many powerful voices and striking literary features, its great figures such as Abraham, Moses, and David, and its relationship with the major historical events which shaped the life of ancient Israel and later Jewish and Christian tradition. (May be counted toward Jewish Studies and International Studies/Middle Eastern Studies.)
2167 RELG-214-01 Jews in America 1.00 LEC Steiner, Benjamin TR: 2:55PM-4:10PM TBA HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 25 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
    Cross-listing: JWST-214-01
  A social and religious history of American Judaism from pre-revolutionary to contemporary times. After examining the era of immigration and “Americanization,” the course will focus on the ethnic, religious, and social structures of American Judaism: the community center, the synagogue, and the federation. (May be counted toward American studies and Jewish studies.)
3319 RELG-216-01 Buddhism of the 99% 1.00 SEM Kerekes, Susanne MW: 11:30AM-12:45PM TBA GLB2  
  Enrollment limited to 19 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Buddhism of the 99% is motivated by three themes: Buddhism of-, by-, and for the people. "Buddhism of the people" focuses on the Buddhisms that are governed by Buddhists themselves to create more representative and inclusive communities (Dalit Buddhist conversion in 1950s India, Black Dharma, and Asian American Buddhists). "Buddhism by the people" showcases the material culture and practices fashioned by Asian Buddhists themselves (temples, amulets, rituals, magic). "Buddhism for the people" spotlights movements that aim to make life better for the 99%, especially those of Buddhist activists who contributed to the rise of socially engaged Buddhism in the 1960s (e.g., Buddhist liberation theology, or closer to home, addressing America's racial karma). Each theme highlights marginalized aspects of Buddhism's history and present, socially and intellectually.
2666 RELG-217-01 Modern Islam 1.00 LEC Koertner, Mareike TR: 9:25AM-10:40AM TBA GLB2  
  Enrollment limited to 29 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  NOTE: 8 seats reserved for first year students.
  In this course, we examine ways in which Muslim groups throughout the world have adapted to political or social contexts of the modern world. Topics we'll discuss are Islamic feminism, environmentalism, fundamentalism, and the intersection of race and Islam as well as queerness and Islam.
3071 RELG-231-01 Christianity in the Making 1.00 LEC Jones, Tamsin MW: 1:30PM-2:45PM TBA HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 39 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Also cross-referenced with CLASSICS, HIST
  NOTE: 5 seats reserved for first year students, 5 for sophomores.
  This course will examine the philosophical, cultural, religious and political contexts out of which Christianity emerged from the time of Jesus through the 5th century. Emphasis will be placed on the complexity and diversity of early Christian movements, as well as the process that occurred to establish Christianity as a religion that would dominate the Roman Empire. Topics to be covered will include the writings of the New Testament, Gnostics, martyrdom, desert monasticism and asceticism, the construction of orthodoxy and heresy, women in the early Church, the formation of the biblical canon, and the identity and role of Jesus of Nazareth.
3072 RELG-286-01 Islam in America 1.00 LEC Koertner, Mareike MW: 10:00AM-11:15AM TBA HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 19 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Islam has become the fastest growing and most ethnically diverse religious group in the United States. This course is divided into two parts: the first provides an historical survey of Islam in America, from its discovery to the present; the second part examines contemporary issues of Muslim American communities and their interactions with American society at large. Topics include religious movements among African-American and immigrant groups, educational, cultural and youth initiatives, Sufism, civil rights groups, progressive Muslims, women's and feminist movements, and Islam in popular culture and in the media.
3269 RELG-288-01 Religion, Politics, and Policy 1.00 LEC Ribovich, Leslie MW: 1:30PM-2:45PM TBA HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 25 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
    Cross-listing: PBPL-288-01
  NOTE: Seat Reservations: 7 for first years; 7 for sophomores
  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.
3073 RELG-324-01 Suffering Religion 1.00 SEM Jones, Tamsin MW: 10:00AM-11:15AM TBA HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  What does religion have to say about suffering and its function in the spiritual life – is it a “natural” part of human existence, divine gift or punishment, or a preventable tragedy? What does it mean when religion is experienced as suffering or as trauma? This course explores these questions within the Greco-Roman, Jewish and Christian traditions. After introducing some of the classic texts on suffering, the course examines suffering as both a logical and a moral problem for religious thought. It then considers some of the resources that religious traditions have brought to bear on different kinds of suffering – physical pain, trauma, grief or loss, and mental suffering or depression.
3288 RELG-327-01 Religion & Environment Justice 1.00 SEM Koertner, Mareike TR: 1:30PM-2:45PM TBA GLB2  
  Enrollment limited to 19 Waitlist available: Y 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.
1454 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.
1455 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)
2880 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.
2878 RELG-498-01 Senior Thesis Part 1 1.00 IND Staff, Trinity TBA TBA Y WEB  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  This course is the first 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.