Fall 2009 Course Listing
REL 101 Exploring Religion
Religion and religions as historical phenomena. Non-textual and textual religions. Theories of the origins and functions of religion. Exemplary voices from various traditions examined in their historical and doctrinal settings.
REL 150 Introduction to Biblical Literature
A critical survey of biblical texts, including the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and writings found in the Apocrypha/Deuterocanon, that combine historical and literary analysis with attention to the ancient religious context of this literature.
REL 205 Myth, Self, and Religion
The mythic quest for meaning, identity, value, and transcendence as seen through religious biography and literary narrative. Myth in relation to religious symbols and life-cycle rituals. Cross-cultural perspective on religious world views and the interpretation of myth as sacred narrative.
REL 220 Religion in America
History, themes and issues of religions in America from precolonial times to the present.
REL 220H students at the Bharatiya Temple in Haslett, MI. Photo by: Nichole Hoerner, REL 220H Student
REL 230 Shamanism, Trance, and Sacred Journeys
Shamanic practice in different cultural and religious contexts. Ecstatic, cosmological, and performative dimensions. Healing, sacred knowledge, spiritual journeys, sacred space, presence in world religions, patterns of pilgrimage, theoretical debates regarding shamanism.
REL 310 Judaism
Jewish life, thought, and institutions. Jewish calendar. Second Temple and Rabbinic periods. Talmud and Midrash. Jewish life in Europe and America. Hasidic, Reform, Orthodox, and Conservative movements. Anti-Semitism, Zionism, and the Holocaust. Current issues.
REL 340 Hinduism
Historical, philosophical and doctrinal development. Vedic Sacrifice, Upanishads, Samkhya-Yoga and Vedanta, Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and modern Hinduism.
REL 355 Southeast Asian Religions
Southeast Asia as a religious and cultural crossroads. The historic mix of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Chinese religions. Diversity of indigenous animistic religions. Past and present relations between religions and the state.
REL 441 Bhakti Hinduism
Historical, philosophical, and doctrinal development of bhakti Hinduism (devotional Hinduism) of North India from the 12th to the 18th century.
REL 220H students at the Bharatiya Hindu Temple during October 2008. Photo by: Nichole Hoerner, REL 220H Student
REL 480 Comparative Studies of Religion: Sacred Places and Spaces
REL 491 Special Topics in Religious Studies, Section 001: Jesus in History and Tradition
REL 491 Special Topics in Religious Studies, Section 002: Contemplation and Sacred Landscape
REL 220H students listening to a presentation at the Bharatiya Hindu Temple, October 2008. Photo by: Nichole Hoerner, REL 220H Student
