Religious Studies Courses Spring 2025

ETHICS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
AFST 263
W: 2:15 – 4:45 PM
N. Voltz
This course focuses on the history of black representation in film and television in the United States. In this course, students will be introduced to some of the earliest representations of Black folks on the silver screen as well as learn about emergence of Black cinema (black films made for, by and about Black people) in the 20th century. Through this exploration, students will become acquainted with some of the most significant films, actors, and directors in African American history. This course will also teach students how to critically analyze how African American history has been depicted in modern and popular “historical” films. Students will be encouraged to employ the analysis skills and particularly critical theories of race, gender, and class to examine how filmmakers have presented, and too often distorted, historical events related to the Black experience in the United States. Finally, throughout the course, students will be encouraged to think about the ways in which films and television, both in the past and present, have contributed to the constructions of race and racial stereotypes in the United States. Films and documentaries will serve as some of the major “texts” of this course. Students will be screenings films both at home and in class. Offered as AFST 263 and ETHS 263 and HSTY 263.

THE FRANCOPHONE WORLD
AFST 295
M/W: 3:20 – 4:35 PM
P. Lyons
The course offers an introduction to the Francophone World from a historical, cultural, and literary perspective. The Francophone World includes countries and regions around the globe with a substantial French-speaking population (and where French is sometimes, but not always, an official language): North America (Louisiana, Quebec, and Acadia); North Africa (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt); the Middle-East (Lebanon, Syria); the Caribbean (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Haiti); Southeast Asia (Vietnam); and Europe (France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Luxembourg). FRCH 295 provides a comprehensive overview of the Francophone World, while focusing on a particular area or areas in any given semester. Offered as AFST 295, ETHS 295, FRCH 295, and WLIT 295.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE – HARLEM RENAISSANCE
AFST 363H
Th: 2:30 – 3:45 PM
C. Elliott
A historical approach to African-American literature. Such writers as Wheatley, Equiano, Douglass, Jacobs, DuBois, Hurston, Hughes, Wright, Baldwin, Ellison, Morrison. Topics covered may include slave narratives, African-American autobiography, the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Aesthetic, literature of protest and assimilation. Maximum 6 credits. Offered as AFST 363H, ENGL 363H, ETHS 363H, WLIT 363H, ENGL 463H, and WLIT 463H.

SPECIAL TOPICS IN AMERICAN POLITICS AND POLICY – RACE, IMMIGRATION, AND AMERICAN
AFST 389
Th: 12:45 – 2:00 PM
G. Parris
Specific topic will vary but will consist of an in-depth investigation of a particular policy area or political phenomenon. Topics will involve policy controversies of some current interest. Offered as AFST 389, POSC 389, and POSC 489.

INTRODUCING JUDAISM
RLGN 173
M/W: 12:45 – 2:00 PM
A. Cooper
This “topics” course offers an introduction to the academic study of Judaism. Whether approached through a particular theme or as a general historical introduction, each section of this course provides students with a general introduction to the academic study of religion and basic religious literacy in Jewish religious tradition, exploring forms of it in a diversity of cultural contexts around the world. Section topics could include, but are not limited to: Festivals and Holy Days, Women and Gender, Jewish Ethics. Students may repeat the course for credit (up to 6 credits), provided that the two sections are different. Offered as RLGN 173 and JWST 173.

INTERPRETING RELIGION: APPROACHES AND CURRENT ISSUES
RLGN 201
T/Th: 11:30 AM – 12:45 PM
D. Sarma
Introduction to academic study of religion, exploring the history and development of the field, important theories and methodologies, and current issues, debates, and horizons of research. This course provides students with the opportunity to approach the global study of religion from an interdisciplinary perspective. It pays particular attention to how religious studies has approached the study of non-Western cultures and religions and provides students with the opportunity to reflect on their own assumptions about “religion” as a category. This course also engages students around comparative questions in relation to religions in Asia and Africa, in order to develop critical, yet empathetic approaches to the comparison of global religions through key terms in religious studies such as ritual, belief, myth, and authority. The course is foundational for majors and minors in religious studies but also open to other interested students who may find it valuable for their work in other fields of study. Particular readings and other assignments will be determined by the designated instructor. Students are expected to attend class regularly, complete readings and other assignments, and participate actively in class discussions and other activities.

INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIANITY
RLGN 212
T/Th: 10:00 – 11:15 AM
J. Tan
This course introduces students to the emergence and historical developments of Christianity from its Jewish sectarian roots to a global religion, focusing on how the central doctrinal-theological and moral-ethical themes of the Christian tradition have emerged and developed in different ecclesial traditions of transnational Christianity — Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox, Catholic and Mainline Protestant, Evangelical and Renewal. It explores how the forces of cultural diversity and pluralism, historic colonialism and imperialism, globalization and migration, as well as contemporary postcolonial and transnational consciousness shape and challenge the trajectory of the growth and spread, as well as the socio-political transformation of Christianity from its Mediterranean roots across the globe over two millennia. It discusses the broader socio-cultural, philosophical-theological, moral-ethical, and political dimensions emerging from the Christian tradition generally, as well as evaluates the themes of community building, identity formation and constructions, moral-ethical codes, and social movements within the different ecclesial traditions of Christianity, their contributions on ongoing theological conversations and moral-ethical debates, as well as their contemporary significance and long term global and transnational implications of Christianity as a global religion.

BUDDHISM
RLGN 217
T/Th: 1:00 – 2:15 PM
J. Liang
From India to Indonesia, from Tibet to the United States, the reach of Buddhism has been pervasive and persistent throughout the past millennia. What makes Buddhism so popular? Why are there so many Buddhist traditions all over the world, and what are those? What makes them different, and what sets of core tenets do they share, if any? In this course, we will explore together the basic teachings of Buddhism in its manifold emanations. Using Buddhism as an example, we will also begin to think about religion as a tool of social organization or resistance, as a cosmopolitan language to converse with other cultures, and as an integral part of human lives past and present. Offered as ASIA 217 and RLGN 217.

FAITH AND POLITICS IN ISLAM
RLGN 218
M/W: 3:20 – 4:35 PM
R. Islambouli
An overview of the relationship between Islam as a religion and Islam as a political system and the effect of this relationship on Islamic society from its origin to the present time.

INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
RLGN 221
T/Th: 1:00 – 2:15 PM
D. Sarma
We will survey the origins of Indian philosophical thought, with an emphasis on early Buddhist, Hindu and Jain literature. Our concern will be the methods, presuppositions, arguments, and goals of these schools and trajectories of thought. What were their theories on the nature of the person, the nature of reality, and the nature and process of knowing? What were the debates between the schools and the major points of controversy? And, most importantly, are the positions/arguments internally incoherent? Offered as PHIL 221 and RLGN 221.

FOOD, CULTURE, ETHICS, AND RELIGION
RLGN 246
T: 4:00 – 6:30 PM
J. Tan
This interdisciplinary seminar explores the complex intersecting relationships between food, culture and ethnicity, ethics and religion, as well as society and globalization. It introduces students to the symbolic, socio-cultural, political and economic, as well as moral-ethical roles that food plays in shaping how peoples in different cultures and societies across history and geography have defined themselves through their foodways. It critically analyzes the multiple intersecting relationships between food, ethnicity and culture, ethics and morality, as well as the transnational forces of globalization in shaping contemporary food systems, food production and consumption in an increasingly diverse and pluralistic contemporary US society shaped by forces of ongoing transnational migration. It explores how food choices and preferences both influence, as well as influenced by intersecting socio-cultural, as well as moral-ethical forces arising from constructions of ethnicity, gender, class, nationality and national origin, as well as religion and human spiritualities. It will use historical and contemporary food practices as a lens through which we can understand the ongoing processes of globalization, intersecting dynamics of power, socio-economic class, ethnic identity, as well as the implications of colonialism, industrialization, and globalization on food in human cultures and societies. Offered as ETHS 246 and RLGN 246.

RESPONSIBLE AI: CULTIVATING A JUST AND SUSTAINABLE SOCIO-TECHNICAL FUTURE THROUGH DATA CITIZENSHIP
RLGN 250
W: 3:30 – 6:00 PM
T. Beal
An introduction to the key issues that inform ethically responsible design, deployment, and use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, with particular focus on the impact of data practices. From generative language models to video surveillance and identity detection to facial recognition, AI is becoming more and more embedded in our everyday lives. These AI technologies are increasingly built on our data, whether we are aware of it or not. In this praxis-oriented course, we will explore how data is fundamental to the development of AI technologies and develop practices for increased awareness of and participation in this data ecosystem. As we interrogate AI systems in everyday life through hands-on engagement with AI tools and their data pipelines, we will begin to construct a data citizenship model that can help us reclaim the power of collective responsibility in order to build a more just and sustainable socio-technical future. Students will focus their individual and group projects on questions and issues directly related to the subject area of the offering they are enrolled in. Offered as COGS 250, ENGL 250, HUMN 250, MUGN 250, PHIL 250 and RLGN 250.

SOUL MURDER: RELIGION AND SEXUAL ABUSE
RLGN 252
M/W: 12:45 – 2:00 PM
B. Clites
“Soul murder” is a term that psychologists and survivors use to describe the way that clergy sexual abuse destroys a child’s network of relationships. In addition to sexual, developmental, and psychological harm, victims of religious abuse also experience intense theological, moral, and familial suffering. This course analyzes these topics through religious, legal, medical, and anthropological case studies. What are the cultural, racial, and gendered dynamics of religious abuse? How is it different than sexual assault in non-religious contexts? How has abuse shaped Christian and Hindu sexual ethics? These are some of the questions that you will be able to answer by the end of this seminar. Offered as RLGN 252 and WGST 252.

THE HOLOCAUST
RLGN 254
T/Th: 11:30 AM – 12:45 PM
J. Geller
This class seeks to answer fundamental questions about the Holocaust, the German-led organized mass murder of nearly six million Jews and millions of other ethnic and religious minorities. It will investigate the origins and development of racism in modern European society, the manifestations of that racism, and responses to persecution. An additional focus of the course will be comparisons between different groups, different countries, and different phases during the Nazi era. The class concludes with an examination of the memory of the Holocaust. Offered as ETHS 254, HSTY 254, JWST 254 and RLGN 254.

INTRODUCTION TO GENDER STUDIES
RLGN 270
T/Th: 10:00 – 11:15 PM
J. Howe
This course introduces women and men students to the methods and concepts of gender studies and feminist theory. An interdisciplinary course, it covers approaches used in literary criticism, history, philosophy, political science, sociology, anthropology, psychology, film studies, cultural studies, art history, and religion. It is the required introductory course for students taking the women’s and gender studies major. Offered as ENGL 270, HSTY 270, PHIL 270, RLGN 270, SOCI 201, and WGST 201.

BUDDHISM GOES TO THE MOVIES
RLGN 346
Th: 4:00 – 6:30 PM
J. Liang
This seminar delves into the lively expressions of being Buddhist, “doing Buddhism,” or just thinking along Buddhist lines across the cinematic world. It also queries the rich emanations of Buddhist teachings and practices that inspired cinematic expressions beyond the those traditionally labeled as “films about Buddhism.” Taking seriously the claim that the practice of seeing brings about spiritual liberation and interpreting films as Buddhist scriptures, students will critically and creatively examine these visual contemplations on the Buddha, his teaching, Buddhist communities, history, practice, and stories of Buddhists in the many worlds they inhabit. Offered as ASIA 346 and RLGN 346.

INDEPENDENT STUDY
RLGN 392
Up to three semester hours of independent study may be taken in a single semester. Must have prior approval of faculty member directing the project.