RELIGIOUS STUDIES

106. The Hebrew Bible and Its Interpretations. Cherry (9:35- 10:50 TR) A close examination of selected readings from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the ways these have been understood by Jews from ancient times to the present. Close readings will focus on narrative, legal and liturgical sections of the Bible as they develop within rationalistic and mystical frameworks. As we explore the history of biblical interpretation, we will attempt to understand what motivates interpreters to read the texts as they do. History, philosophy, anthropology, comparative religion and feminist theory will be employed to understand the Hebrew Bible and its interpretations.

109. Themes in New Testament . Patte (1:10-2:00 MW; F Sections) This introductory course is a study of New Testament texts--with special attention to the Sermon on the Mount, the Cross and Resurrection according to Mark, Matthew, and Luke, John, Paul, Hebrews–focused on important themes including "discipleship," "significance of Jesus' death and resurrection," "evil, sin, and salvation." In the process students will learn a) to understand how believers interpret New Testament texts as Scripture; b) to appreciate the role of religious, cultural, and social contexts in interpretation; c) to appreciate the contributions of scholarly studies of these texts, as they are set in their historical context by scholars.

1) Students will be asked to formulate in brief reports what is in their view "the Teaching for Believers Today" of each text; 2) then, we will proceed to a comparison of the Themes and Textual Evidence in the students' interpretation with those by other interpretations; 3) and to a discussion of the relative value of each interpretation.

Requirements: Active participation in class discussions, a series of short reports/papers and a number of quizzes (but no comprehensive exams and no long term paper).

117. Islam in the African-American Experience. Baldwin (10:10- 11:00 MWF) An Introductory level course which focuses on the varied expressions of African American Islam in the United States. Some attention is devoted to African Muslim slaves in antebellum America, and to the roles and contributions of individuals, Muslim groups, and the religion of Islam in the shaping of African American identity and traditions. The lives and contributions of African American Muslim leaders such as Job ben Solomon, Noble Drew Ali, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan, and Imam Warith D. Muhammad will be studied carefully, and major attention will be given to the Moorish Science Temple, the Ahmadiyyah Movement, the Nation of Islam, the Five- Percenters, and other organized Islamic groups.

120. Religion, Sexuality, and Power. Gay (11:10-12:00 MWF) An examination of psychological, social scientific, and literary theories of how religious institutions control and channel human sexuality. Works by contemporary psychologists, like E. H. Erikson, L. Kohlberg, and others are used to examine how and why sexuality occupies a central role in religious training and religious institutions. Extensive use of films to illustrate developmental stages. No prerequisites.

133. Asia on Film. Arai (11:00-12:15 TR) Cinematic perspectives of Asian religion and culture. Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, Shinto, and Confucian traditions in India, Tibet, China, Japan, and U.S. Politics and significance of representation and interpretation.

150. Medicine, Healing and Spirituality. Arai (1:10-2:00 TR) Cross-cultural inquiry into the perspectives of modern western scientific medicine and Asian healing and spiritual practices. Analysis of cultural and religious influences on the concepts of illness and health and the relationship of body and mind. Develop knowledge and skills through directed field research project.

180. History of Christian Traditions. Harrington (11:10-12:00 MWF) Christian traditions from the origins to thepresent. Such themes as early Christian communities and practices, church-state relations, monasticism, mysticism, popular medieval religion, the Protestant Reformation, and new denominations in the Americas. No prior knowledge or background is assumed.

208. The Hebrew Bible. Knight (11:10-12:00 MW + W or F section) A basic study of the life and thought of ancient Israel. Our primary concern will be to understand the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) as a product of its times and as a document of lasting significance. We will be examining its connection to the life of the people, its relation to the ancient Near Eastern world, and the growth and formation of the Hebrew Bible literature in its parts and as a whole. There will also be discussion of ancient Israel's social and political life, religion, and ethics, especially in light of recent investigations and archaeological finds. Two exams; one 10-page paper.

213. Ethics of the New Testament. Patte (3:10-6:00 M) A study of the main ethical teachings offered by New Testament texts, and an invitation to consider the ethics of our interpretations of these texts. —Study of central ethical texts of the New Testament--especially from Matthew (e.g., the Sermon on the Mount) and Paul (e.g., Romans 1, 12-16; I Cor. 5-14; Galatians 5-6). What is the responsibility that Christian believers have in their relationships with other people (including sexuality)? in the family? In the church? With people in other religious communities? In the social, economic, and political spheres? In their relationship with nature/creation? —Different views of ethics and of discipleship scholarly interpretations. —Since we have a choice, we have an ethical responsibilityfor our own interpretations of these ethical texts. What are the effects that our choice of certain interpretations have upon other people around us? (e.g. sexual discrimination, anti-Semitism, social and economic oppression, global economy). — Requirements: a research paper, written in three installments, each of which being prepared by preliminary written and oral reports.

215. Formation of Catholic Tradition. Burns (6:10-7:25 MT) It was in the early and medieval periods that the "classical" tradition of Christian doctrine, shared by Catholics and Protestants, took form and many of our contemporary assumptions are shaped by the developments of those earlier centuries. We shall look at the growth of the doctrines of the Trinity, Christ, and salvation in relation to the general history of the church and the wider political, social, and cultural setting. Readings are designed to acquaint the student with original source material. Previous acquaintance with classical history, Western civilization, or History of the Christian Thought (RLST 107) is desirable. Reading reports and essay exams will serve as the basis for grading.

217. History of Religion in America. Flake (3:10-4:00 MT + W 3:10 or R 1:10 section) This is an introductory examination of the history of religion in America. The chronological scope of the course is broad: it begins with an examination of pre-colonial religions in the New World and ends with considerations of contemporary religious alternatives. Although the course is properly described as a survey of American Church History (i.e., an examination of Christian persons, institutions, and doctrines), it will also examine the influence of non-Christian religions in American culture. Traditional themes and movements will receive ample attention (e.g., Catholic New World missions, Puritanism, the Awakenings, Religion and the Revolution, Revivalism, Social Reform, Denominationalism, the Social Gospel, Fundamentalism, Ecumenism, etc.). However, class members will also examine an American tradition with which they are unfamiliar (e.g., American Judaism, American Catholicism, African American religion, Native American religions, Eastern religion, Women Church, etc.)

218. The Mission of the Church in the New Testament and Today. Ukpong (4:00-5:15 TR) The nature, focus and goal of mission in Matthew, Luke-Acts, john and selected Pauline letters against the background of contemporary mission issues. Particular emphasis on the differences in perspectives among the New Testament books.

219. M.L.K., Jr. and the Social Roles of Religion. Baldwin (1:10-2:00 MWF) An intermediate level course exploring Martin Luther King, Jr.'s roles as preacher, religious leader, theologian, and social change agent, with special attention to his cultural roots and legacy, the experiential and intellectual sources of his thought and praxis, and the development of his communitarian ideal beyond southern particularism to an explicit and enlightened globalism. King's perspective on the social roles of religion will be studied and critically analyzed against the background of classical Judeo-Christian views (e.g., the ancient Hebrew Prophets, Jesus, the Apostolic Church, the Church Fathers, and Fundamentalist and Evangelical traditions), of Western philosophical streams (e.g., Plato, Socrates, Heraclitus, Hegel, Kant, the Existentialists), of 19th and 20th Century dissenting traditions (e.g., Marx, Thoreau, Gandhi, Luthuli), and of the perspectives of African American leaders from the time of slavery to the present (e.g., Hammon, Walker, Truth, Tubman, Delany, Douglass, Washington, DuBois, Garvey, Jackson, Eikerenkoetter, Malcolm X, and others). The roles of the church and religion in King-led civil rights campaigns from Montgomery to Memphis will also be examined. Finally, attention will be devoted to King's image as a world leader and symbol, taking into account his position against racism, colonialism, poverty, and economic injustice in the United States and abroad.

222. Jewish Ethics. Cherry (2:35-3:50 TR) By tracing environmental issues through the Bible, Talmud, medieval codes and mystical texts, we will analyze how contemporary Jewish environmentalists are using these traditional sources to further their ethical understanding. The course will be two-pronged: (1) understanding the primary genres of Jewish law and ethics as well as the mechanisms of Jewish legal development, and (2) analyzing the specific issues involved in Judaism's complicated relationship to the environment.

224. The Ancient Origins of Religious Conflict in the Middle East. Drews/Wiltshire (9:35-10:50 TR) Religious oppositions in the eastern Mediterranean world from the Maccabean revolt to the Muslim conquests of the seventh century; beginnings of religious militancy; challenges of monotheism to Greco-Roman civilization; conversion, persecution, and concepts of heresy and holy war in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

229. The Holocaust: Its Meanings and Implications. Geller (1:10- 2:25 TR) This course examines the systematic destruction of European Jewry and other groups during World War II. Attention is directed at the social, economic, and cultural factors that contributed to its occurrence as well as at the aftermath of response, recollection, and revision. We will address attempts to create meaningful narratives about events which appear to lack discernable meaning. To that end we will analyze historical accounts, theology, memoirs, memorials, fiction, film, etc., and the

issues of history, memory, witness, language and otherness that they raise. Special emphasis will be placed on the theme of this year's Vanderbilt Holocaust Lecture Series: on resistance. There will be brief (1-2 page) thought/response papers each week, a mid-term, and a final. At least weekly film screenings on Thursdays (6:00 PM).

235. Freudian Theories and Religion. Gay (12:10-1:00 MWF) An evaluation of Freud's critique of culture and religion in three steps: 1. the theory (Freud's Lectures, "Case Histories"); 2. the critique of religion ("The Uncanny," Group Psychology, Totem and Taboo); and 3. the psychoanalytic approach to culture (Peter Gay, Freud: A Life, V. P. Gay, Reading Freud). What did Freud say? Why Did he say it? How can we evaluate his work in our time and given our concerns? Freud is one of the great critics and thinkers of the 20th century. He is especially important to current hermeneutic disciplines, such as psychotherapy, philosophy, literary criticism, and similar research traditions. Students keep a dream journal to compare against Freud's claims in his most famous and influential works.

299A. Honors Thesis-Research. (TBA) Reading of primary research sources in preparation of writing honors thesis under supervision of the thesis advisor. Open only to senior honors students.

299B. Honors Thesis-Writing. (TBA) Writing honors thesis under the supervision of the thesis advisor. Open only to senior honors students.

280. Senior Seminar. Geller (9:35-10:50 TR) Discussions of myth and ritual have long held a prominent place in the study of religions, especially of the religions of non-Western cultures. But these studies may reveal less about such 'religious' phenomena than about the structures and strictures of Western thought. To explore the explications and implications of classic and contemporary treatment of myth and ritual, this course focuses upon one, albeit multi various, myth-ritual complex: gift exchange. Readings will include, among others, Bourdieu, Derrida, Eliade, Freud, Lévi-Strauss, Malinowski, Mauss, Sahlins,and Smith, as well as myths and rituals upon which these individuals generated their theories. Requirements include active participation, a brief statement of entering assumptions about key concepts in the study of religions, two short papers in which theories are applied to specific sacrificial narratives, a midterm, and take-home final.

HEBR 111A. Elementary Hebrew. Halachmi (3:10-4:00 MWF) Elementary conversational Hebrew emphasizing the spoken colloquial usage of Israel today. Course prepares students for further study in modern Hebrew, while also providing a foundation for understanding Biblical Hebrew. No prior knowledge of Hebrew pre supposed. Fulfills language requirement.

HEBR 113A. Intermediate Modern Hebrew. Halachmi (2:10- 3:00 MWF) Reinforcement of advanced grammar, reading, and conversation in modern Hebrew. Some knowledge of elementary Hebrew is required. Fulfills language requirement.