*Religion 97. Tutorial — Sophomore Year
Catalog Number: 7608
Kimerer LaMothe
Half course (spring term). M., W., 3:30–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
Note: Required of concentrators.
*Religion 98a. Tutorial — Junior Year
Catalog Number: 2832
Kimerer LaMothe and assistants
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Note: Required of concentrators.
*Religion 98b. Tutorial — Junior Year
Catalog Number: 2922
Kimerer LaMothe and assistants
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Note: Required of concentrators.
*Religion 99. Tutorial — Senior Year
Catalog Number: 6498
Kimerer LaMothe and assistants
Full course. Hours to be arranged.
A required component of the senior year tutorial is a monthly seminar, led by the Assistant Head Tutor. Covers research methods and strategies in thesis writing in the fall, becoming an intensive review for general examinations in the spring.
Note: Required of concentrators.
[Religion 13. Scriptures and Classics]
Catalog Number: 1723
William A. Graham, Jr.
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
An introduction to the history of religion based on selective reading in significant texts from diverse religious and cultural traditions. Considers important thematic issues (e.g., suffering, death, love, transcendence, community) as well as problems of method and definition as they present themselves in the sources. Readings from texts such as the Veda, Bhagavad Gita, Buddhacarita, Lotus Sutra, Confucian Analects, Chuang Tzu, Gilgamesh, Aeneid, Torah, New Testament and Qur’an.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3225.
Religion 14. Comparative Religious Ethics: An Introduction to the Study of Religion
Catalog Number: 7539
Charles Hallisey
Half course (fall term). M., W., at 10, and a discussion hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 3
An introduction to the comparative and historical study of religion through an exploration of the role of morality and ethical reasoning in human and religious life, as well as the role of religious experiences, ideas, and practices in ethics. The course draws materials from four religious traditions — Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, and Confucian — as well as non-religious sources to consider both the nature and diversity of human morality cross-culturally and the extent to which morality and ethics are universals in human life.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3100.
Religion 42. The Christian Bible and Its Interpretation
Catalog Number: 5870
Peter J. Gomes (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). W., F., at 11, and an hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 4
Introduction to the Christian conception of scripture from the closing of the Canon to the Fundamentalist/Modernist controversy. Topics to be considered include the relationship of scripture to tradition, appropriation of Hebrew scripture, exegetical and hermeneutical theories, and scripture and culture. Particular attention paid to the development of theories of scriptural authority and their social consequences within the Western Christian experience and American Protestantism.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 1210.
[Religion 45. Martyrs, Mystics, and Heretics: Alternative Christianities]
Catalog Number: 4735
Kimerer LaMothe
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
An introduction to the history of Christian traditions through individuals and groups whose claims to Christian identity were fiercely contested in their day. What kinds of issues have proved critical in determining Christian identity? Case studies include: martyrs and Gnostics in early Christianity; medieval mystics; 16th-century reformers; the so-called “witches” of the 17th century; and the American Shakers. In conclusion we consider controversial interpretations of Jesus Christ in 20th-century liberation and postmodern theologies. Along the way, we consider thematic concerns spanning the role of human bodies in religious life, the nature of women, attitudes towards sexuality and worldly pleasure, and the church as an institution in relation to personal faith and empowerment.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01.
[Religion 1551. For the Love of God and His Prophet: Literary and Artistic Expressions of Muslim Devotional Life]
Catalog Number: 0110 Enrollment: Limited to 20.
Ali S. Asani
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Designed as an introduction to Islam, this course focuses on literature and the arts (poetry, calligraphy, dance, music, drama, and architecture) as expressions of Muslim devotion, as well as their role in worship and liturgy. Course material drawn from several regions beyond the Middle East, particularly sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3887.
Religion 1600. Reading of Hindu Texts: An Introduction to Hinduism
Catalog Number: 4479
Edwin Bryant
Half course (fall term). M., W., 3–4:30. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
This course will attempt an Introduction to Hinduism(s) by a reading of some of the texts that have gained prominence amongst Hindus over the centuries. Readings will include extracts from the ancient Vedas, the philosophical Upanisads, the Dharma law books, psycho-meditational texts such as the Yoga Sutras, the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics, the famous Bhagavad Gita, the Siva Purana, the Devi Gita of the Goddess, devotional poetry, and modern religious writings that have become authoritative texts amongst various present–day religious groups.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3423.
[Religion 1700. Introduction to Buddhism]
Catalog Number: 3486
Charles Hallisey
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
A general survey of the diverse patterns of religious and cultural life found in the contemporary Buddhist world.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3230.
[Religion 1007. Religion in Multicultural America]
Catalog Number: 3416
Diana L. Eck
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
An exploration of the changing religious landscape of the United States, looking at the history and dynamic interaction of the various religious traditions that now compose the American religious scene. Looks briefly at Native American, Christian, and Jewish traditions, but focuses more on the religious life of Asian-Americans — Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, Jain — and on the African-American and immigrant traditions of Islam. Throughout is a dual focus on how the various religious traditions are changing in the American environment and how America is changing in this new multireligious context.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3221.
[Religion 1010. Religious Life Among Indigenous Cultures in the Americas]
Catalog Number: 4509
Lawrence E. Sullivan (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course examines a selection of cultural cases in order to contextualize a variety of beliefs and practices such as religious cosmologies, myths, rites of passage, institutions, specialists, built forms, and historical movements.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3708.
[Religion 1011. Ritual Experience and Critical Perception: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 5624
Lawrence E. Sullivan (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar examines perceptions associated with ritual experience and evaluates various disciplinary approaches to such elements as mimesis, mnemonics, gesture, music, and visual spectacle.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3915.
Prerequisite: Graduate introduction to methods in the study of religion, or equivalent.
Religion 1013. God: The Beginnings: Seminar
Catalog Number: 6377
Eugene McAfee
Half course (fall term). Th., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
The deity known as “God” in western religions first appears as El in texts from ancient Syria-Palestine (Canaan) in the mid-second millennium B.C.E. This course will examine El as he is portrayed in mythological and cultic texts from the ancient kingdom of Ugarit and in contemporary Semitic inscriptions. Readings will focus on El as divine patriarch of the Ugaritic pantheon, his relationships to other Ugaritic deities, and his relationships to humans. The course will also examine the incorporation of El into the sacred writings of ancient Israel and, through them, into the religions of the modern west.
Religion 1015. Angels: Messengers of God
Catalog Number: 2105
Gary Anderson (Divinity School) and Kimberley C. Patton (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). W., 1–3, and one hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
The concept of divine intermediaries is widespread in most religious worlds. In our own day, there has been a dramatic swelling of interest in these mysterious beings. The “messenger” often refracts crucial doctinal tenets or executes divine will, as well as providing a spectacular focus for the religious imagination. In addition, the angel often serves as a useful literary tool to define the relation of the human to the divine; hence, angels have a crucial theological and anthropological role in a range of religious genres. Using textual and iconographic evidence, this course explores the history, symbolism, and theological importance of angels and the development of angelology in three related monotheistic traditions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 3651.
Religion 1017. New Religious Movements and Society: Conference Course
Catalog Number: 8082
Helen Hardacre
Half course (spring term). W., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
This conference course examines the emergence and development of new religious movements (NRMs) from the 19th century to the present, based on case studies from Europe, Africa, the United States, and Japan. Topics include interpretations of the founding of NRMs, conflicts between NRMs and the media, and the contemporary millenarianism.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 3810.
Religion 1018. Meanings Made of Death
Catalog Number: 5377
Linda L. Barnes (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). M., 1–3, discussion sections to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
The meanings of life, health, illness, suffering, and healing are relativized by the realities of dying and death. Each religious tradition has its own approaches to articulating relationships with the dying, to ritualizing and remembering a person’s death, and to creating ways to sustain relationships with the dead. We will explore examples of these approaches through cases drawn from a range of religious traditions in the United States, including those of immigrant and ethnic minorities. Offered by the Divinity School as 3414.
Religion 1022. Comparative Mysticism: Seminar
Catalog Number: 5833 Enrollment: Limited to 15
John B. Carman (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). F., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
Few concepts have been so variously understood as "mysticism," from the height of genuine religious experience to the depths of self-deception in the claim of the soul’s identity with the absolute. Some modern Hindus have accepted the European Protestant charge that mysticism is an oriental intrusion into Christian piety. They have differed, however, as to whether mysticism is to be understood as esoteric practice or popular devotion, as communion with a loving God or as the higher consciousness of the One transcending of all duality. This seminar will discuss classical expressions of mysticism in a number of religious traditions as well as recent views as to whether mystical experience cuts across differences between religious traditions. We shall start with Rudolf Otto’s comparison of Eckhart and Sankara.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 3907.
[Religion 1025. Ritual and the Religious Life: A Thematic Introduction to Religion]
Catalog Number: 5239
Lawrence E. Sullivan (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
An exploration of the nature, structure, and meaning of ritual act and ritual language in human religious life, drawing materials from the great religious traditions, especially the Native American, Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian. Consideration of meditation, the yearly cycle of festivals; and the rites of the life cycle from birth to death.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3320.
Religion 1026. Contrast and Harmony in Conceptions of God
Catalog Number: 4380
John B. Carman (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1. EXAM GROUP: 13, 14
A comparative study of apparently opposite attributes (polarities) in the Divine nature with special attention to theistic beliefs in Hinduism and Christianity. Consideration of the polarities of majesty/humility, justice/mercy, and masculine/feminine, as well as diverse ways in which theologians try to make sense of paradoxical polarities.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3439.
Religion 1030. Texts, Writers, and Readers
Catalog Number: 1164 Enrollment: Limited to 20.
David D. Hall (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). W., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
This readings and research colloquium studies the production and transmission of texts within different religious traditions (chiefly Christianity, but also Buddhism, Judaism, etc.); authority or authenticity in relation to the fluidity of transmission; and the meanings of ‘author’ and of the mediating figure of ‘reader’. The primary focus is on written texts, though oral tradition will be considered as well.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 2389.
Religion 1032. Sacrifice: Ritual, Reflexivity, and Paradox: Seminar
Catalog Number: 3888 Enrollment: Limited to 15
Kimberley C. Patton (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Th., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
An intensive examination of the phenomenon of sacrifice. Involving the surrender or destruction of external objects unlike prayer and other verbal religious forms, sacrifice is often considered to be an alien,“antique”, or even “barbaric” ritual by modern secularized, industrialized societies–even those in which atonement-oriented or Eucharistic Christian theology is familiar. We will examine typologies of sacrifice, blood - and bloodless offerings, and some of the critical religious concepts which can be operant in sacrifice: cosmogony, consecration, thanksgiving, communion, reciprocity, substitution, efficacy, violence, transgression, expiation, catharsis, human and divine hierarchy, and sacerdotal authority. Sacrifice will be studied in depth in the following three historical complexes: Indo-European, Abrahamic monotheistic, and Meso-American. Special topics will include the theological and sociological implications of human sacrifice, sacrifice by divinities, and the relationship of sacrifice to religious authority, gender distinctions, and class or caste hierarchies. In addition to primary texts, the course will include reading and critical analysis of secondary historical, anthropological, and theoretical works.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 3816.
Religion 1033. Reading the Bible: Jews, Christians, Gnostics and Others as Claimants to Biblical Authority
Catalog Number: 2325
Ruth Clements (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Th., 10–1. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13, 14
The course begins with a survey of the role and types of biblical interpretations in various Second Temple communities, moves on to consider the evolution of interpretive techniques and traditions in various post-Temple communities, and concludes with the work of Origen and his rabbinic contemporaries. We will give special consideration to biblical interpretation as a tool by which a community locates itself in relation to the wider cultural matrix and by which it authorizes its own truth claims over and against those of rival interpretive communities. Offered by the Divinity School as 1275.
Religion 1034. Early Judaism and the New Testament
Catalog Number: 0415
Ruth Clements
Half course (fall term). W., 6–9 p.m. and hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 9
Chrisitanity had its origins in Second Temple Judaism and many New Testament books were written during the early Rabbinic period. The historical, cultural, and religious relationships of the followers of Jesus to the Jewish community will be explored in select Jewish and New Testament writings. Special attention will be given to the variety of social groups which produced Jewish and New Testament writings and to the processes of interpretation and dispute which united and divided them. Offered by the Divinity School as 1280.
Religion 1036. Christianity and the Making of Rabbinic Judaism: Seminar
Catalog Number: 5167
Daniel Boyarian
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 10 and hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 12
A study of the ways that early Christianity and Judaism were interwined throughout late antiquity, exploring how more contact existed than has previously been supposed by many scholars (who see a final separation, a parting of the ways, either in 70 C.E. or in 135 C.E). The view of this seminar favors an ever-growing school of thought that sees much contact and interaction well into the fourth century. Such themes as martyrology, liturgy, and heresiology will be central to our investigations. Among the texts to be read will be talmudic and midrashic texts (in translation), the Pseudo-Clementines, the Didascalia, Justin Martyr, and others.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 1466.
[Religion 1037. Jewish and Christian Understanding of the Garden of Eden]
Catalog Number: 6932
Gary Anderson (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course will trace the story of the “Fall” in Genesis 1-3 from its earliest Biblical roots up to and including the retelling of the narrative in Milton’s Paradise Lost. This course will consider various commentary materials (Rabbinic and Patristic writers), literary recastings (various apocryphal retellings) and iconographical representations. Special interest will be devoted to discerning how each of these media refashions the story and to what degree they can be interpreted over and against one another.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 1402.
[Religion 1038. The Book of Psalms]
Catalog Number: 6248
Gary Anderson (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
A survey of the book of Psalms. Focus of the course will be the manner in which the church and the synagogue has made these texts a center for the spiritual life. The course will begin with a consideration of the Psalms in their original historical context, and their present place in Jewish and Christian canons. The bulk of the course will involve a close reading of selected Psalms against the commentaries of Qimhi, Augustine and Calvin.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 1403.
Prerequisite: One course in Biblical Studies.
[Religion 1040. Topics in Social Ethics: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 2830
Preston N. Williams (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
An inquiry into the grounding and understanding of human rights in Confucianism, Islam, and Christianity.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2867.
Religion 1045. Thinking About Thinking
Catalog Number: 6190 Enrollment: 100 total: 30 law students, 30 graduate students from other Harvard schools, 30 undergratuates, and 10 fellows.
Harvey G. Cox, Jr. (Divinity School), Alan Dershowitz (Law School), and Stephen J. Gould
Half course (spring term). Th., 4:10–6:10. EXAM GROUP: 18
A discussion of selected topics with the aim of isolating, illustrating, and examining the distinctive modes of thinking in science, religion, philosophy and law. Topics vary from year to year and may include some of the following: line-drawing and classification; beginnings and endings of life; effects and side-effects; causality, evidence, explanation and contingency; free will; biological and genetic explanations of behavior; legal punishment; discrimination and affirmative action; race, ethnicity and nationality; parents and children; gender; contrast between religious and empirical beliefs; natural law; textual interpretation; realism and perspectivism; animal rights.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 2480.
Religion 1067. Seeds of Christ in Hindu Soil
Catalog Number: 8400
John B. Carman (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1. EXAM GROUP: 13, 14
A Christian theological scrutiny of Christian and Hindu interpretations of Jesus Christ in modern India, asking whether the early Christian acknowledgement of the Divine Word in Greek philosophy can be extended to the Hindu devotional tradition and especially to the Vaishnava conception of Divine descent and embodiment.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3436.
Religion 1075. Jerusalem: An Interdisciplinary Inquiry
Catalog Number: 3014
Harvey G. Cox, Jr. (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). W., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
A holy city for three faiths, the focus of poetry, song, legend and ideology, and a continuing political flashpoint, the city of Jerusalem provides a rich case study in religious history, art and architecture, eschatology and the phenomenology of sacred space. It also provides a critical test for inter-faith dialogue and peace-making. Utilizing a variety of disciplines we will explore the meanings Jerusalem has had in the past and consider alternative solutions to current questions about its future.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 2505.
Religion 1080. Sacred History and Historicity: Myth, Epic, Scripture, and Archaeology
Catalog Number: 0709
Kimberley C. Patton (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). F., 2–5. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8, 9
The course deals with the illumination (or challenge) brought to bear on culturally enshrined religious myth, epic and scripture by modern archaeological, scientific, and historical research. In seeking better to know and understand a given civilization, how might two worlds of evidence–its own sacred texts and the material remains unearthed in excavation, so often divorced from one another in scholarly inquiry–be considered in real relationship? What are some of the contemporary assumptions, including the dominant approach of positivist skepticism, surrounding the encounter of sacred history with historicity? The course will include topics in Ancient Near Eastern, Homeric, and Biblical archaeology, and will also consider archaeoastronaomical research in Mesoamerica. Starting with the Sumerian epic Gilgamesh and ending with the Popol Vuh, the Mayan creation myth, we will touch on a number of recent archaeological discoveries and controversies.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 3664.
*Religion 2002. Major Themes in the Study of Religion: Seminar
Catalog Number: 0803
Kimberley C. Patton (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Th., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
A consideration of the issue of comparison in the study of religion. Problems in comparing religious phenomena are discussed through the preparation and presentation of sample course syllabi on particular themes across diverse religious traditions.
Note: For all second-year doctoral students in the Study of Religion.
[Religion 2010. Religions of the World and Ecology: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 3153
Lawrence E. Sullivan (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
This course examines beliefs and practices associated with sustaining the environment in a selection of religious traditions. It aims to contextualize those beliefs and practices within the history and cosmologies of the traditions considered.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3916.
Prerequisite: Graduate introduction to methods in the study of religion or equivalent.
Religion 2030. The New Testament Background to Early Rabbinic Judaism
Catalog Number: 9133
Daniel Boyarin (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). W., 10–12 and hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 3, 4
Themes and parallels between the Gospels, in particular, and aspects of early rabbinism will be considered. However, the assumption that there is an entity, “Judaism’, from which Christianity deviates will be abandoned in favor of the view that first and second century Christianity belong to the same religious and cultural millieu within which the earliest strata of rabbinic literary production took place. In particular, focus will be placed on the Sabbath controversies and the parables. Offered by the Divinity School as 1864.
Religion 2040. Religion and Human Rights
Catalog Number: 8115
David Little (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
This course will consider the legal, historical, theoretical, and practical connections between religion and human rights. Debates over universality, particularly in relation to religious freedom and nondiscrimination, will be given special attention. Recent theoretical and empirical work, particularly in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, will be taken up.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 2800.
Religion 2041. Conscience and Its Freedom: Seminar
Catalog Number: 7093
David Little (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). W., 10–12. EXAM GROUP: 3, 4
A consideration of the meaning and significance of the concept of conscience. The seminar will examine the history of the idea in Western thought, and give some attention to its place in Islamic and other cultural settings. It will also touch on the role of conscience in contemporary human rights discourse. It will take up contemporary philosophical, theological, and legal problems associated with the term.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 2810.
Religion 2042. Religion, Nationalism, and Peace: Seminar
Catalog Number: 7857
David Little (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Tu., 9–11. EXAM GROUP: 11, 12
This course will sample the literature on nationalism and ethnicity as it bears on conflict, with special focus on the role of religion. Specific cases will be examined, such as Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tibet, Northern Ireland, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and Bosnia. Attention will be paid to the ingredients of peace in such situations, and how religion has and may function constructively.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 2812.
[Religion 1212b. Judaism: The Liturgical Year]
Catalog Number: 8074
Jon D. Levenson (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
A continuation of Religion 1212a.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 1667b/3667b.
Prerequisite: Religion 1212a.
[Religion 1260. Midrash: Jewish Biblical Interpretation in the Rabbinic Period]
Catalog Number: 2424
Jon D. Levenson (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
An introduction to the way the rabbis of the Talmudic period interpreted their Bible. Close reading in English of a range of midrashic literature, halakhic and aggadic, exegetical and homiletical, Tannaitic and Amoraic. Emphasis on literary assumptions and theological affirmations. Consideration of the affinities and contrasts of midrash with early Christian biblical interpretation and with contemporary literary theory.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3669.
[Religion 1413. The History and Practice of Lived Religion]
Catalog Number: 6320
David D. Hall (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Bringing together theological, ethnographical and historical perspectives, this course is concerned with ecclesial and extra-ecclesial practices, among them: healing, the “unchurched” and the churched, prayer and other ritual acts, the uses of literacy, and the gift relationship. Field work as well as readings, discussions, and lectures.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered by the Divinity School as 2269.
[Religion 1414. Gospel Stories of Women]
Catalog Number: 6902
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Participants will engage in feminist critical and rhetorical readings of various Gospel texts. Special attention will be given to social location, critical practices of reading and re-constructive historical and theological models of interpretation for liberation. Lectures, group discussions and group presentations seek to foster a participatory style of learning.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 1503/2557.
Prerequisite: Religion 1415 or equivalent.
[Religion 1415. Introduction to Methods of Biblical Interpretation]
Catalog Number: 3237
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Any biblical text can be approached and analyzed in a number of different ways. This course will provide a basic introduction to critical methods and theoretical frameworks for reading and interpreting biblical texts. It will explore various approaches with reference to the exegesis of particular texts and provide a feminist analysis of what such methods set out to do and what they actually accomplish. Special attention will be given to the theoretical assumptions and practical implications of critical interpretive methods and approaches for contemporary public discourses and ministerial practice.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divnity School as 1242.
Religion 1416. Feminist Biblical Interpretation
Catalog Number: 3002
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Tu., 1–3, and a group meeting on Tu., at 12 or by arrangement. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
This course will give a basic introduction to the emerging field of feminist biblical studies by discussing different hermeneutical approaches, methods of interpretation, and theoretical perspectives. Special attention will be given to historical interpretation and the significance of feminist hermeneutics for contemporary theological reflection and education for ministry. Lectures, group discussions and presentations seek to foster a participatory style of learning.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 1504/2558.
Religion 1419. Jesus of Nazareth and the Gospels
Catalog Number: 9164
Mimi Bonz (Divinity School) and Helmut H. Koester (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Th., 3–5 and one hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
An investigation into the Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) and apocryphal early Christian Gospels (Gospel of Thomas, Dialogue of the Savior). The development of these Gospels and their traditions will be discussed as well as the “Quest for the Historical Jesus.”
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 1500.
Religion 1420. History of Ancient Christianity from the Beginnings to the 4th Century
Catalog Number: 2397
Karen L. King (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Tu., 3–5 and an hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
This course is designed to introduce students to the full range of the historical materials of ancient Christianity from the first to 4th centuries. Special emphasis will be given to setting out the diversity of Christian ideas and practices, the invention of orthodoxy, and the processes of Christian identity formation within the social and political context of the Roman empire.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 1260/2145.
Religion 1421. The Gospel of Luke
Catalog Number: 8662
François Bovon (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). F., 9–11 and one hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 2, 3
A literary, historical, and theological interpretation of some chapters of the Greek text of Luke’s Gospel. Exegetical discussion will focus on Luke’s style, art of composition, and sources, as well as his situation in the history of Christianity. Patristic and Reformation interpretations of Luke will be compared from time to time with the work of modern exegetes.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 1511.
Prerequisite: One and one half years of Greek.
[Religion 1422. The Epistle to the Romans]
Catalog Number: 1796
François Bovon (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Historical and theological exegesis of the English text (with separate section reading the Greek text). Emphasis will be put on the historical situation of the author and of the addressees, on the theological structure of the epistle, and on the Jewish roots of Paul’s arguments. Some aspects of Paul’s reception in the life of the Christian churches will be integrated into the course.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 1519.
Prerequisite: One and one half years of Greek.
[Religion 1423. Earliest Christologies of the New Testament]
Catalog Number: 8983
François Bovon (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
The course will discuss the earliest forms of christology and their history. Starting from the Jewish messianic expectations of the first century C.E., it will investigate the prophetic perspective of Jesus and christological concepts of the first Christian congregations. The last part of the course will deal with the New Testament authors Paul and John.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 1479.
Prerequisite: Introduction to the New Testament or equivalent.
[Religion 1424. The First Epistle to the Corinthians]
Catalog Number: 1514
François Bovon (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course will focus on Paul’s historical and theological argument through a careful reading of the Greek text. An attempt will be made to reconstruct the social setting of the first Christian community in Corinth. Course may be elected as the equivalent of the fourth semester of Greek.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered by the Divinity School as 1521
Prerequisite: One and one–half years of Greek.
Religion 1425. Theology of the New Testament
Catalog Number: 5275
François Bovon (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). F., 9–11 and one hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 2, 3
The variety and structural unity of early Christian faith as described particularly in Paul’s letters, the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John are considered in a historical perspective
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 1240.
Prerequisite: Introduction to the New Testament or the equivalent
[Religion 1426. Introduction to Ancient Christian Apocryphal Literature]
Catalog Number: 8930
François Bovon (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
This course will begin by exploring the field of non-canonical gospels, particularly Greek fragments of lost Gospels, then devote a longer time to the apocryphal acts of the apostles, particularly to the Acts of Philip, and conclude by reading the Apocalypse of Peter and the Apocalypse of Paul.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered by the Divinity School as 1270.
[Religion 1427. The Origins of Gnosticism and the Identity of Christianity]
Catalog Number: 3574
Karen L. King (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Over fifty years have passed since the discovery of the “Nag Hammadi Library” in 1945. Three years ago, publication of critical editions of the full corpus was completed. Now the task of assessing the meaning and significance of these and related materials is beginning in earnest. This course will introduce students to critical issues concerning the identity of Christianity, including the problem of the origins and definition of “Gnosticism” (if such a thing exists), describing the diversity of ancient Christianities, defining orthodoxy and heresy, and discussing practices of syncretism and discourse of anti-syncretism. It will also introduce students to the analysis of select primary literature, including The Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Mary, The Gospel of Truth, The Apocryphon of John, and The Hypostasis of the Archons.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 1700.
Prerequisite: Introduction to the New Testament or History of Ancient Christianity, or the equivalent.
Religion 1430. History of Western Christianity, 400–1300
Catalog Number: 1581
Clarissa W. Atkinson (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). M., W., at 11, and one hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 4
Church and society in western Europe from the fifth century through the thirteenth. Early and high medieval Christianity in social and cultural context, with attention to popular religious belief and behavior as well as to the institutional church and its leaders.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 2230.
Religion 1449. Reformation Europe
Catalog Number: 6852
Barbara Diefendorf (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 11 and an hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13
16th-century Europe witnessed a series of religious revolutions that permanently altered both the spiritual and material lives of its inhabitants. The task of this course is to examine both the causes and the nature of these revolutions in an effort to understand better how they impacted early modern Europe. Attention will be given both to ideas and institutions, significant persons and long-term trends.
Note: Offered by the Divnity School as 2245.
Religion 1450. Explorers and Missionaries: Seminar
Catalog Number: 8354 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Clarissa W. Atkinson (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). W., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
Exploration and early missions: European Christians in the New World in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Emphasis on continuities and changes in Western European Christianity produced by cultural encounters in the Americas in the early period of exploration and settlement.
Note: Previous work in the history of Christianity will be very helpful. Offered by the Divinity School as 2246.
[Religion 1465. Liberalism and Orthodoxy, 1600–1870]
Catalog Number: 0833
David D. Hall (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
The emergence of Unitarianism, Universalism, and Transcendental Perfectionism in the context of 17th century Puritanism, the impact of the Enlightenment, romanticism, moral and social reform and the meaning and uses of “domesticity.”
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2317.
Religion 1466. Practices of Piety: Studies in the History of Devotion, Worship, and Spirituality: Colloquium
Catalog Number: 1079
Barbara Diefendorf and David D. Hall (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Tu., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
Encompassing Catholic and Protestant practice from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, and dealing both with European and American materials, this readings and research colloquium addresses such topics as sacraments and sacramentals, asceticism and bodily mortification, mysticism and spirit possession, confraternities and youth groups, social discipline and religious instruction.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 2388.
Religion 1470. Introduction to Ethics
Catalog Number: 2884
Arthur J. Dyck (Public Health and Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). M., 5:30–7:20 p.m., and one hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 9
An introductory analysis of the major questions of ethics regarding the identification, justification, and attainment of what is moral for individuals and communities. Readings include classical and modern texts, both philosophical and theological, and acquaint the student with contemporary modes of moral reasoning.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2700.
Religion 1471. Human Rights
Catalog Number: 8564
Preston N. Williams (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Th., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
A examination of philosophical, theological, and political theories of human rights and their implementation by Christian churches and national governments. Emphasis will be placed upon the relation of theory to practice, the formations of action guidelines, and the ethical criteria for the evaluation of policy proposals. Case studies will be employed. Primarily constructive and comparative.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2740.
Religion 1472. The Ethical and Religious Thought of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Catalog Number: 8761
Preston N. Williams (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Tu., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
A study of the life, thought, and actions of Martin Luther King, Jr. An ethical analysis of his primary concepts, ideas, and strategies based upon a reading and discussion of his writings and their sources.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2721.
[Religion 1475. Christian Social Ethics: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 2905
Ralph B. Potter (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Introduction to the major alternative modes of thought and action by which Christians have sought to express concerns for social and political issues. Stress put on the social dimension of Christian ethics with attention to the behavioral sciences and philosophy. Historical, descriptive, and normative in character.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2711.
Religion 1476. Contemporary Religious Ethics
Catalog Number: 4361
Preston N. Williams (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Th., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
Selected readings in the moral theologies of contemporary Christian ethicists. Special attention given to the manner in which their theological presuppositions affect their modes of moral reasoning. Primarily comparative and constructive.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2716.
[*Religion 1477. Pentecostalism]
Catalog Number: 5792
Harvey G. Cox, Jr. (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Through class discussion and field visits the course explores the fastest growing religious movement in the world today; its appeal to poor and marginalized people; the role of women, its history and theology, healing and glossalalia; and the emergence of a pentecostal social theology.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered with the Divinity School as 2495.
[Religion 1479. Voices in Liberation Theology]
Catalog Number: 0418
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Growing out of biblical and prophetic sources, liberation theology has appeared in the 20th century especially among poor and marginalized peoples. This course will introduce this vigorous movement through the writings and activities of the people who have shaped it, such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Mohandas Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Gustavo Gutierrez, Martin Luther King, Jr., Bishop Oscar Romero, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Leonardo Boff, and Bishop Samuel Ruiz.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2484.
[*Religion 1481. Current Topics in Latin American Religion and Theology: Advanced Seminar]
Catalog Number: 0592 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Recent developments in liberation theology, the rise of evangelical and pentecostal movements, religious responses to civilian rule and cultural dislocation.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2487.
Prerequisite: Some previous work in Liberation Theology and a reading knowledge of Spanish.
Religion 1489. Contemporary Interpretations of Jesus
Catalog Number: 6437
Harvey G. Cox, Jr. (Divinity School) and Allen D. Callahan (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Tu., 1–3, and one hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
Beginning with the narratives of the life of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), this course covers four current efforts to reclaim his significance: 1) the new search for the “historical Jesus,” especially the Jesus Seminar and its critics; 2) emerging Asian, African, and Latin-American Christian views of Jesus; 3) recent interpretations of Jesus in such non-Christian faiths as Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism; and 4) images of Jesus in music, film, and literature.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2483.
Religion 1490. Feminist Theology as Systematics: A Critical Survey
Catalog Number: 3223
Sarah Coakley (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 1 and one hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 15
This course surveys some of the best work on feminism and Christianity to date, and analyzes its effect on the contemporary task of systematic theology. A course suitable for both those with no previous knowledge of feminist theology, and for those with a good background in this field, the early lectures give some telling examples of how feminist insights have shifted the ground of discussion in biblical exegesis, in patristics, and in medieval church history and spirituality. We shall also look briefly at the construction of ideas of “femininity” in Enlightenment philosophy and theology, which provides the historical backcloth against which a range of contemporary feminist theologies (both Christian and post-Christian) may be discussed and analyzed in later lectures.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2436.
[Religion 1491. Themes in Christian “Spirituality”: Theories of Prayer, Self and Gender]
Catalog Number: 3824
Sarah Coakley (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
“Spirituality” and “mysticism” are both relatively modern words; we shall start by peeling back some misunderstandings that may attend them. Thereafter, the course will be strongly text-based. We shall begin by comparing Jesus on “prayer” and Plato on “contemplation,” and move from there to a number of distinctive theories of “prayer,” “meditation,” and “contemplation” in the Christian tradition (both East and West), and analyze how the discussion of prayer-practice is interwoven with presumptions about the nature of the (gendered) self. We shall be especially concerned with the way the Platonic and neo-Platonic traditions have been assimilated into Christian “spirituality.”
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2439.
Religion 1492. Introduction to Christian Theology
Catalog Number: 2161
Sarah Coakley (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 1, plus one hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 15
A basic course for beginning students which will analyze different approaches to Christian theology as evident in classic, modern, and contemporary theological texts.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2401.
Religion 1493. Contemporary Roman Catholic Theology
Catalog Number: 6926
Francis Fiorenza (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). W., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
A survey of contemporary Roman Catholic theology that discusses issues in the interpretations of God, Jesus, and the church with reference to theological method. The broad spectrum of present-day Roman Catholic theology will be covered through an analysis of diverse theologians and approaches: existential, transcendental, liberationist, feminist, analytical, and hermeneutical.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2479.
[Religion 1495. Introduction to Theological Thinking]
Catalog Number: 5154
David Lamberth (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
A basic survey of a variety of approaches to theology through considering major works of significant figures. We will ask such questions as: What is the nature of theology for each author? How does she or he ask and respond to theological questions? What is distinctive and influential about his or her view of theology? Through this examination we will also be concerned more generally with the question of what theological thinking is today and what its relation is to other fields of inquiry. Authors will be drawn from the early medieval to the to the contemporary periods.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02. Offered by the Divinity School as 2402.
Religion 1496. Light in the Darkness: Religious Faith and Secular Values in Contemporary Anglo-American Cinema
Catalog Number: 6783
Eugene McAfee
Half course (spring term). Th., 3–5; M., 7:30–10:30 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
A systematic study of the representation of religion and values in contemporary Anglo-American film. The course will examine the cinematic depiction of (a) “religion,” a worldview held by individuals who feel increasingly marginalized in modern Anglo-American society, and (b) the values which currently occupy pride of place in public discourse: the distribution and exercise of power, socioeconomic class consciousness, ethnic identity, and relations within and between the sexes, including the family. Films screened in the past have included The Last Temptation of Christ, Romero, Chariots of Fire, Priest, Pulp Fiction, My Beautiful Laundrette, and Taxi Driver.
[Religion 2469. Ernst Troeltsch: Social Theorist, Philosopher of History, Theologian: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 8632 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Sarah Coakley (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar will discuss some of the major influential writings of Ernst Troeltsch (1865–1923), setting him in the context of his own day and assessing his relevance for contemporary theology.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Not open to undergraduates. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2648.
Prerequisite: Graduate work in theology or philosophy.
[Religion 2477. God]
Catalog Number: 8838 Enrollment: Limited to 12
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
An analysis of select 20th-century theologians in their approach to the issue of the knowledge of God and in their intrepretations of the nature of God.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2634.
[Religion 2492. Christology: Ancient, Modern, and Contemporary: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 8450 Enrollment: Limited to 12
Sarah Coakley (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar will offer: an examination of formative christological developments in the patristic period, focusing on interpretational problems with the Definition of Chalcedon (451); an analysis of the fate of Antiochene/Alexandrian emphases in christology including a discussion of various understandings of “communications of idiom” in Greek, Scholastic, and Protestant thought; consideration of post-Enlightenment and contemporary assessments of Chalcedonianism including recent feminist and liberationist reappraisals.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2643.
Prerequisite: Graduate work in theology or philosophy.
*Religion 3490. Colloquium in Theology
Catalog Number: 6295
Francis Fiorenza (Divinity School) 2735
Half course (throughout the year). W., 3–5.
This seminar is a principal vehicle of doctoral studies in theology, intended for Th.D. and Ph.D. candidates preparing for general examinations. All faculty members of the department as well as advanced doctoral students are invited. Central figures and recurrent problems in Christian theology and philosophy of religion are considered. The colloquium is required of doctoral students during the first two years of residency. It meets weekly during the fall semester and once every three weeks during the spring. During the 1999-2000 academic year the colloquium will be conducted by Francis Schussler Fiorenza. It will deal with the work of Paul Ricoeur and Emmanuel Levinas with emphasis upon their interpretations of transcendence and the human person as well as upon their methodological approaches. In the spring, discussion will revolve around the work in progress of doctoral students, invited guests, and faculty.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2696.
Religion 1504. Religion in America: From the Coming of the Europeans to the 1870s
Catalog Number: 2509
David D. Hall (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). M., W., at 10, plus hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 3
Encompassing both “mainstream” and insurgent, “popular” or “new” forms of religion (e.g., the Society of Friends, Mormonism, African-American Protestantism), this survey course deals with the history of Christian thought; changing patterns of religious practice in relation, especially to gender; and religion and society in the context of the regulating and/or liberating “reform” movements of the nineteenth century.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2303.
*Religion 1506. Interpretations of American Religious History: Seminar
Catalog Number: 8344 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
William R. Hutchison (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Th., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
An examination of the literature of scholarship, with special reference to topics on which new or revisionist interpretations have recently been published.
Note: Presupposes basic knowledge of American religious history but participants who wish to do so may pursue research topics in comparative history. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2343.
[Religion 1515. Religion and Culture in 19th-Century America and Europe: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 4488 Enrollment: Limited to 20.
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Encompassing the “Victorian” period (c.1830–1890) and such themes or ideas as: liberalism (laissez faire) and its critics; the idea of culture; medievalism, agnosticism, and the renewal of orthodoxy; the origins of the social sciences; and the social history of intellectuals. Materials drawn from British and American sources.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2320.
[Religion 1517. The Spirit of American Religious Thought and Philosophy]
Catalog Number: 8858
David Lamberth (Divinity School) and Richard R. Niebuhr (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Concentrates on such important authors in the formative development of American religious thought and philosophy as Jonathan Edwards, William Ellery Channing, Ralph Waldo Emerson, C.S. Peirce, William James, and Josiah Royce.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2551.
Prerequisite: Graduate level work in Theology or Philosophy.
[Religion 1520. Introduction to Hermeneutics]
Catalog Number: 6184
Francis Fiorenza (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
General introduction to hermeneutical theory. A survey of the development from classical to modern and contemporary hermeneutics. Examines the influence of contemporary hermeneutical theory upon (1) the interpretation of biblical texts, (2) the conception of theology, and (3) the explication of key theological categories such as revelation, experience, method, foundations, classics, community, and emancipatory practice.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2410.
[Religion 1525. Radical Movements in Modern America]
Catalog Number: 3935
David D. Hall (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
A survey and close analysis of radical movements in 20th-century America, with particular attention to the problem of means and ends as it has been posed within the Old Left (Socialist and Communist) and the New (Students for a Democratic Society), within movements to confront war and racism (pacifism, nonviolence, and SNCC), and within anarchist and Christian perfectionist communities (e.g., the Catholic Workers).
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2302.
Religion 1530r. Religious Values and Cultural Conflict: Seminar
Catalog Number: 6858
Harvey G. Cox, Jr. (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Tu., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
By reading and reflecting on a number of recent novels, both their content and the reception they received, we will examine how conflicting theological, cultural and ethical values are expressed in this medium. Among the works we will consider are Charming Billy by Alice McDermott, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, The Beauty of the Lilies by John Updike, The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman, Satanic Verses by Salmon Rushdie, This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti, Demascus Gate by Robert Stone, The Jewish War by Tova Reich, and Amsterdam by Ian McEwan.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2504.
Religion 1535. Theology and Power: Seminar
Catalog Number: 8857 Enrollment: Limited to 12
Francis Fiorenza (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Tu., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
An exploration of the diverse understandings of power within classical and recent social and theological thought. Transitions in the understanding of power with contemporary critical theory, feminist theology, and post-colonial theory will be discussed. Among the authors described: Weber, Lukes, Dahl, Foucault, Arendt, Habermas, Tillich, Rahner, Boff, West, Cobb, Butler, and Young.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 2633.
Religion 1536. Theology and Culture
Catalog Number: 1908 Enrollment: Limited to 30
Francis Fiorenza (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Tu., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
This course will discuss the various modern theological interpretations of the relation between religion and culture in general and Christianity and culture in particular. The lectures and discussion will deal with the following authors: Weber, Troeltsch, Niebuhr, Barth, Tillich, Bellah, Berger, Habermas, Moltmann, Metz, Segundo, West.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 2630.
[Religion 1541. Kant and Kierkegaard]
Catalog Number: 7694 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
David Lamberth (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
A close reading of selected major works of Kant and Kierkegaard. The seminar will focus on issues such as the nature and limits of reason, the concepts of freedom and morality, and the relationship between reason and faith.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02. Offered by the Divinity School as 2670.
Religion 1543. Modern Theology I: Modern Theology and the Critique of Religion
Catalog Number: 6386
David Lamberth (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1, and one hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13, 14
In this course we will consider the formative development of modern theology (primarily continental) in the context of the principal philosophical and social critiques of religion in the nineteenth century. Topics will include human nature and society, the developing understanding of religion, the relationship of humanity to the divine, the possibility and character of religious knowledge, and the impact of developing understandings of the social, of history, and of historicity. Authors considered may include Kant, Schleiermacher, Hegel, Feuerbach, Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Harnack, Troeltsch, and Rauschenbusch.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2431.
Prerequisite: Previous work in Theology or Philosophy.
[Religion 1546. Religion and the American Pragmatic Tradition: Seminar ]
Catalog Number: 6273 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
David Lamberth (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
The seminar will begin with a consideration of the formative contributions of Peirce, James and Dewey, moving on to look at the renaissance of pragmatism in such authors as Rorty, Putnam, West, Seigfried, Chopp, Davaney and Anderson. We will focus especially on the distinctively American character of the project of pragmatism taken broadly exploring its diversity and continuity in the context of American religion and culture.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2671.
Religion 1547. Modern Theology II: Modern Theology and the Ends of Modernity
Catalog Number: 7008
David Lamberth (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1, and one hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13, 14
A thematic continuation of 2431, this course will consider developments within twentieth century modern theology, focusing in particular on the internalization and development of forms of critique that were principally external to theology and religion in the nineteenth century. Beginning with the socially critical developments in kerygmatic theology, we will analyze and trace the influence of critical thought within theology through the twentieth century, paying particular attention in the second half of the course to the emergence of feminist and black liberation theologies in the United States. In the final weeks we will evaluate selected developments in postmodern thought in light of this tradition of theological reflection.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 2433.
Prerequisite: 2431 or the equivalent.
Religion 1548. Religion and the Performing Arts: The Case of American Modern Dance: Seminar
Catalog Number: 3603 Enrollment: Limited to 15. Preference given to concentrators.
Kimerer LaMothe
Half course (fall term). M., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
Can categories of religious studies—such as ritual, practice, play, performance—help us understand the impact of contemporary performing arts on artists and audiences alike? What is the relationship between religion and art? Between the sacred and the beautiful? Beginning with an exploration of some theoretical perspectives on religion and the performing arts (e.g., Nietzsche, Kandinsky, Artaud; the Turners, Schechner, Blacking, and Hanna), this seminar will examine the case of American modern dance. We will examine claims made for dance by artists, critics, and scholars alike, and assess the usefulness of religious studies in explaining the power of nonverbal aesthetic experience.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2000–01. Field trips dependent on local concert schedules. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2445.
Prerequisite: One course in the modern West.
Religion 2540. Circumscribing a Discipline: Theology and the Philosophy of Religion: Seminar
Catalog Number: 4141 Enrollment: Limited to 12
Half course (spring term). W., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
In the contemporary academy, philosophy of religion is regularly treated as a separate enterprise from theological study. This seminar will be concerned with two central questions, one genealogical and the other critical and conceptual: 1) What are the conditions (conceptual, academic, historical) under which the philosophy of religion emerged as its own field in the development of Western thought? and 2) To what extent is it justifiable and valuable from theological or philosophical perspectives to consider the philosophy of religion as separate from theology (and vice versa)? Readings will include pivotal primary texts as well as historical treatments, and will consider both European and American developments. Seminar participants will be expected to conduct primary research on some aspect of the seminar topic, and to present their work to the seminar at the end of the term.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 2672.
Prerequisite: Advanced work in the theology or philosophy of religion.
Religion 2545. Religion and Social Theory: Seminar
Catalog Number: 2728
David Little (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Th., 9–11. EXAM GROUP: 11, 12
The special focus of this course will be the writings of Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch, together with the reactions of their critics and defenders. Relevance to current topics of concern, such as “secularization,” “religious nationalism,” and “cultural relativism” will be examined. Some attention will be devoted to the “theoretical reference points” of these thinkers, such as Marx, Nietzsche, and Dilthey.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 2813.
Religion 2550. Women and Religion in Contemporary America: Seminar
Catalog Number: 8927 Enrollment: Limited.
Ann D. Braude (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Th., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
Post World War II America has witnessed dramatic changes in the roles and experience of women, as well as significant shifts in the role of religion in shaping public values, personal identity, and group affiliations. This course will examine the points of intersection between these two fundamental shifts in American social life across a spectrum of religious communities. We will survey responses to the changing roles of women both among groups that have embraced feminism and among those that view feminism as antithetical to religious values. We will explore debates and concerns leading to the ordination of women, the revision of prayer books, liturgies, language and policies, as well as debates and initiatives leading to the reassertion of traditional gender roles or to new models of family based on male headship.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 2328.
*Religion 3505hf. Colloquium in American Religious History
Catalog Number: 6445 Enrollment: Limited to 25
William R. Hutchison (Divinity School) 4061 (on leave fall term) and David D. Hall (Divinity School) 2510
Half course (throughout the year). Alternate Tu., 7:30–9:30 p.m.
Presentation and discussion of the research of doctoral candidates in American religious history.
Note: Open, with instructor’s permission, to doctoral students in other fields of religious studies or American studies. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2390.
[*Religion 1585. Islam in South Asia: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 2741 Enrollment: Limited to 15
Ali S. Asani
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
A survey of Islamic civilization in the Indian subcontinent focusing on an exploration of Islamic identity. Issues and themes salient to Islamic identity considered within religious and political contexts, as well as the broader context of South Asian culture as expressed in language, literature, and the arts. Also examines the uses of the term “Islamic” in various pre-modern and modern discourses in South Asia.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3884.
Prerequisite: Introductory course in Islam or or equivalent.
Religion 1610. Hindu Gurus in the West
Catalog Number: 5561
Edwin Bryant
Half course (fall term). Tu., 3–5, and one hour to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
This course will focus on the phenomenon of the various Hindu religious traditions that have taken root in Western soil attracting significant membership amongst non–South Asians. The lives and teachings of personalities such as Guru Mayi, Aurobindo, Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, Sivananda, Paramahamsa Yogananda and others will be considered. Additional readings will be drawn from the classical texts that each guru claims to represent – Kashmir Saivism, the Vedic hymns, the Bhagavat Purana, the Upanisads, the Yoga Sutras, etc – with a view to examining issues of innovation and preservation.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 3431.
Religion 1611. Krishna: God as Erotic Lover and Mischief Maker
Catalog Number: 4662
Edwin Bryant
Half course (spring term). W., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
This course will focus on Krishna, one of the most prominent figures of the Hindu religious landscape. Understood as the Supreme God by his devotees, the childhood pranks of this Divinity, as well as his erotic affairs with his female devotees, have captivated the hearts, minds and devotion of generations of Hindus. This course will examine the theology of Krishna, as well as his depiction in the various literary and poetic texts that feature him. Attention to rasa theory, an analysis of the various moods in which the devotee can approach God as a lover, child, friend or master.
Note: Offered by the Divinity School as 3430.
[Religion 1612. Krishna: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 7348 Enrollment: Limited to 15
Edwin Bryant
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
This course will focus on Krishna, one of India’s most popular deities, looking at his various roles as pastoralist, child, lover, warrior, diplomat, teacher, and supreme God. Krishna will be studied chronologically through the principal Sanskrit sources that feature him. Consideration of 16th century theological traditions and popular devotional poetry. Attention to the introduction of Krishna in the West, and to the portrayal of this deity in art, iconography, and electronic media.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. No prior knowledge of Hinduism required. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3833.
[Religion 1613. Indian Theism: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 7815 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Edwin Bryant
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course examines the rich traditions of theistic Hindu thought that have been widespread and historically influential throughout the Indian subcontinent, but are generally less well-known than Shankara’s monistic Vedanta. Consideration of the theistic passages of the Vedas and Upanishads and the relation of theism to the six principal philosophical schools — Nyaya, Vaisesika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, and Vedanta. Primary focus on the philosophy of the devotional bhakti schools of the last millennium.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01.
[Religion 1614. The Bhagavad Gita]
Catalog Number: 8221
Edwin Bryant
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
The Bhagavad Gita is one of the best-known texts of the Hindu tradition. Incorporating elements from the oldest Vedas, concepts from the Upanishads, and features from the classical schools of Yoga, Sankhya, and Vedanta, the text serves as a base to overview much that has come to be known as Hinduism. Reading of the entire text, with special attention to a wide variety of different commentaries, ancient and modern. Consideration of the role of the text in European Romanticism, Indian nationalism, and Western neo-Hindu religious movements.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. No prior knowledge of Hinduism required. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3453.
[Religion 1615r. Philosophies of India]
Catalog Number: 9345
Edwin Bryant
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course will evaluate some of the principal philosophical schools of India. It will start with the earliest Vedic and Upanisadic texts, examine the six principal philosophical schools of Hindu orthodoxy—Nyaya, Vaisesika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, and Vedanta—and consider the principal heterodox schools of Buddhism, Jainism, and Carvaka. The aim of the course is to overview the main categories of Indic thought over the centuries. Attention to the interaction and disagreements amongst these schools, as well as to their historical development.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. No prior knowledge of Hinduism required. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3427.
[Religion 1616. The Yoga of Devotion: A Reading of a Hindu Theological Text]
Catalog Number: 8731
Edwin Bryant
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
The Bhagavata Purana has long been one of the best loved texts in India, and is today considered by millions of Hindus to be the most important exposition of bhakti yoga, the religion of love, devotion, and surrender to a personal God. Introducing itself as the ripened fruit of all Hindu literature, the text has provided some of the primary themes and stories that have inspired Indian drama, iconography, music, literature, and art for centuries. The course will primarily consist of a careful reading of the complete text.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. No prior knowledge of Hinduism required. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3428.
[Religion 1630. Bhakti: Hindu Devotional Movements]
Catalog Number: 8707
John B. Carman (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course will present an historical overview of Hindu devotional traditions in South India, Maharashtra, Gujarat, North India, and Bengal, including poetry in translation, sacred biographies of men and women saints, and philosophical systems of different sects.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3444.
[Religion 1720. Buddhist Ethics: Proseminar]
Catalog Number: 3961
Charles Hallisey
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
A systematic exploration of the place of ethics and moral reasoning in Buddhist thought and practice. The scope of the course is wide, with examples drawn from the whole Buddhist world, but emphasis is on the particularity of different Buddhist visions of the ideal human life. Attention given to the problems of the proper description of Buddhist ethics in a comparative perspective.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3503.
Religion 1721. Buddhist Views of Suffering: Seminar
Catalog Number: 9894 Enrollment: Limited to 12, preference will be given to undergraduates.
Charles Hallisey
Half course (spring term). Th., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
The Buddha said, “I teach one thing and one thing only: suffering and the ending of suffering.” This seminar will consider Buddhist views of suffering from a variety of angles in Buddhist thought and practice with an aim of exploring not only what can be learned about Buddhist views of suffering but also what can be learned from them.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3861.
Prerequisite: At least one course in the study of Buddhism or instructor’s permission.
[Religion 1725. Buddhism and Social Change: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 4517 Enrollment: Limited to 15
Christopher S. Queen
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
A survey of Buddhist social teachings, this course examines the evolution of central concepts (impermanence, selflessness, suffering), ethical styles (discipline, virtue, altruism, engagement), and themes (peace, justice, gender, ecology) in Asia and the West. Representative figures and movements in the rise of socially engaged Buddhism since the 19th century will be considered.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3853.
Prerequisite: Previous study of Buddhism desirable.
Religion 1726. Buddhism in America: Seminar
Catalog Number: 4292 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Christopher S. Queen
Half course (fall term). Th., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
The transmission of Buddhist teachings and institutions to the West. A survey of Buddist thinkers and movements since the 19th century, with primary attention to America: immigrant Buddhist communities, Transcendentalists and Theosophists, Pragmatist and Process philosophers, the “beat” generation, and recent Zen, Tibetan, and Theravada developments. Topics for discussion and research include tradition and transformation, socially engaged Buddhism and environmentalism, feminism, peace activism, and the dialogue with other faiths.
Note: Separate requirements for undergraduate and graduate students. Knowledge of Asian Buddhism is desirable. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3851.
*Religion 3001. Reading and Research
Catalog Number: 7954
Margaret Alexiou 1214 (on leave spring term), Ali S. Asani 7739, Clarissa W. Atkinson (Divinity School) 3101, François Bovon (Divinity School) 3551, Edwin Bryant 3610, John B. Carman (Divinity School) 1284, Harvey G. Cox, Jr. (Divinity School) 3479, Arthur J. Dyck (Public Health and Divinity School) 1670, Diana L. Eck 4514, James Engell 8076, Francis Fiorenza (Divinity School) 2735, William A. Graham, Jr. 4156, David D. Hall (Divinity School) 2510, Charles Hallisey 3032, Paul D. Hanson (Divinity School) 1394, Jay M. Harris 2266 (on leave fall term), Albert Henrichs 4085, William R. Hutchison (Divinity School) 4061 (on leave fall term), Helmut H. Koester (Divinity School) 3477, James L. Kugel 7575 (on leave spring term), David Lamberth (Divinity School) 3714, Jon D. Levenson (Divinity School) 2264 (on leave 1999-00), David Little (Divinity School) 2793, Peter Machinist 2812, Francisco Márquez 5064, Everett I. Mendelsohn 2700, David Gordon Mitten 1290, Roy Mottahedeh 1454 (on leave fall term), Richard R. Niebuhr (Divinity School) 2183, Kimberley C. Patton (Divinity School) 3306, Ralph B. Potter (Divinity School) 1046 (on leave spring term), Hilary Putnam 2838, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza (Divinity School) 3193 (on leave spring term), Lawrence E. Sullivan (Divinity School) 2653, Stanley J. Tambiah 4692 (on leave 1999-00), Ronald Thiemann (Divinity School) 3395 (on leave 1999-00), Wei-Ming Tu 7233, Cornel West 1212, and Preston N. Williams (Divinity School) 3153
Note: and others authorized by the Chair.
*Religion 3002. Foreign Language Certification
Catalog Number: 4791
Members of the Committee
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Reading and research conducted in a specific foreign language, normally French or German, to satisfy the modern language reading proficiency requirement for Ph.D. students in the Study of Religion.
Note: Limited to Ph.D. candidates who receive written permission from the Committee’s Director of Ph.D. Studies.