Religion
Chair TBA, 501 Hall of Languages, 315-443-3861.
Faculty Philip Arnold, Zachary J. Braiterman, John D. Caputo, Ronald R. Cavanagh, Gareth Fisher, Ken Frieden, Ann Grodzins Gold, M. Gail Hamner, Tazim R. Kassam, Patricia Cox Miller, Edward F. Mooney, Marcia C. Robinson, Joanne P. Waghorne, Ernest Wallwork, James W. Watts
Knowledge of religion is critical in today’s world. The academic study of religion at Syracuse University offers students the opportunity to explore religion in a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary context. Students who take courses in religion learn to interpret the dynamics of religious convictions, actions, and expressions.
Religious traditions and practices engage such questions as: What kind of life is most worth living? How do we understand the nature of the world? How do we relate to ourselves and to others?
Students study religious life and thought from the perspectives of arts, ethics, gender, history, literature, mythology, philosophy, political theory, psychology, scriptural studies, social sciences, and theology.
The academic study of religion is a critical undertaking and an often transforming experience introducing students to unfamiliar aspects of their own world, and to the religious realities of our global situation.
The Department of Religion has articulated three goals that shape its teaching and its expectations of what students in its courses and programs may expect to gain from this study:
- to understand better the nature and diversity of religious expressions in the contemporary world and in history, and their power in peoples’ personal and collective lives;
- to think more deeply and critically about religious experience and its modes of expression and forms of interpretation;
- to recognize and appreciate the difficulties and possibilities in a disciplined study of religion; and to become aware of a diversity of approaches and methods within that study.
MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
The major requires 30 credits of appropriate work, approved in consultation with the coordinator of undergraduate studies. Because of the interdisciplinary character of religion courses, it is crucial that the following clusters (in depth and breadth/diversity) be delineated and approved in consultation with the coordinator of undergraduate studies, in keeping with the following conditions:
- at least four courses that ensure depth by clustering around one of the following:
a) a particular tradition (e.g., Buddhism, Judaism)
b) a particular geographical area or historical period (e.g., America, South Asia)
c) a particular thematic (e.g., philosophy, popular culture)
- at least three courses that ensure breadth and/or diversity of study, as decided in consultation with the Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies.
- REL 391
- of the 10 courses, 6 must be at the 300 level or above.
- up to 6 credits may be earned in individualized work within the Department of Religion (e.g., independent study, honors thesis).
- up to 6 credits may be earned in advisor-approved courses outside the Department of Religion.
Introductory Courses
Advanced Courses
| REL 300 |
Selected Topics |
| REL 301 |
Ancient Near Eastern Religions and Cultures |
| REL/JSP 307 |
The Temple and the Dead Sea Scrolls |
| REL 309 |
Early Christianities |
| REL/JSP 311 |
The Bible as Literature |
| REL 320 |
Religion and Culture |
| REL 324 |
Religion and Storytelling |
| REL 326 |
Religion and Film |
| REL/JSP 331 |
European and American Judaic Literature |
| REL/LIT/JSP 333 |
Yiddish Literature in Translation |
| REL/JSP 334 |
Modern Judaism |
| REL/JSP/LIT 335 |
Israeli Literatures and Culture |
| REL/JSP 337 |
Shoah: Responding to the Holocaust |
| REL 341 |
Women, Abolition, and Religion in 19th-Century America |
| REL 343 |
American Religions and the News Media |
| REL/AAS 345 |
African American Religious History |
| REL 347 |
Religion and the Conquest of America |
| REL 348 |
Religion and American Consumerism |
| REL 351 |
Theorizing Religion, Culture, Theology |
| REL 352 |
Sociology of Religion and Morals |
| REL 353 |
Religion and Nature Writing |
| REL 355/PSC/SOC 362 |
Religion, Identity, and Power |
| REL 358 |
Critical Issues in Religious Thought |
| REL 364 |
Islamic Literatures |
| REL 367 |
Islamic Art and Aesthetics |
| REL 375 |
Religion and Ethics in Post-Freudian Depth Psychologies |
| REL/SAS/WGS 384 |
Goddesses, Women, and Power in Hinduism |
| REL 386 |
Studies in Buddhism |
| REL 388 |
Religion and the Arts of Japan |
| REL 391 |
Advanced Religion Seminar |
| REL 395 |
Religions and the Natural Environment |
| REL 396 |
Mysticism |
| REL 400 |
Selected Topics |
| REL/ANT/HST/WGS 409 |
A History of Witchcraft |
| REL/CLALIT 421 |
Classical Mythology |
| REL/PHI/JSP 435 |
Modern Judaic Thought |
| REL/JSP 439 |
Senior Seminar in Judaic Studies |
| REL 440 |
Modern Religious Thought |
| REL 449 |
Religious Dimensions of Whiteness
|
| REL 465 |
Gender in Islam |
| REL 470 |
Experience Credit |
| REL/ANT 471 |
Religion and Society in Brazil |
| REL 487/687 |
Global Hinduism |
| REL 490 |
Independent Study |
| REL 498 |
Thisis Preparation |
| REL 499 |
Honors Thesis |
| REL 500 |
Selected Topics in Religion |
| REL/JSP 516 |
The Torah/Pentateuch |
| REL/AAS 543 |
Religious Cultures of the South |
| REL 551 |
Ethics and the Health Professions |
| REL 552 |
Bioethics |
| REL 557 |
Modern Theology |
| REL 595 |
Religion, Art, and Aesthetics |
Qualified undergraduates may take 500-level courses after consulting with the Department of Religion advisor and obtaining, before registration, the instructor’s written approval.
Minor in Religion
Students take 18 credits of appropriate and approved work in keeping with the following conditions:
- at least 12 credits in courses numbered 300 or above;
- all credits will be taken in courses offered by the Department of Religion.
Students interested in majoring or minoring in religion should contact the Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies in 501 Hall of Languages, 315-443-3861.