Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Mysticism

RELI 101 - INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF RELIGION

Short Title: WHAT IS RELIGION?

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Comparative and interdisciplinary analysis of key elements (including scripture, religious experience, ideas of the divine, religious art and practices) of two Western and two non-Western religions, of the scholarly study of religion, and of the role of religion in the contemporary world.

RELI 104 - INTRODUCTION TO JEWISH MYSTICISM

Short Title: INTRO TO JEWISH MYSTICISM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Surveys the historical development and central themes of Jewish mysticism. From the bible to ancient mysticism to medieval Kabbalah to modern expressions, we will critically reflection the ideas such as divine presence in the world, the cultivation of insight and magical powers, contemplative and restorative practices, and charismatic authority. Cross-list: MDEM 103.

RELI 108 - INTRODUCTION TO JUDAISM

Short Title: INTRODUCTION TO JUDAISM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Survey of post-biblical Judaism as reflected in the literature of the classical rabbinic tradition, mysticism, medieval biblical commentary, legal codes and philosophy, and modern movements such as Hasidism, denominational Judaism, Zionism, and feminist Judaism. Jewish material culture such as synagogue architecture, illuminated manuscripts and ritual artifacts will be included. Students will not receive credit for both RELI 108 and RELI 209. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 108 if student has credit for RELI 209.

RELI 109 - RELIGION AND LAW

Short Title: RELIGION AND LAW

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Law and religion: origins, differentiation, relation to legitimacy and stability of basic institutions. Law school, professional life, quest for a fitting career in the search for meaning and authentic selfhood. Required: willingness to share the personal roots of your interest in law and your take on the Big Picture.

RELI 111 - INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN RELIGIONS

Short Title: INTRO AFRICAN RELIGIONS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Introduction to the structures of African religions through readings. Topics include community, cosmology, ritual, ethical values, magic, witchcraft, spirit possession, contribution to nationalism, social change, religion and art, and transplantation of African Religions in the Americas.

RELI 112 - INTRODUCTION TO EARLY CHRISTIANITY

Short Title: INTRO TO EARLY CHRISTIANITY

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course focuses on understanding the pluralistic nature of early Christianity from its grassroots beginnings in a commune in Jerusalem to its growth in Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, North Africa, and Rome. Different Christian movements are studied comparatively as well as historically. Take-home exams. D1 effective Fall 2023.

RELI 120 - CONTEMPORARY ETHICS AND THE BIBLE

Short Title: CONTEMPORARY ETHICS &THE BIBLE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course examines what the Bible has to say about some of the major issues of our time. Topics to be discussed include creation/the environment and creation care, gender, homosexuality, abortion, religious tolerance, capital punishment, social justice, refugees, and forced migration.

RELI 122 - THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS

Short Title: THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: An introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Compares modern-critical reading with early Jewish and Christian, often fanciful interpretations.

RELI 123 - INTRODUCTION TO WORLD CHRISTIANITY

Short Title: INTRO TO WORLD CHRISTIANITY

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course is designed to introduce students to world Christianity from historical and thematic perspectives. Readings and lectures for the course will draw from interdisciplinary research and scholarship to situate world Christianity as a dynamic spiritual, intellectual, cultural, and communal tradition. This course will introduce students to Christianity in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Pacific using historical analysis to probe the history of the Christian movement, its global distribution, its sacred texts and practices, social engagement, and roles it has a place in a changing world. Interdisciplinary texts will be used to probe selected topics including but not limited to proselytization, leadership, the dynamic competitive relations between mainline churches, emerging Christian communities, and the social and political dimensions of world Christianity.

RELI 124 - RELIGION AND THE ART OF HAPPINESS

Short Title: RELIGION & ART OF HAPPINESS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Students at Rice University consistently self-report as "happiest" by rankings like the Princeton Review. Course analyzes what we mean when we talk about "happiness" in the study of religion, assessing the role of community, habits, meaning, and positive thinking in religious and psychological texts, as well as lived experience.

RELI 125 - INTRODUCTION TO BIBLICAL HEBREW I

Short Title: INTRO TO BIBLICAL HEBREW I

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: An introduction to Biblical Hebrew with emphasis on grammar and vocabulary. Cross-list: HEBR 125. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 507. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 125 if student has credit for RELI 507.

RELI 126 - INTRODUCTION TO BIBLICAL HEBREW II

Short Title: INTRO TO BIBLICAL HEBREW II

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Continuation of RELI 125. We will finish the grammar in the second half of this semester and then read selections from the Hebrew Bible. Cross-list: HEBR 126. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 511. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 126 if student has credit for RELI 511.

RELI 127 - INTERMEDIATE BIBLICAL HEBREW III

Short Title: INTERM BIBLICAL HEBREW III

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Prerequisite(s): RELI 125 and RELI 126

Description: Readings in the Hebrew Bible as well as in some unvocalized texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Review of grammar and vocabulary. Instructor Permission Required. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 512. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 127 if student has credit for RELI 512.

RELI 130 - ANTI-SEMITISM AND ISLAMOPHOBIA

Short Title: ANTI-SEMITISM AND ISLAMOPHOBIA

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: What do anti-Semitism and Islamophobia have in common? Are they two different modes of oppression and discrimination, or are they part of a similar phenomenon? Moreover, are they religious, racial, or ethnic forms of discrimination? Throughout this course, we will complicate the narrative that sees Jews and Arabs as perpetual enemies through a historical and philosophical exploration into the development of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. Students will think historically about the construction of race, ethnicity, and religion and the various modes by which these are employed, and they will use that knowledge to think critically about current depictions of anti-Semitic and Islamophobic violence. In the first part of the course, we will consider some of the historical and conceptual underpinnings of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. We will begin in medieval Spain and then track their development through modernity, paying close attention to how these discourses changed and evolved over time; in the second part, we will look at the impact of the Holocaust and the rise of the State of Israel and consider current iterations of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in Europe and America today. Cross-list: JWST 130.

RELI 142 - THE COLORS OF LIFE AND THE END OF LIFE

Short Title: THE COLORS OF LIFE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course explores lived experience through emotion and color, both in life and at the end of life. The class promotes the accessibility of humanistic themes among STEM-oriented learners in ways that are especially relevant and compelling for students planning to enter into the medical or healthcare professions, or who, one day, will serve as caregivers.

RELI 157 - RELIGION AND HIP HOP CULTURE IN AMERICA

Short Title: RELIGION AND HIP HOP

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Hip Hop culture has changed how life is discussed and conducted. However, one of the under-explored dimensions of Hip Hop culture involves its religious sensibilities. Using lectures, discussions, films, and video presentations, this course explores Hip Hop culture's religious dimensions through its musical language-rap music. Equivalency: RELI 311. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 157 if student has credit for RELI 311.

RELI 158 - LIBERATION THEOLOGIES

Short Title: LIBERATION THEOLOGIES

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course seeks to acquaint students with examples of liberation theology, as they relate to the following issues: racism, sexism, classism, and environmental destruction. Attention is given to the context, construction, form, and aims of Latin American liberation theology, Black theology, Feminist theology, and Theology in the Intersections. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 158 if student has credit for RELI 548.

RELI 191 - STAR WARS AND RELIGION

Short Title: STAR WARS AND RELIGION

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: The Star Wars films contain one of the richest fictional universes of our time. In this course, we use the theories and methods of Religious Studies (e.g., comparison, psychology, the paranormal, religion and technology) to analyze the Star Wars universe as a modern mythology. Student can expect to gain a working knowledge of tools utilized in the humanities as well as a novel understanding of Star Wars films and fandom.

RELI 203 - JUDAISM OF JESUS AND HILLEL

Short Title: JUDAISM OF JESUS AND HILLEL

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course examines the history and literature of Judaism during the Second Temple period, which produced such religious leaders as Jesus and Hillel. Topics include: Jewish sectarianism, scribes and the growth of Scripture, temple worship and the first synagogues, diaspora religion, Jesus and the birth of Christianity, and the origin of Rabbinic Judaism. Counts for the Minor in Jewish Studies. Cross-list: HIST 201.

RELI 215 - MYSTIC CINEMA: KABBALAH IN FILM

Short Title: MYSTIC CINEMA

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course explores uses by the film industry of ideas drawn from Jewish mysticism. We will examine themes such as monsters, spirits, numerology and the paranormal, as portrayed in classic film and through to contemporary Hollywood. Emphasis will be placed on the medieval textual and folkloric traditions behind such portrayals. Cross-list: FILM 215. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 215 if student has credit for FILM 114/FSEM 141/RELI 114.

RELI 216 - RELIGION AND BLACK LIVES MATTER

Short Title: RELIGION & BLACK LIVES MATTER

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course explores the intersections of religion, politics, and social justice during the period of history marked by the emergence and activities of the Black Lives Matter Movement.

RELI 219 - THE SUPERNATURAL AND RELIGION

Short Title: THE SUPERNATURAL AND RELIGION

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course will treat the history of the supernatural from the biblical materials on the miraculous "sign," through the birth of the "supernatural" in medieval Christianity and the canonization of saints, to the mediating categories of the "preternatural" and the modern "paranormal." Comparative categories and materials in other cultural and religious complexes will also be treated. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 219 if student has credit for RELI 519.

RELI 221 - THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD

Short Title: LIFE OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course will examine the life of the Prophet Muhammad, focusing on its significance for Muslims and for non-Muslims. Readings in The Qur'an, Ibn Hisham, and Haykal. Cross-list: ASIA 221.

RELI 223 - QUR'AN AND COMMENTARY

Short Title: QUR'AN AND COMMENTARY

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Survey of the major themes of the Qur'an and selected types of commentary on it from the early Islamic period until the present day.

RELI 231 - AMERICAN METAPHYSICAL RELIGION

Short Title: AMERICAN METAPHYSICAL RELIGION

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Beginning with a historical survey of the American metaphysical tradition, this course turns to a close study of the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, as a unique window into some of the different ways the tradition has appropriated Asian religions, psychological models of the unconscious, and contemporary scientific paradigms. Cross-list: ASIA 231. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 231 if student has credit for RELI 505.

RELI 232 - RELIGIONS FROM INDIA

Short Title: RELIGIONS FROM INDIA

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course surveys religions that originated in India and have spread globally, especially Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Examining important practices, texts, and artworks, we investigate topics such as devotion, liberation, ritual, sacred space, identity, diversity, and historical change from ancient South Asia to contemporary America and the world. Cross-list: ASIA 232. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 500. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 232 if student has credit for RELI 500.

RELI 233 - INTRODUCTION TO TIBETAN LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND CULTURE

Short Title: INTRO TO TIBETAN LANG & LIT

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Introducing the Tibetan alphabet and basics of grammar through reading section of a classic Tibetan text. In addition, readings in English in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist materials, also on the art, history, geography and /or modern era in those areas. Final includes a paper drawn from readings and class discussion. Cross-list: TIBT 233. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 233 if student has credit for RELI 502.

RELI 234 - INTERMEDIATE TIBETAN LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND CULTURE

Short Title: INT TIBETAN LANG LIT & CULTURE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Continued training in Tibetan language-extending vocabulary and facility with grammar. Final includes a paper drawn from readings and class discussion. Cross-list: TIBT 234. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 564. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 234 if student has credit for RELI 564. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 238 - SPECIAL TOPICS

Short Title: SPECIAL TOPICS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Internship/Practicum, Laboratory, Lecture, Lecture/Laboratory, Seminar, Independent Study

Credit Hours: 1-4

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Topics and credit hours may vary each semester. Contact department for current semester’s topic(s). Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 243 - THE BOOK OF GENESIS

Short Title: THE BOOK OF GENESIS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: A critical reading in English of the Book of Genesis with close attention to the narrative artistry and theological dimensions of the text. Compares pre-modern modes of interpretation and modern historical criticism.

RELI 250 - RELIGION AND SCIENCE

Short Title: RELIGION AND SCIENCE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: In this course we will undertake a collective exploration of the categories of religion and science as they are constructed in relation to each other, then explore how these categories are applied in and shape the world they work to describe. We will study the social phenomenon of the debate between religion and science as a cultural event in the western intellectual tradition that can illuminate how we understand these terms in contemporary popular culture. Our intention will be to understand how knowledge creation itself is structured by cultural forces. This course is designed to be a self-contained intellectual investigation accessible to interested students in any discipline.

RELI 270 - INTRODUCTION TO THE BLACK CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES

Short Title: INTRO BLACK CHURCH IN THE US

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Much of what has historically taken place within Black communities has been shaped by Black Christian churches. These churches are resources for those interested in understanding religious expression and activism within the Black community. This course provides an introduction into the history, thought, and worship of the major Black denominations.

RELI 271 - MEDIEVAL POPULAR CHRISTIANITY

Short Title: MEDIEVAL POPULAR CHRISTIANITY

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: For much of the Middle Ages, literacy was a luxury that ordinary people could not afford. How could peasants participate in Christian traditions? Course surveys devotional practices engaged by the laity, including penance, pilgrimage, plays, charms and spells, as well as traditions of lay interaction with dead saints and ghosts. Cross-list: MDEM 271.

RELI 282 - INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIANITY

Short Title: INTRO TO CHRISTIANITY

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Multidisciplinary exploration of Christian religious experience, belief, and social reality with examples from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe during the last two thousand years. Themes include search for lasting marks of identity amid change and diversity as well as the issue of Christianity's relation to processes of modernization and secularization. No prior background in religious studies required.

RELI 294 - RELIGION IN FICTION AND FILM

Short Title: RELIGION IN FICTION AND FILM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: The sacred in interreligious, international, and interdisciplinary encounter, approached via social sciences, theology, theories of literature and mythology. Authors and directors can include Waugh, Mishima, Mann, Proust, Hesse, Percy, Gardner, Updike, Gibson, Sterling, Coupland, Ray, Resnais, Fellini, Bergman, Anderson, Bunnel, and Nutley. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 514. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 294 if student has credit for RELI 514.

RELI 300 - RELIGIONS IN AMERICA

Short Title: RELIGIONS IN AMERICA

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Examines the religions and religious practices of America from colonial encounter with native peoples to the contemporary period with a special focus on the morphing natures and historical complexities of American Christianities, religious pluralism and secularism. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 504. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 300 if student has credit for RELI 504.

RELI 301 - NIETZSCHE AND RELIGIOUS THOUGHT

Short Title: NIETZSCHE & RELIGIOUS THOUGHT

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Nietzsche's thought and background: his impact on religious thinkers and cultural critics; his influence on understanding of God, faith, values, society; his connection with Schopenhauer, Wagner, Tillich, Mann, Barth, Buber, Freud, Jung, D.H. Lawrence, Heidegger, antibourgeois cultural criticism, environmentalism, feminism, and postmodernism. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 515. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 301 if student has credit for RELI 515.

RELI 304 - THE GOSPELS AND SECRET GOSPELS

Short Title: THE GOSPELS AND SECRET GOSPELS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Explores the New Testament and extra-canonical gospels (including the Gospels of Thomas Philip, Mary, Judas, etc.) in order understand how and why the early Christians wrote about Jesus' public and secret teachings. Weekly responses to the readings/discussions and 2500-word research paper on topic chosen by student.

RELI 306 - WE GON' BE ALRIGHT? THEMES IN THE ETHICS OF HIP HOP

Short Title: ETHICS OF HIP HOP

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: By exploring rap lyrics, images, and secondary texts, this course exams how hip hop culture names and presents pressing issues—e.g., death and dying. Through hip hop’s response to these issues, students will decipher and discuss the ethical frameworks and commitments undergirding this art form. Instructor Permission Required.

RELI 307 - BASIC COPTIC 1

Short Title: BASIC COPTIC 1

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: A first semester introduction to Coptic grammar and vocabulary. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 591. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 307 if student has credit for RELI 591. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 308 - BASIC COPTIC 2

Short Title: BASIC COPTIC 2

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Prerequisite(s): RELI 307

Description: Second semester introduction to Coptic grammar and vocabulary, with selected readings from the Coptic New Testament, Nag Hammadi, and monastic literature. Prerequisite: Introduction to Coptic Language I. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 592. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 308 if student has credit for RELI 592.

RELI 309 - BASIC COPTIC 3

Short Title: BASIC COPTIC 3

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 1-3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Varied readings in original language to include the New Testament, Nag Hammadi, and monastic literature. Prerequisite: Coptic 1 and 2. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 593. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 309 if student has credit for RELI 593. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 310 - GENDER, SEX, AND THE BIBLE

Short Title: GENDER, SEX, AND THE BIBLE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Attitudes toward gender, sex, sexuality, and the body in our culture today have been shaped, among other things, by Christianity. This course explores the history of those attitudes and their connection to biblical interpretative practices. Cultural-critical and feminist approaches are some of the perspectives used to explore this history and open students to alternative worldviews. The course will count towards the Requirements (Judaism/Christianity/Islam/African-American Religions) for the RELI major and the Requirements (Judaism/Christianity/Islam/African-American Religions) for the RELM minor.

RELI 311 - RELIGION AND HIP HOP CULTURE IN AMERICA

Short Title: RELIGION AND HIP HOP

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Hip Hop culture has changed how life is discussed and conducted. However, one of the under-explored dimensions of Hip Hop culture involves its religious sensibilities. Using lectures, discussions, films, and video presentations, this course explores Hip Hop culture's religious dimensions through its musical language-rap music. RELI 311 requires additional work above the RELI 157 counterpart, including a term paper, etc. Equivalency: RELI 157. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 311 if student has credit for RELI 157.

RELI 312 - THE RELIGIOUS THOUGHT OF MARTIN L. KING, JR. AND MALCOLM X

Short Title: MLK AND MALCOLM X

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Although many figures played a prominent role during the Civil Rights Movement, Martin L. King, Jr. and Malcolm X made unique contributions. Their work sparked important conversation concerning the methods, goals, and consequences of struggle toward liberation. This course examines their religiosity, theological sensibilities, and the major themes which surface in their writings and public work. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 546. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 312 if student has credit for RELI 546.

RELI 314 - SPIRITUALITY AND ART

Short Title: SPIRITUALITY AND ART

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Explores the critical intersection of the rise of modern art and spirituality (i.e., Spiritualism, Theosophy, Anthroposophy, Jungian thought, Buddhism, humanistic psychology, modern Gnosticism, etc.). Field trips to local museums and the creation of a visual journal in response to the themes of the course and visits to museums. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 314 if student has credit for RELI 551.

RELI 315 - GENDER AND ISLAM

Short Title: GENDER AND ISLAM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Explores the lives of Muslim women in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America; analyze constructions of gender in the Islamic world over time, the challenges faced from such diverse quarters as colonial administrators, Western feminists, and states, as well as movements and individuals within the Muslim world. Cross-list: ASIA 315, SWGS 315.

RELI 318 - THE BIBLE: A BRIEF INTELLECTUAL HISTORY

Short Title: BIOGRAPHY OF THE BIBLE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: An investigation of how the perception of the Bible changed from antiquity to the 21st century. The course is structured chronologically. A close reading of the works of major thinkers from each period, together with specific examples of biblical exegesis. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 518. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 318 if student has credit for RELI 518.

RELI 322 - INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM

Short Title: INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Buddhist ideas, art, and meditation. Exploration of the Buddhism in India, China, and Japan and their impact in the USA today. Readings include Buddhists classics and contemporary responses from mediators and scientists. Cross-list: ASIA 322. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 572. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 322 if student has credit for RELI 572.

RELI 328 - RELIGION AND GLOBAL POVERTY

Short Title: RELIGION & GLOBAL POVERTY

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Advanced study of religion and poverty in global context. Course materials will address religious, ethical anthropological theories of development, analyze specific themes economic and social development, examine the role of Faith Based Organizations and do specific case studies. Students will be graded on short reflections papers and a final term paper. Distribution 1 credit effective Fall 2022. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 528. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 328 if student has credit for RELI 528.

RELI 329 - THE BIBLE AS LIVED EXPERIENCE

Short Title: THE BIBLE AS LIVED EXPERIENCE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Even in today’s seemingly secular landscape, the Bible is a strong artistic, social, and political influence. We will explore ways in which the Bible is brought to life in contemporary culture by analyzing biblical references in music, film, art, and contemporary religious practice. We will show how American culture shapes understandings of the Bible and vice versa. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 329 if student has credit for RELI 529.

RELI 332 - ADVANCED TIBETAN LANGUAGE & CULTURE

Short Title: ADV TIBETAN LANGUAGE & CULTURE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Prerequisite(s): RELI 132 or TIBT 132

Description: This class builds on RELI 232 and 234, now including more challenging material in Tibetan, and continuing the trajectory of gaining familiarity with Buddhist philosophical systems as these touch on epistemology, ontology, and contemplative practice. Cross-list: TIBT 332. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 532. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 332 if student has credit for RELI 532. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 333 - KNOWING BODY/GLOWING MIND: BUDDHIST ARTS OF CONTEMPLATION AND ANALYSIS

Short Title: KNOWING BODY/GLOWING MIND

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Buddhism is a performing art engaging both mind and body. Our course investigates Buddhist and other literature, epistemology and rituals with an eye to how they speak to contemplative practice. Contemplative practice itself, in class and out, supplements our exploration of the interplay between traditional Asian and contemporary Western perspectives. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 573. Recommended prerequisite(s): One course in Buddhism. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 333 if student has credit for RELI 573. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 334 - PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION

Short Title: PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: An overview of the basic approaches in the psychological understanding of religious belief and practice. Topics to be addressed in religious systems East and West include: sex, religious experience, ritual, myth, saintliness, guilt, God and meditation.

RELI 335 - MEDICINE AND THE MUSEUM: CLINICAL AESTHETICS AND THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON

Short Title: MEDICINE AND THE MUSEUM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Through weekly visits to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, this class develops key skills and engages relevant themes relating to medicine and caregiving, including observation and description, embodiment and motion, eros and suffering, vulnerable populations, grief and loss, human mortality and spiritual transcendence.

RELI 336 - RELIGION & THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

Short Title: RELIGION & THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Designed to introduce the student to classic and contemporary texts in the social scientific study of religion. Topics include: mysticism, the social construction of gender, the guru-disciple relationship, secularization, healing traditions East and West, cross-cultural debates. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 336 if student has credit for RELI 260/RELI 609.

RELI 337 - SHAMANS, SAINTS, & SAGES

Short Title: SHAMANS, SAINTS, & SAGES

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Familiarize the student with diverse texts (secular and religious, East and West) found in mystical literature. Emphasis will be placed on psychological and comparative methods. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 337 if student has credit for RELI 262.

RELI 338 - THE CHURCH OF AFRICA

Short Title: THE CHURCH OF AFRICA

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: A reading course designed to examine Christianity in Africa. Course materials and readings will address the development of the church from the Patristic era to the present, paying attention to theological developments, missionization, colonialism, nationalism, prophetic movements, race relations, the role of women, and social issues. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 540. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 338 if student has credit for RELI 540.

RELI 339 - APOCALYPSE THEN AND NOW

Short Title: APOCALYPSE THEN AND NOW

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: A close reading of some early Jewish and Christian apocalypses, a discussion of the apocalyptic worldview, and an examination of America's fascination with the Apocalypse in media and science. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 510. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 339 if student has credit for RELI 510.

RELI 341 - AMERICAN JUDAISM: RELIGION AND THOUGHT

Short Title: AMERICAN JUDAISM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course will examine the distinct character of Jewish religion and thought as it has taken shape in America since the colonial era, paying close attention to the influence of American Protestantism, the Constitution, and free-market capitalism on the development of American Jewish denominationalism. Other topics to be examined include interfaith relations and families, evolving gender roles and racial diversity, and new secular forms of American Jewish religious expression. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 542. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 341 if student has credit for RELI 258/RELI 542. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 542. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 341 if student has credit for RELI 542.

RELI 343 - SEMINAR ON LOVE

Short Title: SEMINAR ON LOVE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This seminar explores the themes of love, sex, and spirit from the classical era through the postmodern age. We will examine literary, philosophical, and artistic expressions in painting, sculpture, cinema, novels, poetry, psychoanalysis, religion, and culture. Cross-list: HART 347.

RELI 344 - SEMINAR ON THE END OF LIFE

Short Title: END OF LIFE SEMINAR

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 4

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course examines themes associated with death and dying from the historical through the contemporary periods. The class will adopt highly multidisciplinary approach that combines the critical perspectives of biomedicine, religious studies, art history, philosophy, anthropology, bioethics, and cultural studies as we consider life at the end of life.

RELI 348 - CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM IN AFRICA

Short Title: CHRISTIANITY & ISLAM IN AFRICA

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course will focus upon the history and conflict of Christianity and Islam in Africa, with emphasis placed upon indigenous African developments, cultural and artistic themes, and conversion narratives as well as exploring the co-existence and conflict of the two major faiths of the continent. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 348 if student has credit for RELI 536.

RELI 350 - DEMONS, MENTAL ILLNESS AND MEDICINE

Short Title: DEMONS/MENTAL ILLNESS/MEDICINE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Treats complex connections between religious beliefs/practices and formulation of human psychology in western tradition, through a historical reckoning with demonology. Consider the way demons are represented -- from semi-corporeal beings to marks of mental illness -- by looking at texts from the ancient world to modern psychiatry. Cross-list: MDEM 350. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 350 if student has credit for RELI 605.

RELI 356 - MAJOR ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY ISLAM

Short Title: MAJ ISSUES CONTEMPORARY ISLAM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course will focus on the major issues confronting contemporary Islam including Islamic unity, the place of the Qur'an and traditions, human rights, Islamic feminism, da'wa, education, science and Islam, globalization and medical ethics.

RELI 357 - WHAT'S RELIGIOUS ABOUT BLACK RELIGION?

Short Title: IS BLACK RELIGION RELIGIOUS?

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course examines two questions: How is religion defined within the study of lack religion? What constitutes the nature and meaning of blackness within black religion? These questions provide opportunity to explore how scholars explain what it has meant to be black and religious within the United States. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 547. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 357 if student has credit for RELI 547.

RELI 359 - RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE IN THE CRUCIBLE OF GLOBALIZATION

Short Title: RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Explores context and consequences of the concept of religious tolerance in the crucible of globalization politics. Background in settlement of Reformation-era religious wars; American attitudes; impetus for tolerance policies and their implementation, 1945 to present (including governmentality and surveillance); results for historically Christian populations, esp. in US and Europe. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 580. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 359 if student has credit for RELI 580.

RELI 361 - THE HUMANITIES OF CARE & END OF LIFE

Short Title: THE HUMANITIES OF CARE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Pairing the perspectives of medicine, bioethics, and the medical humanities with thematic case studies in art, literature, cinema, and visual culture, the class examines the humanities of care and the end of life. Cross-list: HURC 361.

RELI 362 - RELIGION AND SCIENCE

Short Title: RELIGION AND SCIENCE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This advanced seminar analyzes interdisciplinary efforts by scholars of religion to engage scientific research in the cognitive and neuro- sciences. We assess the possibilities for collaboration, as well as conflict, between humanistic and scientific disciplines, asking how the tools of interpretation and empiricism might enrich our understanding of religious phenomena. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 563. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 362 if student has credit for RELI 563.

RELI 363 - JEWISH PHILOSOPHY: GREAT THINKERS AND THEMES IN JEWISH THOUGHT

Short Title: JEWISH PHILOSOPHY

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: An introduction to the main figures and themes in Jewish philosophy. Topics to be discussed include reason vs faith and prophetic revelation; Israel’s chosenness vs human universalism; creation vs eternity; divine providence and necessity vs free will; evil, justice, and divine omnipotence; prayer, contemplation, and divine and human perfection. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 567. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 363 if student has credit for RELI 567.

RELI 365 - PAUL AND THE FIRST CHRISTIANS

Short Title: PAUL AND THE FIRST CHRISTIANS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Examines the origins of Christianity through the analysis of Paul's letters in the New Testament and the book of Acts. Weekly written responses to the readings/discussion and 2500-word research paper on topic selected by student.

RELI 367 - REPRESENTING THE DEVIL IN CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY AND ART

Short Title: REPRESENTING THE DEVIL

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course focuses on representations of the Devil, demons, and ambiguous spirits in Christian sources from the early medieval to early modern period. Students examine theological as well as ritual sources (blessings and exorcisms), and popular, narrative, dramatic, and artistic representations of evil. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 557. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 367 if student has credit for RELI 557.

RELI 368 - RISE OF THE NONES: HUMANISMS AND HUMANITIES

Short Title: RISE OF THE NONES

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course will look at the rise of the “nones,” that is, individuals who affiliate with no religious tradition, through both a history of secular thought in the West and a close reading of key texts and figures. Atheism, humanism, secularism and the “spiritual but not religious” will all be treated as key categories. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 568. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 368 if student has credit for RELI 568. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 371 - CHRISTIANITY IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH

Short Title: CHRISTIANITY IN GLOBAL SOUTH

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Readings on Christianity in the Global South analyzing historical developments, mission and colonial encounters, growth and expansion; diversity of expression, the development of local initiated Churches, Pentecostalism, and public role of the Church. Distribution 1 credit effective Fall 2022. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 561. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 371 if student has credit for RELI 561.

RELI 375 - EPIPHANIES: SEEING IN A NEW LIGHT AND RECOGNIZING THE RADIANCE

Short Title: EPIPHANIES

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Epiphanies are events or objects that can note a striking appearance or manifestation, just as an epiphanic experience contains a significant moment of revelation. This course examines expressions of epiphanies in modernist art, literature, film, sacred experience, and in the mundane details of life itself. Cross-list: HART 328.

RELI 378 - MIND AND ART, FILM AND LITERATURE IN BUDDHISM

Short Title: BUDDHIST ART AND LITERATURE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: What is mind? What is self? What can a human being become? Drawing on a wealth of Buddhist-related art, film, and literature, this course introduces you to Tibetan and other Buddhist approaches to these crucial questions. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 578. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 378 if student has credit for RELI 578.

RELI 382 - LOST JUDAISMS: THE APOCRYPHAL WRITINGS

Short Title: LOST JUDAISMS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: After the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament canon was closed, Jews and Christians continued to compose texts and attributed them to the biblical figures of the past. Seminar offers a close reading of some of these apocryphal/pseudepidgraphic little known texts. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 509. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 382 if student has credit for RELI 509.

RELI 383 - THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

Short Title: THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: A survey of the Dead Sea Scrolls as a window into the Second Temple period. A close reading of the scrolls will lead to a discussion of the theological and historical issues of the time, a period pivotal for the formation of Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 553. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 383 if student has credit for RELI 553.

RELI 384 - PILGRIMAGE AND CRUSADE

Short Title: PILGRIMAGE AND CRUSADE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Focus on the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Mecca by Jews, Christians, and Muslims within the context of the crusade period. Also covers the historical religious events of the crusades (approximately 1000-1300) from both a Muslim and a Christian perspective. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 384 if student has credit for RELI 608.

RELI 385 - GOD, TIME AND HISTORY

Short Title: GOD, TIME AND HISTORY

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: How is the passage of time given meaning, and what role--if any--is assigned to divinity in shaping the direction of events? Course explores various forms of recording and interpreting events, drawing from ancient Mesopotamia, Israel, and the Greco-Roman world--the cultures in which modern ideas of history began. Cross-list: HIST 381. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 385 if student has credit for RELI 585.

RELI 388 - THE PSALMS

Short Title: THE PSALMS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: A seminar on biblical poetry. The Psalms have constituted a book of study, devotion, and prayer for Jews and Christians for two millennia. This course explores the psalms’ poetic force, liturgical setting in ancient Israel, theology, and enduring significance today. Counts for the Minor in Jewish Studies. RELI 612: Additional readings and longer paper. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 612. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 388 if student has credit for RELI 612.

RELI 392 - JERUSALEM: RELIGION AND POLITICS PAST AND PRESENT

Short Title: JERUSALEM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3,4

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course examines the ways in which religious identities, beliefs, and practices in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have shaped contemporary politics and governance in Jerusalem, one of the world’s holiest and most contested cities. Instructor Permission Required.

RELI 393 - MUTANTS AND MYSTICS: RACE, SEXUALITY, AND THE FUTURE OF THE HUMANITIES

Short Title: MUTANTS AND MYSTICS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This is a course about the deep historical and conceptual connections between the histories of science fiction, the paranormal, and social transformation around race, gender, sexuality, and the human. We will see that such events tend to erupt in the “gaps” or “fractures” of society and within both personal and historical traumatic contexts in order to both deconstruct the reigning social formations, epistemologies, and ontologies—usually of an objectivizing, colonizing, and scientistic nature--but also supply the numinous foundations for the imagining of new humanities, or what queer theorist Ramzi Fawaz calls our emerging “mutanity.” Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 589. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 393 if student has credit for RELI 589.

RELI 395 - LOSING YOUR RELIGION IN FILM & FICTION & MUSIC

Short Title: LOSING YOUR RELIGION IN FILM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Doubt, sex, despair, obsession, ecstasy in directors, writers, musicians wanting spiritual reboot, 1890-2015: such as Allen Ginsberg, Oscar Wilde, D.H. Lawrence, T.S. Eliot, H.P. Lovecraft, John Updike, and Ingmar Bergman. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 503. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 395 if student has credit for RELI 503.

RELI 396 - PENTECOSTALISM

Short Title: PENTECOSTALISM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: An introduction to Pentecostalism in a global context focusing historical developments, expansion in Europe, North America, Africa, Latin America and Asia. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 595. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 396 if student has credit for RELI 595.

RELI 399 - CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE

Short Title: CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Activity Course

Credit Hour: 1

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Literary and artistic creativity, religious experience, and textual interpretation often draw on focused states of consciousness made possible by contemplative practices. The practice will provide historical information about such practices and offer opportunities to participate in techniques ranging from meditation and observing breath to freeform writing and T'ai Chi. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 597. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 399 if student has credit for RELI 597. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 400 - SENIOR THESIS

Short Title: SENIOR THESIS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Consisting of the writing of a thesis of considerable length, depth, and research, this course will function as the capstone course on writing in the discipline. Required of all majors.

RELI 401 - INDEPENDENT STUDY

Short Title: INDEPENDENT STUDY

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 1-6

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Multiple sections of this course are offered. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 402 - INDEPENDENT STUDY

Short Title: INDEPENDENT STUDY

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 1-6

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Multiple sections of this course are offered. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 403 - SENIOR THESIS I

Short Title: SENIOR THESIS I

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 1-6

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: For the duration of their senior year, qualified students can elect to write a senior thesis. To complete the thesis, the student elects RELI 403 "Senior Thesis I” in Fall semester and RELI 404 "Senior Thesis II" in Spring semester and works with a Religion faculty supervisor for the year. Instructor Permission Required.

RELI 404 - SENIOR THESIS II

Short Title: SENIOR THESIS II

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 1-6

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Prerequisite(s): RELI 403

Description: For the duration of their senior year, qualified students can elect to write a senior thesis. To complete the thesis, the student elects RELI 403 "Senior Thesis I” in Fall semester and RELI 404 "Senior Thesis II" in Spring semester and works with a Religion faculty supervisor for the year. Instructor Permission Required.

RELI 406 - CHRISTIANITY AND LATE ANTIQUITY

Short Title: CHRISTIANITY & LATE ANTIQUITY

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This advanced seminar treats the formation of Christinaity as an instituional power in relation to the Roman Empire. Starting with the Edict of Milan in 313 CE, which put an end to persectution of Christians, and closing with the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE, which established normative Christian doctrine, we will move through this development in seven roughly chronological units. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 506. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 406 if student has credit for RELI 506.

RELI 407 - ARCHIVES OF THE IMPOSSIBLE

Short Title: ARCHIVES OF THE IMPOSSIBLE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Research

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: After reading Prof. Kripal's Authors of the Impossible as a basic theoretical structure for the semester, this advanced archival research seminar will involve students engaging original historical documents contained in Rice University's archive on Paranormal Currents in American Culture toward the writing of a graduate or undergraduate thesis. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 607. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 407 if student has credit for RELI 607.

RELI 410 - CONCEPTS IN THE STUDY OF RELIGION

Short Title: CONCEPTS IN RELIGION

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course introduces useful concepts and key methodological problems in the discipline of religious studies. It aims to provide a theoretical toolkit for graduate students at the Masters level and advanced undergraduates, especially those contemplating or engaged in honors or MA theses in the Religion department. Graduate students must take a final exam and write an additional three to four thousand words. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 610.

RELI 416 - NEW TESTAMENT / CHRISTIAN ORIGINS

Short Title: NEW TESTAMENT/CHRISTIAN ORIG

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: How did Christianity emerge as a new religious movement in the Roman Empire? Covers the history and literature of the first generations of Christians, focusing on Post-Temple developments, issues of authority and leadership, rise of regional forms of Christianity, and formation of distinct Christian identities. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 616. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 416 if student has credit for RELI 616.

RELI 417 - GNOSTIC AMERICA

Short Title: GNOSTIC AMERICA

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Covers the rise of Gnostic spirituality in American religion and culture, from the Colonial period to the present. Explores the alpha conduits (Boehme, Blavatsky, Jung, academia). Examines the roles of revelatory experience, artifact migration, historical criticism, secularization, hybridity, heresy, and popularization. Case studies vary depending on students' research goals. 5000-word research paper. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 417 if student has credit for RELI 517.

RELI 420 - ART OF INTERPRETING THE BIBLE

Short Title: ART OF INTERPRETING THE BIBLE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Explores issues of history, historiography, and hermeneutics within the context of Biblical Studies. While traditional forms of Biblical criticism are covered, the bulk of the course focuses on intertextuality, reception history, sociological methods, feminist views, and cognitive approaches. Graduate students (7500 word paper, seminar leadership, and oral presentation); Undergraduate students (5000 word paper and oral presentation). Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 620.

RELI 421 - FOUCAULT & THE HERMENEUTICS OF SELF

Short Title: FOUCAULT & THE SELF

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Best known for analyzing domination and power, Michel Foucault shifts his attention to ethics and “technologies of the self” in 1976. In this advanced seminar, we study and critique Foucault’s turn to western antiquity through his lectures and volumes of foregrounding resistance to power through religion, politics and ethics. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 569. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 421 if student has credit for RELI 569.

RELI 424 - RELIGION AND POLITICS IN AFRICA

Short Title: RELIGION & POLITICS IN AFRICA

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Course explores interdisciplinary perspectives on religion and politics in Africa focusing on indigenous religious, Christianity, and Islam. Readings will reflect theoretical perspectives, historical developments, regional angels, and contemporary issues such as sharia, gender, and reconciliation as political options. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 534. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 424 if student has credit for RELI 534. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 426 - RELIGION AND LITERATURE IN AFRICA

Short Title: RELI AND LITERATURE IN AFRICA

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Analysis of the religious imagination and gender issues in postcolonial literature in Africa focusing on Islam, Christianity, indigenous religions and African Initiated Churches. Religious and gender issues addressed include identity crises, power, clash of cultures, modernity, cosmology, community, and socio-religious conflicts in a postcolonial world. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 426 if student has credit for RELI 538.

RELI 427 - HISTORY AND METHODS: NINETEETH CENTURY

Short Title: HISTORY AND METHODS: 19TH CENT

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Focused discussion of the history and methods of the study of religion via close readings of classical texts and narratives of the field from 1800-1900. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 527. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 427 if student has credit for RELI 527.

RELI 428 - HISTORY AND METHODS: TWENTIETH CENTURY

Short Title: HISTORY AND METHODS: 20TH CENT

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Focused discussion of the history and methods of the study of religion via close readings of classical texts and narratives of the field from 1900-present. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 559. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 428 if student has credit for RELI 559.

RELI 430 - RELIGION, PSYCHOLOGY & CULTURE

Short Title: RELIGION, PSYCHOLOGY & CULTURE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: A survey of the historical development of the psychology of religion and its conversation with theology, comparative studies, gender studies, sociology, and anthropology. Topics include: mysticism, eroticism, conversion, feminism, psychobiography. Examples drawn from a variety of religious traditions. Readings include: Freud, Jung, Tillich, Erikson, Kristeva, Kakar. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 584. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 430 if student has credit for RELI 584.

RELI 431 - THE BIBLE AND THE BRAIN

Short Title: THE BIBLE AND THE BRAIN

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: The study of religious thought, behavior, and practices in the Bible from the perspective of cognitive science, evolutionary science, and cognitive linguistics. Explores human memory, extreme religious experiences, ritualized behaviors, shamanism and religious therapy, religious community, universality of religion, and the emergence and transmission of religious ideas and practices among early Jews and Christians. 5000 word research paper. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 531. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 431 if student has credit for RELI 531.

RELI 442 - CLASSICAL AND CONTEMPORARY ARABIC TEXTS

Short Title: ARABIC TEXTS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Study and read classical Arabic texts with the goal of learning the material as well as the syntax and grammar of Arabic. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 541. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 444 - VISIONS AND VISONARY PRACTICES: MEDIEVAL TO MODERN

Short Title: VISIONS & VISIONARY PRACTICES

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course examines accounts of visions, comparing medieval and modern visionary techniques and processes and relating visionary writings to cultural and personal contexts. Includes some Christian theology along with other theoretical frameworks, but emphasis on praxis. Cross-list: MDEM 444. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 644. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 444 if student has credit for RELI 644.

RELI 449 - SECOND CENTURY CHRISTIANITIES

Short Title: SECOND CENTURY CHRISTIANITIES

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Seminar examines controversies and debates among the second-century Christians as catholic Christianity emerged from a diversity of Christian movements. Literature reviewed will vary. Students will select to focus on one controversy and write a research paper (undergraduates, 5000 words; graduate students, 7500 words). Oral discussion and presentations will be required. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 549. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 449 if student has credit for RELI 549.

RELI 450 - THE OTHER GOSPELS AND APOCRYPHA

Short Title: OTHER GOSPELS AND APOCRYPHA

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Covers selections of the New Testament Apocrypha, including the Gospels of Thomas, Judas, Philip, and Mary, the Acts of Paul and Thecla, and more. Learn what the early Christians were doing and thinking as regional lore emerged in the second and third centuries and Christian diversity and identities expanded. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 550. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 450 if student has credit for RELI 550.

RELI 451 - THIRD CENTURY CHRISTIANITIES

Short Title: THIRD CENTURY CHRISTIANITIES

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Seminar examines controversies and debates among the third-century early Christians as catholic Christianity emerged from a diversity of Christian movements. Literature reviewed will vary. Students will select to focus on one controversy and write a research paper (undergraduates, 5000 words; graduate students, 7500 words). Oral discussion and presentations will be required. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 551.

RELI 458 - MYSTICISM: THEORIES AND METHODS

Short Title: MYSTICISM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: A history of the development of the modern category of "mysticism" from the seventeenth century to today, with side studies of cognate terms like "spirituality," "metaphysical religion," and the "paranormal," as these forms of extreme religious experience are by social-scientific and humanistic methods. RELI 558: Additional readings and writing. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 558. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 458 if student has credit for RELI 558.

RELI 470 - BUDDHIST WISDOM TEXTS

Short Title: BUDDHIST WISDOM TEXTS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Indo-Tibetan analyses of the mind and its functions, especially differing views on the role of reasoning and the nature of the "ultimate" in major philosophical schools of Tibet and India. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 570. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 472 - KABBALAH SEMINAR

Short Title: KABBALAH SEMINAR

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This seminar will delve into literature known as "kabbalah." through close readings of first-hand accounts of thinkers and mystics known as "kabbalists," will explore themes like secrecy and mystery, the nature of the divine, and religious ecstasy. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 472 if student has credit for RELI 582.

RELI 476 - FROM DECOLONIZATION TO GLOBALIZATION

Short Title: FROM DECOLONI TO GLOBALIZATION

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Taught in English. Novels, and films, from North and West Africa, and the immigrant population in France, from 1960 to 2010. Emphasis on the tensions between narratives of political emancipation, modernity, secularism, and religious fundamentalism and mysticism. Extra reading for graduate students in theories of colonialism, postcolonialism, globalization. Cross-list: FREN 324, POLI 324. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 604. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 476 if student has credit for RELI 604.

RELI 477 - SPECIAL TOPICS

Short Title: SPECIAL TOPICS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar, Lecture, Laboratory, Internship/Practicum

Credit Hours: 1-4

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Topics and credit hours may vary each semester. Contact department for current semester's topic(s). Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 477 if student has credit for RELI 353. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 481 - GNOSTICISM SEMINAR

Short Title: GNOSTICISM SEMINAR

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: In depth examination of one (or more) Gnostic texts within its literary, social, historical, and religious landscapes. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 581. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 481 if student has credit for RELI 581.

RELI 488 - THE HISTORY OF RELIGIONS SCHOOLS

Short Title: HISTORY OF RELIGIONS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: An historical survey of the History of Religions School that emerged in the 1960s and 70s at the University of Chicago and came to play such an important role in the comparative study of religion. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 588. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 488 if student has credit for RELI 588.

RELI 500 - RELIGIONS FROM INDIA

Short Title: RELIGIONS FROM INDIA

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: This course will survey the religions of India, namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, Islam, and Sikhism. Emphasis will be placed on the study of scriptures of these traditions and their continuing global relevance, particularly in American history and culture. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 232. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 500 if student has credit for RELI 232.

RELI 503 - LOSING YOUR RELIGION IN FILM & FICTION & MUSIC

Short Title: LOSING YOUR RELIGION IN FILM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Doubt, sex, despair, obsession, ecstasy in directors, writers, musicians wanting spiritual reboot, 1890-2015: such as Allen Ginsberg, Oscar Wilde, D.H. Lawrence, T.S. Eliot, H.P. Lovecraft, John Updike, and Ingmar Bergman. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 395. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 503 if student has credit for RELI 395.

RELI 504 - RELIGIONS IN AMERICA

Short Title: RELIGIONS IN AMERICA

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Examines the religions and religious practices of America from colonial encounter with native peoples to the contemporary period with a special focus on the morphing natures and historical complexities of American Christianities, religious pluralism and secularism. Graduate students will be required to read a standard and well-known two-volume, 1,200-page collection of primary historical sources. They will also write a research paper (25-30 pages) that is approximately twice as long as the undergraduate paper. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 300. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 504 if student has credit for RELI 300.

RELI 506 - CHRISTIANITY AND LATE ANTIQUITY

Short Title: CHRISTIANITY & LATE ANTIQUITY

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: This advanced seminar treats the formation of Christinaity as an instituional power in relation to the Roman Empire. Starting with the Edict of Milan in 313 CE, which put an end to persectution of Christians, and closing with the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE, which established normative Christian doctrine, we will move through this development in seven roughly chronological units. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 406. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 506 if student has credit for RELI 406.

RELI 507 - INTRODUCTION TO BIBLICAL HEBREW I

Short Title: INTRO TO BIBLICAL HEBREW I

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: An introduction to Biblical Hebrew with emphasis on grammar and vocabulary. Write an exegetical paper on a Hebrew text of your choice. Instructor Permission Required. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 125. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 507 if student has credit for RELI 125.

RELI 509 - LOST JUDAISMS: THE APOCRYPHAL WRITINGS

Short Title: LOST JUDAISMS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: After the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament canon was closed, Jews and Christians continued to compose texts and attributed them to the biblical figures of the past. Seminar offers a close reading of some of these apocryphal/pseudepidgraphic little known texts. Students in RELI 509 will additionally conduct a research project. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 382. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 509 if student has credit for RELI 382.

RELI 510 - APOCALYPSE THEN AND NOW

Short Title: APOCALYPSE THEN AND NOW

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: A close reading of some early Jewish and Christian apocalypses, a discussion of the apocalyptic worldview, and an examination of America's fascination with the Apocalypse in media and science. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 339. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 510 if student has credit for RELI 339.

RELI 511 - INTRODUCTION TO BIBLICAL HEBREW II

Short Title: INTRO TO BIBLICAL HEBREW II

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Continuation of RELI 507. We will finish the grammar in the second half of this semester and then read selections from the Hebrew bible. Write an exegetical paper on a Hebrew text of your choice. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 126. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 511 if student has credit for RELI 126.

RELI 512 - INTERMEDIATE BIBLICAL HEBREW III

Short Title: INTERM BIBLICAL HEBREW III

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Prerequisite(s): RELI 125 and RELI 126

Description: Readings in the Hebrew Bible as well as some unvocalized texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Review of grammar and vocabulary. Write an exegetical paper on a Hebrew text. UG/GR Equivalent: RELI 127. Instructor Permission Required. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 127. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 512 if student has credit for RELI 127.

RELI 514 - RELIGION IN FICTION AND FILM

Short Title: RELIGION IN FICTION AND FILM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: The sacred in interreligious, international, and interdisciplinary encounter, approached via social sciences, theology, theories of literature and mythology. Authors and directors can include Waugh, Mishima, Mann, Proust, Hesse, Percy, Gardner, Updike, Gibson, Sterling, Coupland, Ray, Resnais, Fellini, Bergman, Anderson, Bunnel, and Nutley. Term paper twice as long as undergraduate requirement. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 294. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 514 if student has credit for RELI 294.

RELI 515 - NIETZSCHE AND RELIGIOUS THOUGHT

Short Title: NIETZSCHE & RELIGIOUS THOUGHT

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: . Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 301. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 515 if student has credit for RELI 301.

RELI 518 - THE BIBLE: A BRIEF INTELLECTUAL HISTORY

Short Title: BIOGRAPHY OF THE BIBLE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: An investigation of how the perception of the Bible changed from antiquity to the 21st century. The course is structured chronologically. A close reading of the works of major thinkers from each period, together with specific examples of biblical exegesis. Graduate students will have one extra reading assignment per week and complete a 14-15 page paper. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 318. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 518 if student has credit for RELI 318.

RELI 523 - INDEPENDENT STUDY

Short Title: INDEPENDENT STUDY

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 1-15

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Multiple sections of this course are offered. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 524 - INDEPENDENT STUDY

Short Title: INDEPENDENT STUDY

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 1-9

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Multiple sections of this course are offered. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 527 - HISTORY AND METHODS: 19TH CENTURY

Short Title: HISTORY AND METHODS: 19TH CENT

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Focused discussion of the history and methods of the study of religion via close readings of classical texts and narratives of the field from 1800-1900. Graduate course will require reading of more books and a longer paper to write. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 427. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 527 if student has credit for RELI 427.

RELI 528 - RELIGION AND GLOBAL POVERTY

Short Title: RELIGION & GLOBAL POVERTY

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Advanced study of religion and poverty in global context. Course materials will address religious, ethical anthropological theories of development, analyze specific themes economic and social development, examine the role of Faith Based Organizations and do specific case studies. Students will be graded on short reflections papers and a final term paper. Graduate students taking the course will be assigned 4 additional texts, do a major review of one of the texts, and do two class presentations on one of the texts. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 328. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 528 if student has credit for RELI 328.

RELI 530 - PEDAGOGY PRACTICUM

Short Title: PEDAGOGY PRACTICUM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Internship/Practicum

Credit Hours: 2

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: As an integral part of the department's apprenticeship program, this is a semester-long practicum through which a graduate student apprentices with a faculty member teaching an undergraduate course in order to be trained in all aspects of course design, lecturing, advising, and grading. Required of all graduate students. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 531 - THE BIBLE AND THE BRAIN

Short Title: THE BIBLE AND THE BRAIN

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: The study of religious thought, behavior, and practices in the Bible from the perspective of cognitive science, evolutionary science, and cognitive linguistics. Explores human memory, extreme religious experiences, ritualized behaviors, shamanism and religious therapy, religious community, universality of religion, and the emergence and transmission of religious ideas and practices among early Jews and Christians. GR: seminar leadership, 7500 word research paper. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 431. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 531 if student has credit for RELI 431.

RELI 532 - ADVANCED TIBETAN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Short Title: ADV TIBETAN LANGUAGE & CULTURE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Prerequisite(s): RELI 131

Description: This class builds on RELI 500 and 564, now including more challenging material in Tibetan, and continuing the trajectory of gaining familiarity with Buddhist philosophical systems as these touch on epistemology, ontology, and contemplative practice. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 332. Recommended Prerequisite(s): Basic reading ability in Tibetan. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 532 if student has credit for RELI 132/RELI 332. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 533 - EDITING AND PUBLISHING PRACTICUM

Short Title: EDITING/PUBLISHING PRACTICUM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

Course Type: Internship/Practicum

Credit Hour: 1

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: This practicum involves real-world experience in the production of one of the journals in the Department of Religion at Rice University. Students will learn the methods and best-practices to produce and sustain high-quality journals in the study of Religion on print and digital platforms. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 534 - RELIGION AND POLITICS IN AFRICA

Short Title: RELIGION & POLITICS IN AFRICA

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Course explores interdisciplinary perspectives on religion and politics in Africa focusing on indigenous religious, Christianity, and Islam. Readings will reflect theoretical perspectives, historical developments, regional angels, and contemporary issues such as sharia, gender, and reconciliation as political options. RELI 534 requires additional reading, review a book on the subject, and write a 25 page research paper. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 424. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 534 if student has credit for RELI 424.

RELI 540 - THE CHURCH OF AFRICA

Short Title: THE CHURCH OF AFRICA

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: . Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 338. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 540 if student has credit for RELI 338.

RELI 541 - CLASSICAL AND CONTEMPORARY ARABIC TEXTS

Short Title: ARABIC TEXTS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Study and read classical Arabic texts with the goal of learning the material as well as the syntax and grammar of Arabic. Graduate students will have an additional assignment of a paper (15-20 pgs) analyzing their text. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 442. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 542 - AMERICAN JUDAISM: RELIGION AND THOUGHT

Short Title: AMERICAN JUDAISM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: This course will examine the distinct character of Jewish religion and thought as it has taken shape in America, including its incorporation within secret societies and the occult. Topics to be examined are American Jewish denominationalism, interfaith relations, pluralism and individualism, and developments in American Jewish spirituality. Grad students will write a 25-30pp research paper. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 341. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 542 if student has credit for RELI 341.

RELI 546 - THE RELIGIOUS THOUGHT OF MARTIN L. KING, JR. AND MALCOLM X

Short Title: MLK AND MALCOLM X

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: . Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 312. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 546 if student has credit for RELI 312.

RELI 547 - WHAT'S RELIGIOUS ABOUT BLACK RELIGION?

Short Title: IS BLACK RELIGION RELIGIOUS?

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: This course examines two questions: How is religion defined within the study of lack religion? What constitutes the nature and meaning of blackness within black religion? These questions provide opportunity to explore how scholars explain what it has meant to be black and religious within the United States. Additional requirements for RELI 547: Write 5 reflection papers; lead at least two class discussions; complete a 30-page research paper; and complete additional readings. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 357. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 547 if student has credit for RELI 357.

RELI 549 - SECOND CENTURY CHRISTIANITIES

Short Title: SECOND CENTURY CHRISTIANITIES

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Seminar examines controversies and debates among the second-century Christians as catholic Christianity emerged from a diversity of Christian movements. Literature reviewed will vary. Students will select to focus on one controversy and write a research paper (undergraduates, 5000 words; graduate students, 7500 words). Oral discussion and presentations will be required. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 449. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 549 if student has credit for RELI 449.

RELI 550 - THE OTHER GOSPELS AND APOCRYPHA

Short Title: OTHER GOSPELS AND APOCRYPHA

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Covers selections of the New Testament Apocrypha, including the Gospels of Thomas, Judas, Philip, and Mary, the Acts of Paul and Thecla, and more. Learn what the early Christians were doing and thinking as regional lore emerged in the second and third centuries and Christian diversity and identities expanded. Graduate students enrolled in this course will submit a 7000 word research paper (compared to 5000 words for undergraduate students) and will complete a book review and additional readings in scholastic literature. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 450. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 550 if student has credit for RELI 450.

RELI 551 - THIRD CENTURY CHRISTIANITIES

Short Title: THIRD CENTURY CHRISTIANITIES

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Seminar examines controversies and debates among the third-century early Christians as catholic Christianity emerged from a diversity of Christian movements. Literature reviewed will vary. Students will select to focus on one controversy and write a research paper (undergraduates, 5000 words; graduate students, 7500 words). Oral discussion and presentations will be required. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 451. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 551 if student has credit for RELI 314.

RELI 553 - THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

Short Title: THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: . Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 383. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 553 if student has credit for RELI 383.

RELI 557 - REPRESENTING THE DEVIL IN CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY AND ART

Short Title: REPRESENTING THE DEVIL

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: This course focuses on representations of the Devil, demons and ambiguous spirits in Christian theological, ritual, and narrative sources from the early medieval to early modern period. Graduate work includes added reading (30-50 pp weekly above undergraduate requirements), article length essay (8 to 10 thousand words) and two presentations. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 367. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 557 if student has credit for RELI 367.

RELI 558 - MYSTICISM: THEORIES AND METHODS

Short Title: MYSTICISM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: A history of the development of the modern category of "mysticism" from the seventeenth century to today, with side studies of cognate terms like "spirituality," "metaphysical religion," and the "paranormal," as these forms of extreme religious experience are by social-scientific and humanistic methods. RELI 558: Additional readings and writing. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 458. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 558 if student has credit for RELI 458.

RELI 559 - HISTORY AND METHODS: TWENTIETH CENTURY

Short Title: HISTORY AND METHODS: 20TH CENT

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Focused discussion of the history and methods of the study of religion via close readings of classical texts and narratives of the field from 1900-present. Graduate course will require reading of more books and a longer paper to write. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 428. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 559 if student has credit for RELI 428.

RELI 561 - CHRISTIANITY IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH

Short Title: CHRISTIANITY IN GLOBAL SOUTH

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Readings on Christianity in the Global South analyzing historical developments, mission and colonial encounters, growth and expansion; diversity of expression, the development of local initiated Churches, Pentecostalism, and public role of the Church. Graduate students will lead class on a church in a country of their choice. Each graduate student will prepare and lead a seminar on one aspect of the region or country. Each graduate student will also present in class an in-depth study of a selected theme. Graduate students will read additional books selected from a list of texts discussed with instructor. They will also write a 25 page research paper on any topic in Global Christianity. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 371. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 561 if student has credit for RELI 371.

RELI 563 - RELIGION AND SCIENCE

Short Title: RELIGION AND SCIENCE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: This advanced seminar analyzes interdisciplinary efforts by scholars of religion to engage scientific research in the cognitive and neuro- sciences. We assess the possibilities for collaboration, as well as conflict, between humanistic and scientific disciplines, asking how the tools of interpretation and empiricism might enrich our understanding of religious phenomena. Graduate students will lecture one course session and will engage additional secondary literature throughout the semester. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 362. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 563 if student has credit for RELI 362.

RELI 564 - INTERMEDIATE TIBETAN LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND CULTURE

Short Title: INT. TIBETAN LANG LIT & CULTUR

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Continued training in Tibetan language-extending vocabulary and facility with grammar. Final includes a paper drawn from readings and class discussion. RELI 564: Write a paper approximately one-third longer and complete a more substantial oral presentation. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 234. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 564 if student has credit for RELI 234. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 567 - JEWISH PHILOSOPHY: GREAT THINKERS AND THEMES IN JEWISH THOUGHT

Short Title: JEWISH PHILOSOPHY

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: An introduction to the main figures and themes in Jewish philosophy. Topics to be discussed include reason vs faith and prophetic revelation; Israel’s chosenness vs human universalism; creation vs eternity; divine providence and necessity vs free will; evil, justice, and divine omnipotence; prayer, contemplation, and divine and human perfection. Graduate students are required to write a research paper (25-30 pp.) and to prepare and lead at least one class. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 363. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 567 if student has credit for RELI 363.

RELI 568 - RISE OF THE NONES: HUMANISMS AND HUMANITIES

Short Title: RISE OF THE NONES

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: This course will look at the rise of the “nones,” that is, individuals who affiliate with no religious tradition, through both a history of secular thought in the West and a close reading of key texts and figures. Atheism, humanism, secularism and the “spiritual but not religious” will all be treated as key categories. RELI 568 will require additional readings, 3 additional papers plus a longer research paper, leading discussions and teaching. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 368. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 568 if student has credit for RELI 368. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 569 - FOUCAULT & THE HERMENEUTICS OF SELF

Short Title: FOUCAULT & THE SELF

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Best known for analyzing domination and power, Michel Foucault shifts his attention to ethics and “technologies of the self” in 1976. In this advanced seminar, we study and critique Foucault’s turn to western antiquity through his lectures and volumes of foregrounding resistance to power through religion, politics and ethics. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 421. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 569 if student has credit for RELI 421.

RELI 570 - BUDDHIST WISDOM TEXTS

Short Title: BUDDHIST WISDOM TEXTS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Indo-Tibetan analyses of the mind and its functions, especially differing views on the role of reasoning and the nature of the "ultimate" in major philosophical schools of Tibet and India. RELI 570: More difficult readings and two longer papers required. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 470. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 572 - INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM: ARTS FOR LIFE

Short Title: INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Buddhist ideas, art, and meditation. Exploration of the Buddhism in India, China, and Japan and their impact in the USA today. Readings include Buddhists classics and contemporary responses from mediators and scientists. Additional readings, more writing. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 322. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 572 if student has credit for RELI 322.

RELI 573 - KNOWING BODY/GLOWING MIND: BUDDHIST ARTS OF CONTEMPLATION AND ANALYSIS

Short Title: KNOWING BODY/GLOWING MIND

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Buddhism is a performing art engaging both mind and body. Our course investigates Buddhist and other literature, epistemology and rituals with an eye to how they speak to contemplative practice. Contemplative practice itself, in class and out, supplements our exploration of the interplay between traditional Asian and contemporary Western perspectives. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 333. Recommended prerequisite(s): One course in Buddhism. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 573 if student has credit for RELI 333. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 578 - MIND AND ART, FILM AND LITERATURE IN BUDDHISM

Short Title: BUDDHIST ART AND LITERATURE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: What is mind? What is self? What can a human being become? Drawing on a wealth of Buddhist-related art, film, and literature, this course introduces you to Tibetan and other Buddhist approaches to these crucial questions. RELI 578 requires additional readings and research papers. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 378. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 578 if student has credit for RELI 378.

RELI 580 - RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE IN THE CRUCIBLE OF GLOBALIZATION

Short Title: RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Explores context and consequences of the concept of religious tolerance in the crucible of globalization politics. Background in settlement of Reformation-era religious wars; American attitudes; impetus for tolerance policies and their implementation, 1945 to present (including governmentality and surveillance); results for historically Christian populations, esp. in US and Europe. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 359. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 580 if student has credit for RELI 359.

RELI 581 - GNOSTICISM SEMINAR

Short Title: GNOSTICISM SEMINAR

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: In depth examination of one (or more) Gnostic texts within its literary, social, historical, and religious landscapes. RELI 581 requires preparation and delivery of public presentations. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 481. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 581 if student has credit for RELI 481.

RELI 584 - RELIGION, PSYCHOLOGY, AND CULTURE

Short Title: RELIGION, PSYCHOLOGY & CULTURE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: . Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 430. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 584 if student has credit for RELI 430.

RELI 587 - WESTERN ESOTERICISM: METHOD AND THEORY

Short Title: WESTERN ESOTERICISM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: This course explores the relation between esoteric texts and the idea of "Western Esotericism." We will look at primary writings from Agrippa to Madame Blavatsky and consider the historical and methodological approaches emerging as Esotericism is constructed as an academic area. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 587 if student has credit for RELI 387.

RELI 588 - THE HISTORY OF RELIGIONS SCHOOL

Short Title: HISTORY OF RELIGIONS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: An historical survey of the History of Religions School that emerged in the 1960s and 70s at the University of Chicago and came to play such an important role in the comparative study of religion. Graduate Students will have twice the reading and will require a longer paper. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 488. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 588 if student has credit for RELI 488.

RELI 589 - MUTANTS AND MYSTICS: RACE, SEXUALITY, AND THE FUTURE OF THE HUMANITIES

Short Title: MUTANTS AND MYSTICS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: This is a course about the deep historical and conceptual connections between the histories of science fiction, the paranormal, and social transformation around race, gender, sexuality, and the human. We will see that such events tend to erupt in the “gaps” or “fractures” of society and within both personal and historical traumatic contexts in order to both deconstruct the reigning social formations, epistemologies, and ontologies—usually of an objectivizing, colonizing, and scientistic nature--but also supply the numinous foundations for the imagining of new humanities, or what queer theorist Ramzi Fawaz calls our emerging “mutanity.” Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 393. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 589 if student has credit for RELI 393.

RELI 591 - BASIC COPTIC 1

Short Title: BASIC COPTIC 1

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: A first semester introduction to Coptic grammar and vocabulary. Select a Coptic text, read in its original language, and prepare a commentary or an exegesis on that text (5,000 words). Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 307. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 591 if student has credit for RELI 307.

RELI 592 - BASIC COPTIC 2

Short Title: BASIC COPTIC 2

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Prerequisite(s): RELI 307

Description: Second semester introduction to Coptic grammar and vocabulary, with selected readings from the Coptic New Testament, nag Hammadi, and monastic literature. Pre-requisite: Introduction to Coptic Language I RELI 592: Select a Coptic text, read in its original language, and prepare a commentary or a exegesis on that text (5,000 words). Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 308. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 592 if student has credit for RELI 308.

RELI 593 - BASIC COPTIC 3

Short Title: BASIC COPTIC 3

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 1-3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Varied readings in original language to include the New Testament, Nag Hammadi, and monastic literature. Pre-requisite: Coptic 1 and 2. RELI 593: Students will select a Coptic text, and in addition to reading it in its original language, prepare a commentary or an exegesis on that text (5,000 words). Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 309. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 593 if student has credit for RELI 309. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 595 - PENTECOSTALISM

Short Title: PENTECOSTALISM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Graduate stud and analysis of introduction to Pentecostalism in a global context focusing historical developments, expansion in Europe, North America, Africa, Latin America and Asia. Graduate students will read 4 additional texts one from East, Central, West, and Southern Africa. Graduate students will write weekly reflections on the reading to the braded satisfactory or unsatisfactory. They will do two presentations during the semester. Each student will write a research paper that will be at least 25 double spaced pages. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 396. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 595 if student has credit for RELI 396.

RELI 597 - CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE

Short Title: CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Activity Course

Credit Hour: 1

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Literary and artistic creativity, religious experience, and textual interpretation often draw on focused states of consciousness made possible by contemplative practices. The practice will provide historical information about such practices and offer opportunities to participate in techniques ranging from meditation and observing breath to freeform writing and T'ai Chi. Graduate students would be expected to write a longer paper and/or to include a segment on contemplative practice in connection with whatever course they are taking. In either case this will involve readings and issues beyond what the undergraduates are responsible for, and which will be developed with each graduate student on an individual basis. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 399. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 597 if student has credit for RELI 399. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 600 - GEM RESEARCH FORUM

Short Title: GEM RESEARCH FORUM

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

Course Type: Research

Credit Hour: 1

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: The GEM Research Forum meets regularly throughout the academic year to share and engage the ongoing research of the GEM faculty and students. The annual capstone experience of the Forum features an invited speaker. Evaluation is based on student participation, research and presentations. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 604 - FROM DECOLONIZATION TO GLOBALIZATION

Short Title: FROM DECOLONI TO GLOBALIZATION

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Taught in English. Novels, and films, from North and West Africa, and the immigrant population in France, from 1960 to 2010. Emphasis on the tensions between narratives of political emancipation, modernity, secularism, and religious fundamentalism and mysticism. Extra reading for graduate students in theories of colonialism, postcolonialism, globalization. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 476. Recommended Prerequisite(s): Any 200 level course or above in English or French, or HUMA 101 or HUMA 102, or a FWIS course. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 604 if student has credit for FREN 324/POLI 324/RELI 476.

RELI 607 - ARCHIVES OF THE IMPOSSIBLE

Short Title: ARCHIVES OF THE IMPOSSIBLE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Research

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: After reading Prof. Kripal's Authors of the Impossible as a basic theoretical structure for the semester, this advanced archival research seminar will involve students engaging original historical documents contained in Rice University's archive on Paranormal Currents in American Culture toward the writing of a graduate or undergraduate thesis. Graduate students will be responsible for a much more extensive engagement with Whitley Strieber's corpus. They will be required to read examples of Stieber's nonfiction (particularly COMMUNION and THE AFTERLIFE REVOLUTION) and fiction, including WOLFEN, THE GRAYS, and THE HYBRIDS. Each of these books bears directly or indirectly on the content of the Anne and Whitley Strieber Collection. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 407. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 607 if student has credit for RELI 407.

RELI 610 - CONCEPTS IN THE STUDY OF RELIGON

Short Title: CONCEPTS IN RELIGION

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: This course serves as an advanced introduction to useful concepts and key methodological problems in the discipline of religious studies. The primary aim of the course is to provide a theoretical toolkit for graduate students at the Masters level and advanced undergraduates, especially those contemplating or engaged in an honors or MA thesis in the department of Religion. Graduate work includes extended writing assignments and exam. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 410. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 610 if student has credit for RELI 405.

RELI 611 - READINGS IN MEDIEVAL LATIN

Short Title: READINGS IN MEDIEVAL LATIN

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Guided readings in Latin from a range of medieval genres, including medicine, theology, visionary literature. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 612 - THE PSALMS

Short Title: THE PSALMS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: A seminar on biblical poetry. The Psalms have constituted a book of study, devotion, and prayer for Jews and Christians for two millennia. This course explores the psalms’ poetic force, liturgical setting in ancient Israel, theology, and enduring significance today. Counts for the Minor in Jewish Studies. RELI 612: Additional readings and longer paper. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 388. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 612 if student has credit for RELI 388.

RELI 616 - NEW TESTAMENT / CHRISTIAN ORIGINS

Short Title: NEW TESTAMENT/CHRISTIAN ORIG

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: How did Christianity emerge as a new religious movement in the Roman Empire? Covers the history and literature of the first generations of Christians , focusing on Post-Temple developments, issues of authority and leadership, rise of regional forms of Christianity, and formation of distinct Christian identities. Graduate requirements: addtional writings and presentations. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 416. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 616 if student has credit for RELI 416.

RELI 620 - ART OF INTERPRETING THE BIBLE

Short Title: ART OF INTERPRETING THE BIBLE

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Explores issues of history, historiography, and hermeneutics within the context of Biblical Studies. While traditional forms of Biblical criticism are covered, the bulk of the course focuses on intertextuality, reception history, sociological methods, feminist views, and cognitive approaches. Graduate students (7500 word paper, seminar leadership, and oral presentation); Undergraduate students (5000 word paper and oral presentation). Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 420.

RELI 644 - VISIONS AND VISONARY PRACTICES: MEDIEVAL TO MODERN

Short Title: VISIONS & VISIONARY PRACTICES

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: This course examines accounts of visions, comparing medieval and modern visionary techniques and processes and relating visionary writings to cultural and personal contexts. Includes some Christian theology along with other theoretical frameworks, but emphasis on praxis. Graduate work includes 10 additional readings (200 pp), double the pages to be written, 30 more minutes presentation time. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 444. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for RELI 644 if student has credit for RELI 444.

RELI 650 - I : METHODS IN THE STUDY OF RELIGION (DOCTORAL SEMINAR)

Short Title: METHODS I

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: I : Methods in the Study of Religion is a required seminar for doctoral graduate students in the Department of Religion. This seminar focuses on the philosophical and theoretical texts central to the study of religion, in its historical formation and its contemporary relevance. Graduate students will be trained to think historically as well as theoretically about the emergence of the study of religion over the long nineteenth century and its role in the development of the university. Texts that remain relevant to the study of religion in the twenty-first century will be drawn from philosophy of religion, queer studies, critical race theories, feminist studies, affect theories, and environmental studies.

RELI 651 - II : METHODS IN THE STUDY OF RELIGION (DOCTORAL SEMINAR)

Short Title: METHODS II

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students. Enrollment limited to students in a Doctor of Philosophy degree. Enrollment limited to students in the Religion department.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: II : Methods in the Study of Religion is a required seminar for doctoral graduate students in the Department of Religion. This seminar focuses on the sociological, anthropological, and psychological texts central to the study of religion, in its historical formation and its contemporary relevance. Graduate students will be trained to think historically as well as theoretically about the emergence of the study of religion over the long twentieth century and its impact throughout cultural formations. Texts that remain relevant to the study of religion in the twenty-first century will be drawn from sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists, cognitive scientists, economists, and other theorists of religion and culture.

RELI 677 - SPECIAL TOPICS

Short Title: SPECIAL TOPICS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Internship/Practicum, Laboratory, Lecture, Seminar, Independent Study, Lecture/Laboratory

Credit Hours: 1-4

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate or Visiting Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Topics and credit hours vary each semester. Contact department for current semester's topic(s). Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 700 - RESEARCH FOR COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS

Short Title: RESEARCH FOR COMP EXAMS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

Course Type: Research

Credit Hours: 1-12

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 710 - CHRISTIAN ORIGINS READING AND RESEARCH GROUP

Short Title: XIAN ORIGINS READ/RESEARCH GRP

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

Course Type: Research

Credit Hours: 1-3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Advanced research and reading group for graduate students studying Christian Origins. Topics vary. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 800 - RESEARCH FOR DISSERTATION

Short Title: RESEARCH FOR DISSERTATION

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

Course Type: Research

Credit Hours: 9

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: (no change to be made to course catalog description) Repeatable for Credit.

RELI 801 - RESEARCH FOR M.A. THESIS

Short Title: RESEARCH FOR MA THESIS

Department: Religion

Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

Course Type: Research

Credit Hours: 3-9

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Students work independently researching and writing their thesis. Repeatable for Credit.