Religious Studies (RELIGST)
RELIGST 24 Freshman Seminar 1 Unit
Department: Religious Studies
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
The Freshman Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small seminar setting. Freshman seminars are offered in all campus departments and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Enrollment limited to fifteen freshmen.
Course may be repeated for credit as topic varies. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
RELIGST 90A Introductory Topics in Religious Studies 4 Units
Department: Religious Studies
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Selected introductory topics in the study of religion.
Course may be repeated for credit as topic varies. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
RELIGST 90B Introductory Topics in Religious Studies 4 Units
Department: Religious Studies
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Selected introductory topics in the study of religion.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
RELIGST C90B/S,SEASN C51 Introductory Topics in Religious Studies 4 Units
Department: Religious Studies; South and Southeast Asian Studies
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Selected introductory topics in the study of religion.
Course may be repeated for credit as topic varies. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Instructor: Dalmia
RELIGST C103/NE STUD C103 Religion of Ancient Egypt 3 Units
Department: Religious Studies; Near Eastern Studies
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 18 or consent of instructor.
A survey of the religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, based primarily upon the written sources.
RELIGST C104/NE STUD C104 Babylonian Religion 3 Units
Department: Religious Studies; Near Eastern Studies
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture per week.
A survey of Babylonian religious beliefs and practices based on indigenous texts and monuments.
RELIGST C108/SCANDIN C160 Scandinavian Myth and Religion 4 Units
Department: Religious Studies; Scandinavian
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 8 hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.
Religious beliefs and practices during the Viking Age in Scandinavia and their manifestations in later recordings. Readings and discussion in English.
RELIGST C109/CELTIC C168 Celtic Mythology and Oral Tradition 4 Units
Department: Religious Studies; Celtic Studies
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
The course will introduce students to the pre-Christian beliefs of the Celtic and Indo-European worlds, to the historical narratives in which such beliefs are embedded, and to the methodology of investigating ancient and medieval belief systems.
RELIGST C118/GERMAN C113 Western Mysticism: Religion, Art, and Literature 4 Units
Department: Religious Studies; German
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
The course will focus on examples of mystical thought from the traditions of Christian and Jewish mysticism since the Middle Ages. In addition to the introduction of the students to basic texts and concepts we will discuss the effects of mystical thought on art and literature from the Middle Ages up to today.
Instructor: Largier
RELIGST C119/ENGLISH C107 The English Bible As Literature 4 Units
Department: Religious Studies; English
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Introduction to the English Bible treated as a literary work.
RELIGST C124/HISTORY C157 The Renaissance and the Reformation 4 Units
Department: Religious Studies; History
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks. 7.5 hours of Lecture and 2 hours of Discussion per week for 6 weeks.
European history from the fourteenth to the middle of the seventeenth century. Political, social, and economic developments during this transitional period will be examined, together with the rise of Renaissance culture, and the religious upheavals of the sixteenth century.
Formerly known as 157.
RELIGST C132/NE STUD C135 Jewish Civilization I: The Biblical Period 4 Units
Department: Religious Studies; Near Eastern Studies
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
This is the first course in a four-course sequence in the history of Jewish culture and civilization. It covers the biblical period and the period up to the destruction of the second temple. This course will explore the current state of our knowledge, including the legacy of ancient Near Eastern myth and religion, the history of Israelite religion, the literary features of biblical narrative, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
RELIGST C135/HISTORY C175B/UGIS C155 Jewish Civilization: Modern Period 4 Units
Department: Religious Studies; History; Undergrad Interdisciplinary Studies
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
This is the fourth course in a four-course sequence in the history of Jewish culture and civilization. It explores the major themes in Jewish history from 1750 to the present, with special attention paid to the transformation of Jewish communal and individual identity in the modern world. Topics to be treated include the breakdown of traditional society, enlightenment and emancipation, assimilation, Hasidism, racial anti-Semitism, colonialism, Zionism, and contemporary Jewish life in Europe, North America, and Israel. The multicultural nature of Jewish history will be highlighted throughout the course through the treatment of non-European Jewish narratives alongside the more familiar Ashkenazi perspective.
RELIGST C161/S ASIAN C127 Religion in Early India 4 Units
Department: Religious Studies; South Asian
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 8 hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.
Designed as a two-semester sequence, these courses are an introduction to the religions that have their origin on the Indian subcontinent--Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and tribal religions--as well as those that originated in other regions such as Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. Organizing this material chronologically rather than teaching it by separate religious traditions facilitates comparisons and promotes an understanding not only of the differences among these religions but also some of their commonalities in philosophy, theology, and praxis.
RELIGST C162/S ASIAN C141 Religion in South India 3 Units
Department: Religious Studies; South Asian
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
The development and practice of religion in South India. Emphasis will be on sources translated directly from Indian languages. Subjects covered include: the indigenous religion, the effect of Brahmanical religion, movements, and the practice of Hinduism in modern South India.
Instructor: G. Hart
RELIGST C165/S ASIAN C140 Hindu Mythology 4 Units
Department: Religious Studies; South Asian
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 8 hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.
Literary and religious aspects of Hindu myths. Reading of selected mythological texts in translation.
Formerly known as 140. Instructor: Goldman
RELIGST C166/S ASIAN C142 India's Great Epics: The Mahabharata and the Ramayana 4 Units
Department: Religious Studies; South Asian
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 5A, 127, 140, or consent of instructor.
The course entails substantial selected readings from the great Sanskirt epic poems--the Mahabharata and the Ramayana in translation, selected readings from the corpus of secondary literature on Indian epic studies as well as lectures on salient issues in both. Discussion will focus on a variety of historical and theoretical approaches to the study of the poems and their extraordinary influence on Indian culture. Readings will be supplemented with selected showings of popular cinematic and television versions of the epics.
Instructor: Goldman
RELIGST 173AC/AFRICAM 173AC Gandhi and the Civil Rights Movement in America 3 Units
Department: Religious Studies; African American Studies
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This course surveys the impact of Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence and justice in American Civil Rights struggles. Through narratives, images from African American, itinerant Gandhian, and ethnic critics of race practice in American culture, we examine how Gandhian satyagraha shaped emergent civil resistance movements, as also the global appeal to nonviolent democracy. ACES component comprises internship with civil liberties partners that monitor local implementations of human rights treaties.
Satisfies the American Cultures requirement
Instructor: Bilimoria
RELIGST C182/SOCIOL C112 Sociology of Religion 4 Units
Department: Religious Studies; Sociology
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 2 hours of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks. 8 hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.
Prerequisites: 1, 3, 3AC or consent of instructor.
The course will locate the place of religious consciousness in human action and then survey comparatively and historically the role that religion has played in human society. Will include a general theory of the nature of religious experience, religious symbolism, and the basis of religious community.
RELIGST 190 Topics in the Study of Religion 4 Units
Department: Religious Studies
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 7.5 hours of lecture/discussion per week for 6 weeks.
Selected topics or problems in the study of religion.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
RELIGST H195A Honors Course 3 Units
Department: Religious Studies
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: Independent study.
Course may take one or two semesters at the option of the instructor and student with credit to be earned upon completion of a successful thesis. Successful completion of the course will normally, but not necessarily, mean the awarding of honors.
RELIGST H195B Honors Course 3 Units
Department: Religious Studies
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: Independent study.
Course may take one or two semesters at the option of the instructor and student with credit to be earned upon completion of a successful thesis. Successful completion of the course will normally, but not necessarily, mean the awarding of honors.
RELIGST 198 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units
Department: Religious Studies
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.
Hours and format: Independent study.
Tutorial instruction in areas not covered by regularly scheduled courses.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
RELIGST 199 Supervised Independent Study 1 - 4 Units
Department: Religious Studies
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.
Hours and format: Independent study.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
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