Department of Religious Studies
Course Descriptions
INTRODUCTORY COURSE
101 Religious Diversity in America
An introduction to religious studies focusing
on greater Los Angeles, which some
experts claim is the most religiously diverse
environment in the world. Attention to
traditional Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish
religions; recent immigrant traditions;
religious innovation and change; and the
implications of religious pluralism. Field trips.
One semester, 3 credits.
GLOBAL RELIGIONS
201 Monotheisms
An introductory survey of major texts, beliefs,
and practices of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. One semester, 3 credits.
202 Religions of Asia
An introductory survey of the major texts,
beliefs, and practices of Hinduism, Buddhism,
and the religious traditions of China and
Japan. One semester, 3 credits.
210* Introduction to the Bible
An introduction to biblical literature and
the social contexts in which the Hebrew
Bible and New Testament arose. Emphasis
on contemporary critical methods used to
understand the Bible. One semester, 3 credits.
216* Literature of the Bible
(Same as ENGL 222) One semester, 3 credits.
221* History of Christianity
An introductory survey of Christianity
through an examination of its history, rituals, institutions, theology, and social concerns.
Sample themes include the Bible, the mass, monasticism, and the relation of church and
state. One semester, 3 credits.
222* Judaism
A survey of the major issues, themes,
and practices of the Jewish religion and
civilization. The Jewish tradition's place in the
development of western civilization as seen
in historical overview: from biblical times to
rabbinic and medieval times to the modern
era. One semester, 3 credits.
235, 236 Arabs and Muslims I & II
(Same as INTD 225, 226) Two semesters, 3
credits each.
311* Life and Teachings of Jesus
The four Gospels; Jesus' birth, baptism,
temptation, transfi guration, passion,
crucifixion, resurrection; his teachings about
war, wealth, divorce, miracles, kingdom of
God, end of the age; symbolism in Gospel of
John. One semester, 4 credits.
313* Heroes, Gods and Gurus: Introduction
to the Literatures of India
Examination of selected texts representative
of India's 3000-year-old religious and
literary tradition. Includes translations from
the Sanskrit Epics and Kalidasa's plays,
translations from Tamil classical poetry and
devotional hymns, and contemporary Indian
novels written in English. One semester, 3
credits.
330* The Buddha and Buddhism
Significance of the life of Buddha and
founding of his order for the development of
the Buddhist tradition throughout Asia, from
philosophical, sociological, and historical
perspectives. One semester, 3 credits.
331* Islam
An introductory thematic survey of Islam with
some attention to the historical development
of the tradition. Principal themes include:
the Qur'an, ritual practice, Islamic society,
mysticism, the diversity of the Islamic world,
Islam and modern politics. Readings from
a variety of perspectives. Field trip. One
semester, 3 credits.
333* Hindu Religion and Culture
India's principal religious tradition viewed
primarily in terms of its variegated expression
in contemporary south India. Topics include
Hindu gods, temples, and their festivals, asceticism and monasticism, the caste system,
Hindu women and domestic ritual, and the philosophical underpinnings of the tradition.
Films and slides. One semester, 3 credits.
RELIGIONS: COMPARISONS AND CONTRASTS
241* Sport, Play and Ritual
(Same as INTD 241) January, 4 credits.
251* Monks, Nuns and Ascetics
An introductory examination of the theory
and practice of asceticism in Christianity,
Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Discussion
of autobiographical works by Mohandas
Gandhi and Thomas Merton. Attention to
the social and institutional dimensions of
asceticism. Field trips, films, short papers. One
semester, 3 credits.
253* Women and Religion
An introductory examination of religious
defi nitions of women, of women's religious
experiences, and of feminist theologies
and transformation of religious traditions.
Attention to course topics in cross-cultural
perspective. One semester, 3 credits.
307* Religion and the Body
An exploration of the ways in which the
corporeal practices and ideologies of diverse religious traditions mediate social meaning.
Includes such topics as food and fasting;
medicine, healing, and illness; pleasure and
pain; representations of the body; sex and
reproduction; biological aspects of religion
(brain, mind, soul) and religious experience.
One semester, 3 credits.
321* Religion in America
Distinct religious movements, themes, and
personalities in American history before 1870. Topics include native American religions,
Puritanism, California missions, revivalism, frontier religion, and transcendentalism. One
semester, 3 credits.
341* New Religious Movements in Southern
California
An examination of how California's cultures
spawn and embrace innovative and emergent religious groups. Representative NRMs include
New Age, Scientology, Aetherius Society, Jesus
Movement, Neo-Paganism. Extensive field
trips. 4 credits.
342* Sound and the Religious Experience
An exploration of religious music as a way of
understanding the world and constructing meaning. Emphasis on the relationship of
rhythm to healing and the importance of chanting for inducing ecstasy. Examples span
world cultures, and musical styles, including Qur’anic chant, and Santeria trance dance.
One semester, 3 credits.
348* Ritual Studies
An integration of theoretical and
interdisciplinary perspectives on ritual
as sacred performance. It examines the
connection between practice and belief in a
series of cross-cultural case studies and is
organized thematically around such issus as
sacrifice, death and dying, food, the body, and
lifestage events. One semester, 3 credits.
349* Religious Fundamentalisms
An examination of the roots and expansion
of religious fundamentalism throughout the
modern world. Topics include Protestant
fundamentalims in England and the United
States, the Muslim Brotherhood in Eypt, and
fundamentalism in Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu,
and Sikh traditions, among others. One
semester, 3 credits.
352* Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage as a cross-cultural phenomenon.
Attention to the history, literature, ritual,
and social processes of religious journeys in
Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and the Hindu
tradition. One semester, 3 credits.
RELIGIONS: CULTURAL CRITIQUE
240* Cinema and Religion
Contemporary cinema as a medium for
raising religious questions in a secular
context and as a medium for exploring the
religious dimensions of rituals. Movies by
Bergman, Buñuel, Fellini, Kubrik, and Capra,
among others, are viewed and analyzed. One
semester, 3 credits.
340* Global Ethics
An examination of contemporary ethical issues
from a theological perspective. Topics include
environmental issues, world hunger, nuclear
arms, capital punishment, human sexuality,
abortion, euthanasia, drug abuse and genocide.
One semester, 3 credits.
345* Jesus on Film
An examination of various films about the life
of Jesus, ranging from traditional portrayals to
provocative ones. Emphasis on how aesthetic, political, social, and theological dispositions
affect the portrayals. Selected films include
foreign, epic, and musical presentations. One
semester, 3 credits.
350* Latin American Liberation Theologies
An introduction to the understanding of
justice as the central theological concern
for the oppressed peoples of Latin America.
Distinctive features of the cultures and
theologies in different countries are examined.
One semester, 3 credits.
351* Public and Popular Religion
An examination of distinct religious
communities and themes in American culture
since 1870. Topics include Mormonism,
Shakers, utopian communities, civil religion,
and televangelism. One semester, 3 credits.
359* Religion and Colonialism
An exploration of several classics in the study
of religion that focuses on how these works refl ect the connection between European
theories about "native" and "primitives,"
and the expansion of European political and
economic power into environments inhabited
by these "natives." One semester, 3 credits.
361* Ways of Understanding Religion
An introduction to the various ways
religion has been understood by scholars
in the modern western world. Perspectives
stressed include the history of religions/phenomenology, psychology, sociology, and
anthropology. One semester, 3 credits.
ADDITIONAL OFFERINGS
190, 290, 390, 490* Selected Topics in
Religion
Permission. One semester, Variable
credits. May be repeated for credit.
295, 395, 495 Independent Studies
Credit and time arranged. Permission. May be
repeated for credit.
*Not offered every year.
