2000-01 Bulletin Entry for:

Objectives

The modern field of religious studies is an important part of a liberal arts education, allowing for the study of religious thought, ritual, culture, history, and texts, often in a comparative context. The goal of the Program in Religious Studies is to expose students to different scholarly and pedagogical approaches to a variety of religious manifestations. The program emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach and its course offerings are designed to encourage students to deepen their understanding of religion and its manifestations through the perspectives of different disciplines and departments. Students survey the variety of approaches to religious studies (REL 107a) and complete courses in at least two different religious traditions. The program fosters interaction between its faculty and students by requiring the completion of either an independent study or a senior essay course. The University, with its commitment to moral and social responsibility, and the wide range of ethnic and religious traditions represented in the student body, provides a unique context for the study of religions in a climate of curiosity and sympathetic understanding.

How to Become a Program Member

Students may enter the program at any time in their undergraduate careers, but an early start maximizes a student's range of choice because a number of the courses are only offered every other year. Ideally students should take the core course (REL 107a) early in their career. Students should consult with their advisor and the head of the program to map out their particular program.

Committee

(Romance and Comparative Literature)

(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

(History)

(Fine Arts)

(Anthropology)

(Philosophy)

(English and American Literature)

The following faculty members are affiliated with the program:

Marc Brettler (NEJS)

Joan Bryant (AAAS)

John Burt (ENG)

Stephen Dowden (GERSL)

Eli Hirsch (PHIL)

Patricia Johnston (CLAS)

Jane Kamensky (HIST)

William Kapelle (HIST)

Reuven Kimelman (NEJS)

Sarah Lamb (ANTH)

Richard Lansing (COML)

Avigdor Levy (NEJS)

Leonard Muellner (CLAS)

Yitzhak Nakash (NEJS)

Jonathan Sarna (NEJS)

John Schrecker (HIST)

Govind Sreenivasan (HIST)

David Wright (NEJS)

Luis Yglesias (COML)

Requirements for the Program

A. Core Course: REL 107a (Approaches to Religious Studies). Ideally the core course should be taken early in the student's career at Brandeis, but not necessarily as the first course in the program.

B. Students must complete at least two courses covering at least two different religious traditions from the traditions courses listed below.

C. Students must complete at least one course from the list of electives listed below.

D. Completion of one semester of independent study (98a or b), or completion of a senior essay (97a or b) under the direction of one or more faculty members affiliated with the program. A senior thesis in the student's department of concentration, with an emphasis on some aspect of religious studies and read by at least two faculty members in the program, may be substituted for the Senior Essay. Students will normally complete this requirement in the year in which they complete the program, however exceptions may be granted by the program director in consultation with the student's program advisor.

E. A passing letter grade must be obtained in each course taken for program credit. (Pass/Fail courses are not allowed.) Students must achieve a grade point average of at least 2.00 in program courses.

Courses of Instruction

(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

Usually offered every year.

Staff

Usually offered every year.

Staff

Usually offered every year.

Staff

Usually offered every year.

Staff

[ hum ]

A historical, multidisciplinary survey that includes classic explanations of religion as a human experience, modern theories, the study of belief systems, religions and society, myth and philosophy, mysticism and shamanism, texts, ritual and language, comparative study, gender issues, and contemporary debates. Usually offered every year. Will be offered in the spring of 2001.

Staff

Traditions Courses

The following courses approved for the program are not all given in any one year, and therefore, the Course Schedule for each semester should be consulted.

World Religions

Classical Mythology

Seminar in Traditional Chinese Thought

Islam: Civilization and Institutions

Foundational Course in Judaic Studies

The Hebrew Bible

Biblical Ritual and Cult

Introduction to Jewish Mysticism

The New Testament: A Historical Introduction

Introduction to Christianity

Jesus of Nazareth and the Christian Faith

Shi'ism and Political Protest in the Middle East

Hasidism as a Religious and Social Movement

Judaism and the Religious Quest

Ancient Near Eastern Religion and Mythology

Elective Courses

The following courses approved for the program are not all given in any one year, and therefore, the Course Schedule for each semester should be consulted.

Symbol, Myth, and Ritual

Selected Topics in Comparative Religion: Seminal Works in the Study of Religion

Problems and Possibilities in the Study of Religion

Topics in Myth, Literature and Folklore

Buddhist Art

The Age of Cathedrals

St. Peter's and the Vatican

Nietzsche

Imagining How We Are: East and West I

Imagining How We Are: East and West II

Mysticism and the Moral Life: Abraham Heschel, Howard Thurman, Thomas Merton

The Civilization of the High and Late Middle Ages

Reformation Europe (1400-1600)

Science and Religion: The Trial of Galileo

Salem, 1692

The Western Canon

Dante's Divine Comedy

The Book of Genesis

Women and the Bible

The Jewish Liturgy

Dealing with Evil in Ancient Babylon and Beyond: Magic and Witchcraft in Antiquity

The Perception of the Other

American Judaism

Jewish-Christian Relations in America

Philosophy of Religion

Idea of God

Spinoza

Major Figures in the Christian Faith: Simone Weil

Topics in the Sociology of Religion