Chair of Undergraduate Studies: David Martinez, S 405, 702-8232

Director of Undergraduate Studies: Lucy Pick, S 306B, 702-8278,
lucypick@uchicago.edu

Web: divinity.uchicago.edu/academics/ugradReligiousStudies.html

Program of Study

The field of Religious Studies engages perennial questions about religion and human society. It investigates religions and how they shape and are shaped by human cultures. The program in Religious Studies exposes students to different sources, problems, and methodologies in the study of religion. Students explore one particular question in depth by writing a senior paper. The program is designed to attract students who wish to take interdisciplinary approaches to the study of religion, including those that are historical, philosophical, theological, sociological, or literary-critical. The interests of such students may be descriptive, explanatory, or normative.

Program Requirements

A major in Religious Studies consists of twelve courses, including one introductory course and a two-quarter senior seminar. It is preferable that students consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies and declare their major in Religious Studies before the end of their second year. Students and the Director of Undergraduate Studies will work together to create a program of study. The goal is to develop depth in one area so that a satisfactory B.A. paper will be written in the fourth year.

Students will typically be permitted to count up to two language courses at the second-year level or above if they are pertinent to their B.A. paper research. Placement credit may not be used for these courses. With the consent of the Director of Undergraduate Studies, students may also count two additional extra-departmental courses toward the major. Students are encouraged to explore more than one religious tradition in their courses.

Introductory Course. Students in Religious Studies are required to take Introduction to Religious Studies (RLST 10100). It need not precede other course work in the major, but students are advised to have completed it by the end of their second year. It will typically be offered every year during Autumn Quarter. This course will introduce students to some of the central themes in Religious Studies; its particular focus will vary according to the interests of the individual instructor.

Course Distribution. Religion is expressed in many forms throughout the world's cultures, and the academic study of religion therefore requires multiple perspectives on its subject. Students of religion should have some knowledge of the historical development of specific religious traditions, understand and critically engage the ethical and intellectual teachings of various religions, and begin to make some comparative appraisals of the roles that religions play in different cultures and historical periods. To introduce students to these multiple perspectives on religion and to provide a sense of the field as a whole, students are required to take at least one course in each of the following areas. To identify the areas, refer to the boldface letter at the end of each course description.

(A) Historical Studies in Religious Traditions: courses that explore the development of particular religious traditions, including their social practices, rituals, scriptures, and beliefs in historical context (RLST 11000 through 15000, 20000 through 22900).

(B) Constructive Studies in Religion: courses that investigate constructive or normative questions about the nature and conduct of human life that are raised by religious traditions, including work in philosophy of religion, ethics, and theology (RLST 23000 through 25900).

(C) Cultural Studies in Religion: courses that introduce issues in the social and cultural contingencies of religious thought and practice by emphasizing sociological, anthropological, and literary-critical perspectives on religion, and by raising comparative questions about differing religious and cultural traditions (RLST 26000 through 28900).

Senior Seminar and B.A. Paper. The two-quarter senior sequence (RLST 29800 and 29900) will assist students with the preparation of the required B.A. paper. During May of their third year, students will work with a preceptor to choose a faculty adviser and a topic for research, and to plan a course of study for the following year. These must be approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Students will take part in the B.A. Paper Seminar convened by a preceptor during Autumn and Winter Quarters. This seminar will allow students to prepare their bibliographies, hone their writing, and present their research. Students will register for RLST 29800 in the Autumn Quarter and for RLST 29900 in the Winter Quarter. The B.A. paper will be due early in the Spring Quarter. The length is typically between thirty and forty pages, with the upward limit being firm.

This program may accept a B.A. paper or project used to satisfy the same requirement in another major if certain conditions are met and with the consent of the other program. Approval from both departments is required. Students should consult with the departments by the earliest B.A. proposal deadline (or by the end of their third year, when neither program publishes a deadline). A consent form, to be signed by both departments, is available from the College adviser. It must be completed and returned to the College adviser by the end of Autumn Quarter of the student's year of graduation.

Grading. Religious Studies majors must receive quality grades in all courses in the major. Nonmajors may take Religious Studies courses on a P/F basis if they receive the prior consent of the faculty member for a given course. Faculty will determine the criteria that constitute a Pass.

Honors. Honors are awarded by the Divinity School's Committee on Undergraduate Studies. Students who write senior papers deemed exceptional by their faculty advisers will be eligible for consideration for graduation with honors. To be considered for honors, students must also have a 3.5 GPA or higher in the major and a 3.25 GPA or higher overall.

Summary of Requirements

                                  1      Introduction to Religious Studies (RLST 10100)

                                  1      course in historical studies in religious traditions

                                  1      course in constructive studies in religion

                                  1      course in cultural studies in religion

                                  6      additional courses in Religious Studies

                                  1      B.A. Paper Seminar (RLST 29800)

                                  1      B.A. Paper (RLST 29900)

                                12

Faculty

A. Boden, C. Brekus, K. Culp, A. Davidson, W. Doniger, J. Elshtain, M. Fishbane,
T. Frymer-Kensky, F. Gamwell, W. C. Gilpin, A. Hollywood, D. Hopkins, M. Kapstein,
H. Klauck, B. Lincoln, C. Lindner, J.-L. Marion, D. Martinez, F. Meltzer, P. Mendes-Flohr,
M. Mitchell, M. Murrin, M. Nussbaum, W. Olmsted, L. Pick, M. Riesebrodt, J. Robinson,
R. Rosengarten, S. Schreiner, W. Schweiker, W. Sullivan, K. Tanner, D. Tracy,
C. Wedemeyer, M. Zeghal

Courses: Religious Studies (rlst)

Boldface letters in parentheses refer to the areas noted in the preceding Course Distribution section.

10100. Introduction to Religious Studies. (=RELH 10100) Required of students majoring in Religious Studies. This course introduces students to some of the central concerns, problems, and materials of Religious Studies. Students are exposed to a range of primary and secondary source material grouped around a set of themes chosen by the instructor. Possible themes include canon, prophecy, revelation, initiation, priesthood, sacred space, discipline, and ritual. J. Z. Smith. Autumn.

12000. Introduction to the New Testament. (=BIBL 32500, FNDL 28202, NTEC 21000/32500) This course is an immersion in the texts of the New Testament with the following goals: through careful reading to come to know well some representative pieces of this literature; to gain useful knowledge of the historical, geographical, social, religious, cultural, and political contexts of these texts and the events they relate; to learn the major literary genres represented in the canon (i.e., "gospels," "acts," "letters," "apocalypse") and strategies for reading them; to comprehend the various theological visions to which these texts give expression; and to situate oneself and one's prevailing questions about this material in the history of interpretation. M. Mitchell. Winter. (A)

20601. Jewish Heretics and Apostates in the Middle Ages. (=HIJD 30601) J. Robinson. Winter. (A)

20700. Medieval Women's Religious Writing. (=HIST 19800) The purpose of this course is to read different types of writing on religion by medieval women to investigate the relationship between gender and genre. We consider hagiography, letters, autobiography, theology, didactic treatises, and visionary writing by individuals such as Baudonivia, Hildegard of Bingen, Heloise, Christine de Pisan, and Teresa of Avila. L. Pick. Autumn. (A)

21001. Witches, Revivals, and Revolution: Religion in Early America, 1600 to 1787. (=LLSO 25611, HIST 18402) This course is a survey of religion in America from the founding of the colonies to the American Revolution. Topics include Puritanism, witchcraft, revivalism, slavery, gender, Native American religion, the coming of the Revolution, and the separation of church and state. C. Brekus. Spring. (A)

21600. Early Monasticism. (=HIST 11900) This course examines early monasticism from its origins among the desert fathers of the Greek and Syriac East to its development in the Latin West, especially in Italy and Spain, concluding with the Carolingian reformation of monasticism in the ninth century. We examine themes such as monastic rules, monastic hagiography, women in monasticism, ideas of virginity, and the economics of monasticism. L. Pick. Spring. (A)

23901. Philosophical Education in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. (=SALC 23900) PQ: RLST 23900. This course surveys the various trajectories of philosophical thought that arise from the Indian Buddhist tradition during its scholastic phase, based in part on the representation thereof in Tibetan monastic textbooks. Particular attention is paid to the practical and pedagogical context for the traditional study of Buddhist philosophy, as well as to the question of the role of such study as an example of what Foucault refers to as "technologies of the self." D. Arnold. Autumn. (B)

24302. Pragmatism and Religion: William James's The Varieties of Religious Experience Today. (=FNDL 25211) This course studies James's The Varieties of Religious Experience both as a history of philosophy and as a philosophy of religion. Our goal is to investigate how James understood religion, religious experience, and pragmatism, as well as what contributions he thought pragmatism could make to religion and why. We assess, both constructively and critically, the contribution of James's proposal. L. Schweitz. Spring. (B)

25100. Augustine's Confessions. (=FNDL 20900, HUMA 22700) This course is a close reading of Augustine's work, with particular attention to the phenomenon of conversion. M. Lilla. Winter. (B)

25110. Maimonides and Hume on Religion. (=JWSC 26100, PHIL 25110) This course studies in alternation chapters from Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed and David Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, two major philosophical works with literary forms that are at least as important as their contents. Topics include human knowledge of the existence and nature of God, anthropomorphism and idolatry, religious language, and the problem of evil. We may also read other short works by these two authors on related themes. J. Stern. Winter.

25701. Environmental Ethics. (=ENST 28001) Is environmental ethics an application of traditional ethical theory or a new way of thinking ethically? The ideas we consider include ethical naturalism (Hans Jonas, Mary Midgley), utilitarianism (Peter Singer), ecoholism (Aldo Leopold), biocentrism (Paul Taylor), and duty-ethics (Holmes Rolston III). Our approach uses lecture, discussion, group work, and case studies. Spring.

27301. Machiavelli and Arthashastra. (=HREL 34800) PQ: Consent of instructor. This course is a comparative study of Machiavelli (The Discourses and The Prince) and Kautilya (the Arthashastra, the ancient Indian book of political science). Texts in English. W. Doniger, N. Tarcov. Autumn. (C)

27401. Hinduism: A Chronicle. (=HREL 35400) This course is a survey of the history of Hinduism with a focus on setting texts in historical contexts. W. Doniger. Autumn. (C)

27700. Music of South Asia. (=MUSI 23700/33700, SALC 20800/30800) PQ: Any 10000-level music course or consent of instructor. This course examines the music of South Asia as an aesthetic domain with both unity and particularity in the region. The unity of the North and South Indian classical traditions is treated historically and analytically, with special emphasis placed on correlating their musical and mythological aspects. The classical traditions are contrasted with regional, tribal, and folk music with respect to fundamental conceptualizations of music and the roles it plays in society. In addition, the repertories of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and states and nations bordering the region are covered. Music is also considered as a component of myth, religion, popular culture, and the confrontation with modernity. P. Bohlman. Winter.

28301. Medieval Vernacular Literature of the British Isles. (=CMLT 26000, ENGL 15801) This course covers the Celtic tradition, Old and Middle English, Anglo-Norman French, and a late text from Scotland. Texts include: from Old English, Beowulf; from Irish, The Battle of Moytura and the Tain, and two of the immrana or voyages, those concerning Bran Son of Ferbal and Mael Duin; from Anglo-Norman French, The Lays of Marie de France; from Welsh, The Four Branches from the Mabinogion; from Middle English, selections from The Canterbury Tales and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; and from Scotland, Dunbar. M. Murrin. Winter. (C)

28800. Body and Soul: Historic and Ethnographic Approaches to Prayer. (=BPRO 25200, HIST 29406, HUDV 25200) PQ: Third- or fourth-year standing. Why do we pray? Why do we experience prayer practice as reaching out towards an intentional being whom we cannot (except in representation) touch, see, or hear? This course approaches an answer to these questions by looking at the way we pray, particularly in a Christian context. What kinds of bodily engagement do we find in prayer? What impact might prayer practice have upon our bodies? How might answers to these questions help to explain why its practice has been so compelling to so many for so many years? R. Fulton, T. Luhmann. Spring.

28001. Acculturation and the African-American Church. (=AFAM 28001, HIST 20203) As scholars begin to recognize the complexity of the "Atlantic world," concepts of the religious practices and institutions of Diasporic Africans in the Americas must be examined in light of this ever-emergent complexity. The purpose of this course is to examine the history of African-American religious institutions and practices as a constitutive part of this Atlantic world. R. Johnson. Winter.

29700. Reading and Research Course. PQ: Consent of faculty supervisor and Director of Undergraduate Studies. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

29800. B.A. Paper Seminar. RLST 29800 and 29900 form a two-quarter sequence that is required of fourth-year students majoring in Religious Studies. This course meets weekly to provide guidance for planning, researching, and writing the B.A. paper. Autumn.

29900. B.A. Paper. RLST 29800 and 29900 form a two-quarter sequence that is required of fourth-year students majoring in Religious Studies. A second quarter of seminar attendance is required for students while in RLST 29900. The purpose of this course is to assist students in the preparation of drafts of their B.A. paper, which are formally presented and critiqued. Winter.