Religious Studies
Campus Box 1065
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130-4899
(314) 935-8677

Courses

Fall 08 || Summer 08 || Spring 08 || Fall 07 || Spring 07

For a complete list of courses offered by Washington University
please go to WUCrsL.

L23 154 Re St Freshman Seminar: Saints And Society
The topic of this course is saints and society in medieval and early modern Europe. It will explore the complex relationships between exceptional holy men and women, the historical settings in which they lived, and the religious and cultural traditions on which they drew. It will consider saints as both embodiments of the highest ideals of their societies and radical challenges to ordinary patterns of social existence. We will test different approaches to the study of saints and sainthood, and see what the study of such exceptional individuals can tell us about social and cultural norms. Throughout, the relations of saints to society will be seen as a point at which social, intellectual, political, economic, and religious history meet. Readings will include primary sources (in English translation) and modern scholarship. 3 units. Same as home course L22 History 154.
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01 TuTh 10:00a-11:30a XXXII Bornstein

L23 202 Re St Intro To Religious Traditions I: Judaism, Christianity, And Islam
Judaism, Christianity and Islam are elaborate and dynamic systems of belief and practice. While each of them is a distinct religious tradition, all three share a common cultural background, harbor similar views of the individual, and assume a linear perspective of history. Morever, the historical trajectories of these three Western monotheisms have been intricately intertwined: Christianity emerged out of Judaism, and Islam took shape largely in a Jewish and Christian context. This course will explore these monotheistic traditions in a comparative perspective with ample attention to questions of historical context and development. Our coverage will be explicitly topical and comparative, and the themes examined will include scripture and interpretive tradition, monotheism, authority, worship and ritual, ethics, material culture as well as religion and political order. Note: This class is open to all interested students. This course is required for all Religious Studies majors and minors. 3 units. Same as L75 JNE 202, U66 RelSt 2021.
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01 MWF 2:00p-3:00p XXXII Ahmed

L23 210C Re St Intro To Islamic Civilization
This course is a selective survey of Islamic civilization from its beginnings in the Near East during the seventh century CE to the present. Readings are chosen from primary sources as well as secondary literature; various audiovisual materials are also used. Topics covered include: Qur'an and Muhammad; early Islamic history; science, medicine, and technology; art and architecture; philosophy, theology, and law; Islamdom and Christendom; sultanates and gunpower empires; spread of Islamic civilization to Cental, South and Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa; European colonialism and the emergence of modern Islamic states; Muslims in Europe and North America; trends in contemporary Islam. 3 units. Same as home course L75 JNE 210C.
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01 MW 10:00a-11:00a XXXII Reynolds
Discussion sections:
A F 10:00a-11:00a Reynolds
B F 10:00a-11:00a Reynolds
C F 11:00a-12:00p Reynolds

L23 301A Re St Historical Methods: The Making Of The Middle Ages
This is a small-group reading course in which students are introduced to the skills essential to the historian's craft. Emphasis will be on acquiring research skills, learning to read historical works critically, and learning to use primary and secondary sources to make a persuasive and original argument. This course is required for history majors. Enrollment limited to 20 students per section. Section ONE only is crosslisted with L90 AFAS 3012. Section TWO only is crosslisted with L23 301A. PREQUISITE: SEE HISTORY HEADNOTE. 3 units. Same as home course L22 History 301A.
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SECT 02: THE MAKING OF THE MIDDLE AGES: This course concerns itself with addressing and familiarizing students with some of the major issues, debates, problems, themes, and methods, adopted and adapted by historians of the Middle Ages. Each week we will explore the various methodologies for discovering and reading primary sources of various kinds. Topics to be explored include: the Christianization of Europe in the early Middle Ages; the rise of Islam; the relationship of popes to kings; of cities to villages; of Jews to Christians; of vernacular literature to Latin; of knights to peasants; and of the sacred to the profane. Students will participate in weekly discussions and write two 10-12 page papers. This course satisfies the pre-modern course requirement for history majors.
02 W 1:00p-4:00p XXXII Pegg

L23 3031 Re St Christianity In The Modern World
Survey of Christianity since the Reformation. Focus on the divisions in Christianity, its responses to modern science, the rise of capitalism, and European expansion into Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Attention to ecumenism and the contemporary status of Christianity in the world. Use of original documents. Requirements: Idea journal, midterm, final paper. 3 units. Same as L97 IAS 3034, U66 RelSt 203.
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01 TuTh 2:30p-4:00p XXXI Flinn

L23 3082 Re St Intro To Rabbinic Judaism
Survey of the historical, literary, social and conceptual development of Rabbinic Judaism from its inception in late antiquity to the early Middle Ages. The goal of the course is to study Rabbinic Judaism as a dynamic phenomenon - as a constantly developing religious system. Among the topics to be explored are: How did the "Rabbis" emerge as a movement after the destruction of the Second Temple, and to what extent can we reconstruct their history? How did Rabbinic Judaism develop in its two centers of origin, Palestine (the Land of Israel) and Babylonia (Iraq), to become the dominant form of Judaism under the rule of Islam? How did Jewish ritual and liturgy develop under Rabbinic influence? How where the Rabbis organized and was there diversity within the group? What was the Rabbis' view of women, how did they perceive non-Rabbinic Jews and non-Jews? As Rabbinic Literature will be used as the main source to answer these questions, the course will provide an introduction to the Mishnah, the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds, and the Midrash-collections - a literature that defines the character of Judaism down to our own times. All texts will be read in translation. 3 units. Same as L75 JNE 3082, L75 JNE 5082.
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01 MW 11:30a-1:00p XVII Jacobs

L23 309 Re St Chinese Thought
This course offers an introduction to Chinese thought through a study of thinkers from arguably one of the most vibrant periods of religious-philosophical discourse in China. We will examine early classical texts from the Daoist, Confucian, Mohist, and Legalist traditions, and follow arguments where the thinkers expand upon, dispute, and respond to each other in regard to questions that are still important to us today. We will explore issues such as notions of the self, conceptions of the greater cosmos, the role of rituals, ideas about human nature, and the subjects of freedom and duty. Motivating the course will be the underlying question, "What is the good life?" 3 units. Same as L06 ANECC 309, L03 East Asia 309, L97 IAS 3090, U66 RelSt 3091.
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01 MW 8:30a-10:00a XXXII Lee

L23 3091 Re St Confucian Thought: The Sage And Society
This course offers an introduction to the ethical dimensions of Confucianism through a study of a select number of religio-philosophical texts ranging from ca. 500 BCE through the present day. We will begin with a study of Confucianism as a commentarial tradition on the classical text of the Analects. We will then turn to the theme of self cultivations and examine three contrasting ideas put forth on the subject: self cultivation through learning the classics, through mystical intuition, and through a study of history. In the third part, we will explore the role of Confucianism in adressing contemporary ethical issues such as ones regarding government, abortion, the environment, human rights, feminism, and intellectual property. 3 units. Same as L06 ANECC 3091, L03 East Asia 3091, L97 IAS 3095.
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01 MW 1:00p-2:30p XXXII Lee

L23 311 Re St Buddhist Traditions
This survey course introduces students to a complex variety of Buddhist traditions from several perspectives that include, but are not limited to, historical, philosophical, contemplative, and ethical dimensions of Buddhism. The course is divided into four parts. In the first part, we will focus on the figure of the Buddha and his basic teachings, development of the Buddhist community, and early forms of Buddhism. In the second part, we will examine the rise of Mahayana, Buddhist philosophical and contemplative systems, and different models of the Buddhist path and its stages. In the third part of the course, we will study about ritual, historical, and other aspects of several South and East Asian Buddhist traditions. In the final part, we will concentrate on contemporary issues in Buddhism, especially those related to ethics and bioethics, transformations of Buddhist practices in Europe and America, and contemporary Buddhist education in the West. Prereq: L23 106 or permission of the instructor. 3 units. Same as L03 East Asia 3112, L97 IAS 311.
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01 MWF 11:00a-12:00p XVII Yaroslav Komarovski

L23 3293 Re St Religion And Society
We will take a broad and practice-oriented view of 'religion', including uttering spells, sacrificing to a god, healing through spirit possession, as well as praying and reciting scripture. We will consider religious practices in small-scale societies as well as those characteristic of forms of Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and other broadly-based religions. We give special attention to the ways religions shape politics, law, war, as well as everyday life in modern societies. 3 units. Same as home course L48 Anthro 3293.
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01 TuTh 10:00a-11:30a XXXII Bowen

L23 335C Re St The Jews In The Modern World
This course offers a survey of the Jewish experience in the modern world. We begin with the European Enlightenment and the formation of the modern state and end with American and Israeli settings at the close of the twentieth century. Among the themes that we will be exploring in depth are: the campaigns for and against Jewish "emancipation"; acculturation and religious reform; Jewish life in the Russian empire and in Eastern Europe; the rise of political and racial antisemitism; mass migration and the formation of American Jewry; varieties of Jewish national politics; Jewish-Gentile relations between the World Wars; the destruction of European Jewry; the emergence of a Jewish nation-state; and Jewish culture and identity since 1945. This course satisfies the modern course requirement for history majors. PREREQ: SEE HISTORY HEADNOTE. 3 units. Same as home course L22 History 335C.
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01 TuTh 1:00p-2:30p XVIII Brown

L23 3411 Re St The Jewish People In America
History of the Jews in North America from the colonial era to the present. Close reading of primary sources, with an emphasis on the central issues and tensions in American Jewish life; political, social, and economic transformations; and religious trends. L75 541 is for graduate students only. 3 units. Same as home course L75 JNE 341.
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01 TuTh 10:00a-11:30a XX Brown

L23 3461 Re St Zen Buddhism
This course is canceled for Fall 2008.

L23 3528 Re St Intro To Early Medieval Art And Architecture
This course surveys the artistic achievements of the medieval era in western Europe from the fourth to the ninth century and in the eastern Mediterranean from the fourth to the thirteenth century. In addition to early Christian art of the late Roman, Carolingian, Ottonian, Anglo-Saxon, and Byzantine worlds, we also consider works of art and architecture from the medieval Islamic and Jewish spheres as well as arts of the Migration Period. A broad geographic and chronological span -- from England to the Near East and Constantinople to Spain; from the establishment of Constantinople in the 330's to cross-cultural exchange of the Crusader era-- allows for full exposure to the rich variety of objects and monuments that fall under the rubric of early medieval art. 3 units. Same as home course L01 Art-Arch 3528.
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01 TuTh 2:30p-4:00p XXIV Walker

L23 3529 Re St Medieval Icons: Painting Before The Renaissance
Portable painting is commonly perceived as an art form of the Renaissance, when artists to an unprecedented degree utilized the surface of canvas or wood panels to create virtual windows onto the world. But Renaissance painting developed in large part from medieval icons, which funtioned as objects of religious devotion and veneration. This course traces the evolution of Christian portable paintings from their origins in the late antique and Byzantine worlds to the earliest decades of the European Renaissance. Special attention is paid to the impact of eastern icons on western devotional images in the twelfth to thirteenth centuries. We will be concerned with the function of paintings as much as their aesthetics, examining how the emphasis on their cultic versus artistic value shifted for the medieval to Renaissance periods. Cross-cultural interaction in the Mediterranean world is of particular importance to our discussion, with historical phenomena like the Crusades and the proselytizing efforts of European Mendicant Orders receiving special attention. 3 units. Same as home course L01 Art-Arch 3529.
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01 TBA XXXII Walker

L23 365F Re St The Bible As Literature
This course is canceled for Fall 2008.

L23 3670 Re St Gurus, Saints, And Scientists: Religion In Modern South Asia
Many long-standing South Asian traditions have been subject to radical reinterpretation, and many new religious movements have arisen, as South Asians have grappled with how to accommodate their traditions of learning and practice to what they have perceived to be the conditions of modern life. In this course we will consider some of the factors that have contributed to religious change in South Asia, including British colonialism, sedentarization and globalization, and new discourses of democracy and equality. We will consider how new religious organizations were part and parcel with movements for social equality and political recognition; examine the intellectual contributions of major thinkers like Swami Vivekananda, Sayyid Ahmad Khan, and Mohandas Gandhi; and explore how Hindu, Islamic, and other South Asian traditions were recast in the molds of natural science, social science, and world religion. 3 units. Same as L97 IAS 3670.
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01 TuTh 2:30p-4:00p XXXI Adcock

L23 374C Re St The Jews In The Ancient World
Jewish history through the biblical and rabbinic periods; emphasis on political, cultural, and religious life and ideas. L75 501C JNE is for graduate students only. 3 units. Same as home course L75 JNE 301C.
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01 MW 4:00p-5:30p XXXII [TBA]

L23 3802 Re St Sacred Shrines And Holy Places
Studies architecture, painting, ornamentation, music, and dance as religious expressions by focusing on six major shrines and the sacred arts associated with them: the Hindu temple of Konarak, the Shinto Shrine at Ise, the Buddhist temple at Borobudur, the Catholic cathedral at Chartres, the Pueblo Indian kiva at Kuaua, and the Suleymaniye mosque of Istanbul. Examines the arts and their relationship to the beliefs of the various traditions. Field trips scheduled to some local shrines, mosques, synagogues, and churches. 3 units. Same as A46 ARCH 3802, L01 Art-Arch 3802, L97 IAS 3802.
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01 TuTh 11:30a-1:00p XXXI Flinn

L23 390 Re St Lyrics Of Mystical Love, East And West
How can mystical experience be put into words? How did the mystic poets, from various world traditions, attempt to express the inexpressible? How should we "read" and "interpret" these poetic images? This course deals with these and similar questions while examining key mystical/poetic concepts such as silence, union with the divine, or human versus mystical love. The lyrics of the world-renowned mystic Rumi will be used as the main text with frequent comparisons to the writings of other prominent figures such as St. John of the Cross, Yunus Emre, John Donne, Kabir, and Meister Eckhart. All poems will be read in English. 3 units. Same as home course L16 Comp Lit 390.
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01 TuTh 1:00p-2:30p XVIII Keshavarz

L23 4070 Re St Judaism And Islam In Comparative Perspective
The historical trajectories of Rabbinic Judaism and Islam are intimately intertwined. Moreover, a strong argument can be made that Rabbinic Judaism and Islam bear some obvious affinities with one another. Nevertheless, the two traditions generally continue to be studied in isolation from one another. The goals of this seminar are (1) to foster better understanding of areas of historical contact and intersections between Jewish and Islamic civilizations and (2) to start the work of developing a common framework for the comparative study of the two traditions. We will examine examples of sustained and meaningful contact such as Muslim-Jewish symbiosis in early Islam as well as interaction on the level of philosophical and theological discourses between medieval Jews and Muslims. We will also attempt to identify instances of affinity between the two traditions through comparative study of their exegetical, messianic, legal, and mystical dimensions. Seniors in Jewish, Islamic and Near Eastern Studies will be given preference in admission. Advanced students from other departments and programs should contact the instructor prior to enrollment. 3 units. Same as home course L75 JNE 4070.
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01 TBA XXXII Karamustafa

L23 498 Re St Independent Work For Senior Honors I
Investigation of a topic, chosen in conjunction with a faculty advisor, on which the student prepares a paper and is examines. Students will take L23 498 in the fall semester and L23 499 in the spring semester. Prereq: Admission to the Honor's program, and permission of the program director and the major advisor. 3 units.
** See start of this departmental entry or contact department directly for details on faculty/sections and enrollment.
01-09 XXX TBA

L23 4993 Re St Advanced Seminar: Women And Religion In Medieval Europe
This course explores the religious experience of women in medieval Europe and attempts a gendered analysis of the Christian Middle Ages. In it, we will examine the religious experience of women in a variety of settings - from household to convent. In particular, we will try to understand how and why women came to assume public roles of unprecedented prominence in European religious culture between the twelfth century and the sixteenth, even though the institutional church barred them from the priesthood and religious precepts remained a principal source of the ideology of female inferiority. Readings will include modern studies of women and religion in medieval Europe, as well as medieval texts produced by, for, and about women. This course satisfies the pre-modern course requirement for history majors. ONLINE REGISTRATION UNAVAILABLE: STUDENTS MUST CONTACT COURSE INSTRUCTOR FOR PERMISSION TO ENROLL. PREREQ: SEE HISTORY HEADNOTE. 4 units. Same as home course L22 History 4993.
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01 TuTh 2:30p-4:00p XXXII Bornstein

L23 4996 Re St Advanced Seminar In History: Islam In China
This seminar examines the history of Islam and Muslim communities in China. While the course covers the entire history of Muslim communities in China, from the arrival of the first Muslims in China in the seventh century to the present, it primarily focuses on developments during late imperial and twentieth century China. Central themes of the course are cultural interactions, identity-formation, and state-Muslim relations. We will attempt to understand and analyze the above themes in the context of Chinese history and the history of the Islamic world. Knowledge of either China or the Islamic world is helpul but not required. This course satisfies the modern course requirement for history majors. ONLINE REGISTRATION UNAVAILABLE: STUDENTS MUST CONTACT COURSE INSTRUCTOR FOR PERMISSION TO ENROLL. PREREQ: SEE HISTORY HEADNOTE. 4 units. Same as home course L22 History 4996.
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01 Tu 2:30p-5:30p XXXII Mao

L23 500 Re St Independent Work
PERMISSION OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE RELIGIOUS STUDIES PROGRAM. Credit variable, max 6 units.
** See start of this departmental entry or contact department directly for details on faculty/sections and enrollment.
01-09 XXX TBA

University College Courses

U66 2021 RelSt Intro To Religious Traditions: Judaism, Christianity And Islam
Judaism, Christianity and Islam are elaborate and dynamic systems of belief and practice. While each of them is a distinct religious tradition, all three share a common cultural background, harbor similar views of the individual, and assume a linear perspective of history. Morever, the historical trajectories of these three Western monotheisms have been intricately intertwined: Christianity emerged out of Judaism, and Islam took shape largely in a Jewish and Christian context. This course will explore these monotheistic traditions in a comparative perspective with ample attention to questions of historical context and development. Our coverage will be explicitly topical and comparative, and the themes examined will include scripture and interpretive tradition, monotheism, authority, worship and ritual, ethics, material culture as well as religion and political order. Note: This class is open to all interested students. This course is required for all Religious Studies majors and minors. 3 units. Tuition: $350.00. Same as home course L23 Re St 202.
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01 MWF 2:00p-3:00p XXXII Ahmed

U66 203 RelSt Christianity In The Modern World
Survey of Christianity since the Reformation. Focus on the divisions in Christianity, its responses to modern science, the rise of capitalism, and European expansion into Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Attention to ecumenism and the contemporary status of Christianity in the world. Use of original documents. Requirements: Idea journal, midterm, final paper. 3 units. Tuition: $350.00. Same as home course L23 Re St 3031.
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01 TuTh 2:30p-4:00p XXXI Flinn

U66 3091 RelSt Chinese Thought
This course offers an introduction to Chinese thought through a study of thinkers from arguably one of the most vibrant periods of religious-philosophical discourse in China. We will examine early classical texts from the Daoist, Confucian, Mohist, and Legalist traditions, and follow arguments where the thinkers expand upon, dispute, and respond to each other in regard to questions that are still important to us today. We will explore issues such as notions of the self, conceptions of the greater cosmos, the role of rituals, ideas about human nature, and the subjects of freedom and duty. Motivating the course will be the underlying question, "What is the good life?" 3 units. Tuition: $350.00. Same as home course L23 Re St 309.
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01 MW 8:30a-10:00a XXXII Lee

U66 4704 RelSt Religious Philosophy Of Paul Ricoeur
This seminar is devoted to a careful reading of the principal works of Paul Ricoeur, who has made major contributions in the fields of phenomenology, philosophy of religion, hermeneutics, existentialism and the theory of narrativity. Particular themes include sin and fallibility, symbol and evil, metaphor and meaning. Key writings are Fallible Man, The Symbolism of Evil, Freud and Philosophy, The Rule of Metaphor, Biblical Hermeneutics, Time and Narrative, and Oneself as Another. 3 units. Tuition: $1,485.00.
01 W 6:30p-9:00p XXXI Flinn