Objectives

The modern field of religious studies contributes significantly to a liberal arts education, cultivating the investigation of religious thought, ritual, spiritual insight, culture, history, and sacred texts. The goal of the Program in Religious Studies is to expose students to several scholarly and pedagogical approaches to a variety of religious phenomena, often in a comparative context. The program's course offerings are designed to encourage students to deepen their understanding of religion and its manifestations through the perspectives of several disciplines and departments. Students survey systematic approaches to the field (REL 107a) and complete courses in at least two different religious traditions.

The program fosters interaction between its faculty and students by requiring completion of either an independent study or a senior essay course. The University, with its commitment to ethical responsibility, and the wide range of religious and ethnic backgrounds represented in its student body, provides a unique context for examining religion with open-minded 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 design.

Committee

(Romance and Comparative Literature)

(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

(English and American Literature)

(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

(History)

(Fine Arts)

(Anthropology)

(Philosophy)

The following faculty members are affiliated with the program:

Ellen Birnbaum (CLAS)

Marc Brettler (NEJS)

Joan Bryant (AAAS)

Stephen Dowden (GERSL)

Sylvia Fishman (NEJS)

ChaeRan Freeze (NEJS)

Gregory Freeze (HIST)

Kim Gutschow (ANTH)

Gila Hayim (SOC)

Eli Hirsch (PHIL)

Patricia Johnston (CLAS)

Jane Kamensky (HIST)

William Kapelle (HIST)

Reuven Kimelman (NEJS)

Sarah Lamb (ANTH)

Richard Lansing (ROCL)

Avigdor Levy (NEJS)

Leonard Muellner (CLAS)

Yitzhak Nakash (NEJS)

Michael Randall (ROCL)

Jonathan Sarna (NEJS)

John Schrecker (HIST)

Govind Sreenivasan (HIST)

David Wright (NEJS)

Luis Yglesias (ROCL

Palle Yourgrau (PHIL)

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, although exceptions may be granted by the program chair 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

[ nw wi 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 2002.

Staff

(Formerly HIP 21a)

[ hum ]

A study of three exemplary American religious activists: Abraham Heschel, a Jewish theologian and activist; Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk; and Howard Thurman, a black minister. Focuses upon the relationship between their inwardness and social and political commitments. Usually offered every second year.

Mr. Kaplan

[ hum ]

A comparative study of religious experience, including Christian, Jewish, non-biblical, and feminist responses to modern anguish and the quest for identity and absolute meaning. Topics include doubt, sin, conversion, prayer, mysticism, holiness, and social action. Usually offered every third year. Will be offered in the spring of 2002.

Mr. Kaplan

The following courses are approved for the program. Not all are given in any one year. Please consult the Course Schedule each semester.

World Religions

Classical Mythology

Seminar in Traditional Chinese Thought

Islam: Civilization and Institutions

Foundational Course in Judaic Studies

The World of the Ancient Near East

The Hebrew Bible

Biblical Ritual and Cult

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

Israel in Egypt: An Introduction to Alexandrian Jewish Literature

Life Stories, Spiritual and Profane

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

The Civilization of the High and Late Middle Ages

Reformation Europe (1400-1600)

Science and Religion: The Trial of Galileo

Evolution and Creationism in Historical Perspective

Religion and Society in Modern Russia

Salem, 1692

The Western Canon

Dante's Divine Comedy

The Philosophy of Jewish Law

The Book of Genesis

Women and the Bible

An Introduction to Philo of Alexandria