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COURSES
AVAILABLE FOR FALL 2008
For courses in the Program in Judaic Studies go to http://www.case.edu/artsci/jdst/courses.htm].
Students interested in a Religion
major, minor, or sequence should contact Professor Peter Haas,
Phone: 368-2741, E-Mail: pjh7@case.edu
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RLGN 102: Introduction to the Study of Religion
William Deal (M.W. 12:30-1:45)
This course is an introduction to the critical study of religion and of the religious dimension of life. We will explore the diversity of human religiosity from three perspectives: (1) academic methods and approaches to the study of religion; (2) themes in the study of religion, such as myth and ritual; and (3) issues in the study of religion, such as religion and modernity, religion and science, and comparative religious ethics. In order to approach this material from a global perspective, we will use primary sources from both Western and Eastern religious traditions.
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RLGN 208: Introduction to Western Religions
Peter J. Haas (
M.W.F. 10:30-11:20)
(Limit 35) A basic introduction to the three great monotheistic religions of the Western World: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Since all three of these religious traditions trace their roots to the faith of Biblical Israel as revealed by a series of prophets including Noah, Abraham, and Moses, there are many points of contact, conflict, and comparison. We will examine how each absorbed the philosophy and science of the Greco-Roman world and went on both to influence, and struggle with, each other. Along the way, the course will touch on many of the religious issues of the modern world, from struggles in the Middle East to the rise of Fundamentalist Christianity to developments in contemporary Judaism.
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RLGN 209: Introduction to Biblical Literature
Timothy K. Beal (M.W. 9:00-10:15)
This course is an introduction to the academic study of biblical literature, including Hebrew Scriptures ("Old Testament") and the New Testament. The literature will be studied in light of both ancient and contemporary historical contexts, with a particular emphasis on the roles it plays in American culture and politics today. Class sessions will be discussion oriented and will involve close, careful analysis and interpretation of texts. No background in religion is necessary. Evaluation will be based on class preparation and participation, regular short writing assignments, two exams, and a major paper.
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RLGN 216: Hinduism
Deepak Sarma (T.R. 10:00-11:15)
This course will provide an introduction to classical Hindu thought and culture. Special attention will be paid throughout to the construction of “Hinduism” and the classical and canonical texts (Vedas, Upanisads, Puranas, etc).
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RLGN 218: Islam -- Faith and Politics
Ramez A. Islambouli (T.R. 4:30-5:45)
Overview of the relationship between Islam as a religion and Islam as a political system, and the effect of this relationship on Islamic society from its origin to the present time.
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RLGN 222: African-American Religions
Joy R. Bostic (T.R. 1:15-2:30)
This course is an exploration of the rich diversity of African American religions from the colonial period to the present. Attention will be given to key figures, institutional expressions, as well as significant movements in African American religious history. Major themes include African traditions in American religions, slavery and religion, sacred music, social protest, Black Nationalism in religion, Islam, African American women and religion, and black and womanist theologies. Course requirements will include field trips to local religious sites.
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RLGN 238: Alternative Altars -- Folk Religion in America
Judith Neulander (T.R. 1:15-2:30)
The British colonial jibe that America was a “vast commonwealth of sects,” and the French culinary sneer that America had multiple home-grown religions “but only two sauces” was never more true than today. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, students will become familiar with the distinction between conventional and unconventional religion, with the history and personalities associated with new belief systems in America, and with the means, motivations, and methods of generating faith communities. Students will come to understand the role of cultural anxieties, new technologies, changing gender roles, globalization, and other social tensions in the formation and duration of America’s alternative altars.
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RLGN 251: Perspectives in Ethnicity, Race, Religion, Gender
Alice Bach (T.R. 10:00-11:15)
(Also offered as ETHS 251.) This course is designed to introduce students to the study of ethnicity. Basic concepts such as race, gender, class, and identity construction will be examined. Students are encouraged to use the tools and perspectives of several disciplines to address the experiences of ethnic groups in the United States.
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RLGN 268: Women in the Bible -- Ethnographic Approaches to Rite and Ritual, Story, Song and Art
Judith Neulander (T.R. 10:00-11:15)
From Ishtar to Esther, from the Christian Marys to the Muslim Mary, we will explore the creative and strategic ways that women in sacred history both reflect and reinforce communal values in rite and ritual, story, song and art. Using folkloristic theory and ethnographic method, students will gain access to the spirit and mentality of the different faith communities that have generated, modified and maintained these traditions from remote antiquity to the present day.
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RLGN 301: Ritual in Religion
Timothy K. Beal (M. 4:00-7:00)
Drawing from a broad range of approaches and academic fields (e.g., religion, anthropology, literature, film studies, sociology), this seminar course offers an introduction to the study of ritual in religion. We have three main goals: (1) to become familiar with important theories and approaches in ritual studies; (2) to explore a number of ritual practices from different cultural and historical contexts (from ancient priestly rites in the Bible to contemporary cockfights in Bali); and (3) to study and discuss several representations of ritual in contemporary literature and film (we will even consider movie-going itself as ritual). Student preparation and active participation in class discussion will be crucial. Emphasis will be placed on learning to ask good questions. Evaluation will be based on class preparation and participation, a class presentation, a short descriptive paper, and a final research paper.
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RLGN 315: Heresy and Dissidence in the Middle Ages
Elizabeth K. Todd (T.R. 1:15-2:30)
(Also offered as HSTY 315.) This course will be a survey of heretical individuals and groups in Western Europe c.500-1500 A.D., focusing mainly on popular, rather than academic heresies. The development of intolerance in medieval society and the problems of discerning history from hostile sources also will be explored.
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RLGN 320: Palestine and Israel -- Whose Promised Land?
Alice Bach (T.R. 1:15-2:30)
(Also offered as ETHS 359. Prerequisite: One course in Middle East studies or permission of instructor.) The major focus of this seminar will range from the ongoing questions of peace and justice in Israel and occupied Palestine to the land and border questions; Green line, crossing points, the wall; to interpretations from biblical to contemporary texts, reflecting a multiplicity of agendas. Our primary focus will be the analysis of recent research and scholarship on issues of mass violence, contested space and land, gender, race and ethnicity, religious sectarianism, colonialism/imperialism. Through our readings we will identify the bias and concerns of various interpretive communities involved in the ongoing struggles in this very small area. With two peoples claiming the same land for different reasons, can this conflict ever be resolved?
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RLGN 325: Justice, Religion and Society
Joy R. Bostic (T.R. 4:30-5:45)
This course is an introduction to the ways in which several 20th-century American religious figures, both North and South American, have interpreted their religion as requiring them to struggle for a better society by using direct action to deal with issues of social justice. The writings and practices of prominent social justice activists such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, Fanny Lou Hamer, Thomas Merton, Gustavo Gutiérrez, Ada María Isasi-Díaz, and others will be explored. Course requirements include service learning within the Cleveland area via association with structured institutions and programs engaged in social justice and urban issues.
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RLGN 333/433: Philosophy of Religion
PHIL Staff (T.R. 10:00-11:15)
(Also offered as PHIL 333/433. Prerequisite: PHIL 101 or RLGN 102 or consent of instructor.) In the first part, we shall contrast philosophical and non-philosophical approaches to religion, inquiring what special sort of understanding of religion can be expected from philosophical reflections upon it.
In the second part, we shall examine selected topics in the philosophy of religion in the Judeo-Christian tradition, including; attributes of God; the existence of God; divine foreknowledge and human freedom; the problem of evil and theodicy; sin and redemption, among others. In the third part, we shall broaden the scope of inquiry and address such topics as: forms of religious thought and their respective ontological, epistemological, and moral implications. We shall search for elements common to all such forms in the context of examining the nature and significance of religious experience; mysticism; knowledge, belief, and faith; ethics and religion; and the nature of religious language and discourse.
The authors of works to be read include: Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, Spinoza, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Feuerbach, Kierkegaard, Marx, Nietzsche, Otto, Bultmann, Tillich, Ricoeur, and Levinas.
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RLGN 352/452: Language, Cognition and Religion
William Deal (W. 4:00-6:30)
(Limit 20. Also offered as COGS 352/452.) This course utilizes theoretical approaches found in cognitive semantics—a branch of cognitive linguistics—to study the conceptual structures and meanings of religious language. Cognitive semantics, guided by the notion that conceptual structures are embodied, examines the relationship between conceptual systems and the construction of meaning. We consider such ideas as conceptual metaphor theory, conceptual blending, image schemas, cross-domain mappings, metonymy, mental spaces, and idealized cognitive models. We apply these ideas to selected Christian, Buddhist, and Chinese religious texts in order to understand ways in which religious language categorizes and conceptualizes the world. We examine both the universality of cognitive linguistic processes and the culturally specific metaphors, conceptual blends, image schemas, and other cognitive operations that particular texts and traditions utilize.
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RLGN 373: History of the Early Church
Elizabeth K. Todd (T.R. 10:00-11:15)
(Also offered as HSTY 303.) This course will trace the development of various strands of Christian tradition from their origins in first-century Roman Palestine to the consolidation of the catholic Christian Church in the 4th-century Roman Empire. Students will examine special historical problems from this topic, including the nature of the conversion of Constantine, and the investigation of groups considered heretics by later dominant Christian traditions. Other figures and topics to be considered include: the beginnings of monasticism, Marcionist Christianity, Origen, and the Didache.
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RLGN 392: Independent Study
Staff (times as arranged)
(Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.) Up to three semester hours of independent study may be taken in a single semester. Must have prior approval of faculty member directing the project.
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RLGN 395: Honors Research
Staff (times as arranged)
(Prerequisite: Consent of department chair.) Intensive study of a topic or problem leading to the writing of an honors thesis. Maximum six credits.
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RLGN 411: Altruism in Bioethics
Stephen G. Post (W. 3:00-6:00)
(A graduate-level course. Undergraduates can take course with permission from instructor. Permit needed from Marie Norris at 368-8718. Cross-listed as BETH 411, PHIL 411.) This course will provide a small number of students with an opportunity to study in depth those thinkers in the field of bioethics whose work has achieved wide and sustained public recognition and influence. We might examine representative works by Peter Singer, Leon Kass, Daniel Callahan, Sissela Bok, Stephen J. Carter, and others who achieved the status of public intellectual over the last two decades.
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RLGN 601: Special Research
Staff (times as arranged)
(Prerequisite: Graduate standing; consent of instructor.) Independent study (1-3 credit hours) for graduate students, as arranged with individual instructors.
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RLGN 651: Thesis, M.A.
Staff (times as arranged)
(Prerequisite: Graduate standing; consent of instructor.) Faculty guidance for IGS (Integrated Graduate Studies) or graduate students writing a Master's thesis. (1-9 credit hours.)
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CROSS REGISTRATION IN NORTHEAST OHIO
In addition to the courses offered on campus, Case students here have the option of taking courses at other universities in the area under an agreement with the North East Ohio Higher Education Council. Under the agreement with NEOCHE there is no extra tuition charged to the students and the course credits transfer easily (provided no equivalent course is taught at Case and with the approval of Case).
In general, to participate in this program, the student must be in academic good standing. Credits earned for courses taken at other area institutions do count toward the 15-credit-hour limit on credits earned at other institutions after matriculation at Case. Grades received for such courses will not appear on a student's Case transcript, nor will they be included in the GPA calculation. Such courses can count toward a RLGN major or minor, however, but only with Department of Religious Studies approval. Students should check with the Department of Religious Studies or with the Office of Undergraduate Studies before enrolling in one of these courses.
Below is a sample listing of some of the courses available at John Carroll University that students in Religious Studies might consider in addition to the offerings here. For up-to-date information about which courses are offered in a particular semester, about times and places, and on exact course descriptions, you should contact the Department of Religious Studies at JCU at 397-4780.
334. CHRISTOLOGY. (3 cr.) The person and work of Jesus Christ according to the scriptures, historical theology, and contemporary theology.
328. THEOLOGY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN SACRED MUSIC (3 cr.) Survey of theological issues and constructs in African American Sacred Music. Musical theology of Negro Spirituals as starting point in discovering expressions of biblical and societal musings. Gospel music as well as anthematic presentations present a basic understanding of life and being in the African American experience.
321. HISTORY OF THE IDEA OF EVIL (3 cr.) Problem of evil from its biblical origins to the modern period with emphasis on the interaction between religious notions and cultural forces. Topics include the Book of Job, the rise of Satan, Augustine and Original Sin, Aquinas, Dante, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, demonic and Gothic, modern theological and scientific approaches.
360. CATHOLIC MORAL THEOLOGY (3 cr.) Review and discussion of the sources of Catholic moral theology; study of how contemporary Catholic moral theologians apply these methods and sources to current questions of personal and social morality.
227. INTRODUCTION TO EASTERN CHRISTIANITY (3 cr.) History, spiritualities, iconography, theologies and current practices of the Eastern Christian Churches. Study of the Eastern Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox Churches. Presentations provided by experts from various Eastern Churches.
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