Subject	Course Number	Long Course Title	Description
RLST	100	Introduction to Religious Studies	An introduction to the academic study of religion exploring cross-culturally some of the fundamental ways in which people experience and understand religion. Questions addressed include: What is religion? What are the basic forms of religious life? What connections exist among self-identity, the sacred, and society? How do those connections help to establish meaning and values in human existence? How is religious knowledge possible? Readings include primary religious texts and critical reflections on religion. Intended primarily for freshmen and sophomores or students with no prior work in the religious studies department.
RLST	190	Tutorial Studies in Religious Studies	Advanced research, arranged and carried out under the direction of an instructor.
RLST	199	Independent Study in Religious Studies	Advanced research, arranged in consultation with the department. Students planning an honors project should register for this course, for one or more terms.
RLST	210	Hinduism	A survey of the religious and philosophical elements that constitute the broad system of beliefs known as Hinduism. Emphasis is placed on intellectual history, but dominant patterns of ritual and religious experience are also covered. Readings include primary texts and associated commentaries.
RLST	215	Buddhism in India and Tibet	An introductory survey of Buddhist thought and practice in India and Tibet. The historical development of key Buddhist concepts and schools is emphasized. Readings include translations of Buddhist canonical works.
RLST	216	Buddhism in China and Japan	An introductory survey of Buddhist thought and practice in China and Japan. The history of key Buddhist concepts and schools in East Asia is the primary focus. Readings include translations from East Asian Buddhist canonical works.
RLST	240	Islam	An introduction to Islam. Students will study primary sources beginning with the Quran and ending with a contemporary Muslim writer. Attention will be focussed on both the theological development of Islam and its lived experience as witnessed through the arts and architecture.
RLST	260	Christianity through the 15th Century	An examination of the major developments in Christian thought and practice from its origin to the late Middle Ages. Topics include the formation of doctrine in the early church, Christian heresies, the cult of martyrs, the development of the monastic tradition, and the rise of the papacy.
RLST	270	Christianity in the Modern World	A study of Christian history from the Reformation to the present. Topics include the origins of Protestantism, the Counter Reformation, Pietism, Deism, Liberal Theology, the Vatican Councils, Dialectical Theology, Fundamentalism. Special attention to the impact of modernity (e.g., the rise of science, the development of the historical critical method, pluralism, secularization).
RLST	280	Quran	A thorough examination of the Quran and what we know about its historical context from early sources. The ways in which the Quran has become a civilization book, molding the thought and artistic expression of all later Muslims while being re-interpreted and re-contextualized as new cultural demands arise, will also be explored.
RLST	285	Hebrew Prophets	This course will cover the phenomenon of prophecy as it appears in the Hebrew Bible. We will focus especially on the major books of prophecy—Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel—but will turn our attention also to some of the minor and non-writing prophets as well.
RLST	290	Religion in Ancient Egypt: Pyramids, Wisdom, and Eternal Life	We will examine the religious tradition of Egypt as it developed in the old, middle, and new kingdoms. Ideas about eternal life as detailed in the Pyramid Texts and embodied in the Pyramids will be closely studied, along with the tradition of wisdom literature.
RLST	330	Rationality and Religious Belief	An examination of the range of views on the relationship between reason and religion, focusing in particular on theistic belief. Questions addressed include: Can God’s existence be proven? Is faith different from ordinary belief? Does mystical experience provide adequate grounds for religious belief?
RLST	335	Cairo: Islam in Context	An examination of the place of Islam within medieval and modern Cairo. We will read historical and creative texts in order to better understand how this religion and social system constructed what we know as Cairo.
RLST	350	Gandhi	An examination of the life, times, and thought of Mohandas Gandhi, emphasizing the religious concept of satyagraha (holding fast to the truth) and the philosophy of non-violence as the central precepts in his effort to transform Indian society and ultimately of his global influences.
RLST	390	Tutorial Studies in Religious Studies	Advanced research, arranged and carried out under the direction of an instructor.
RLST	399	Independent Study in Religious Studies	Advanced research, arranged in consultation with the department. Students planning an honors project should register for this course, for one or more terms.
RLST	400	Themes in Modern Western Religious Thought	A critical survey of one or more of the distinctive themes in the religious thought of the West since the Reformation. Topic for Fall 2008 —— Nietzsche and Freud: Psychological Critiques of Religion A critical analysis of selected works of Nietzsche and Freud, focusing in particular on their psychological models of the self and their connections to their analyses of religion. No prior knowledge of either thinker is presumed.
RLST	420	Systems of Buddhist Philosophy	A detailed examination of five schools of Buddhist philosophy. Close study of each school’s explanation of key doctrines such as no-self, interdependent arising, samsara, nirvana, and enlightenment further clarifies the historical development of Buddhist thought in India and China. Readings emphasize primary texts (in translation).
RLST	500	Seminar: Kierkegaard	Intensive study of the works of the Danish philosopher/theologian considered to be the father of Existentialism. Concentration on Kierkegaard’s view of the self and its relation to his stages of existence, with particular attention to his view of faith. Some consideration to the historical context of his thought and his influence on 20th-century theology and philosophy.
RLST	510	Seminar: Zen Buddhism	Zen Buddhism is perhaps the most widely known form of Buddhism in the West and also the most widely misunderstood. This course provides a detailed look at the history and doctrines of Zen Buddhism in China and Japan. Combining the use of original source materials (in translation) with an emphasis on intellectual history, the course covers specific doctrines that have differentiated the major schools of Zen.
RLST	550	The Hajj to Mecca	A course examining the institution of the Hajj to Mecca through the history of Islam. We will begin with an examination of what we know about pre-Islamic religious practices in Mecca, but the heart of the course will consist of a close reading of historical pilgrimage narratives, ranging from Ibn Jubayr to Richard Burton. Along the way we will also give attention to pilgrimage in other religious traditions.
RLST	560	Seminar: The Problem of Evil	An examination of one of the classic problems of philosophy of religion; the course will examine both traditional theistic analyses of the problem (is the existence of an omni-god incompatible with the existence of evil?) as well as more recent, non-theistic analyses of evil as a social phenomenon.
RLST	590	Tutorial Studies in Religious Studies	Advanced research, arranged and carried out under the direction of an instructor.
RLST	599	Independent Study in Religious Studies	Advanced research, arranged in consultation with the department. Students planning an honors project should register for this course, for one or more terms.
RLST	600	Seminar in Methodology	An examination of approaches to the study of religion selected from a school of thought or a more eclectic group of authors. Students are encouraged to draw upon previous coursework.
RLST	690	Tutorial Studies in Religious Studies	Advanced research, arranged and carried out under the direction of an instructor.
RLST	699	Independent Study in Religious Studies	Advanced research, arranged in consultation with the department. Students planning an honors project should register for this course, for one or more terms.