Semester Course Offering

This course will examine the ways different religious beliefs and practices are represented in a variety of print, film, television, and other media in our culture and the ways in which those representations may function to influence opinions, actions, and policy. Analysis of media content will accompany an introduction to the study of religions presented and misrepresented in popular culture.

Meets general academic requirement HU and MV.

From Genesis’ depiction of the divine organization of the universe in the Hebrew Bible to Hindu traditions of creation’s emanation from Brahma, narratives concerning the origin of the world have attracted devotional and scholarly attention from around the globe since ancient times. In this course, we will use the comparison of creation stories as an introduction to the study of myth, its relationship to ritual, and its place and function in religious traditions. Furthermore, we will critically examine the ways in which different cultures have used stories of origins to address questions regarding contemporary political, social, or religious contexts. Particular emphasis will be placed on creation stories from the ancient Near East and Bible, and the symbolic and literary connections between them.

Meets general academic requirement DE, HU, MV, and GP.

This course is an opportunity to study religion both in the classroom and ‘on the ground’ as it is applied in agricultural practices in local community. Students will be equipped with terms and ideas that will help them engage meaningfully with various cultures’ religious approaches to the environment, including those of a local religious farming community. We will explore questions regarding definitions of ‘nature’ and ‘the wild’, think about the influence of religion on land use and food production, analyze the role of race and gender in religious environmentalism, and get our hands into the soil working on Monocacy Farms, where all these can be seen at work.

Meets general academic requirements HU, IL, and IEL.

This course is an exploration of religious life in Japan through a variety of its appearances, from the earliest historical evidence in the Neolithic Period to the present, observing Shinto, Buddhist, Confucian, Daoist, and indigenous Japanese influences. What makes something ‘religious’, even when the actors involved claim not to believe in god(s) or even reject a particular religious identity? How can our understanding of Japanese history and culture be clarified by analyzing communities or practices as religious? And how can our understanding of ‘religion’ be clarified by exploring Japanese examples?

Meets general academic requirement HU, DE, MV, and GP.

Judaism has ancient roots and encompasses a multifaceted array of rituals, laws, holidays, and life-cycle events. Using “Time” and “Space” as the dual focal points of our course, we will examine the development of diverse Jewish communities from antiquity to the modern era in order to better understand the origins and practices of the spectrum of Jewish groups encountered today. Consequently, this course will emphasize the heterogeneity of Judaism as a religious system throughout history, while also examining what makes this diverse group of traditions and texts “Jewish.”

Meets general academic requirement HU and MV.

Did you ever wonder how ancient texts, like the New Testament, reach the modern world? In this course, students will explore the challenges and opportunities of studying New Testament and other ancient Christian materials in their oldest forms. Central to this examination will be how the texts were read, interpreted, and transmitted within Christian communities over time. This course will include an introduction to several techniques used to analyze ancient scriptural materials as well as the basic syntax and vocabulary of Koine Greek. No previous language skills are expected or required.

Meets general academic requirement HU and IC.