2021-2022 University Catalog archived
Course Descriptions
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Politics |
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POL 384 - Seminar in Middle Eastern Politics
FDR: SS2
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: POL 105 or instructor consent. This course examines contemporary politics in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Topics include the role of colonial legacies in state formation, the region’s democratic deficit, nationalism, sectarianism, and the influence of religion in politics. We explore inter- and intrastate conflict, including the use of terrorism, economic development and underdevelopment, and the recent Arab uprisings (commonly referred to as the Arab Spring). Throughout, we consider why the Middle East attracts as much attention from policymakers and scholars as it does, how analysts have studied the region across time and space, and why understanding different cultural perspectives is critical to understanding the region. Cantey.
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POL 385 - Seminar: Freedom
FDR: SS2
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: POL 111. An examination of differing conceptions of political and individual freedom in the modern world. We explore the political thought of thinkers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, Friedrich Nietzsche, Michel Foucault, and Emma Goldman. Students analyze the meaning of freedom through novels and/or short stories, including the work of authors such as Jonathan Franzen and Franz Kafka. Key questions include the meaning and ends of freedom, its conditions, and connections between personal and political articulations of freedom. Gray.
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POL 388 - Architecture of Urban Community
FDR: SS2
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: a 100-level Politics course or instructor consent. This seminar investigates the literal and social architecture of democratic community in cities around the globe, examining how the physical spaces and political and economic power structures of urban life support or constrain the civic relationships of residents of varying backgrounds and unequal socioeconomic positions, shaping citizens’ opportunities for collective empowerment and self-determination. Course addresses issues of poverty, exclusion, and environmental limits. LeBlanc.
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POL 392 - Seminar in Asian Politics
FDR: SS2
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Vary with topic. A topical seminar focusing on Chinese politics, other Asian countries, or selected subjects in Asian politics. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
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POL 396 - Seminar in Political Philosophy
FDR: SS2
Credits: 3 in fall and winter, 4 in spring
Prerequisite: POL 111 or instructor consent. An examination of selected questions and problems in political philosophy and/or political theory. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
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POL 401 - Directed Individual Study
Credits: 1
Prerequisites: Grade-point average of 3.000 in politics and permission of the instructor. This course permits a student to follow a program of directed reading, library research, or data collection and analysis in some area not covered in other courses. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Staff.
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POL 403 - Directed Individual Study
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Grade-point average of 3.000 in politics and instructor consent. This course permits a student to follow a program of directed reading, library research, or data collection and analysis in some area not covered in other courses. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
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POL 453 - Internship
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Grade-point average of 3.000 in politics and 3.000 overall, and permission of the instructor. Supervised off-campus experience in a governmental agency or political institution. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. May be carried out during the summer. Connelly.
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POL 456 - Internship
Credits: 6
Prerequisites: Grade-point average of 3.000 in politics and 3.000 overall, and permission of the instructor. Supervised off-campus experience in a governmental agency or political institution. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. May be carried out during the summer. Connelly.
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POL 466 - Washington Term Program
Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 6
Prerequisites: Grade-point average of 3.000 overall and in politics courses; POL 100, 105, or 111. Competitive selection process each October. The Washington Term Program aims to enlarge students’ understanding of national politics and governance. Combining academic study with practical experience in the setting of a government office, think tank, or other organization in Washington, it affords deeper insight into the processes and problems of government at the national level. A member of the politics faculty is the resident director, supervising students enrolled in this program while they are in Washington, D.C. Alexander.
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POL 493 - Honors Thesis
Credits: 3-3
Prerequisites: Grade-point average of 3.300 overall and 3.500 in politics major. Honors Thesis.
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Portuguese |
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PORT 113 - Accelerated Elementary Portuguese
Credits: 4
Prerequisite: Romance Language placement into FREN 161 or SPAN
161 or higher, or by instructor consent for students with prior experience in Portuguese. An accelerated course in elementary Portuguese emphasizing grammar and the skills of speaking, writing, reading, and listening comprehension and meeting five days per week. Pinto-Bailey.
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PORT 163 - Accelerated Intermediate Portuguese
FDR: FL
Credits: 4
Prerequisite: PORT 113 or equivalent. This course develops intermediate communicative Portuguese vocabulary and active intermediate competence in the language. The traditional skills of world-language instruction (structure, listening comprehension, reading, writing, and speaking) are stressed. This course meets five days per week. Pinto-Bailey.
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PORT 261 - Advanced Conversation and Composition
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: PORT 163 or equivalent. Further development of conversational skills and beginning work in free composition, with systematic grammar review and word study in various relevant cultural contexts. Pinto-Bailey.
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PORT 295 - Topics in Brazilian Culture
Credits: 3
A second-year topics course focusing on issues and texts related to Portuguese literature and culture. All discussion, writing, and exercises are in Portuguese. May be repeated for degree credit with permission and if the topics are different.
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PORT 401 - Directed Individual Study
Credits: 1
Prerequisites: Two terms of Portuguese language or equivalent and consent of the department head. Taught in Portuguese. The nature and content of the course is determined by the students’ needs and by an evaluation of previous work. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Staff.
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PORT 402 - Directed Individual Study
Credits: 2
Prerequisites: Two terms of Portuguese language or equivalent and consent of the department head. Taught in Portuguese. The nature and content of the course is determined by the students’ needs and by an evaluation of previous work. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Staff.
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PORT 403 - Directed Individual Study
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Two terms of Portuguese language or equivalent and consent of the department head. Taught in Portuguese. The nature and content of the course is determined by the students’ needs and by an evaluation of previous work. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Staff.
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Poverty and Human Capability Studies |
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POV 101 - Poverty and Human Capability: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An exploration of the nature, scope, causes, effects and possible remedies for poverty as a social, moral, political and policy, economic, legal, psychological, religious, and biological problem. The course focuses on domestic poverty but also considers poverty as a global problem. Pickett, Staff.
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POV 102 - Introduction to Community-Based Poverty Studies
Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 1
Prerequisites: Prerequisite or corequisite: POV 101. Not eligible for POV 102 if POV 103 completed. Sustained critical reflection on pivotal issues in poverty studies based on supervised volunteer work, journals, and weekly discussions and papers related to the readings in 101. Pickett, Staff.
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POV 103 - Poverty and Human Capability: An Interdisciplinary Introduction and Fieldwork
FDR: HU
Experiential Learning (EXP): YES
Credits: 3
Students may not take for degree credit both this course and POV 101 and 102. An exploration of the nature, scope, causes, effects, and possible remedies for poverty as a social, moral, political and policy, economic, legal, psychological, religious, and biological problem. The course focuses on domestic poverty in the United States but also considers poverty as a global problem. This spring term version of the course integrates service fieldwork into the introductory course taught in the fall and winter and offers the same credit as POV 101 and 102 combined. Pickett, Staff.
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POV 191 - Blue Ridge Mile Clinic
Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: POV 101 This community-based learning course provides students with the preparation, instruction, reflection, and collaboration necessary to become respectful and effective student leaders in the Blue Ridge Mile Clinic, a collaboration with Virginia’s Drive to Work Program and the local courts. Participants will gain an in-depth understanding of the systemic and unique individual challenges facing some of our local community members in the process of re-instating or obtaining a driver’s license following an encounter with the court system. Elrod, Pickett.
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POV 197 - Bonner Program
Experiential Learning (EXP): YES
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. This course is offered to members of the Bonner Program at Washington and Lee and provides structured learning activities related to students’ local internships and related leadership training. Students commit to 8-10 hours of service per week through this internship model. May be repeated for up to 8 credits toward the degree. Charley.
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POV 202 - Respect, Community, and the Civic Life
Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: POV 101 and instructor consent. This course facilitates improved student understanding of the important intersections of community engagement, respect, and deepening conceptions of the civic life, and focuses on intentional synthesis of students’ community engagement and community-based learning experiences (including POV 102, POV 453, and other discipline-based and co-curricular opportunities). Students consider what it means to live in community with others and explore topics of respect and responsibility on individual, institutional, and global scales in ways that unite their own experiences and questions with continued examination of the problems associated with poverty and marginality. A variety of perspectives are provided on what it means to live into the mission of Washington and Lee and the Shepherd Program as thoughtful, engaged citizens prepared to understand and address the causes and consequences of poverty in ways that respect the dignity of all. Students in this course engage in significant reflective work around their own community engagement experiences. As such, it is the expectation that all students enrolled engage in the Rockbridge Area through coursework, continuing community engagement, or other community-based learning opportunity. Charley.
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POV 232 - Race, Class, and Education Policy
FDR: SS4
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: POV 101 or EDUC 200. The course is an interdisciplinary examination of education policy questions that are of particular importance to understanding and addressing barriers to equitable opportunity for historically disadvantaged groups. The course focuses primarily on barriers for those in the United States who experience poverty as well as the distinct experiences of Black, Latino/a, and Native American peoples. Drawing on perspectives from experts in disciplines such as economics, sociology, education, and demography, the course examines issues in K-12 and post-secondary education. Through discussion, written assignments, and oral presentations, the course will promote further development of your ability to analyze and critique apply policy analysis to public policy debates. Diette.
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POV 241 - Poverty, Ethics, and Religion
(PHIL 241) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course introduces students to some of the most influential and compelling ethical arguments (both secular and religious) about our moral obligations regarding poverty. The course also examines the benefits and challenges of doing comparative religious and philosophical ethical analysis of a pressing moral and social problem. In particular, students will consider the arguments for and against including religiously inflected arguments in public deliberation about anti-poverty policy. Pickett
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POV 243 - Martin Luther King Jr.: Poverty, Justice, and Love
(PHIL 243) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course offers students the opportunity to examine the ethics and theology that informed the public arguments about poverty made by one of the 20th century’s most important social justice theorists and activists, Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the competing views of his contemporaries, critics, forebears, and heirs. The course asks the following questions, among others: How do justice and love relate to one another and to poverty reduction? What role should religion play in public discussions and policies about poverty and justice? Are the dignity and the beloved community King championed the proper goal of anti-poverty efforts? Pickett.
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POV 245 - Poverty, Dignity, and Human Rights
(PHIL 245) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Is severe poverty a human rights violation? This course examines that question and others by means of an investigation of the main philosophical and religious debates about human rights. More broadly, the course provides students with the opportunity to examine our duties (individually and collectively) to those said to suffer from any human rights abuse. Questions considered include: Are human rights universal or culturally specific? What (if anything) grounds human rights? Are religious justifications of rights permissible in a pluralistic world? Is dignity a useful concept for defending and/or discerning human rights? Do we only have liberty rights (to be free of mistreatment) or do we also have welfare rights (to claim certain positive treatment from others)? What are the practical (moral, political. and legal) implications of identifying severe poverty as a human rights violation? Pickett.
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POV 247 - Medicine, Research, and Poverty
(PHIL 247) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This seminar introduces students to central ethical issues in the provision of medical care and the conduct of medical research in the context of poverty. Specific topics include medical research on prisoners and the indigent; ancillary care obligations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); meeting the standard of care in LMICs; access to essential medicines; allocation of scarce medical resources; and compensated donation for organs or tissues. Taylor.
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POV 249 - Poverty, Oppression, and Privilege
(PHIL 249) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This seminar asks one overarching question: Are the increasingly common - and contested - concepts of “oppression” and “privilege” useful in poverty studies and in the pursuit of justice? Along the way, we consider the following more specific questions: Is poverty a form of oppression? Is systemic disadvantage always oppressive or is it sometimes justifiable? What is the relationship between privilege and moral responsibility? Is privilege blameworthy? Do the privileged have distinct responsibilities to advocate for the just treatment of the disadvantaged? For that matter, do the oppressed have their own distinct responsibilities or would such a burden be an additional form of oppression? Is advocating for the disadvantaged privileged and (sometimes) oppressive? If so, is failing to advocate even worse? Who is responsible for the pursuit of justice and what, if anything, should be done? Pickett.
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POV 253 - Narrating Our Stories: Culture, Society, and Identity
(SOAN 253) FDR: SS4
Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 3
Taught at Augusta Correctional Center with an equal number of W&L and incarcerated students. Use insights from sociology, anthropology, and the humanities, students uncover how cultural metaphors, socioeconomic inequalities, and global realities inform and shape our identities and experiences. By reading different story-telling formats, we work towards recognizing how the ways we tell our stories impact our ability to see new outcomes and reshape cultural scenarios for ourselves, our families, and our communities. We utilize the Inside-Out Model for class instruction and assignments. Goluboff.
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POV 257 - Anthropology of Public Policy
(SOAN 257)
Credits: 3
Traditionally, political scientists, economists, and even sociologists have mainly studied policy. In this course, we explore how anthropologists are uniquely positioned to read, understand, and interpret different policies and their effects through anthropological training. By using a variety of methods, anthropologists provide essential contributions to the field of public policy. We analyze how anthropologists have provided a unique perspective on problems caused particular policies, the success of some policies, the meanings policies hold for various types of actors, and the ways people engage with policies. Additionally, we learn how policies create social spaces and actors, manage populations, and transform political systems. Some of the policies we will discuss involve welfare, the family, the environment, humanitarianism, and immigration. We conclude by discussing ethical dilemmas related to the anthropology of policy. Upon completing this course, students will understand how anthropology contributes to the critique, analysis, and implementation of various types of policies. Sanchez.
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POV 258 - Ethnographies of Global Poverty
(SOAN 258) FDR: SS2
Credits: 3
When we research poverty, we tend to look first to large international organizations, such as the World Bank and United Nations, but given their emphases on data, statistics, and economic theory, we are left with an understanding of poverty without a human face. One rarely comes across discussions of global poverty derived from the everyday lives of people living in poverty. In this course, we learn about poverty through ethnographic accounts written by anthropologists. These accounts demonstrate that people living in poverty have names, ambitions, and histories, and their everyday lives are interconnected with our own in more ways than we imagine. Sanchez.
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POV 280 - Poverty Law
Credits: 3
Historical and contemporary policy debates about poverty in the United States. Topics include the constitutional treatment of poverty, as well as the legal and policy treatment of questions of access to specific social goods, such as housing, health care, education, and legal services. Coverage of those topics include a look at the federalism dimensions of the legal approach to poverty in the United States. We also examine the intersection of the criminal justice system and poverty and touch on international perspectives on poverty. Shaughnessy.
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POV 295 - Child Abuse and Neglect Seminar
(LAW 221)
Credits: 2
This seminar examines the response of the legal system to issues of child abuse and neglect. Attempts by courts and legislators to define abuse and neglect are reviewed and critiqued. The seminar also explores the legal framework which governs state intervention to protect children from abuse and neglect. Attention is paid to both state and federal law, including the federal constitutional issues which arise in many child abuse and neglect proceedings. Issues relating to the professional responsibilities of lawyers involved in abuse and neglect proceedings are examined. Shaughnessy.
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POV 296 - Special Topics in Poverty Studies
Credits: 4
An intensive, in-depth examination of particular thinkers, approaches, policies or debates in the field of poverty and human capability studies.
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POV 401 - Independent Study in Poverty and Human Capability Studies
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: Instructor consent required. Students engage in a course of independent study in a topic relevant to poverty and human capability studies under the guidance of a Shepherd core or affiliate faculty member and with the permission of the Director of the Shepherd Program. The one-credit option requires one hour per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.
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POV 402 - Independent Study in Poverty and Human Capability Studies
Credits: 2
Prerequisite: Instructor consent required. Students engage in a course of independent study in a topic relevant to poverty and human capability studies under the guidance of a Shepherd core or affiliate faculty member and with the permission of the Director of the Shepherd Program. The two-credit option requires two hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.
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POV 403 - Independent Study in Poverty and Human Capability Studies
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Instructor consent required. Students engage in a course of independent study in a topic relevant to poverty and human capability studies under the guidance of a Shepherd core or affiliate faculty member and with the permission of the Director of the Shepherd Program. The three-credit option requires three hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.
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POV 421 - Independent Research in Poverty and Human Capability Studies
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: Instructor consent required. Students engage in a course of independent research in a topic relevant to poverty and human capability studies under the guidance of a Shepherd core or affiliate faculty member and with the permission of the Director of the Shepherd Program. The one-credit option requires one hour per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.
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POV 422 - Independent Research in Poverty and Human Capability Studies
Credits: 2
Prerequisite: Instructor consent required. Students engage in a course of independent research in a topic relevant to poverty and human capability studies under the guidance of a Shepherd core or affiliate faculty member and with the permission of the Director of the Shepherd Program. The two-credit option requires two hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.
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POV 423 - Poverty and Human Capability: A Research Seminar
(LAW 391)
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: At least junior standing, POV 101 or POV 103, POV 453, or instructor consent. An inquiry into principal factors or agents responsible for the causes, effects, and remedies of poverty. This examination is conducted through reading appropriate in-depth studies from various disciplines and perspectives, and it culminates with an independent research project into specific aspects of poverty drawing on students’ internships and respective areas of study and looking forward to their professional work and civic engagement. This seminar serves as a capstone for undergraduate poverty studies and includes second- and third-year law students in Law 391. Pickett, Staff.
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POV 450 - Shepherd Summer Internship
Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 0
Prerequisites: POV 101 or POV 103 or POL 215 or SOAN 268. Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. Eight-week summer internship working with individuals and communities. Supervised work with agencies in business and economic development, community organizing, education, environmental advocacy, health care, law, religious ministry, and social services that engage impoverished persons and communities. Eight weeks of full-time work is preceded by an orientation to prepare the interns to reflect critically on what they have learned. W&L students work with students from other participating colleges. Students keep journals reflecting on their work. Financial support is available; in rare instances the Shepherd Program director may approve other internship programs to meet this requirement, but approval must be in advance with special conditions and stipulations. Pickett, Staff.
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POV 453 - Shepherd Summer Internship
Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: POV 101 or POV 103 or POL 215 or SOAN 268. Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. Eight-week summer internship working with individuals and communities. Supervised work with agencies in business and economic development, community organizing, education, environmental advocacy, health care, law, religious ministry, and social services that engage impoverished persons and communities. Eight weeks of full-time work is preceded by an orientation to prepare the interns and followed by a closing conference for interns to reflect critically on what they have learned. W&L students work with students from other participating colleges. Students keep journals reflecting on their work. Financial support is available; in rare instances the Shepherd Program director may approve other internship programs to meet this requirement, but approval must be in advance with special conditions and stipulations. This course may not be repeated, but students who complete POV 453 may apply for a different second internship and receive recognition without credit for POV 450. Pickett, Staff.
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POV 491 - Senior Symposium in Poverty and Human Capability Studies
Credits: 1
The Shepherd Program weaves together empirical and ethical perspectives on matters related to poverty and human dignity. This culminating colloquium brings together senior POV minors from a variety of majors to reflect together on our transdisciplinary coursework and community engagement. By revisiting themes and questions previously encountered, but with the benefit of what we have learned in the interim, we will consolidate and advance our learning in poverty studies. Eastwood, Pickett.
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Religion |
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REL 100 - Introduction to Religion
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Not open to students who have taken REL 210. Through consideration of texts in a diversity of humanistic and social scientific disciplines, this course explores the nature, function, and meaning of religion in individual and collective experience. It also explores texts, practices, and symbols from a variety of world religions. Students who have taken REL 210 are ineligible for taking REL 100. Kosky.
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REL 101 - Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An introduction to the history, literature and interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). Staff.
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REL 102 - New Testament
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An introduction to the history, literature and interpretation of the New Testament. Brown.
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REL 103 - Introduction to Asian Religions
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A survey of the teachings, practices, and historical significance of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Shinto. Lubin.
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REL 104 - Secularity, Disenchantment, and Religion
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A study of the decline, transformation, and/or displacement of religious thought and practice in the west. Students explore depictions of religion and secularity in the modern west from the perspective of a variety of disciplines, including some or all of the following: sociology, psychology, philosophy, theology, literature, art. These explorations address the disenchantment that is supposed to have pervaded modern secularity, and they ask if secularity offers alternatives to such disenchantment. Kosky.
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REL 105 - Introduction to Islam
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course familiarizes students with the foundations of the Islamic tradition and the diverse historical and geographical manifestations of belief and practice built upon those foundations. Throughout the course, the role of Islam in shaping cultural, social, gender, and political identities is explored. Readings are drawn from the writings of both historical and contemporary Muslim thinkers. Atanasova.
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REL 106 - Judaism: Tradition and Modernity
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course is an introduction to the rituals, concepts, and practices of Judaism from antiquity to the present day. Through a wide variety of sources, including rabbinic debate, fiction, drama, liturgy, memoirs, film, and history, we will consider how the Jewish tradition has developed, changed, and interacted with other traditions. Particular attention will be paid to the development of modern Jewish movements and communities. Filler.
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REL 108 - The Qur’an
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Instructor consent required. This course approaches the Qur’an from a range of modern and pre-modern perspectives: as an oral recitation; as a material object; as a historical document; as a literary text; as it relates to the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament; as a foundation for Islamic law, theology and mysticism; and as a source for ethics and social activism. Particular attention is devoted to issues of gender and politics raised by the Qur’an, supplemented by a number of film screenings. Prior knowledge of Islam is not required. Atanasova.
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REL 120 - War and the Bible
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
From the battle of Jericho to the apocalyptic wars in the Book of Revelation, the Bible is full of violent conflict. Wars are waged between nations, peoples, and even gods. What ideologies of war underlie these depictions? How does the Bible understand warfare and its many facets? What is a just or holy war? Are there war crimes in the ancient world? What is the role of divine beings in these conflicts? Does the God of the Bible ever lose? Through close readings of both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, we consider the different ways in which war is depicted by biblical texts in different historical periods. We also examine the ongoing influence of biblical warfare on later discourses about violent conflict around the world. Sonia.
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REL 130 - Us, Them, and God: Religion, Identity, and Interaction in the Middle East and South Asia
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course surveys the historical and social dynamics that have contributed to the formation of religious identities in the Middle East and South Asia. These identities, shaped over many centuries by the rise, spread, and interaction of religious ideas, peoples, and institutions, become important factors in socio-political movements and conflicts. The course takes a long view of the historical roots of these religious identities, their shifting boundaries and significance in the era of European colonialism, and their role in the formation of post-colonial nations. Particular emphasis is placed on the cultural linkages between the various Middle Eastern and South Asian cultural spheres, and broader patterns of Identity-formation and cultural influence through forms of globalization, both modern and pre-modem Lubin.
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REL 131 - Buddhism
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A survey of the historical development of the doctrines and practices of Buddhism. After a discussion of the Hindu origins of Buddhism, the course focuses on the development of the Theravada, Vajrayana and Mahayana traditions. A class trip to at least one Buddhist center is included. Lubin.
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REL 132 - God and Goddess in Hinduism
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course explores the many ways in which Hindus visualize and talk about the divine and its manifestations in the world through mythic stories, use of images in worship, explanations of the nature of the soul and body in relation to the divine, and the belief in human embodiments of the divine in Hindu holy men and women. Topics include: the religious meanings of masculine and feminine in the divine and human contexts; the idea of local, family, and “chosen” divinities; and differing forms of Hindu devotion for men and women. Lubin.
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REL 152 - Christianity and Modern Culture
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A study of Christian thought and cultures in the period from the Reformation to the early 20th Century. Particular emphasis is placed on the challenges posed to the foundation of religious belief and practice in a modern context and the Christian responses to these challenges. Kosky.
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REL 153 - Jesus in Fact, Fiction, and Film
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A study of representations of Jesus in history, fiction, and film and the ways in which they both reflect and generate diverse cultural identities from antiquity to the present. The course begins with the historical Jesus and controversies about his identity in antiquity and then focuses on parallel controversies in modern and postmodern fiction and film. Readings include early Christian literature (canonical and non-canonical), several modern novels and works of short fiction, and theoretical works on the relationship of literature to religion. In addition, we study several cinematic treatments of Jesus dating from the beginnings of filmmaking to the present. Brown.
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REL 172 - Muslims in the Movies
(HIST 172) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An examination of the history of visual representation of Islam and Muslims in classical and modern cinema. We approach movies produced by both Muslims and non-Muslims over the last century as historical sources: visual monuments that have captured the specific cultural and political context in which they were produced. We examine a selection of these movies through the lens of critical theory and the study of religion in order to pay attention to how questions surrounding identity and representation, race and gender, Orientalism and perceptions of difference have historically influenced and continue to influence cinematic images of Islam. Atanasova.
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REL 175 - Beginning Biblical Hebrew I
Credits: 1
Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. In this course, students develop an introductory knowledge of classical (biblical) Hebrew grammar and vocabulary, and of how biblical language expresses itself in selected biblical passages. Student learn to read and translate simple narrative prose from the Hebrew Bible, and gain a more nuanced understanding of the life and thought of the ancient Israelites through their own language. Staff.
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REL 176 - Beginning Biblical Hebrew II
Credits: 1
Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. In this course, students develop an introductory knowledge of classical (biblical) Hebrew grammar and vocabulary, and of how biblical language expresses itself in selected biblical passages. Student learn to read and translate simple narrative prose from the Hebrew Bible, and gain a more nuanced understanding of the life and thought of the ancient Israelites through their own language. Staff.
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REL 180 - FS: First-Year Seminar
Credits: 3 credits in Fall and Winter, 4 credits in Spring
Prerequisite: First-Year class standing. First-year seminar. Topics vary by term.
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REL 201 - The Sacred in Music: The Liberal Arts as Portal to the Sacred
FDR: HU
Credits: 4
This course offers an immersion in the sacred music of the West, viewed through the lens of the liberal-arts tradition and considers the liberal arts as a portal to the sacred. We begin with Pythagoras and his monochord in the portal of Chartres Cathedral and progress through the development of melody, harmony, and rhythm from early chant (Hebrew and Christian) to Bach choral music (The Passion According to John) and finally to the American forms of Spiritual, Sacred Harp, and American Opera. While attentive to contributions from science, philosophy. psychology and religious theory concerning the connection of music to religious experience, we also take advantage of musical performances in the area and, with the help of professional conductors and musicologists, perform music ourselves. Brown.
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REL 205 - Self-Help, Happiness, and a Good Life
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An exploration of the meaning and experience of a good life and the pursuit of happiness in various social, cultural, and historical forms, with special attention paid to addressing the contemporary starting point of concerned individuals and societies. Course material is drawn from philosophy, psychology, sociology, economics, medicine, and religion. Students address questions like: “Are philosophies, religions, and works of art or literature reducible to or interpretable as forms of self-help?”; “How has modern science and technology shaped the pursuit of happiness?”; “What is it like to live in a world in which we might feel a ‘duty to be happy’”? Kosky.
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REL 207 - Nature and Place
(ENV 207) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Through a consideration of work drawn from diverse disciplines including philosophy, religious studies, literature, art, and anthropology, this course explores a variety of ideas about and experiences of nature and place. Kosky.
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REL 210 - Approaches to the Study of Religion
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A study of approaches to understanding religious life and thought as found in selected writings in anthropology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, theology, and comparative religion. Staff.
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REL 213 - Perspectives on Death and Dying
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Should not be repeated by those students who have taken this class as REL 180 or 181 or WRIT 100: FY Writ Seminar: Shadow of Death. A comparison of ways in which various religious traditions, as well as modern secular writers, describe and conceive of death and the meaning of life in the face of our human mortality. Students study memoirs, philosophy, poetry, novels, scripture, essays, and film, and write a journal and essays. Includes guest speakers and visits to a funeral home and cemetery. Staff.
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REL 214 - Religion and Existentialism
(PHIL 214) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A consideration of the accounts of human existence (faith and doubt; death and being-in-the-world; anxiety, boredom, and hope; sin and evil; etc.) elaborated by philosophers, theologians, and literary figures in the 19th and 20th centuries. The central figures considered are Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche. Attention is paid to their significance for future philosophers, theologians, artists, and literary figures, and consideration may also be paid to forerunners in earlier centuries. Kosky.
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REL 215 - Female and Male in Western Religious Traditions
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An investigation of views about the body, human sexuality, and gender in Western religious traditions, especially Judaism and Christianity, and of the influences of these views both on the religious traditions themselves and on the societies in which they develop. The course focuses on religion and society in antiquity and the Middle Ages, but also considers the continuing influence of religious constructions of the body and sexuality on succeeding generations to the present. Brown.
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REL 216 - Sainthood in Four Traditions
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A survey of sainthood in a variety of religious contexts: Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist. The course asks: “What makes someone holy? How do saints behave? How and why are they worshipped?” Readings include sacred biographies (hagiographies), studies of particular traditions of saint worship, and interpretations of sainthood in both theological and cross-cultural perspectives. Lubin.
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REL 218 - Heidegger and Being in the World
(PHIL 218) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An exploration of the work of Martin Heidegger and the development of its themes in select philosophers, literary artists, and/or film makers. A close reading of the magisterial account of being in the world in Being and Time is followed by careful study of representative essays from his later work. After our reading of Heidegger, we consider the literary, cinematic, and/or philosophical work of major 20th- and 21st-century figures who let us reflect on the possibilities and/or problems that his account of being in the world poses for ethical, religious, and existential concern. Special attention this year is paid to the films of Terrence Malick. Kosky.
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REL 219 - Augustine and the Literature of Self, Soul, and Synapses
(LIT 219) FDR: HL
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Completion of FW requirement. A careful reading of the depiction of the restless soul in Augustine’s Confessions is followed by study of fictional, philosophical, religious, and/or scientific literature. Students reflect on the state of the soul in a world made of selves or the fate of the self in a soulless world … and whether there might be other options Kosky.
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REL 220 - Whose Law? Pluralism, Conflict, and Justice
FDR: SS4
Credits: 3
Society is made up of schools, corporations, religions, guilds, associations, tribes, etc., each defined by a set of more-or-less formal rules that apply in various ways depending on the status of each member. Individuals are thus subject to overlapping obligations and claims, so authorities often come into conflict. This is legal pluralism. This seminar explores the various ways in which such interactions can play out in a range of social, religious, and political environments, and how they can affect people of different statuses differently. Examples range from the Roman empire, the Middle East and South Asia, past and present, to the modern United States and Europe. In each case, we examine the ways in which legal status is defined in relation to the state, religious community, ethnicity or race, and social class. Given different, overlapping, conflicting claims to authority, rights, and obligations, how is justice to be defined, and how can it be served? Lubin.
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REL 222 - Law and Religion
(LAW 355) FDR: SS4
Credits: 3
Open to undergraduates and law students. Open to undergraduates and law students. Drawing on examples from diverse periods and legal cultures, this seminar addresses “law” and “religion” as two realms of life that have much shared history and continue to intersect in the modern world. Several important topics in comparative law and jurisprudence are covered, including authority and legitimacy, the relation between custom and statute, legal pluralism, church-state relations, and competing models of constitutional secularism. A selective survey of legal systems and practices rooted in particular religious traditions is followed by an examination of how secular legal systems conceptualize religion and balance the protection of religious freedom with their standards of equity and neutrality. Lubin.
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REL 223 - Ancient Greek Religion
(CLAS 223) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
In this course, we examine the strange and wonderful world of ancient Greek religion, beginning with stories of the gods that all Greeks knew: Homer and Hesiod. We then study religion on the ground, examining how religion functioned at a number of sanctuaries and shrines in Greece. Topics covered in this course include ancient conceptions of the cosmos; the nature of Greek deities and heroes; the distinction between myth and religion; the art and architecture of sanctuaries; ritual performances and festivals; ritual sacrifice; sacred games; oracles; the underworld; sacred mysteries; women and religion; and the socio-political role of Greek ritual practice. Laughy.
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REL 225 - Magic, Science, and Religion
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
How do religious and scientific explanations and methods of inquiry differ? What are the roles of reason and authority in each case? This course draws together materials from antiquity to the present, from the West and from Asia, to illustrate a variety of types of “systems of knowledge.” Theoretical readings are balanced with diverse case studies from diverse contexts: religious doctrines, mystical practices, alchemy, astrology, sorcery, “traditional medicines,” and modern religious movements. Students research a system of their choice and analyze its claims and methods in comparison with those of other traditions covered in the course. Lubin.
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REL 226 - Death and Immortality in the Ancient World
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
According to Egyptologist Jan Assmann, “All culture is a struggle against oblivion.” How, then, might different cultures respond to the potential oblivion caused by death - the loss of personhood, the deterioration of the body, and the fading memories of those who have die? What rituals and ideologies preserve memories of the dead among the living? Is this commemoration a kind of immortality? In this course, we explore such questions and critically examine the nature of memory as it relates to ancient conceptions of death and afterlife. Through close analysis of epic narrative, ritual texts, and material culture, we compare traditions from different regions, including Mesopotamia, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, in order to better appreciate the rich diversity of human responses to death in the ancient worlds. All ancient texts are read in translation. Sonia.
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REL 231 - Yogis, Monks, and Mystics in India
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Yogis, ascetics, and other holy people pursue extraordinary paths that invert the normal aims and values of society. This course surveys ideas on mental and physical training; their conceptual basis; the range of techniques used; and their philosophical development. Course material is drawn from a diverse range of religions that may include Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Islamic, and Christian. The course seeks to answer such questions as: “What is the purpose of these teachings and for whom were they designed?” “What roles do yogis and ascetics play in religious life?” and “What is their ethical status in the world?” Lubin.
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REL 235 - Religions of the Silk Road: Gods in Transit
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An examination of how deities and religious ideas and practices spread from one place to another through cultural, commercial, and political networks and interactions in the ancient and medieval world, and how this constituted a form of premodern globalization. The history of religions, from antiquity to the present day, is full of cases of a religion traveling from one place to another. The circumstances vary: it may happen as part of a conquest or colonization, or more peacefully through the work of missionaries or wandering monks, or as a by-product of trade or professional contacts. We highlight a series of case studies drawn from the full sweep of the Silk Road, from the eastern Mediterranean and Near East to eastern Central Asia, along with the parallel network of Indian Ocean routes Lubin.
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REL 246 - Caste at the Intersection of Economy, Religion, and Law
(ECON 246) FDR: SS4
Experiential Learning (EXP): YES
Credits: 4
Prerequisite: Instructor consent. ECON 100 or 101 required only for credit as an elective in the Economics major. Social stratification touches every aspect of life, and South Asia’s traditional caste structure is a special case: this highly complex, strictly-adhered-to system has been religiously legitimized and criticized over a 3,000-year history, and is nowadays seen as being at odds with the modern world. Yet it remains a crucial factor in social identity, economic roles, legal status, and religious practice. This course offers a 360-degree survey of caste both historically and in practice today in Nepal. The course addresses four themes, respectively providing for each a combination of historical background, social scientific analysis of the modern situation, and direct field experience for the students. Lubin, Silwal.
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REL 250 - Truth, Belief, Dissent: Defining Insiders and Outsiders in Ancient, Medieval and Modern Religion
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Open to all students regardless of class year or major. Who decides what is orthodox [acceptable thought] and what is heretical [unacceptable], how are these decisions made, and what impact do they have on societal definitions of “insider” and “outsider?” What perennial questions emerge in debates about orthodoxy and heresy – e.g., the powers of states to enforce religious orthodoxy, the joining of political ideologies with religious interests – and how are those questions addressed in modernity? This course explores the shifting and perpetually uncertain boundaries of truth and identity in religion. The focal religion is Early Christianity (ies), but other religions are occasionally in view. Readings include selections from the Hebrew Scriptures, the New Testament, “Gnostic gospels”, and other so-called heretical texts, writings from the Church Fathers (with special attention to St. Augustine), medieval heresy trials, a contemporary American novel, and recent scholarly treatments of the boundaries that define “insiders” and “outsiders.” Brown.
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REL 260 - Seminar in the Christian Tradition
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
An introduction to perduring issues in Christian theology and ethics through study of one or more of the classical Christian theologians.
Fall 2021, REL 260-01: Seminar in the Christian Tradition: Christian Visionary and Mystical Traditions (3). This course explores diverse Christian sources from antiquity to modernity with a focus on experiences and expressions of the “presence of God,” the “Ground of Being,” the “wholly other,” the “beatific vision,” etc. Course materials will include primary sources from mystics and visionaries and secondary readings exploring theories about mystical experience. Near the end of the course, we will consider contemporary and even secular expression in poetry and music that points to the mystical without using traditional theological language. A field trip to a monastery will help to contextualize some themes we encounter in the course. (HU) Brown.
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REL 262 - The Bible, the Enlightenment, and its Aftermath
FDR: HU
Credits: 4
A study of how the Bible influenced the thought and culture of the Enlightenment, broadly conceived, and how various Enlightenment ideas and figures influenced the reading of the Bible both in the Enlightenment Age itself and into the succeeding centuries. Brown.
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REL 270 - Biblical Job and His Modern Masks
FDR: HU
Credits: 4
This course combines study, performance, and creative writing. We study the biblical Book of Job in relation to other wisdom writings in the Hebrew Bible, and then some later Jewish and Christian interpretations. Students write about a theme in the Book of Job and perform a significant passage. Afterwards, we read several modern retellings of the book such as MacLeish’s J.B., Wiesel’s Trial of God, Sholem Aleichem’s Tevye stories, and the Danish film Adam’s Apples. The final student project is a personal and creative retelling of the book in a contemporary setting. Lastly, students perform, with another member of the class, a critical scene from their compositions. Staff.
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REL 271 - Islam in America: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
(HIST 271) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
From the discourse on the War on Terror, to debates about Muslim women’s dress, Islam in America has attracted the attention of journalists, activists, government officials, and scholars of religion. This course takes a critical-historical approach to the topic by examining key themes in the history of Islam in America: the lives of enslaved African Muslims in the Antebellum period and the Founding Fathers’ visions of Islam; the immigrant experience of Arab Muslims at the turn of the 20th century; the role of Muslim organizations in the Civil Rights movement; and, the changing representations of American Muslims after the Gulf War and post-9/11. In interrogating the history of Islam in America, we specifically pay attention to the ways in which religion, gender, class, race, and citizenship continue to inform representations of Muslims in the U.S. Atanasova.
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REL 273 - Modern Jewish Literature in Translation
(LIT 273) FDR: HL
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Completion of FW requirements. Readings in the works of 20th-century Jewish authors, studied as literary responses to the historical and religious crises of modern Jewish life in Europe, the United States, and Israel. Staff.
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REL 275 - God and the Holocaust
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This discussion-centered course considers Jewish and other responses to the mass destruction of European Jews under Hitler’s regime. We will discuss a broad array of modern responses to the Holocaust as well as selections from classical Jewish texts on themes of suffering, divine action, and the Messiah. Readings and other media will include modern philosophy and theology, memoir, film, drama, and short stories on these difficult and ongoing questions. Filler.
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REL 281 - Modern Islamic Thought
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
A study of Islamic religious movements and representative religious writings of the past two centuries, with focus upon “fundamentalist” or “revivalist” writings and upon recent authors responding to them. Atanasova.
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REL 282 - Picturing Muhammad? Perceptions of the Prophet from the Hijra to Hip-Hop
HIST 282 FDR: HU
Credits: 3
To Muslims, Muhammad is a prophetic figure whose model life is to be emulated; to non-Muslims, a controversial figure that has stirred the imagination for centuries. Through an analysis of the earliest non-Muslim sources on Muhammad, to insider Muslim narratives of the prophet’s miraculous life, to polemical medieval Christian stories about him, to Deepak Chopra and Muhammad in hip-hop, this course explores the various historical, literary, and media representations of Muhammad. We will pay special attention to recent controversies on visual depictions of Muhammad, as well as contemporary ritual practices surrounding the embodiment of Islam’s most important prophet. Atanasova.
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REL 283 - Sufism: Islamic Mysticism
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course explores the mystical expressions and institutions known as Sufism within the Islamic community. Topics include the elaboration of Sufism from the core tenets of Islam; Sufi practices of ecstasy and discipline; the artistic and literary products of the Sufi experience; the institutions of Sufi orders, saints, shrines, and popular practices; and the debates among Muslims over the place of Sufism within the greater tradition of Islam. Atanasova.
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REL 284 - Women and Gender in Islam
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
How have issues of gender and sexuality in Medieval and Modern Islamic societies been debated across the Middle East, South Asia, and the West? Students examine scholarly and public discussions of gender and Islam, and they build a vocabulary in which to talk about women. queer, and intersex history as they concern Muslim societies and their foundational sources in their regional and historical contexts. No prior knowledge of Islam is necessary. Al-Ahmad.
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REL 285 - Introduction to American Indian Religions
(SOAN 285) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This class introduces students to some of the dominant themes, values, beliefs, and practices found among the religions of North America’s Indian peoples. The first part of the course explores the importance of sacred power, landscape, and community in traditional Indian spiritualities and rituals. It then examines some of the changes that have occurred in these traditions as a result of western expansion and dominance from the 18th through early 20th centuries. Lastly, the course considers some of the issues and problems confronting contemporary American Indian religions. Markowitz.
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REL 295 - Special Topics in Religion
FDR: HU
Credits: 3 credits in fall or winter, 4 in spring
Prerequisite varies according to the topic. A course offered from time to time in a selected problem or topic in religion. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
Spring 2022, REL 295A-01: Special Topics in Religion: The Bible in America (3). This course considers the role of the Bible in American life from the early colonial period to the present day. We’ll focus on the influence of the Bible in the founding of the United States, biblical interpretation in American social and political debate (slavery, women’s suffrage, war, LGBT rights, evolution), legal questions about the Bible in the American public square, and the Bible as a material object in the US. The class will include a trip to the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC. (HU) Brown and Filler.
Fall 2021, REL 295A-01: Special Topics in Religion: Religion and Toleration (3). This course considers the virtues and limitations of dialogue and toleration as ways of engaging religious diversity. What do these terms mean, and what might they require of both religious and non-religious people? When might tolerance be a problematic way of responding to religious claims or practices? How are tolerance and intolerance regulated - both within communities and by the state? This course will take up these questions, as well as a variety of theories of interfaith engagement and invitations to religious co-existence in political and cultural conflict. (HU) Filler.
Fall 2021, REL 295B-01: Special Topics in Religion: Yoga and Tantra (3). While both yoga and tantra have achieved fame and notoriety in the west, their history, philosophy, and cultural background are less well-known. This course considers these two religious technologies that cross the usual boundaries of Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, and even Muslim traditions in South Asia and beyond. We will trace the roots of yoga and tantra, their interconnection, and their modern global manifestations. We will come to see that yoga is far more than what is now used for fitness in the west. (HU) Haskett.
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REL 333 - Meditation and Self-Knowledge
FDR: HU
Credits: 4
For 2,500 years, Hindus and Buddhists have promoted meditation as a means to attain insight and liberation from suffering, a state sometimes understood in terms of divinity or Buddha-nature. Meditation has also been adopted by some in the West during the last century, often for psychological or physical benefits apart from any devotional context. What had traditionally been a practice of ordained monks was popularized in the West, a trend that then caught on in Asia as well. We look at the origins of meditative practices in Asian traditions using primary sources, social context, and personal experience of basic meditative techniques. The course concludes by noting that some contemporary neuroscientists are looking to meditation to better understand mind, brain, emotion, and cognition. Lubin.
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REL 335 - Hindu Law in Theory and Practice
(LAW 335) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
India produced one of the oldest legal systems in the world — one that offers some surprising contrasts with modern assumptions about the nature and scope of the law. Combining ethical and ritual obligations alongside rules for criminal and civil litigation, it was intended to cover every aspect of life, from personal habits to political institutions. The course begins with the ancient codes, Indian political theory, and documents from everyday legal practice in medieval times. The second half of the course begins with colonial-era British attempts to codify Hindu law; Hindu personal law in modern India; and the controversy over religion and secularism in the courts today, including the constitutional definition of “Hindu;” attempts to legislate against disapproved religious practices; and disputes over sacred spaces. We close with comparisons with legal reasoning about religion in America, Israel, and England, based on court cases. Lubin.
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REL 340 - Seminar in Asian Religions
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: One course in Asian religions or instructor consent. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. A study of specific topics in Asian religion and society. Lubin.
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REL 350 - Seminar in Biblical Studies
FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: REL 101, 102, 151 250, or coursework in ancient history or classics, or instructor consent. An exploration of a topic in Biblical studies, focusing on ancient texts and their interpreters from antiquity to the present. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
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