RELIGST 1. Religion Around the Globe. 4 Units.
This course surveys major religious traditions of the world in all of their complexity, in relation to philosophy and politics; liturgy and literature; identity and social hierarchies; art, community, and emotion. Through examination of a variety of materials, including scriptures and other spiritual writings, religious objects and artifacts, and modern documentary, fiction and film, we explore Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Daoism as rich historical and living traditions.
RELIGST 105. Religion and War in America. 4 Units.
Scholars have devoted much attention to wars in American history, but have not agreed as to whether religion was a major cause or simply a cover for political, economic, and other motives. We will compare interpretations that leave religion out, with those that take it into account. We will also look at the impact of war on the religious lives of ordinary Americans. We will examine both secondary as well as primary sources, beginning with King Philip's War in the 17th century, and ending with the "War on Terror" in the present day.
Same as: AMSTUD 105R, CSRE 105, HISTORY 254D, HISTORY 354D
RELIGST 114. Yoga: Ancient and Modern. 4 Units.
In both Western popular culture and the Indian political arena, Yoga has become emblematic of the cultural heritage of India. But how did the phenomenon that is global postural yoga, with its secular wellness ethos and athleticism, come into existence? And how does it relate to the contemplative and ascetic disciplines that were practiced in the premodern Indian past? This course explores the early history of yoga through its philosophy and esoteric practices, concluding with a look at the ramifications of yoga in contemporary culture and politics. Participating in a yoga class is recommended. 2 units of independent study (S-NC) are offered for those who participate in a weekly yoga class and write short reflections on the experience.
RELIGST 115X. Europe in the Middle Ages, 300-1500. 3-5 Units.
(HISTORY 15D is 3 units; HISTORY 115D is 5 units.) This course provides an introduction to Medieval Europe from the fall of Rome to the Renaissance. While the framework of the course is chronological, we'll concentrate particularly on the structure of medieval society. Rural and urban life, kingship and papal government, wars and plagues provide the context for our examination of the lives of medieval people, what they believed, and how they interacted with other, both within Christendom and beyond it. This course may count as DLCL 123, a course requirement for the Medieval Studies Minor.
Same as: HISTORY 15D, HISTORY 115D
RELIGST 116. Buddhist Philosophy. 4 Units.
What do Buddhists mean when they argue that there is "no self?" What about their claim that everything is "empty?" Is their theory of karma a type of "fatalism" (that everything is just a matter of predetermined fate)? Does Buddhism really teach that we are all connected with one another? This course aims to answer these questions, and many others related to Buddhist philosophy. We will begin by exploring the central philosophical arguments attributed to the historical Buddha, and study the major philosophical traditions of Buddhism and the debates between them over the issues of metaphysics (what is really real?), ethics (what should we do?), and epistemology (what and how do we know?). We will also learn about the problems and significance of the modern interpretations of Buddhist philosophy. Through these discussions, we will attempt to critically appreciate both the universality and the particularity of the Buddhist ways of thinking.
RELIGST 117. Christianity, Race, and Gender in 21st-century America. 4 Units.
As the largest religion practiced in the United States, Christianity not only shapes the private lives of a large number of Americans but also plays an important role in public discourse, policies, and debates. This course investigates Christianity's place on the shifting religious landscape in America, with special attention to present-day movements for racial and gender justice in the era of Black Lives Matter and #MeToo. Students explore reasons for declining numbers of Christians in the United States, the polarization of Christian conservatives and religious "nones," and Christian constructions of social relations. How do Christian beliefs and practices shape attitudes about race and gender roles? How is contemporary Christianity acting as a force for as well as a barrier to social justice? This course assumes no background in the study of religion, race, or gender and is open to practitioners of all faiths or none.
Same as: AMSTUD 117R
RELIGST 118. Freedom Fighters, Terrorists, and Social Justice Warriors: Protest and Decolonization in South Asia. 3 Units.
The South Asian region comprises the contemporary nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives. Racially, linguistically, politically, religiously, and in every way diverse, this region has also experienced the challenge of European colonialism, the effects of global climate change, the impact of rapid industrialization and urbanization, and internal conflicts within and between nations. It is also a creatively and intellectually vibrant region in which principles of non-violent resistance, award winning arts and literature, stunning natural environments, and scientific discovery are integral and celebrated. How have South Asians engaged the rapid social change of the twentieth century with decolonization and regional conflicts? What artistic and literary formations emerged from and drove the freedom movements against colonial rule and the nation forming projects that ensued? How have globalization and internal debates about national identities shaped contemporary South Asian societies?.
Same as: HUMCORE 134
RELIGST 119. Religion and Conflict. 4 Units.
What is the relationship between religion and conflict? Can religious movements, ideologies, and actors cause conflicts or make them better or worse? This course looks at theories of religion and conflict, religious approaches to conflict resolution or peacebuilding, and examines case studies of conflicts involving religion.
RELIGST 11N. The Meaning of Life: Philosophical, Aesthetic, and Religious Perspectives. 3 Units.
What is involved in making personal/existential sense of one's own life? We study artworks and texts by Manet, T.S. Eliot, Plato, Plotinus, Augustine, Marx, Nietzsche, and Heidegger, as well as Ingmar Bergman's classic film, "The Seventh Seal.".
RELIGST 123. The Hindu Epics and the Ethics of Dharma. 4 Units.
The two great Hindu Epics, the Mahabharata and Ramayana, offer a sustained reflection on the nature of virtuous living in the face of insoluble ethical dilemmas. Their treatment of the concept of dharma, understood simultaneously as ethical action and the universal order that upholds the cosmos, lies at the heart of both Gandhian non-violent resistance and communalist interreligious conflict. This course will focus on a reading of selections from the Epics in English translation, supplemented with a consideration of how the texts have been interpreted in South Asian literary history and contemporary politics and public life in India.
Same as: CLASSICS 125
RELIGST 124. Sufi Islam. 4 Units.
The complex of Islamic intellectual and social perspectives subsumed under the term Sufism. Sufi mystical philosophies and historical and social evolution. Major examples include: Qushayrî, Râbi'a, Junayd, Hallâj, Sulamî, Ibn al-'Arabî, Rûmî, Nizâm al-Dîn Awliyâ'. Social and political roles of Sufi saints and communities. Readings include original prose and poetry in translation, secondary discussions, and ethnography.
RELIGST 125. The Bible and its Interpreters. 4 Units.
Introduction to major stories, figures, and themes of the Christian Bible and their retellings in theological writing, art, literature, film, and music throughout the ages.
RELIGST 126. Protestant Reformation. 3-5 Units.
The emergence of Protestant Christianity in 16th-century Europe. Analysis of writings by evangelical reformers (Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Sattler, Hubmeier, Müntzer) and study of reform movements (Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, Spiritualist) in their medieval context and as expressions of new and influential visions of Christian belief, life, social order.
Same as: HISTORY 126B
RELIGST 128. Women and Gender in Early Judaism and Christianity. 4 Units.
Beginning with the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, we will explore female figures in early Jewish and Christian literatures, such as Eve, Ruth, Mary, and Junia. Based on this, we will probe the prescriptions for female comportment in early Judaism and Christianity placing these literary prescriptions in conversation with material evidence related to women, such as for example the Babatha archive. We will analyze the politics of patriarchy in ancient discourse, and examine, among other topics, efforts by Christian clergy to silence female prophets in the second and third centuries CE. The bulk of the course will be devoted to the formative years of both Judaism and Christianity in Late Antiquity. This course assumes no prior knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, the Bible, or ancient history. It is designed for students who are part of faith traditions that consider the Bible to be sacred, as well as those who are not. Ancient readings in this course will be supplemented by modern scholarship in classics, early Christian studies, gender studies, queer studies, and the history of sexuality.
Same as: JEWISHST 128
RELIGST 129. Milk and Honey, Wine and Blood: Food, Justice, and Ethnic Identity in Jewish Culture. 4 Units.
This course examines Jewish culture and the food practices and traditions that have shaped and continue to shape it. Students learn to prepare a variety of meals while studying about the historical and literary traditions associated with them, such as the dietary `laws¿ and the long history of their interpretation, as well as the cultivation of eating as devotional practice in Jewish mystical traditions. We will explore how regional foods the world over contribute to the formation of distinct Jewish ethnic identities, and how these traditions shape contemporary Jewish food ethics. The course includes guest visits by professional chefs and food writers, and field trips to a local winery.
Same as: JEWISHST 129A
RELIGST 12N. Perspectives on the Good Life. 3-4 Units.
The question is how to approach and evaluate different perspectives on the good life, especially when those perspectives are beautifully, and elusively, presented to us as texts. We will consider both classic and modern writers, from the West and from China; some are explicitly religious, some explicitly secular; some literary, some philosophical. Most of the class will revolve around our talk with each other, interpreting and questioning relatively short texts. The works we will read - by Dante, Dickenson, Zhuangzi, Shklar, and others - are not intended to be representative of traditions, of eras, or of disciplines. They do, however, present a range of viewpoint and of style that will help frame and re-frame our views on the good life. They will illustrate and question the role that great texts can play in a modern 'art of living.' Perhaps most important, they will develop and reward the skills of careful reading, attentive listening, and thoughtful discussion. (Note: preparation and participation in discussion are the primary course requirement. Enrollment at 3 units requires a short final paper; a more substantial paper is required for the 4-unit option.
RELIGST 130. Sex and Gender in Judaism and Christianity. 3 Units.
What role do Jewish and Christian traditions play in shaping understandings of gender differences? Is gender always imagined as dual, male and female? This course explores the variety of ways in which Jewish and Christian traditions - often in conversation with and against each other - have shaped gender identities and sexual politics. We will explore the central role that issues around marriage and reproduction played in this conversation. Perhaps surprisingly, early Jews and Christian also espoused deep interest in writing about 'eunuchs' and 'androgynes,' as they thought about Jewish and Christian ways of being a man or a woman. We will examine the variety of these early conversations, and the contemporary Jewish and Christian discussions of feminist, queer, trans- and intersex based on them.
Same as: FEMGEN 130, JEWISHST 120
RELIGST 132D. Early Christian Gospels. 4 Units.
An exploration of Christian gospels of the first and second century. Emphasis on the variety of images and interpretations of Jesus and the good news, the broader Hellenistic and Jewish contexts of the gospels, the processes of developing and transmitting gospels, and the creation of the canon. Readings include the Gospel of John, the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary and other canonical and non-canonical gospels.
Same as: CLASSICS 145
RELIGST 133. Muslims, Jews, and Christians: Conflict, Coexistence, and Collaboration. 4 Units.
Relationships between Muslims, Jews, and Christians today are informed by a multitude of complex and often painful histories. These faith traditions emerged out of deep and sustained engagement with one another sharing theological and ethical principles, and revering many of the same figures and there have been many periods of rich and productive interaction. Yet there have also been areas of dissension and conflict, and periods when theological, social, or political disagreement devolved into violence and oppression. In recent times (especially following the Holocaust and the establishment of the modern State of Israel), religious, political, and intellectual leaders of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities, in the U.S. and around the world, have recognized the need to forge deeper and more meaningful relationships with one another. Knowledge and understanding of the perspectives that different communities and individuals bring to bear on their entangled past, present, and future are a critical part of efforts to resolve intransigent conflicts and advance mutual interests. This course explores some of the most significant moments of interaction through literature and art, polemic and dialogue that have shaped engagements between Muslims, Jews, and Christians throughout history, and examines both prospects and pitfalls for engagement in the present and future.
Same as: JEWISHST 123
RELIGST 139. Religion along the Silk Road. 4 Units.
From roughly the year 1 to the year 1000, a vibrant trade route stretched across Central Asia, linking Europe, India and East Asia. Along this route, merchants bought and sold the silk that gave the route its name, along with paper, ceramics, spices, precious stones and any number of other commodities. Together with these trade goods, merchants, missionaries, farmers and artisans who participated in this vast commercial network, exchanged ideas, scriptures, practices and beliefs, including those associated with major religious traditions; Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Judaism, Manichaeism and Islam followed the same routes as silk and spice. In this course we will examine the spread of all of these religions across the Silk Road, what happened when they interacted, and what this tells us about the relation between commerce, trade and geography in the pre-modern world.
RELIGST 13N. The Fourth "R": Religion and American Schools. 4 Units.
In this seminar, we will engage with historical, legal, and sociological texts, in order to trace the complicated relationship between church and state as it has played out in and around questions of education. Deciding what belongs in schools, what does not, whose interests are served in the process, and what the Constitution will allow are just some of the questions that will guide us. Through close readings of text and critical writing, we will develop alternative narratives about church-state issues that can make sense of everything from prayer in schools to civic education. This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit.
Same as: AMSTUD 117N, EDUC 117N
RELIGST 140. RELIGION AND ETHICS: The Limits of Dialogue. 3 Units.
How do religious traditions address ethical problems? Although ¿the good¿ seems like a universal goal, religious traditions force us to consider non-universal ways of defining it. From marriage to genetic engineering, from abortion to organ donation, issues of community, faith, and practice continue to complicate our ethical thinking. Exploration of case-studies and concepts, with readings from Kant, Foucault, Butler and others, as well as Jewish and Christian interpretations of the Bible.
RELIGST 144. John Calvin and Christian Faith. 5 Units.
Close reading and analysis of Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion as a classic expression of Christian belief.
RELIGST 147. Building Heaven and Hell. 4 Units.
How did early Jews and Christians imagine space? How did they construct heaven and hell through their written texts? Can we take their written images of the earthly and heavenly Jerusalem and her temple, such as those found in Ezekiel, the Book of Revelation and the Apocalypse of Paul and transform them into three-dimensional space? We are going to try! We will meet in the architecture studio and literally build these images from foam board and hot glue. A number of themes will emerge through the course: the interpretive move in rendering a once real space as a literary icon, the relationship between text and imagined space, the connection between space and ritual, the development of apocalyptic visions, and the centrality of Jerusalem in Jewish and Christian thought.
RELIGST 149. Finding Utopia: Mysticism, Free Love, and New Religions of the Nineteenth-Century. 4 Units.
This class explores radical experiments in 19th-century religious utopias. Ranging from the occult to free love to anarchism, we will encounter diaries from a polyamorous commune, seance accounts of astral travel, a journal from a "Sister of the New Life" striving to create a neighborhood modeled off the fairies that she thought inhabited her body, and theological treatises insisting that spiritual progress could only be achieved scientifically. Sources such as these will help us investigate the connection between religious innovation and concepts that continue to influence us today.
RELIGST 14N. Demons, Death, and the Damned: The 'Other' and the Otherwordly in America. 3 Units.
This course will examine how beliefs about the "other world" actually shape and are shaped by Americans' this-worldly actions and interactions (i.e. in the demonization of the "other," whether defined religiously, racially, ethnically, or in gendered terms). Students will ask how ideas about demons and death, heaven and hell have reflected the concerns, values, and identities of Americans over time. Students will learn how to read primary sources against secondary literature.
RELIGST 150. Texts that Changed the World from the Ancient Middle East. 3-5 Units.
This course traces the story of the cradle of human civilization. We will begin with the earliest human stories, the Gilgamesh Epic and biblical literature, and follow the path of the development of law, religion, philosophy and literature in the ancient Mediterranean or Middle Eastern world, to the emergence of Jewish and Christian thinking. We will pose questions about how this past continues to inform our present: What stories, myths, and ideas remain foundational to us? How did the stories and myths shape civilizations and form larger communities? How did the earliest stories conceive of human life and the divine? What are the ideas about the order of nature, and the place of human life within that order? How is the relationship between the individual and society constituted? This course is part of the Humanities Core: https://humanitiescore.stanford.edu/.
Same as: COMPLIT 31, HUMCORE 111, JEWISHST 150
RELIGST 151. Religious Poetry of India. 4 Units.
India has a rich literature of devotional and mystical poetry composed by "poet-saints" in common vernacular languagesa, This passionate and contemplative poetry flourished between the 6th and 18th centuries, inspiring religious and social movements that are still vibrant today. It also lives as music, remaining popular and powerful in the form of songs in many styles. We will study this material through the lenses of poetry, religion, performance, and politics.
RELIGST 152. Buddhism and the Family. 4 Units.
What do we owe our parents? This course centers how Buddhist authors in Cambodia and Vietnam have wrestled with questions of debt and gratitude in the family. We will begin with the Indian and Chinese antecedents that shaped ideals of filial piety in the region of Southeast Asia formerly known as "Indochina." The core of our readings and discussions will engage classical Khmer and Vietnamese literature in translation, including the verse novels "A Child Called Dream" and "The Tale of Kieu." The course will close with Asian American celebrations and critiques of filial piety. Our aim throughout the quarter will be to complicate contemporary views on familial debts by charting a specific religious and literary history in Southeast Asia.
RELIGST 154. Buddhism and Science: A Critical Introduction to the Encounter. 4 Units.
Buddhism has figured in the Western imagination as a "rational religion," a "philosophy" that is mostly compatible with science. While the notion of Buddhism as "scientific" is both controversial and open to exaggeration, in the last few decades, this positive image has helped to facilitate direct encounters between Buddhism and science in multiple settings--dialogues between scientists and Buddhist scholars on key topics such as mindfulness, collaborative presentations and workshops at academic conferences, scientific research on contemplative practices, and so forth. This course explores the many facets of the encounter between Buddhism and science. It aims to do so through discussion and debate of relevant scientific papers, traditional Buddhist literature, science and technology studies (STS), and anthropological literature. Topics to be addressed include, among others, the encounter between Buddhism and psychology; the study of Buddhist contemplative practices in the laboratory; the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program and the "Mindful Revolution"; the creation of a Buddhist "science of happiness"; Buddhism and technology; and Buddhism, science, and the idea of secularism.
RELIGST 156X. Sounds of Islam. 3 Units.
This course explores diverse intersections of sound and Islam in religious and secular contexts throughout the world. From studying Islamic philosophies about the art of listening to interrogating Muslim hip hop, we examine how sonic practices simultaneously reflect and shape different Muslim identities globally. Issues of nationalism, war and trauma, class, race and ethnicity, gender and sexualities, colonialism, social in/justice, and migration will remain central to our exploration of spirituality, secularism, piety, and religiosity for the individuals and communities making or listening to sounds of Islam.
Same as: MUSIC 186E
RELIGST 158. Spiritualism and the Occult. 4 Units.
How can the living communicate with the dead? From Leland Jr.'s ghost to his uncle, T.W. Stanford, millions of people in the nineteenth century practiced technologies of spirit communication from spirit photography to animated seance tables. Through close readings of stories, novels, such as Romance of Two Worlds in which the heroine astrally travels through outer space, seance accounts, and scientific treatises, including Waisbrooker¿s theory that the way to enlightenment is through having the right type of sex, this class explores their mystical culture and how it blurred the line between seen and unseen in an effort to expand the real.
RELIGST 162X. Spirituality and Nonviolent Urban and Social Transformation. 3 Units.
A life of engagement in social transformation is often built on a foundation of spiritual and religious commitments. Case studies of nonviolent social change agents including Rosa Parks in the civil rights movement, César Chávez in the labor movement, and WIlliam Sloane Coffin in the peace movement; the religious and spiritual underpinnings of their commitments. Theory and principles of nonviolence. Films and readings. Service learning component includes placements in organizations engaged in social transformation. Service Learning Course (certified by Haas Center).
Same as: CSRE 162A, URBANST 126
RELIGST 165. Modern Jewish Mysticism: Devotion in a Secular Age. 4 Units.
The twentieth-century was a time of tremendous upheaval and unspeakable tragedy for the Jewish communities of Europe. But the past hundred years were also a period of great renewal for Jewish spirituality, a renaissance that has continued into the present day. Beginning with the writings of the Safed Renaissance, the Sabbateanism, and the Hasidic masters, our course will focus on key thinkers in the 19th and 20th centuries, including: Hillel Zeitlin, Martin Buber, Abraham Isaac Kook, Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Arthur Green. Drawing upon essays, homilies, and poems, we will examine the ways in which their works re-cast and reinterpret the Jewish tradition in answer to the singular questions and challenges modernity. We will mark the development of their thinking against the two World Wars, the Holocaust, and the complex and multi-faceted processes of secularization. We will also consider the theological project of modern Jewish mystics in dialogue with modern Jewish philosophers (such as Hermann Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig, and Emmanuel Levinas) as well as modern philosophers and scholars informed by Christianity (from William James to Charles Taylor). This course argues that the processes of sacralization, of reclaiming a life of mystical devotion, are best understood as a unique response to Jewish modernity rather than a retreat to past modalities of religion. In seeking to prove this point, we will explore writers whose work emerged in and engaged with different social and cultural domains. We will investigate their writings with an eye to issues such as power and identity, and will draw upon their works in charting the intersection of mysticism, literature, language and experience. Throughout our readings, we will keep our eye on the sustained impact of feminism on Jewish mysticism in the second half of the twentieth century. This course is structured as a seminar, and our class discussions will be rooted in the primary sources. It assumes no prior background of Judaism or any other religious traditions. All readings will be made available in English.
Same as: JEWISHST 125
RELIGST 166. The Divine Feminine in India. 4 Units.
What happens when God is a woman? Is the Goddess a feminist? The Goddess, in her numerous incarnations, is foundational to much of Indian religiosity, whether Hindu, Buddhist, or even Jain¿and in turn, without her story, much of the theology and practice of these religions remains incomprehensible. This course examines the principal expressions of the theology and ritual worship of the Goddess in Indian history, from the Vedas to the Hindu Epics, to Indian philosophy, tantric ritual practice and modern global and new age movements in order to understand how the gendering of divinity affects theological speculation, religious experience, and embodied religious identity.
Same as: FEMGEN 166
RELIGST 168. Philosophy of Religion. 3 Units.
Course traces efforts within the Western tradition from Boethius through Anselm, Aquinas, Descartes, Hume, Kant, and Kierkegaard to Camus to establish a rational foundation for theist belief and its consistency or coherence with everyday experience. We will deal extensively with the criticisms that that effort has cast up and then turn to investigate issues that extraordinary or mystical experience raises. We will incorporate a look at Buddhist traditions as well as those in the west to gain insight into these questions. And finally, we will look at the ethics of belief, at our responsibility toward our commitments, and some of the varying positions available to us.
RELIGST 169. Sacred Words: Jewish Thought and the Question of Language. 4 Units.
Jews have long been referred as the people of the book, but they might better be referred to as the people of the word. Drawing upon texts from the Hebrew Bible to the works of modern Hebrew writers like of Hayyim Nahman Bialik and Amoz Oz, this seminar will chart the development of Jewish thinking on language over the past two millennia. We will explore issues such as: the idea of canonization; oral versus written language; the nature and possibility of translation; the origins of language; notions of negative theology; mystical approaches to the word; the rebirth of Hebrew as a spoken and cultural language; and the limits of language after the Holocaust. This course will also bring Jewish thought into dialogue with contemporary philosophical reflections on issues of language. Modern explorations of language will prove an interesting way of deepening our understanding of the Jewish thinkers on one hand, and enriching contemporary intellectual discourse on the other.
Same as: JEWISHST 129
RELIGST 170A. Biblical Hebrew, First Quarter. 2 Units.
Establish a basic familiarity with the grammar and vocabulary of Biblical Hebrew and will begin developing a facility with the language. Students that are enrolled in this course must also enroll in Beginning Hebrew. This course requires no prior knowledge of Hebrew and will begin with learning the alphabet. By the end of the year, students will be able to translate basic biblical texts, will be familiar with common lexica and reference grammars, and will have sufficient foundational knowledge to enable them to continue expanding their knowledge either in a subsequent course or own their own.
Same as: JEWISHST 107A
RELIGST 170C. Reading in Biblical Hebrew. 4 Units.
Third of a three quarter sequence. Readings and translation of biblical narratives emphasizing grammar and literary techniques. Prerequisite: AMELANG 170B.
RELIGST 170D. Readings in Talmudic Literature. 1 Unit.
Readings of Talmudic texts. Some knowledge of Hebrew is preferred, but not necessary. The goal of the ongoing workshop is to provide Stanford students with the opportunity to engage in regular Talmud study, and to be introduced to a variety of approaches to studying Talmudic texts and thought.
Same as: JEWISHST 127D, JEWISHST 227D
RELIGST 170E. Readings in Talmudic Literature Advanced. 1 Unit.
Readings of the talmudic texts. Knowledge of Hebrew is required. The ongoing seminar is designed to study the making of the talmudic sugya (unit of discourse), along with classic commentaries. Students will consider some of the recent developments in the academic study of Talmudic literature, introduced by the instructor. The goal of the ongoing seminar is to provide Stanford students and faculty with the opportunity to engage in regular Talmud study, and to be introduced to a variety of approaches to studying Talmudic texts. Meeting time and location TBA. May be repeated for credit.
Same as: JEWISHST 127E, JEWISHST 227E
RELIGST 171A. Biblical Greek. 3-5 Units.
This is a one term intensive class in Biblical Greek. After quickly learning the basics of the language, we will then dive right into readings from the New Testament and the Septuagint, which is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. No previous knowledge of Greek required. If demand is high for a second term, an additional quarter will be offered in the Spring.
Same as: CLASSICS 6G, JEWISHST 5
RELIGST 171X. Intensive Biblical Greek. 8 Units.
Equivalent to two quarters of Biblical Greek (CLASSICS 6G, 7G). Students will learn the core of New Testament Greek with the goal of learning to accurately translate and read the New Testament. Students will read one-third of the Gospel of John during the course and will be well-prepared to read the Greek New Testament independently after the course. Focus on knowledge of key vocabulary and grammar needed to read the Greek Bible with ease. No previous knowledge of Greek required. Course does not fulfill the Stanford language requirement.
Same as: JEWISHST 5G
RELIGST 173. What is Enlightenment? Religion in the Age of Reason. 4 Units.
Many contemporary attitudes towards religion were forged in 17th- and 18th-century Europe in the midst of heated debates over the meaning and value of Christianity in a world 'come of age': Liberal calls for justice, toleration, and pluralism in matters religious; secular suspicions about religious superstition, fanaticism, and ideology; skepticism regarding the solubility of ultimate questions of meaning and metaphysics. Seminal readings on religion from Descartes, Pascal, Leibniz, Voltaire, Hume, Mendelssohn and Kant.
RELIGST 173X. Latin 400-1700 CE. 3-5 Units.
Readings in later Latin, drawing on the vast bodies of texts from the late antique, medieval and early modern periods. Each week students will prepare selections in advance of class meetings; class time will be devoted to translation and discussion. Students taking this course will gain exposure to a wide range of later Latin texts; hone translation skills; and develop an awareness of the grammatical and stylistic features of post-classical Latin. The course is aimed both at classical Latinists seeking to broaden their reading experience and at medievalists and early modernists seeking to consolidate their Latin language skills. May be repeat for credit.nnPrior experience in Latin is required, preferably CLASSICS 11L. Equivalent accepted. Classics majors and minors may repeat for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Does not fulfill the language requirement in Classical Studies track.
Same as: CLASSICS 6L, CLASSICS 208L
RELIGST 174. Religious Existentialism-Kierkegaard. 4 Units.
Existentialism is often understood to be a secular or anti-religious philosophy of life, a substitute for Christian ethics in a post-theistic world come of age. Yet this twentieth-century philosophical movement owes many of its concerns and much of its vocabulary to the hyper-Protestant Danish thinker Soren Kierkegaard, and much of the best Christian and Jewish thought in the 20th-century (Bultmann, Buber, Tillich) adopted existentialism as the ¿best philosophy¿ for making sense of these traditions in a secular age. This course will examine the origins of existentialist thought in the writings of Kierkegaard and its appropriation by a handful of influential 20th- century religious thinkers.
RELIGST 17N. Love, Power, and Justice: Ethics in Christian Perspective. 3 Units.
From its inception, the Christian faith has, like all religions, implied an ethos as well as a worldview, a morality and way of life as well as a system of beliefs, an ethics as well as a metaphysics. Throughout history, Christian thinkers have offered reasoned accounts of the moral values, principles, and virtues that ought to animate the adherents of what eventually became the world's largest religion. We will explore a variety of controversial issues, theological orientations, and types of ethical reasoning in the Christian tradition, treating the latter as one 'comprehensive doctrine' (John Rawls) among many; a normative framework (actually a variety of contested religious premises, moral teachings, and philosophical arguments) formally on par with the religious ethics of other major faiths as well as with the various secular moral theories typically discussed in the modern university. We will learn to interpret, reconstruct, criticize, and think intelligently about the coherence and persuasiveness of moral arguments offered by a diverse handful of this religious tradition's best thinkers and critics, past and present.
RELIGST 180. Gender Relations in Islam. 4 Units.
This course investigates the ways in which gender identities and relationships between men and women have been articulated, constructed, and refashioned throughout the Muslim world. Starting with problematizing the fixed notions of gender and sexuality, we map the attitudes toward these notions through visiting a diverse array of sources from the Qur¿an, Sunna, and legal documents to historical and anthropological case studies, literature, and film from South East Asia to Europe and North America. We examine the notions of femininity and masculinity in the Qur¿an, family laws, and attitudes toward homosexuality and transgendered populations. We read examples of ambiguous use of language with regards to gender and sexuality in Persian poetry and mystical traditions. We study the dynamic relationship between Islam and Feminism in the Muslim world. Finally, we witness the implications of these attitudes in our case studies and stories, from a divorce court in Iran to a wedding in Sudan.
Same as: FEMGEN 180
RELIGST 181. Heidegger and Mysticism. 4 Units.
A close reading of Heidegger's Being and Time in light of the new paradigm for reading his work, as well as a study of his long-standing interest in mysticism and the question of the divine.
Same as: PHIL 133S
RELIGST 183. Atheism: Hegel to Heidegger. 5 Units.
The radical changes in ideas of God between Hegel and Heidegger, arguing that their questions about theism and atheism are still pertinent today. Texts from Hegel, Feuerbach, Marx, Nietzsche, and Heidegger: on God, history, and the social dimensions of human nature. N.B.: Class size limited. Apply early at tsheehan@stanford.edu.
Same as: PHIL 133T
RELIGST 18N. Religion and Politics: Comparing Europe to the U.S.. 3-4 Units.
Interdisciplinary and comparative. Historical, political, sociological, and religious studies approaches. The relationship between religion and politics as understood in the U.S. and Europe. How this relationship has become tense both because of the rise of Islam as a public religion in Europe and the rising influence of religious groups in public culture. Different understandings and definitions of the separation of church and state in Western democratic cultures, and differing notions of the public sphere. Case studies to investigate the nature of public conflicts, what issues lead to conflict, and why. Why has the head covering of Muslim women become politicized in Europe? What are the arguments surrounding the Cordoba House, known as the Ground Zero Mosque, and how does this conflict compare to controversies about recent constructions of mosques in Europe? Resources include media, documentaries, and scholarly literature.
Same as: JEWISHST 18N
RELIGST 199. Individual Work. 1-15 Unit.
Prerequisite: consent of instructor and department. May be repeated for credit.
RELIGST 19N. Everyone Eats: Food, Religion and Culture. 3 Units.
Food is one of the most essential aspects of the human experience. The decisions and choices we make about food define who we have been, who we are now, and who we want to become. In this seminar we will study how food habits have shaped religious traditions, and vice versa, how religious traditions have shaped food ways. Some traditions are centered around food regiments such as the dietary laws, derived from biblical law that shapes Jewish and Christian tradition very differently. Indeed, many religious and ethical thinkers, as well as anthropologists, have interpreted the meanings of the dietary laws very differently. Further, in many religious traditions the killing of animals and consumption of meat is deeply fraught. We will explore the history of food practices and their contemporary impact; the connections between food, religion, and identity; the meanings that religious thinkers and anthropologists have attributed to food habits; as well as the creative translations of religious traditions into contemporary food ethics by various social movements and groups, predominantly in the U.S.
Same as: CSRE 19N, JEWISHST 19N
RELIGST 19X. Zen: A Way of Life Through Meditation and Cooking. 1 Unit.
This class is being offered in collaboration with the Stanford Program in Kyoto, Bing Overseas Studies Program.<br>Fundamental to Zen Buddhism is the meditative practice of zazen ("seated meditation"). In recent decades, zazen-inspired meditative practices have proliferated far from Japan and movements such "mindfulness" have become popular in parts of the US. However, there are a number of conceptual differences between Japanese zazen and some of these newer practices. Zazen in Japan is not a tool for relaxation, nor a means for personal gain or betterment. Instead, its goal is to clarify the self - and thereby to enable the practitioner to live a vivid and full life. The core of Zen teaching is achieved not through study of texts but through practice and experience. In this condensed, practicum course students will learn by focusing on two of the most important aspects of Buddhist monastic life: zazen meditation, and cooking.<br><br>Instructor: Rev. Daiko Matsuyama<br>Dates: October 19-23 6:00AM-7:00AM PDT and (1 wrap up session-date TBD)<br>Students will be required to purchase household materials for this course (approximately USD $25.)<br>The course is offered remotely (online) and enrollment is limited to 15 undergraduate students. A permission code will be given to admitted students to register in the class.<br>Interested students can apply by going to this Google form link: https://forms.gle/YcAdR59wqzuPNax56.
RELIGST 2. Is Stanford a Religion?. 4 Units.
This course seeks to introduce students to the study of religion by posing a two-part question: What is a religion, and does Stanford qualify as one? Scientific, pragmatic, seemingly secular, Stanford may not seem at all similar to religions like Christianity, Judaism or Buddhism, but a deeper look reveals that it has many of the qualities of religion--origin stories, rituals and ceremonies, sacred spaces and times, visions of the future, even some spirits. By learning some of the theories and methods of the field of religious studies, students will gain a better understanding not just of Stanford culture but of what motivates people to be religious, the roles religion plays in people's lives, and the similarities and differences between religious and secular culture.
RELIGST 202A. Monsters, Ghosts and Other Fantastic Beings: The Supernatural and the Mysterious in Japanese Culture. 4 Units.
Examine the development of strange and fantastic creatures in Japan. Mysterious creatures in folklore, literature, art, manga and movies. Through them see how the concept of the strange or mysterious have evolved and how they inform Japanese modernity.
Same as: RELIGST 302A
RELIGST 203. Myth, Place, and Ritual in the Study of Religion. 3-5 Units.
Sources include: ethnographic texts and theoretical writings; the approaches of Charles Long, Jonathan Z. Smith, Victor Turner, Michael D. Jackson, and Wendy Doniger; and lived experiences as recounted in Judith Sherman's Say the Name: A Survivor's Tale in Prose and Poetry, Jackson's At Home in the World, Marie Cardinal's The Words to Say It, and John Phillip Santos¿ Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation.
Same as: RELIGST 303
RELIGST 204. Paleography of Medieval and Early Modern Manuscripts. 3-5 Units.
Introductory course in the history of writing and of the book, from the late antique period until the advent of printing. Opportunity to learn to read and interpret medieval manuscripts through hands-on examination of original materials in Special Collections of Stanford Libraries as well as through digital images. Offers critical training in the reading of manuscripts for students from departments as diverse as Classics, History, Philosophy, Religious Studies, English, and the Division of Languages Cultures and Literatures.
Same as: CLASSICS 215, DLCL 209, HISTORY 309G
RELIGST 205. Religious Poetry. 4 Units.
Religious poetry drawn from the Islamic, Christian, Confucian and Daoist traditions. Limited enrollment or consent of the instructor required.
RELIGST 210. Translating Religion. 3-5 Units.
What happens to Buddhism when the Buddha speaks Chinese? Is the Qur'an still the Qur'an in English? What did Martin Luther do for the German language? We try to answer these and other such questions in this course, which explores the translation of sacred scripture and other religious texts from the earliest times to the present day. Taking a global perspective, and looking at Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism, the course is designed to introduce students to the theory and practice of translation and get them thinking about its broader cultural, aesthetic and political significance. Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units.
Same as: RELIGST 310
RELIGST 211. Economic Justice. 3-5 Units.
This seminar brings philosophical, humanistic, and religious analyses to bear on current issues of economic justice in the United States. The first part of the seminar studies general background issues (history of U.S. economics, philosophies of money, labor, private property, human dignity, etc.). In the second part, student study groups present their research on specific, agreed-upon topics, e.g., economic ideologies (neoliberalism, democratic socialism, etc.), models of economic justice, income and wealth distribution, etc. The goal is to move from analysis through criticism to concrete applications.
RELIGST 212. Zhuangzi. 5 Units.
The Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu) in its original setting and as understood by its spiritual progeny. Limited enrollment; consent of instructor required.
RELIGST 216. Japanese Buddhism. 4 Units.
Focus on the religious lives of lay people in medieval Japan, as evidenced in collections of Buddhist stories (setsuwashu), narrative picture scrolls (emaki), and related historical materials. All readings are in English, but the instructor will also work with students interested in reading the original Japanese.
RELIGST 217. The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Buddhism. 3-5 Units.
This seminar explores the influence of the Lotus Sutra, one of the most important Mahayana scriptures, in Japan. We will study how different Japanese Buddhist schools have interpreted this sutra and analyze a wide range of religious practices, art works, and literature associated with this text. All readings will be in English. Prerequisites: Solid foundation in either Buddhist studies or East Asian Studies. You must have taken at least one other course in Buddhist Studies. NOTE: Undergraduates must enroll for 5 units; graduate students can enroll for 3-5 units.
Same as: RELIGST 317
RELIGST 217X. Minorities In Medieval Europe. 5 Units.
This course examines attitudes towards outsider groups within medieval society and the treatment of these groups by medieval Christians. Heretics, Jews, Muslims, homosexuals, prostitutes and usurers occupied ambivalent and at time dangerous positions within a society that increasingly defined itself as Christian. Differences in the treatment of these various 'outcast' groups, their depiction in art, their legal segregation, and their presumed association with demonic activity are addressed through discussion, and readings from primary and secondary source material.
Same as: HISTORY 217S
RELIGST 218. Islam, Race and Revolution: A Pan-American Approach. 3-5 Units.
Taking a pan-American approach to the study of religious traditions, this upper-level course traces the history of the critical intersection between race, religion and revolution among Muslims from the turn of the nineteenth century until the present day. Moving from the Atlantic Revolutions of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, to the United States, to the decolonizing Third World, and then finally to the contemporary Middle East, this class will emphasize that Islam and race together have been used by many groups in order to challenge existing power structures, agitate for change, and more than occasionally, transform the social, cultural and governmental structures comprising their worlds. Moreover, although this class is concentrated upon religious formations in the Americas, students will explore global events throughout the Muslim world in order to examine how global politics contribute to religious formations, solidarities and identities. At the conclusion of this course, students will be expected to write a 10-15 page research paper, and a topic will be chosen in consultation with the instructor. Students will also be expected to write weekly reflection papers, which will serve to facilitate class discussion. Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units.
Same as: AMSTUD 218, CSRE 218, RELIGST 318
RELIGST 221. The Talmud: Research Methods and Tools. 3-5 Units.
This seminar introduces students to the academic study of the Talmud and related classical rabbinic texts from late antiquity. Students will engage the major philological and historical questions concerning the making of the Talmud, along with textual tools to help them decode the texts. Prerequisite: Hebrew.
Same as: RELIGST 321
RELIGST 221B. What is Talmud?. 5 Units.
In what sense can Talmud be studied as literature? Which voices can be identified? Concepts of author, editor, or redactor. The basic textual units of Talmud: sugya, chapter, and tractate. The sugya as literary genre. The aesthetic of talmudic dialectics.nnPrerequisite: reading Hebrew with some understanding of biblical Hebrew.
Same as: RELIGST 321B
RELIGST 221C. Aramaic Texts. 1-5 Unit.
Readings in Aramaic/Syriac with special focus on grammar and syntax of ancient texts.
Same as: JEWISHST 221C, JEWISHST 321C, RELIGST 321C
RELIGST 221D. Readings in Syriac Literature. 2-5 Units.
In recent years, there has been growing interest in the works of Syriac speaking Christians in antiquity and beyond. This course offers an introduction to the Syriac language, including its script, vocabulary and grammar, and a chance to read from a selection of foundational Syriac Christian texts.
Same as: JEWISHST 221D, JEWISHST 321D, RELIGST 321D
RELIGST 222B. Sufism Seminar. 3-5 Units.
Sufism through original texts and specialized scholarship. Prerequisite: ability to read at least one major language of Islamic religious literature (Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu).
Same as: RELIGST 322B
RELIGST 223. Advanced Readings in Jewish Mysticism. 1-2 Unit.
This seminar allows students and faculty to explore foundational concepts of Jewish mystical literature through immersion in primary sources. Together we will examine these texts from a wide range of philosophical, historical and theological perspectives, seeking to decode their historical importance and understand their contemporary significance. Ability to read sources in Hebrew is strongly recommended, and permission of the instructor is required. May be repeated for credit.
RELIGST 224. Classical Islamic Texts. 3 Units.
The course is based on readings in primary Arabic sources in the key fields of pre-modern Islamic scholarship. The list of readings and topics will depend on the interests of the students. In addition to focusing on the language, contents, and context of the texts covered, the course introduces genre-specific historical research methods. The reading selections may be derived from Qur¿anic interpretation (tafsir), the hadith literature, adab, biographical dictionaries, fiqh, ta'rikh, kalam, or Sufism. Reading knowledge of Arabic is required.
Same as: RELIGST 324
RELIGST 226. The Bible in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. 3-5 Units.
This seminar investigates the central role of the Christian Bible in European religion, culture, and society from ca. 1000-1700 CE. In the medieval and early modern periods, the Bible not only shaped religious attitudes, practices, and institutions, but also exercised profound influence over learning and education, politics, law, social relations, art, literature, and music. Students will obtain an overview of the role of the scripture as both a religious text and a cultural artifact, exploring the history of biblical interpretation in commentaries and sermons; textual criticism, study of biblical languages, and the translation of scripture; manufacturing of Bibles in manuscript and in print; the commercial dimensions of Bible production; illustrated Bibles, biblical maps, and biblically-inspired artwork; religious uses of scripture in monastic houses, public worship, and domestic settings; biblical foundations for political and legal traditions. Students will also have the opportunity to suggest topics consonant with their own fields of interest and use the seminar to workshop on-going projects related to the Bible in this period. All of the readings will be in English, though students with the ability to read German, French, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Greek, or Hebrew will be encouraged to pursue projects that utilize their linguistic skills. Students in residence will have the opportunity to utilize materials in Special Collections; abundant digital resources will be available to students not on campus. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Send an email to pitkin@stanford.edu explaining your interests and background. Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units.
Same as: RELIGST 326
RELIGST 227. The Qur'an. 5 Units.
Early history, themes, structure, chronology, and premodern interpretation. Relative chronology of passages.
Same as: RELIGST 327
RELIGST 230X. Religion, Radicalization and Media in Africa since 1945. 4-5 Units.
What are the paths to religious radicalization, and what role have media- new and old- played in these conversion journeys? We examine how Pentecostal Christians and Reformist Muslims in countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Sudan, and Ethiopia have used multiple media forms- newspapers, cell phones, TV, radio, and the internet- to gain new converts, contest the authority of colonial and post-colonial states, construct transnational communities, and position themselves as key political players.
Same as: AFRICAST 248, AFRICAST 348, HISTORY 248, HISTORY 348, RELIGST 330X
RELIGST 231. European Reformations. 3-5 Units.
Readings in and discussion of theological and social aspects of sixteenth century reformations: Luther, Radical Reform, Calvin, and Council of Trent, missionary expansion, religious conflict, creative and artistic expressions. Texts include primary sources and secondary scholarly essays and monographs.
Same as: HISTORY 231G, HISTORY 331G, RELIGST 331
RELIGST 231X. Learning Religion: How People Acquire Religious Commitments. 4 Units.
This course will examine how people learn religion outside of school, and in conversation with popular cultural texts and practices. Taking a broad social-constructivist approach to the variety of ways people learn, this course will explore how people assemble ideas about faith, identity, community, and practice, and how those ideas inform individual, communal and global notions of religion. Much of this work takes place in formal educational environments including missionary and parochial schools, Muslim madrasas or Jewish yeshivot. However, even more takes place outside of school, as people develop skills and strategies in conversation with broader social trends. This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to questions that lie at the intersection of religion, popular culture, and education. May be repeat for credit.
Same as: AMSTUD 231X, EDUC 231, JEWISHST 291X
RELIGST 232. Buddhist Meditation: Ancient and Modern. 3-5 Units.
An exploration of the theory and practice of Buddhist meditation from the time of the Buddha to the modern mindfulness boom, with attention to the wide range of techniques developed and their diverse interpretation. Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units.
Same as: RELIGST 332
RELIGST 234. Islam and Material Culture. 3-5 Units.
Material objects are essential elements of Islamic cultures and practices. This course examines Islamic art, sculpture, architecture, devotional objects, and clothing, as well as basic concepts in studying religion and material culture.
Same as: RELIGST 334
RELIGST 234X. Church, State, & Schools: Issues in Education & Religion. 4 Units.
This course will examine interactions between religion and education, focusing on both formal and experiential sites in which people and communities explore, articulate, encounter, and perform religious ideologies and identities. The class will focus on different religious traditions and their encounters the institutions and structures of education in American culture, both in the United States and as it manifests in American culture transnationally.
Same as: AMSTUD 293, EDUC 293
RELIGST 239. Luther and the Reform of Western Christianity. 3-5 Units.
Luther's theology, ethics, biblical interpretation, and social reforms and their significance for the remaking of Western Christianity. Readings include Luther's own writings and secondary sources about Luther and his world.
Same as: RELIGST 339
RELIGST 245. Religion, Reason, and Romanticism. 5 Units.
The late 18th-century European cultural shift from rationalist to romantic modes of thought and sensibility. Debates about religion as catalysts for the new Zeitgeist. Readings include: the Jewish metaphysician, Mendelssohn; the dramatist, Lessing; the philosopher of language and history, Herder; the critical idealist, Kant; and the transcendental idealist, Fichte.
RELIGST 246. Constructing Race and Religion in America. 4-5 Units.
This seminar focuses on the interrelationships between social constructions of race and social interpretations of religion in America. How have assumptions about race shaped religious worldviews? How have religious beliefs shaped racial attitudes? How have ideas about religion and race contributed to notions of what it means to be "American"? We will look at primary and secondary sources and at the historical development of ideas and practices over time.
Same as: AFRICAAM 236, AMSTUD 246, CSRE 246, HISTORY 256G, HISTORY 356G, RELIGST 346
RELIGST 24S. Witches, Witchcraft, and Witch-Hunting in Early America. 3 Units.
The early modern era witnessed a dramatic surge in the religious and legal persecution of women and men suspected of and executed for witchcraft. While witch-hunting was a global phenomenon, this class shall focus on the early American religious experience. This course will explore the history of witchcraft in early America, with particular focus on Puritan New England. This class will challenge students to consider what was witchcraft? Why did people believe in it, and how did it give meaning to their worlds? What functions did witchcraft have in society? Who were most vulnerable to accusations? What best explains the phenomenon of witch-hunting? Because this class takes a historical approach to the religious world of early America, much of the coursework will center on interpreting and analyzing primary sources related to witchcraft (e.g. sermons, diaries, letters, trial notes) and engaging with secondary sources by witchcraft experts. Our focus shall be both macro and micro, studying small single episodes, as well as large-scale events, such as the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.
RELIGST 250. Classics of Indian Buddhism. 4 Units.
Texts in English translation includING discourses (sutras), philosophical treatises, commentaries, didactic epistles, hymns, biographies, and narratives.
RELIGST 252. Hearts and Diamonds: The Lives of Buddhist Sacred Texts. 4 Units.
An exploration of two key Mahayana Buddhist scriptures (the Heart & Diamond Sutras) and their histories, looking at what they say and how they have been used, from the first millennium to the present day.
RELIGST 253. Recent Research on Japanese Buddhism. 3-5 Units.
Readings in recent English-language scholarship on Japanese Buddhism. nUndergraduates must enroll for 5 units; graduate students can enroll for 3-5 units. Prerequisite: Solid foundation in either Buddhist studies or East Asian Studies (5 units for 253, 3-5 units for 353) May be repeat for credit.
Same as: RELIGST 353
RELIGST 254. Recent Contributions to Buddhist Studies. 3-5 Units.
This reading intensive course will examine nine areas in recent work in Buddhist studies, including ethnography, archaeology, monasticism, the study of "experience," and gender. May be repeated for credit.
Same as: RELIGST 354
RELIGST 255. Religion and Power in the Making of Modern South Asia. 3-5 Units.
This course examines the diverse ways that religious traditions have been involved in the brokering of power in South Asia from the late seventeenth century to the present day. We will examine the intersection of religion and power in different arenas, including historical memory, religious festivals, language politics, and violent actions. At the core of our inquiry is how religion is invoked in political contexts (and vice-versa), public displays of religiosity, and the complex dynamics of religion and the state. Among other issues, we will particularly engage with questions of religious identity, knowledge, and violence. Undergraduates must enroll in RELIGST 255 for 5 units. Graduate students must enroll RELIGST 355 for 3-5 units. HISTORY297F must be taken for 4-5 units.
Same as: HISTORY 297F, RELIGST 355
RELIGST 256. Readings in Buddhist Tantra: Wheel of Time. 3-5 Units.
The emergence of tantric scriptures in medieval India marked a major turning point in the development of religious thought and practice throughout Asia. These scriptures introduced myths, rituals, contemplative techniques, and artistic expressions that transformed the religious traditions of India¿from Hinduism to Jainism and Buddhism. Tantric forms of worship subsequently shaped the religious traditions of Southeast Asia, China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, and everywhere else Indian religions spread. This seminar examines the history of Buddhist tantra through English translation of one of the most popular collections of tantric literature in the history of Buddhism: the Wheel of Time. The Wheel of Time blends models of the cosmos, time, embodiment, and aesthetics with rich contemplative and ritual techniques. Since its origin, the Wheel of Time and its associated body of texts and practices has become immensely popular throughout the Tibetan Buddhist world. The influence of the Wheel of Time continues to this day, as the current Dalai Lama frequently offers the Wheel of Time initiation as a blessing for world peace, and scholars and practitioners continue to study its literature and practice its contemplative techniques. Undergraduates are expected to have at least one prior course in Buddhism or the consent of the instructor. Undergraduates register for 256 for 5 units. Graduate students register for 356 for 3-5 units.
Same as: RELIGST 356
RELIGST 258. Readings in Japanese Buddhist Texts. 3-5 Units.
In this course, we will read premodern Japanese Buddhist texts. Prerequisite: Chinese and/or Japanese.
Same as: RELIGST 358
RELIGST 261A. Belief. 5 Units.
The post-Chritain (or post-modern) age has given rise to new forms of faith, ranging from secular humanism and cultural atheism to rediscovery of the transcendent in the cosmos and quantum mechanics. However, unlike the era of "Christendom," belief is no longer necessarily hinged to faith. This course explores the origins of this phenomenon in Thomas Aquinas, and then newer philosophical approaches to understanding belief, ranging from Charles Taylor and Talal Asad and their theories of the secular, to Catherine Bell and the role of practice in believing. Finally, we turn to the work of three contemporary theorists of religious belief: Gianni Vattimo, Jean-Luc Marion, and Richard Kearney, who endeavor to cast believing outside established theological categories, yet still speak of "god.".
Same as: in a post-Christian Age
RELIGST 262. Sex and the Early Church. 4 Units.
Sex and the Early Church examines the ways first- through sixth-century Christians addressed questions regarding human sexuality. We will pay particular attention to the relationship between sexuality and issues of gender, culture, power, and resistance. We will read a Roman gynecological manual, an ancient dating guide, the world's first harlequin romance novels, ancient pornography, early Christian martyrdom accounts, stories of female and male saints, instructions for how to best battle demons, visionary accounts, and monastic rules. These will be supplemented by modern scholarship in classics, early Christian studies, gender studies, queer studies, and the history of sexuality. The purpose of our exploration is not simply to better understand ancient views of gender and sexuality. Rather, this investigation of a society whose sexual system often seems so surprising aims to denaturalize many of our own assumptions concerning gender and sexuality. In the process, we will also examine the ways these first centuries of what eventually became the world's largest religious tradition has profoundly affected the sexual norms of our own time. The seminar assumes no prior knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, the bible, or ancient history.
Same as: CLASSICS 262, FEMGEN 262, RELIGST 362
RELIGST 264. Hindu Tantra. 4 Units.
What is Tantra? Tantric forms of ritual and philosophy have been integral to the practice of Hinduism for most of its history. Tantra has provided initiates with a spiritual technology for embodying the divine and transcending the cycle of rebirth; on a social and political level, Tantra has mediated the institutions of Hindu kingship and appealed to a diverse population of initiates. This course covers a number of influential and well-documented Hindu tantric traditions, exploring several prominent features of Tantric religion as they develop historically, including: tantric ritual practice (core technologies of the subtle body, mantras, ma, alas, etc., along with the more notorious elements of sex and transgression), theology and philosophical speculation, as well as Tantra's relationship to the outside world and state power.
Same as: RELIGST 364
RELIGST 269. Plotinus and Augustine. 3-5 Units.
Professor's permission required to register. A reading course focused on the influence of Plotinus Enneads on Augustine's Confessions, early dialogues, and sections on reason and memory in the De trinitate. Proficiency in Greek and Latin will be helpful but is not required. Professor's prior permission required, interested students should contact the professor about course schedule: tsheehan@stanford.edu . Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units.
Same as: PHIL 229, PHIL 329, RELIGST 369
RELIGST 26S. Contemporary Islam & Muslims in America. 3 Units.
In this course, we will explore contemporary Islam and Muslims in a post-9/11 and Trump-era America. Following some brief grounding history in Week 1, we will use ethnographic studies and digital media content to understand the American Muslim experience in the 21st century. Each week, we will also address how the lived experience of American Muslims interacts with theoretical and normative conceptions of Islam, and whether these interactions eventually create a distinctive American Islam. Topics covered include: racial & gender dynamics, ideological debates, institutions, social media wars, politics, and specific communities as case studies. Together we will develop a critical perspective on the American Muslim experience, particularly as a case of how one diverse religious community negotiates religion in a complex sociopolitical setting.
RELIGST 270. Comparative Religious Ethics. 4 Units.
The difference that the word religious makes in religious ethics and how it affects issues of genre. Theoretical analyses with examples from W. and E. Asia. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Same as: RELIGST 370
RELIGST 270X. Religion and Science in the Amazon and Elsewhere. 5 Units.
The conversion of native peoples to Christianity, especially Evangelical Christianity, is today a global phenomenon. This course looks to understand the reasons for religious conversion and its consequence in the everyday and ritual practices of Amazonians and their traditional practice of shamanism. We then turn to a question seldom addressed in the literature on conversion: the relationship between religion and science. We will explore the way conversion to Christianity produces changes in conceptions of the world and the person similar to those produced by access to scientific knowledge, which occurs primarily through schooling.
Same as: ANTHRO 181, ANTHRO 281, RELIGST 370X
RELIGST 271A. Dante's Spiritual Vision. 4-5 Units.
Poetry, ethics, and theology in Dante's Divine Comedy. Supplementary readings from classical authors such as St. Thomas Aquinas, and from modern writers, such as Jorge Borges. Fulfills capstone seminar requirement for the Philosophy and Literature tracks. Students may take 271A without taking 271B. Consent of the instructor required.
RELIGST 271B. Dante's Spiritual Vision. 4-5 Units.
Poetry, ethics, and theology in Dante's Divine Comedy. Supplementary readings from classical authors such as St. Thomas, and from modern writers, such as Jorge Borges. Fulfills capstone seminar requirement for the Philosophy and Literature tracks. Prerequisite: 271A.
RELIGST 273. Historicism and Its Problems: Ernst Troeltsch, the Study of Religion, and the Crisis of Historicism. 3-5 Units.
Examination of the early twentieth-century historian of religion, philosopher of culture, sociologist of religion, Christian theologian, and philosopher of history, Ernst Troeltsch, within the context of the late nineteenth-century "crisis of historicism," i.e., the historicization and relativization of religious, ethical, social, and political norms. Attention to seminal theorists of history (Herder, Kant, Ranke, Hegel, Nietzsche) in the post-Enlightenment German intellectual tradition and the attempts of Christian and Jewish thinkers in the Weimar era (Barth, Gogarten, Rosenzweig, L. Strauss) to "overcome" the crisis wrought by a radically historical approach to human culture.
Same as: RELIGST 373
RELIGST 274. From Kant to Kierkegaard. 3-5 Units.
(Graduate students register for 374. Undergrads register for 274 for 5 units.) The philosophy of religion emerged from the European Enlightenment as a new genre of reflection on religion distinct from both dogmatic theology and rationalist dreams of a "natural" religion of reason. Neither beholden to pre-critical tradition, nor dismissive of what Thomas Nagel has termed "the religious attitude," this new, ostensibly secular, genre of religious thought sought to rethink the meaning of Christianity at a time of immense philosophical ferment. The main currents of religious thought in Germany from Kant's critical philosophy to Kierkegaard's revolt against Hegelianism. Emphasis on the theories of religion, the epistemological status of religious discourse, the role of history (especially the figure of Jesus), and the problem of alienation/reconciliation in seminal modern thinkers: Kant, Schleiermacher, Hegel, and Kierkegaard.
Same as: RELIGST 374
RELIGST 275. Kierkegaard. 3-5 Units.
(Graduate students register for 375.) Close reading of Kierkegaard's magnum opus, Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments, in its early 19th-century context.
Same as: RELIGST 375
RELIGST 277. The Later Heidegger: Art, Poetry, Language. 3 Units.
Lectures and seminar discussions of the problematic of the later Heidegger (1930 - 1976) in the light of his entire project. Readings from "On the Origin of the Work of Art" and Elucidations of Holderlin's Poetry.
Same as: PHIL 234B, RELIGST 377
RELIGST 278. Religion and James Joyce's Ulysses. 3-5 Units.
Through a close reading of the novel and with the help of the vast secondary literature the course analyzes the significant roles that religion, specifically Catholicism and Judaism, plays in Joyce's modernist masterpiece--from Stephen Dedalus' sophisticated knowledge and bitter rejection of Irish Catholicism, through Leopold Bloom's ambivalent rapport with Judaism, to Molly Bloom's climatic celebration of a feminist liturgy of nature. Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units.
Same as: RELIGST 378
RELIGST 279. After God: Why religion at all?. 4 Units.
God is dead, but where does religion come from? The end of the quest for God in twentieth century philosophy. Robert Bellah's Religion in Human Evolution plus seminal works of Heidegger, including Being and Time, 'What Is Metaphysics?' 'Nietzsche's Saying `God is Dead.' 'N.B.: Class size limited. Apply early at tsheehan@stanford.edu.
Same as: RELIGST 379
RELIGST 279X. American Jewish History: Learning to be Jewish in America. 2-4 Units.
This course will be a seminar in American Jewish History through the lens of education. It will address both the relationship between Jews and American educational systems, as well as the history of Jewish education in America. Plotting the course along these two axes will provide a productive matrix for a focused examination of the American Jewish experience. History students must take course for at least 3 units.
Same as: AMSTUD 279X, EDUC 279, HISTORY 288D, JEWISHST 297X
RELIGST 280. Schleiermacher: Reconstructing Religion. 3-5 Units.
Idealist philosopher, Moravian pietist, early German Romantic, co-founder of the University of Berlin, head preacher at Trinity Church, translator of Plato's works, Hegel's opponent, pioneer in modern hermeneutics, father of modern theology. Schleiermacher's controversial reconception of religion and theology in its philosophical context.
Same as: RELIGST 380
RELIGST 281. Asian Religions in America; Asian American Religions. 4 Units.
This course will analyze both the reception in America of Asian religions (i.e. of Buddhism in the 19th century), and the development in America of Asian American religious traditions.
Same as: AMSTUD 281, ASNAMST 281, RELIGST 381
RELIGST 283. Religion and Literature. 4 Units.
A wide-ranging exploration of religious themes in literary works. Readings will include prose and poetry stemming from various world regions, time periods, and religious traditions.
RELIGST 283A. Modern Notions of 'The Holy'. 3-5 Units.
This course explores the question, "What may we call 'holy' in the modern era?" by focusing on key writers and thinkers, who in various ways, and in different times raised this question: Friedrich Hölderlin, Hermann Cohen, Franz Kafka, Martin Heidegger, Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, Else Lasker-Schüler, Walter Benjamin, Ernst Bloch, Hannah Arendt, Margarete Susman, Nelly Sachs, Paul Celan, and Judith Butler.nnThis course will be synchronous-conducted, but will also use an innovative, Stanford-developed, on-line platform called Poetic Thinking. Poetic Thinking allows students to share both their scholarly and creative work with each other. Based on the newest technology and beautifully designed, it will greatly enhance their course experience.
Same as: COMPLIT 283A, COMPLIT 383A, GERMAN 283A, GERMAN 383A, RELIGST 383A
RELIGST 286. Goodness and the Literary Imagination. 5 Units.
In her Ingersoll lecture at Harvard Divinity School, Toni Morrison probed the issue of literary presentations of goodness. We will begin with that very rich lecture, and a collection of essays by scholars of religion and religious leaders exploring that lecture in the context of Morrison's own work. We'll then discuss a novel by Morrison, James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time, at least one story by Flannery O'Connor, and related (short) works of literature and commentary. The inquiry will involve both conceptual and literary analysis, all of it focused on the character and presentation of goodness. (Limited enrollment; consent of instructor required. Please complete the questionnaire at https://forms.gle/8D6XxLdUj4T645Lh9).
RELIGST 290. Majors' Seminar: Theories of Religion. 5 Units.
Required of all majors and combined majors. The study of religion reflects upon itself. Representative modern and contemporary attempts to "theorize," and thereby understand, the phenomena of religion in anthropology, psychology, sociology, cultural studies, and philosophy. WIM.
RELIGST 297. Senior Essay/Honors Thesis Research. 3-5 Units.
Guided by faculty adviser. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor and department.
RELIGST 298. Senior Colloquium. 4 Units.
For Religious Studies majors writing the senior essay or honors thesis. Students present work in progress, and read and respond to others. Approaches to research and writing in the humanities.
RELIGST 3. The Religious Life of Things. 3-5 Units.
Temples, prayer beads, icons, robes, books, relics, candles and incense, scarves and hats, sacred food and holy water; objects of all sorts play a prominent role in all religions, evoking a wide range of emotional responses, from reverence, solace and even ecstasy, to fear, hostility and violence. What is it about these things that makes them so powerful? Is it beliefs and doctrines that inspire particular attitudes towards certain objects, or is it the other way around? Many see a tension or even contradiction between religion and material pursuits and argue that the true religious life is a life without things. But is such a life even possible? This course adopts a comparative approach, drawing on a variety of traditions to examine the place of images, food, clothing, ritual objects, architecture and relics in religious thought and practice. Materials for the course include scholarship, scripture, images and at least one museum visit.
RELIGST 302. Islamic Studies Proseminar. 1-5 Unit.
Research methods and materials for the study of Islam. May be repeated for credit.
RELIGST 302A. Monsters, Ghosts and Other Fantastic Beings: The Supernatural and the Mysterious in Japanese Culture. 4 Units.
Examine the development of strange and fantastic creatures in Japan. Mysterious creatures in folklore, literature, art, manga and movies. Through them see how the concept of the strange or mysterious have evolved and how they inform Japanese modernity.
Same as: RELIGST 202A
RELIGST 303. Myth, Place, and Ritual in the Study of Religion. 3-5 Units.
Sources include: ethnographic texts and theoretical writings; the approaches of Charles Long, Jonathan Z. Smith, Victor Turner, Michael D. Jackson, and Wendy Doniger; and lived experiences as recounted in Judith Sherman's Say the Name: A Survivor's Tale in Prose and Poetry, Jackson's At Home in the World, Marie Cardinal's The Words to Say It, and John Phillip Santos¿ Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation.
Same as: RELIGST 203
RELIGST 304A. Theories and Methods. 4 Units.
Required of graduate students in Religious Studies. Approaches to the study of religion. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. May be repeated for credit.
RELIGST 304B. Theories and Methods. 4 Units.
Required of graduate students in Religious Studies. Approaches to the study of religion. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. May be repeat for credit.
RELIGST 308. Medieval Japanese Buddhism. 3-5 Units.
Japanese religion and culture, including Buddhism, Shinto, popular religion, and new religions, through the medium of film.
RELIGST 308C. Architecture, Acoustics and Ritual in Byzantium. 1-3 Unit.
Onassis Seminar "Icons of Sound: Architecture, Acoustics and Ritual in Byzantium". This year-long seminar explores the creation and operations of sacred space in Byzantium by focusing on the intersection of architecture, acoustics, music, and ritual. Through the support of the Onassis Foundation (USA), nine leading scholars in the field share their research and conduct the discussion of their pre-circulated papers. The goal is to develop a new interpretive framework for the study of religious experience and assemble the research tools needed for work in this interdisciplinary field.nnNOTE: This course is only offered on the graduate level and undergraduates would be admitted by request (sending a letter expressing interest to the instructor and specifying what other courses in music or art history has prepared them to tackle this subject) and special permission only.
Same as: ARTHIST 408C, MUSIC 408C, REES 408C
RELIGST 310. Translating Religion. 3-5 Units.
What happens to Buddhism when the Buddha speaks Chinese? Is the Qur'an still the Qur'an in English? What did Martin Luther do for the German language? We try to answer these and other such questions in this course, which explores the translation of sacred scripture and other religious texts from the earliest times to the present day. Taking a global perspective, and looking at Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism, the course is designed to introduce students to the theory and practice of translation and get them thinking about its broader cultural, aesthetic and political significance. Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units.
Same as: RELIGST 210
RELIGST 312. Buddhist Studies Proseminar. 1-5 Unit.
Research methods and materials for the study of Buddhism. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: reading knowledge of Chinese or Japanese.
RELIGST 313X. The Education of American Jews. 4 Units.
This course will take an interdisciplinary approach to the question of how American Jews negotiate the desire to retain a unique ethnic sensibility without excluding themselves from American culture more broadly. Students will examine the various ways in which people debate, deliberate, and determine what it means to be an "American Jew". This includes an investigation of how American Jewish relationships to formal and informal educational encounters through school, popular culture, religious ritual, and politics.
Same as: EDUC 313, JEWISHST 393X
RELIGST 314. Seminar in Buddhist Historiography. 3-5 Units.
The focus of this course is on approaches to the past from within Buddhist traditions rather than modern academic writing on Buddhist history. We will briefly examine research on religious conceptions of the past in other religions before turning to the full range of Buddhist historiography, including writings from India, Ceylon, China, Tibet and Japan. The first half of the class will be dedicated to reading and discussing scholarship as well as some primary sources in translation. In the second half of the course, students will develop projects based on their interests, culminating in presentations and a research paper.
RELIGST 315A. Chinese Buddhism. 3-5 Units.
This year the seminar will focus on the twentieth century, perhaps the most vibrant and certainly the most tumultuous period in two thousand years of Chinese Buddhist history. After the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, leading Buddhists proposed a series of radical reforms to the sangha in a frantic effort to adapt to the modern era. External changes forced creative Buddhist responses to imperialism, democratic government, communism, revolution, war and famine. By the end of the Cultural Revolution in the 1970s, it seemed as if reform had come too late, the persecution had been too brutal and too thorough, for Buddhist institutions and ideas to ever play a significant role in China again. But from the 1980s on, Buddhist rituals and practices resurfaced, at first through Buddhist organizations in Taiwan and then, increasingly, on the Mainland. By the end of the century, Buddhist leaders were posed to play a more prominent role than they had for a hundred years. In this course, we will focus on biographies and autobiographies by and about monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen in an attempt to work out from individuals to the wider trends that shaped Chinese Buddhism in the twentieth century. There is now enough material in English for a seminar on the subject, but students who can read Chinese will be encouraged to draw on the growing body of relevant material in Chinese as well.
RELIGST 316. Tantric Buddhism. 4 Units.
This course explores many of the key issues in the study of tantric Buddhism, including aspects of its historical development, ritual ideology, visual and material culture, notions of identity and embodiment, and variations across different times and cultures. Focusing on the traditions of India, Nepal, and Tibet, students will read primary texts in translation, debate secondary literature, view artworks in museum galleries, and develop final projects based on their research interests. Course readings are in English.
RELIGST 317. The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Buddhism. 3-5 Units.
This seminar explores the influence of the Lotus Sutra, one of the most important Mahayana scriptures, in Japan. We will study how different Japanese Buddhist schools have interpreted this sutra and analyze a wide range of religious practices, art works, and literature associated with this text. All readings will be in English. Prerequisites: Solid foundation in either Buddhist studies or East Asian Studies. You must have taken at least one other course in Buddhist Studies. NOTE: Undergraduates must enroll for 5 units; graduate students can enroll for 3-5 units.
Same as: RELIGST 217
RELIGST 318. Islam, Race and Revolution: A Pan-American Approach. 3-5 Units.
Taking a pan-American approach to the study of religious traditions, this upper-level course traces the history of the critical intersection between race, religion and revolution among Muslims from the turn of the nineteenth century until the present day. Moving from the Atlantic Revolutions of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, to the United States, to the decolonizing Third World, and then finally to the contemporary Middle East, this class will emphasize that Islam and race together have been used by many groups in order to challenge existing power structures, agitate for change, and more than occasionally, transform the social, cultural and governmental structures comprising their worlds. Moreover, although this class is concentrated upon religious formations in the Americas, students will explore global events throughout the Muslim world in order to examine how global politics contribute to religious formations, solidarities and identities. At the conclusion of this course, students will be expected to write a 10-15 page research paper, and a topic will be chosen in consultation with the instructor. Students will also be expected to write weekly reflection papers, which will serve to facilitate class discussion. Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units.
Same as: AMSTUD 218, CSRE 218, RELIGST 218
RELIGST 319. Readings in Hindu Texts. 3-5 Units.
Readings in Hindu texts in Sanskrit. Texts will be selected based on student interest. Prerequisite: Sanskrit.
RELIGST 320. Religion and Literature. 4 Units.
grad seminar in religion and literature-description to follow.
RELIGST 321. The Talmud: Research Methods and Tools. 3-5 Units.
This seminar introduces students to the academic study of the Talmud and related classical rabbinic texts from late antiquity. Students will engage the major philological and historical questions concerning the making of the Talmud, along with textual tools to help them decode the texts. Prerequisite: Hebrew.
Same as: RELIGST 221
RELIGST 321B. What is Talmud?. 5 Units.
In what sense can Talmud be studied as literature? Which voices can be identified? Concepts of author, editor, or redactor. The basic textual units of Talmud: sugya, chapter, and tractate. The sugya as literary genre. The aesthetic of talmudic dialectics.nnPrerequisite: reading Hebrew with some understanding of biblical Hebrew.
Same as: RELIGST 221B
RELIGST 321C. Aramaic Texts. 1-5 Unit.
Readings in Aramaic/Syriac with special focus on grammar and syntax of ancient texts.
Same as: JEWISHST 221C, JEWISHST 321C, RELIGST 221C
RELIGST 321D. Readings in Syriac Literature. 2-5 Units.
In recent years, there has been growing interest in the works of Syriac speaking Christians in antiquity and beyond. This course offers an introduction to the Syriac language, including its script, vocabulary and grammar, and a chance to read from a selection of foundational Syriac Christian texts.
Same as: JEWISHST 221D, JEWISHST 321D, RELIGST 221D
RELIGST 322B. Sufism Seminar. 3-5 Units.
Sufism through original texts and specialized scholarship. Prerequisite: ability to read at least one major language of Islamic religious literature (Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu).
Same as: RELIGST 222B
RELIGST 324. Classical Islamic Texts. 3 Units.
The course is based on readings in primary Arabic sources in the key fields of pre-modern Islamic scholarship. The list of readings and topics will depend on the interests of the students. In addition to focusing on the language, contents, and context of the texts covered, the course introduces genre-specific historical research methods. The reading selections may be derived from Qur¿anic interpretation (tafsir), the hadith literature, adab, biographical dictionaries, fiqh, ta'rikh, kalam, or Sufism. Reading knowledge of Arabic is required.
Same as: RELIGST 224
RELIGST 325. Syriac Christianity. 3-5 Units.
In the first millennium, Christianity thrived throughout the Middle East. Because Roman Catholic and Protestant churches later declared many of these Christians to be heretics, their stories have often been excluded from the history of Christianity. This course challenges the assumption of Christianity as a "Western" religion and asks how our understanding of global Christianity changes when we include the history and perspective of Eastern Christians writing in the Aramaic dialect of Syriac. We will read in English translation such sources as the tale of a transvestite nun, a letter allegedly written by Jesus, ancient Christian hymns, the story of a demon-possessed monastery, and the first Christian writings on Islam. Although primarily designed for Ph.D. candidates who have interests in late antiquity or the middle ages, this seminar is also appropriate for graduate students working in other time periods; it does not assume previous background in Syriac or in Syriac Christianity.
RELIGST 326. The Bible in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. 3-5 Units.
This seminar investigates the central role of the Christian Bible in European religion, culture, and society from ca. 1000-1700 CE. In the medieval and early modern periods, the Bible not only shaped religious attitudes, practices, and institutions, but also exercised profound influence over learning and education, politics, law, social relations, art, literature, and music. Students will obtain an overview of the role of the scripture as both a religious text and a cultural artifact, exploring the history of biblical interpretation in commentaries and sermons; textual criticism, study of biblical languages, and the translation of scripture; manufacturing of Bibles in manuscript and in print; the commercial dimensions of Bible production; illustrated Bibles, biblical maps, and biblically-inspired artwork; religious uses of scripture in monastic houses, public worship, and domestic settings; biblical foundations for political and legal traditions. Students will also have the opportunity to suggest topics consonant with their own fields of interest and use the seminar to workshop on-going projects related to the Bible in this period. All of the readings will be in English, though students with the ability to read German, French, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Greek, or Hebrew will be encouraged to pursue projects that utilize their linguistic skills. Students in residence will have the opportunity to utilize materials in Special Collections; abundant digital resources will be available to students not on campus. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Send an email to pitkin@stanford.edu explaining your interests and background. Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units.
Same as: RELIGST 226
RELIGST 327. The Qur'an. 5 Units.
Early history, themes, structure, chronology, and premodern interpretation. Relative chronology of passages.
Same as: RELIGST 227
RELIGST 329X. Advanced Paleography. 5 Units.
This course will train students in the transcription and editing of original Medieval and Early Modern textual materials from c. 1000 to 1600, written principally in Latin and English (but other European languages are possible, too). Students will hone their archival skills, learning how to describe, read and present a range of manuscripts and single-leaf documents, before turning their hand to critical interpretation and editing. Students, who must already have experience of working with early archival materials, will focus on the full publication of one individual fragment or document as formal assessment.
Same as: CLASSICS 216, HISTORY 315
RELIGST 330X. Religion, Radicalization and Media in Africa since 1945. 4-5 Units.
What are the paths to religious radicalization, and what role have media- new and old- played in these conversion journeys? We examine how Pentecostal Christians and Reformist Muslims in countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Sudan, and Ethiopia have used multiple media forms- newspapers, cell phones, TV, radio, and the internet- to gain new converts, contest the authority of colonial and post-colonial states, construct transnational communities, and position themselves as key political players.
Same as: AFRICAST 248, AFRICAST 348, HISTORY 248, HISTORY 348, RELIGST 230X
RELIGST 331. European Reformations. 3-5 Units.
Readings in and discussion of theological and social aspects of sixteenth century reformations: Luther, Radical Reform, Calvin, and Council of Trent, missionary expansion, religious conflict, creative and artistic expressions. Texts include primary sources and secondary scholarly essays and monographs.
Same as: HISTORY 231G, HISTORY 331G, RELIGST 231
RELIGST 332. Buddhist Meditation: Ancient and Modern. 3-5 Units.
An exploration of the theory and practice of Buddhist meditation from the time of the Buddha to the modern mindfulness boom, with attention to the wide range of techniques developed and their diverse interpretation. Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units.
Same as: RELIGST 232
RELIGST 333. Comparative Mysticism. 5 Units.
This graduate seminar will explore the mystical writings of the major religious traditions represented in our department: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. It will address major issues in the study of mysticism, exposing students to a wide variety of religious thinkers and literary traditions, while simultaneously interrogating the usefulness of the concept of "mysticism" as a framework in the study of religion. We will consider various paradigms of method (comparative, constructivist, essentialist), and examine the texts with an eye to historical and social context together with the intellectual traditions that they represent. Preserving the distinctiveness of each religious tradition, the class will be structured as a series of five units around these traditions, but our eyes will be continuously trained upon shared topics or themes, including: language; gender; notions of sainthood; scripture and exegesis; autobiography and writing; mysticism and philosophy; poetry and translation; mysticism and social formation; the interface of law, devotion, and spirit; science and mysticism; perceptions of inter-religious influence; mysticism and the modern/ post-modern world. Advanced reading knowledge of at least one language of primary-source scholarship in one of the above traditions is required.
RELIGST 333X. Workshop in Religion and Education. 1 Unit.
This 1-unit workshop will explore the intersection of religion and education across a variety of learning environments and demographics. It invites an ongoing conversation of the relationships between schools, congregations, religious bodies, learners, seekers, philanthropy, and public education. Advanced students and visiting scholars will have an opportunity to present their work for discussion. May be repeat for credit.
Same as: EDUC 412
RELIGST 334. Islam and Material Culture. 3-5 Units.
Material objects are essential elements of Islamic cultures and practices. This course examines Islamic art, sculpture, architecture, devotional objects, and clothing, as well as basic concepts in studying religion and material culture.
Same as: RELIGST 234
RELIGST 336X. Interfaith Dialogue on Campus: Religion, Diversity, and Higher Education. 2-5 Units.
How are we to talk across religious and spiritual differences? What is the purpose of such dialogues? What do we hope to gain from them? How do such dialogues take shape on college campuses, and what do they indicate about how students cultivate spiritual, political, and civic commitments? This course will explore these questions and others through seminar discussions, fieldwork, and writing that will examine the concepts, assumptions, and principles that shape how we think about interfaith dialogue.
Same as: AMSTUD 236, CSRE 136A, EDUC 436
RELIGST 338. Seminar in Spiritualism and the Occult. 3-5 Units.
T.W. Stanford, Leland Jr.'s uncle, left money for founding psychic studies at Stanford. The Stanford's were like millions of people in the nineteenth century who described themselves as spiritualist. Far from being the rejection of science, this movement saw itself and often was seen by others as the forefront of scientific inquiry. Its practitioners often drew a thin line between physics and metaphysics.nnOur class will examine spirit photographs, explore novels and treatises, and handle artifacts that T.W. Stanford used to communicate across the astral plane. In addition to reading primary and scholarly sources, this course will also provide the opportunity for archival research and several field trips to area sites of occult interest.
RELIGST 339. Luther and the Reform of Western Christianity. 3-5 Units.
Luther's theology, ethics, biblical interpretation, and social reforms and their significance for the remaking of Western Christianity. Readings include Luther's own writings and secondary sources about Luther and his world.
Same as: RELIGST 239
RELIGST 340. Contemporary Religious Reflection. 3-5 Units.
Focus is on normative and prescriptive proposals by recent and contemporary philosophers and theologians, as opposed to the domination of Religious Studies by textual, historical, cultural, and other largely descriptive and interpretive approaches. Do such normative and prescriptive proposals belong in the academy? Has Religious Studies exorcised its theological nimbus only to find contemporary religious reflection reappearing elsewhere in the university?.
RELIGST 343X. Anthropology of Religion. 5 Units.
This course presents classic and contemporary work on the anthropology of religion: Durkheim Elementary Forms of the Religious Life; Levy-Bruhl; Primitive Mentality; Douglas Purity and Danger; Evans Pritchard Nuer Religion; and recent ethnographies/scholarly work by Robbins, Keane, Keller, Boyer, Barrett, and others. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Same as: ANTHRO 339
RELIGST 344. Feminist Theory and the Study of Religion. 3-5 Units.
This seminar aims to put feminist theory and religious studies into conversation with each other in order to explore the resulting intersections. It will examine new directions in current scholarship. What does it mean to apply a gender studies lens to the study of religion? How do feminist conceptions of embodiment reinforce and/or context religious conceptions of the body? What are the implications of the "return of religion" currently invoked in feminist discourses? We will read works by Judith Butler, Luce Irigaray, Rosi Braidotti, Donna Haraway, Saba Mahmood, Shawn Copeland, a.o. Other thematic choices may be determined by interest of graduate students enrolled in the course.
RELIGST 345. Readings in Late Ancient Christianity. 1-5 Unit.
Topics in the study of Christianity for doctoral students. Recent scholarship and approaches to research.
RELIGST 346. Constructing Race and Religion in America. 4-5 Units.
This seminar focuses on the interrelationships between social constructions of race and social interpretations of religion in America. How have assumptions about race shaped religious worldviews? How have religious beliefs shaped racial attitudes? How have ideas about religion and race contributed to notions of what it means to be "American"? We will look at primary and secondary sources and at the historical development of ideas and practices over time.
Same as: AFRICAAM 236, AMSTUD 246, CSRE 246, HISTORY 256G, HISTORY 356G, RELIGST 246
RELIGST 347. Chinese Buddhist Texts. 3-5 Units.
Chinese Buddhist texts from the Han Dynasty onwards, including sutra translations, prefaces, colophons, story collections and biographies. Prerequisite: reading competence in Chinese.
RELIGST 349. Religion and Madness. 3-5 Units.
In this course, a scholar of Judaism and a psychological anthropologist join forces to discuss the relationship between religion and madness. We will read scriptural and mystical texts alongside anthropological and psychiatric texts to explore the ways people distinguish the mad and the holy in different settings, whether one can infer madness from texts written for religious purposes, and indeed whether and when God can be named as mad. In the process we hope to explore the different lenses of religious, historical, anthropological and clinical interpretation.
Same as: ANTHRO 349C
RELIGST 350. Readings in Tibetan Literature. 3-5 Units.
Introduction to Tibetan literature through reading texts in Tibetan. Prerequisite: intermediate level facility in classical Tibetan.
RELIGST 351. Readings in Indian Buddhist Texts. 3-5 Units.
Introduction to Buddhist literature through reading original texts in Sanskrit. Prerequisite: Sanskrit.
RELIGST 353. Recent Research on Japanese Buddhism. 3-5 Units.
Readings in recent English-language scholarship on Japanese Buddhism. nUndergraduates must enroll for 5 units; graduate students can enroll for 3-5 units. Prerequisite: Solid foundation in either Buddhist studies or East Asian Studies (5 units for 253, 3-5 units for 353) May be repeat for credit.
Same as: RELIGST 253
RELIGST 354. Recent Contributions to Buddhist Studies. 3-5 Units.
This reading intensive course will examine nine areas in recent work in Buddhist studies, including ethnography, archaeology, monasticism, the study of "experience," and gender. May be repeated for credit.
Same as: RELIGST 254
RELIGST 355. Religion and Power in the Making of Modern South Asia. 3-5 Units.
This course examines the diverse ways that religious traditions have been involved in the brokering of power in South Asia from the late seventeenth century to the present day. We will examine the intersection of religion and power in different arenas, including historical memory, religious festivals, language politics, and violent actions. At the core of our inquiry is how religion is invoked in political contexts (and vice-versa), public displays of religiosity, and the complex dynamics of religion and the state. Among other issues, we will particularly engage with questions of religious identity, knowledge, and violence. Undergraduates must enroll in RELIGST 255 for 5 units. Graduate students must enroll RELIGST 355 for 3-5 units. HISTORY297F must be taken for 4-5 units.
Same as: HISTORY 297F, RELIGST 255
RELIGST 356. Readings in Buddhist Tantra: Wheel of Time. 3-5 Units.
The emergence of tantric scriptures in medieval India marked a major turning point in the development of religious thought and practice throughout Asia. These scriptures introduced myths, rituals, contemplative techniques, and artistic expressions that transformed the religious traditions of India¿from Hinduism to Jainism and Buddhism. Tantric forms of worship subsequently shaped the religious traditions of Southeast Asia, China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, and everywhere else Indian religions spread. This seminar examines the history of Buddhist tantra through English translation of one of the most popular collections of tantric literature in the history of Buddhism: the Wheel of Time. The Wheel of Time blends models of the cosmos, time, embodiment, and aesthetics with rich contemplative and ritual techniques. Since its origin, the Wheel of Time and its associated body of texts and practices has become immensely popular throughout the Tibetan Buddhist world. The influence of the Wheel of Time continues to this day, as the current Dalai Lama frequently offers the Wheel of Time initiation as a blessing for world peace, and scholars and practitioners continue to study its literature and practice its contemplative techniques. Undergraduates are expected to have at least one prior course in Buddhism or the consent of the instructor. Undergraduates register for 256 for 5 units. Graduate students register for 356 for 3-5 units.
Same as: RELIGST 256
RELIGST 358. Readings in Japanese Buddhist Texts. 3-5 Units.
In this course, we will read premodern Japanese Buddhist texts. Prerequisite: Chinese and/or Japanese.
Same as: RELIGST 258
RELIGST 359. Readings in Buddhist Studies. 3-5 Units.
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RELIGST 359A. American Religions in a Global Context: Proseminar. 1 Unit.
This 1-unit proseminar is open to graduate students interested in American Religions in a Global Context. We will meet once a month to discuss student and faculty work-in-progress and important books in the field. Enrollment in the proseminar is required for students pursuing the Graduate Certificate in American Religions.
RELIGST 362. Sex and the Early Church. 4 Units.
Sex and the Early Church examines the ways first- through sixth-century Christians addressed questions regarding human sexuality. We will pay particular attention to the relationship between sexuality and issues of gender, culture, power, and resistance. We will read a Roman gynecological manual, an ancient dating guide, the world's first harlequin romance novels, ancient pornography, early Christian martyrdom accounts, stories of female and male saints, instructions for how to best battle demons, visionary accounts, and monastic rules. These will be supplemented by modern scholarship in classics, early Christian studies, gender studies, queer studies, and the history of sexuality. The purpose of our exploration is not simply to better understand ancient views of gender and sexuality. Rather, this investigation of a society whose sexual system often seems so surprising aims to denaturalize many of our own assumptions concerning gender and sexuality. In the process, we will also examine the ways these first centuries of what eventually became the world's largest religious tradition has profoundly affected the sexual norms of our own time. The seminar assumes no prior knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, the bible, or ancient history.
Same as: CLASSICS 262, FEMGEN 262, RELIGST 262
RELIGST 364. Hindu Tantra. 4 Units.
What is Tantra? Tantric forms of ritual and philosophy have been integral to the practice of Hinduism for most of its history. Tantra has provided initiates with a spiritual technology for embodying the divine and transcending the cycle of rebirth; on a social and political level, Tantra has mediated the institutions of Hindu kingship and appealed to a diverse population of initiates. This course covers a number of influential and well-documented Hindu tantric traditions, exploring several prominent features of Tantric religion as they develop historically, including: tantric ritual practice (core technologies of the subtle body, mantras, ma, alas, etc., along with the more notorious elements of sex and transgression), theology and philosophical speculation, as well as Tantra's relationship to the outside world and state power.
Same as: RELIGST 264
RELIGST 367. Seminar in Religion and Material Culture. 3-5 Units.
The first part of the course will examine approaches to the role of material culture in religion, including scholarship on icons, sacred space, clothing and food. In the second part of the course, students will develop research projects in their area of specialization.
RELIGST 369. Plotinus and Augustine. 3-5 Units.
Professor's permission required to register. A reading course focused on the influence of Plotinus Enneads on Augustine's Confessions, early dialogues, and sections on reason and memory in the De trinitate. Proficiency in Greek and Latin will be helpful but is not required. Professor's prior permission required, interested students should contact the professor about course schedule: tsheehan@stanford.edu . Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units.
Same as: PHIL 229, PHIL 329, RELIGST 269
RELIGST 36X. Dangerous Ideas. 1 Unit.
Ideas matter. Concepts such as revolution, tradition, and hell have inspired social movements, shaped political systems, and dramatically influenced the lives of individuals. Others, like immigration, universal basic income, and youth play an important role in contemporary debates in the United States. All of these ideas are contested, and they have a real power to change lives, for better and for worse. In this one-unit class we will examine these "dangerous" ideas. Each week, a faculty member from a different department in the humanities and arts will explore a concept that has shaped human experience across time and space. Some weeks will have short reading assignments, but you are not required to purchase any materials.
Same as: ARTHIST 36, COMPLIT 36A, EALC 36, ENGLISH 71, ETHICSOC 36X, FRENCH 36, HISTORY 3D, MUSIC 36H, PHIL 36, POLISCI 70, SLAVIC 36
RELIGST 370. Comparative Religious Ethics. 4 Units.
The difference that the word religious makes in religious ethics and how it affects issues of genre. Theoretical analyses with examples from W. and E. Asia. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Same as: RELIGST 270
RELIGST 370X. Religion and Science in the Amazon and Elsewhere. 5 Units.
The conversion of native peoples to Christianity, especially Evangelical Christianity, is today a global phenomenon. This course looks to understand the reasons for religious conversion and its consequence in the everyday and ritual practices of Amazonians and their traditional practice of shamanism. We then turn to a question seldom addressed in the literature on conversion: the relationship between religion and science. We will explore the way conversion to Christianity produces changes in conceptions of the world and the person similar to those produced by access to scientific knowledge, which occurs primarily through schooling.
Same as: ANTHRO 181, ANTHRO 281, RELIGST 270X
RELIGST 371. Writing Religious History. 5 Units.
This course offers graduate students a sustained opportunity to think about the craft of writing religious history. We will work together on issues ranging from structuring sentences, to revising an article, to conceptualizing a dissertation. Students will be encouraged to establish a daily writing habit and to formulate clear and searchable research strategies. Readings will include exemplars of different kinds of writing in the field. Students will write and workshop several brief (3-5 page) papers applying different approaches. The final project will be a revision of an article-length paper.
RELIGST 373. Historicism and Its Problems: Ernst Troeltsch, the Study of Religion, and the Crisis of Historicism. 3-5 Units.
Examination of the early twentieth-century historian of religion, philosopher of culture, sociologist of religion, Christian theologian, and philosopher of history, Ernst Troeltsch, within the context of the late nineteenth-century "crisis of historicism," i.e., the historicization and relativization of religious, ethical, social, and political norms. Attention to seminal theorists of history (Herder, Kant, Ranke, Hegel, Nietzsche) in the post-Enlightenment German intellectual tradition and the attempts of Christian and Jewish thinkers in the Weimar era (Barth, Gogarten, Rosenzweig, L. Strauss) to "overcome" the crisis wrought by a radically historical approach to human culture.
Same as: RELIGST 273
RELIGST 374. From Kant to Kierkegaard. 3-5 Units.
(Graduate students register for 374. Undergrads register for 274 for 5 units.) The philosophy of religion emerged from the European Enlightenment as a new genre of reflection on religion distinct from both dogmatic theology and rationalist dreams of a "natural" religion of reason. Neither beholden to pre-critical tradition, nor dismissive of what Thomas Nagel has termed "the religious attitude," this new, ostensibly secular, genre of religious thought sought to rethink the meaning of Christianity at a time of immense philosophical ferment. The main currents of religious thought in Germany from Kant's critical philosophy to Kierkegaard's revolt against Hegelianism. Emphasis on the theories of religion, the epistemological status of religious discourse, the role of history (especially the figure of Jesus), and the problem of alienation/reconciliation in seminal modern thinkers: Kant, Schleiermacher, Hegel, and Kierkegaard.
Same as: RELIGST 274
RELIGST 374F. Science, Religion, and Democracy. 3-5 Units.
How should conflicts between citizens with science-based and religion-based beliefs be handled in modern liberal democracies? Are religion-based beliefs as suitable for discussion within the public sphere as science-based beliefs? Are there still important conflicts between science and religion, e.g., Darwinian evolution versus creationism or intelligent design? How have philosophy and recent theology been engaged with such conflicts and how should they be engaged now? What are the political ramifications? This is a graduate-level seminar; undergraduates must obtain permission of the instructors.
Same as: ETHICSOC 374R, PHIL 374F
RELIGST 375. Kierkegaard. 3-5 Units.
(Graduate students register for 375.) Close reading of Kierkegaard's magnum opus, Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments, in its early 19th-century context.
Same as: RELIGST 275
RELIGST 377. The Later Heidegger: Art, Poetry, Language. 3 Units.
Lectures and seminar discussions of the problematic of the later Heidegger (1930 - 1976) in the light of his entire project. Readings from "On the Origin of the Work of Art" and Elucidations of Holderlin's Poetry.
Same as: PHIL 234B, RELIGST 277
RELIGST 378. Religion and James Joyce's Ulysses. 3-5 Units.
Through a close reading of the novel and with the help of the vast secondary literature the course analyzes the significant roles that religion, specifically Catholicism and Judaism, plays in Joyce's modernist masterpiece--from Stephen Dedalus' sophisticated knowledge and bitter rejection of Irish Catholicism, through Leopold Bloom's ambivalent rapport with Judaism, to Molly Bloom's climatic celebration of a feminist liturgy of nature. Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units.
Same as: RELIGST 278
RELIGST 379. After God: Why religion at all?. 4 Units.
God is dead, but where does religion come from? The end of the quest for God in twentieth century philosophy. Robert Bellah's Religion in Human Evolution plus seminal works of Heidegger, including Being and Time, 'What Is Metaphysics?' 'Nietzsche's Saying `God is Dead.' 'N.B.: Class size limited. Apply early at tsheehan@stanford.edu.
Same as: RELIGST 279
RELIGST 380. Schleiermacher: Reconstructing Religion. 3-5 Units.
Idealist philosopher, Moravian pietist, early German Romantic, co-founder of the University of Berlin, head preacher at Trinity Church, translator of Plato's works, Hegel's opponent, pioneer in modern hermeneutics, father of modern theology. Schleiermacher's controversial reconception of religion and theology in its philosophical context.
Same as: RELIGST 280
RELIGST 381. Asian Religions in America; Asian American Religions. 4 Units.
This course will analyze both the reception in America of Asian religions (i.e. of Buddhism in the 19th century), and the development in America of Asian American religious traditions.
Same as: AMSTUD 281, ASNAMST 281, RELIGST 281
RELIGST 383A. Modern Notions of 'The Holy'. 3-5 Units.
This course explores the question, "What may we call 'holy' in the modern era?" by focusing on key writers and thinkers, who in various ways, and in different times raised this question: Friedrich Hölderlin, Hermann Cohen, Franz Kafka, Martin Heidegger, Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, Else Lasker-Schüler, Walter Benjamin, Ernst Bloch, Hannah Arendt, Margarete Susman, Nelly Sachs, Paul Celan, and Judith Butler.nnThis course will be synchronous-conducted, but will also use an innovative, Stanford-developed, on-line platform called Poetic Thinking. Poetic Thinking allows students to share both their scholarly and creative work with each other. Based on the newest technology and beautifully designed, it will greatly enhance their course experience.
Same as: COMPLIT 283A, COMPLIT 383A, GERMAN 283A, GERMAN 383A, RELIGST 283A
RELIGST 384. Research in Christian Studies. 1-15 Unit.
Independent study in Christianity. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
RELIGST 385. Research in Buddhist Studies. 1-15 Unit.
Independent study in Buddhism. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
RELIGST 387. Research in Jewish Studies. 1-15 Unit.
Independent study in Jewish Studies. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
RELIGST 388. Research in Modern Religious Thought, Ethics, and Philosophy. 1-15 Unit.
Independent study in Modern Religious Thought, Ethics, and Philosophy. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
RELIGST 389. Individual Work for Graduate Students. 1-15 Unit.
May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
RELIGST 390. Teaching Internship. 3-5 Units.
Required supervised internship for PhDs.
RELIGST 391. Teaching Religious Studies. 3 Units.
This seminar will help prepare you for your role as a university teacher both at a practical and a theoretical level. We will focus on how to best obtain (and keep) a new academic position. We will thus often work together on ¿nuts and bolts¿ issues such as syllabus design, engaging lectures, lively seminar discussions, positive classroom dynamics, and producing a strong teaching portfolio. We will also explore recent developments in pedagogical theory, cognitive science, and educational psychology that have bearing on effective university level teaching. These will be situated within the specific demands of the religious studies classroom and supplemented by guest speakers who will help us explore how institutional context affects the ways one teaches.
RELIGST 392. Paper in the Field. 1-15 Unit.
Prerequisite: consent of graduate director. May be repeated for credit.
RELIGST 395. Master of Arts Thesis. 2-9 Units.
.
RELIGST 399. Readings in Theories and Methods. 1-5 Unit.
Directed readings in secondary literature for Religious Studies doctoral students. May be repeated for credit.
RELIGST 4. What Didn't Make It into the Bible. 4 Units.
Over two billion people alive today consider the Bible to be sacred scripture. But how did the books that made it into the bible get there in the first place? Who decided what was to be part of the bible and what wasn't? How would history look differently if a given book didn't make the final cut and another one did? Hundreds of ancient Jewish and Christian texts are not included in the Bible. "What Didn't Make It in the Bible" focuses on these excluded writings. We will explore the Dead Sea Scrolls, Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus throwing temper tantrums while killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse ancient romance novels, explore the adventures of fallen angels who sired giants (and taught humans about cosmetics), tour heaven and hell, encounter the garden of Eden story told from the perspective of the snake, and learn how the world will end. The course assumes no prior knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, the bible, or ancient history. It is designed for students who are part of faith traditions that consider the bible to be sacred, as well as those who are not. The only prerequisite is an interest in exploring books, groups, and ideas that eventually lost the battles of history and to keep asking the question "why." In critically examining these ancient narratives and the communities that wrote them, you will investigate how religions canonize a scriptural tradition, better appreciate the diversity of early Judaism and Christianity, understand the historical context of these religions, and explore the politics behind what did and did not make it into the bible.
Same as: CLASSICS 9N, JEWISHST 4
RELIGST 50. Exploring Buddhism. 4 Units.
A comprehensive historical survey of the Buddhist tradition, from its beginnings to the 21st century, covering principal teachings and practices, institutional and social forms, and artistic and iconographical expressions. (Formerly RELIGST 14.).
RELIGST 51. Exploring Buddhism in Tibet and the Himalayas. 4 Units.
From elaborate sand mandalas, masked dances, and entrancing ritual music to meditating yogis, robed monks, and the Dalai Lama himself, Tibetan forms of Buddhist traditions have for decades been an integral part of our modern globalized world. This course introduces the history, institutions, doctrines, and practices of Buddhism in Tibet and the broader Himalayan region.
RELIGST 53. Exploring Jewish Spirituality. 4 Units.
It was once accepted as fact that Judaism is, at its core, a rational religion devoid of any authentic mystical tradition. But the past century of scholarship has reversed this claim, demonstrating that the spiritual life has been integral to Judaism's vital heart since ancient times. This yearning for a direct immediate experience of God's Presence, a longing to grasp the mysteries of the human soul and know the inner dynamics of the Divine realm, has taken on many different forms across the centuries. <br>This course will introduce students to the major texts--from theological treatises to poems and incantations--and core ideas of Jewish mysticism and spirituality, tracking their development from the Hebrew Bible to the dawn of modernity. Close attention will be paid to the historical context of these sources, and we will also engage with broader methodological approaches--from phenomenology to philology--regarding the academic study of religion and the comparative consideration of mysticism in particular. <br>This course assumes no prior background of Judaism or any other religious traditions. All readings will be made available in English. Students are, however, invited to challenge themselves with the "optional/advanced" readings of sources both primary and secondary. Pending interest, students with facility in the original languages (Hebrew or Aramaic) will be given the opportunity to do so.
Same as: JEWISHST 53
RELIGST 55. Exploring Zen Buddhism. 4 Units.
This course is an introduction to Chan/Zen Buddhism. We will study the historical and doctrinal development of this tradition in China and Japan and examine various facets of Zen, such as the philosophy, practices, rituals, culture, and institution. For this aim, we will read and discuss classical Zen texts in translation and important secondary literature. This class will further feature a visit of a Zen teacher, who will give an introduction to sitting meditation.
RELIGST 56. Exploring Chinese Religions. 4 Units.
An overview of major themes and historical developments in 5000 years of Chinese religion from early evidence of religious belief in Neolithic burial sites to religion in China today. In this course, we will try as much as possible to appreciate Chinese religion from the Chinese perspective, paying particular attention to original texts in translation in an attempt to discern the logic of Chinese religion and the role it has played in the course of Chinese history. To a greater extent perhaps than any other civilization, the Chinese have left behind a continuous body of written documents and other artifacts relating to religion stretching over thousands of years, providing a wealth of material for studying the place of religion in history and society. We will cover a range of traditions, from Buddhism and Daoism to Falun Gong, practices such as divination, fengshui and ancestor worship, and historical events from the formation of the first Chinese empire to the fall of the Qing dynasty and the Cultural Revolution. Each class will include a short lecture and discussion. Together we will read a variety of philosophical, literary, and historical pieces in translation, supplemented by ethnographic videos, archaeology and maps.
RELIGST 61. Exploring Islam. 4 Units.
This course introduces some of the most important features of the Islamic religious tradition. It explores the different ways in which Muslims have interpreted and practiced their religion. The main subjects of discussion --- including the life of the Prophet Muhammad, the Qur'an, law, ritual, mysticism, theology, politics, and art --- will be considered with reference to their proper historical contexts. Some of the topics covered include abortion, gender, rebellion and violence, and the visual vocabulary of paintings. Students will be exposed to important theories and methods in the academic study of religion. No prior knowledge is required.
RELIGST 65. Exploring Global Christianity. 4 Units.
Explore the world¿s largest religion as a multicultural, global faith, with attention to Christianity¿s origins, spread and impact around the world up to the present. Special attention to recent shifting demographics leading to declining numbers in mainline Christian denominations in North America and Europe and the rapid expansion of Christianity in Africa, Asia, and South America; the explosion of international Pentecostalism and other new Christianities; Christianity, global politics, and the global economy; Christian-Muslim relations and conflicts.
RELIGST 6N. Religion in Anime and Manga. 3 Units.
Religious themes and topoi are ubiquitous in Japanese anime and manga. In this course, we will examine how religions are represented in these new media and study the role of religions in contemporary Japan. By doing this, students will also learn fundamental concepts of Buddhism and Shinto.
RELIGST 7N. Religion, Ecology, and Environmental Ethics. 3 Units.
The world today is in the midst of a major ecological crisis that is manifested in extreme weather events, loss of biodiversity, depletion of fisheries, pollution of air, water, and soil, prolonged draughts, and mass extinction of species. Since the 1970s world religions grappled with the religious significance of the environmental crisis, examining their own scriptures, rituals and ethics in order to articulate religious responses to the ecological crisis. This course explores how certain religions--Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism--have addressed the ecological crisis for the past fifty years. Preserving the distinctiveness of each religious tradition, this seminar examines: the issue of religion as the cause of the environmental crisis; the resources for ecological responses within each tradition; the emergence of new religious ecologies and ecological theologies; the contribution of world religions to environmental ethics; and the degree to which the environmental crisis has functioned--and will function--as the basis of inter-faith collaboration. We will work to develop a shared vocabulary in environmental humanities, and special attention will be given to the contribution of religion to animal studies, ecofeminism, religion and the science of ecology, and the interplay between faith, scholarship and activism.
RELIGST 801. TGR Project. 0 Units.
(Staff).
RELIGST 802. TGR Dissertation. 0 Units.
.
RELIGST 81. Exploring Indian Religions. 4 Units.
This course provides an overview of Indian religious traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, and Sikhism. We will spend approximately half the course on Hindu thought and traditions from the Vedic period until the present day, emphasizing the diverse forms of this religion in different times and places. The second half of the course will be devoted to religions that emerged in South Asia (e.g., Jainism) and those that came to find a home and particular forms of expression on the subcontinent (e.g., Islam). Throughout students will read selections from a range of theological texts, epics, and literature that have permeated many aspects of daily religious life in India. We will also emphasize ritual activities, visual experiences in temples, and networks of pilgrimage places that dot the subcontinent. We will often pair primary sources (in translation) with later interpretations and impacts of those texts in modern South Asia. We will also survey the modern incarnations of particular Indian religious traditions throughout South Asia and the diaspora. By the conclusion of this course, students will be conversant with the texts, beliefs, and practices of the major Indian religions in their cultural and historical contexts and also have a working knowledge of basic categories important for the study of religion more broadly.
RELIGST 82. Exploring Christianity. 4 Units.
Historical and contemporary Christianity from four viewpoints: ritual and prayer; sacred texts and creeds; ethics and life; and community governance.
RELIGST 86. Exploring the New Testament. 4 Units.
To explore the historical context of the earliest Christians, students will read most of the New Testament as well as many documents that didn't make the final cut. Non-Christian texts, Roman art, and surviving archeological remains will better situate Christianity within the ancient world. Students will read from the Dead Sea Scrolls, explore Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus throwing divine temper tantrums while killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse an ancient marriage guide, and engage with recent scholarship in archeology, literary criticism, and history.
Same as: CLASSICS 43, JEWISHST 86
RELIGST 8N. Gardens and Sacred Space in Japan. 3 Units.
This seminar will explore gardens and sacred spaces in Japan. We will study the development of Japanese garden design from the earliest records to contemporary Japan. We will especially focus on the religious, aesthetic, and social dimensions of gardens and sacred spaces. This seminar features a field trip to a Japanese garden in the area, in order to study how Japanese garden design was adapted in North America.
RELIGST 91. Exploring American Religious History. 4 Units.
This course will trace how contemporary beliefs and practices connect to historical trends in the American religious landscape.
Same as: AMSTUD 91, CSRE 91, HISTORY 260K
