24 courses with the subject RELS, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
This course is designed to acquaint students with broad themes in the study of religion. More specifically, the course will examine historically important theories concerning the origin and nature of human religious expression. Further, we will examine together some characteristic features of religious life and practice.
Societies and social structures are never set up in ways that serve the interests of all members equally. This course uses the theories of Bruce Lincoln and Pierre Bourdieu to reflect on how religious traditions are utilized in the maintenance of relationships of domination in society. Breadth and Proficiency category: Philosophy and Religious Studies
An overview of the books of the Hebrew Bible with attention paid to the history and tradition of the Hebrew people. Within this overview, particular weight is placed on the prophetic tradition which plays a central role in shaping Judeo-Christian views on social justice. Breadth and Proficiency category: Philosophy and Religious Studies
This course considers the content of the New Testament in relation to the social context in which it was created, focusing in part on the diversity of Christian beliefs and practices in the first few centuries CE. Breadth and Proficiency category: Philosophy and Religious Studies
Offered occasionally. Topics vary with each offering. Breadth and Proficiency category: Philosophy and Religious Studies 140
Development of the central concepts of Christianity from the apostolic era to the end of the medieval period. Breadth and Proficiency category: Philosophy and Religious Studies
Development of the central concepts of Christianity in the modern era from the Renaissance and reformation to the twentieth century. Breadth and Proficiency category: Philosophy and Religious
This course focuses on how the image of Jesus has evolved since the 1st century, both within Christianity and outside Christianity. A special emphasis is placed on how the images of Jesus changed after the rise of capitalism and how Jesus is used both to justify capitalism and communism. Breadth and Proficiency category: Philosophy and Religious Studies
A history of Jews and Jewish civilization from Biblical times to the present. Both primary and secondary source material will be analyzed using various tools of historical interpretation. Breadth and Proficiency category: Philosophy and Religious Studies
A study of the beliefs and practices of Judaism today. What Jews believe and how they put their beliefs into practice will be emphasized. The life cycle, holiday cycle, and ethical teachings, and the importance of the Holocaust and Israel in modern Jewish life and thought are highlighted. Breadth and Proficiency category: Philosophy and Religious Studies
The story of the Jews in America, their history and beliefs. Where the American Jewish community finds itself at the end of the twentieth century will be discussed. The interweaving of history, sociology, economics, politics, and theology will be explored. Breadth and Proficiency category: Philosophy and Religious Studies
The course traces the development of the various religious groups in America and their impact on American political, cultural, and social history. Breadth and Proficiency category: Philosophy and Religious Studies
An examination of the role religion has played in both fostering and challenging racial prejudice in the United States. This course examines the special role race relations have had in American culture and highlights the quest for racial equality as perhaps the longest lasting struggle for social justice in American history. Breadth and Proficiency category: Philosophy and Religious Studies 141
An exploration into the relationship of theology and the practice of social justice through the eyes of Catholic saints, theologians, and through student-involved experiential learning. Students will engage in dialogue, reflective writing, experiential learning, and group projects to understand the relationship of theology and social justice and to further develop their own deepening call to individual and social responsibility. Breadth and Proficiency category: Philosophy and Religious Studies
A history of conservative Christian movements in America. Special attention is paid to the fundamentalist worldview and its vision of social justice. While this vision runs counter to the dominant liberal narrative, fundamentalists nevertheless have a clear vision of the place of humans in creation and their responsibilities for creation. Breadth and Proficiency category: Philosophy and Religious Studies
Focusing on Hinduism and Buddhism, part of this course considers how the elements of these traditions have been co-opted by modern agendas in ways that cohere with late capitalism and other forms of economic exploitation. Breadth and Proficiency categories: Philosophy and Religious Studies or Global Cultures and Languages
Survey of Islam’s origin story, social and political history, and the contents of Qur’an. Islam’s role in US foreign policy is additionally examined. Breadth and Proficiency categories: Philosophy and Religious Studies or Global Cultures and Languages
This course explores the creative forces that have shaped American religion and examines the challenges that confront the religious community today.
(Also offered as PHIL 303. See PHIL 303 for course description.)
This course first focuses on the social construction of gender, considering the theories of scholars such as Judith Butler and Anne Fausto-Sterling; second, the course considers how gender is constructed in American evangelical Christianity, how those constructions are 142
The meaning of Christian ethics with special reference to contemporary problems. Prerequisite: RELS 101 or permission of the instructor.
The doctrines of the Christian creed in the perspective of contemporary theology. Prerequisite: RELS 101 or permission of the instructor.
This course focuses on 20th century social theorists centrally concerned with the relationship between power, discourse, and social order. Social Policy and Civic Engagement Courses SPCE 102/SOC 102: Intro to Social Problems This course provides an introduction to using sociological theory and social science research to analyze major social problems facing society today. We examine the social construction of societal problems, read theoretical writings dissecting these problems, and analyze how real- world solutions have impacted societal issues and power dynamics. Throughout this course we will have open discussions on solutions and the challenges we as a society face in implementing solutions to some of the biggest social problems facing society. This will include a deep investigation into socio-economic stratification, moral panics and substance abuse, welfare and crime, environmental issues and immigration. At the end of each unit, students will write a policy position paper in which they make an argument for a real-world policy solution to the issue discussed, requiring them to apply what they have learned in class to society. SPCE 312/SOC 312: Theorizing Injustice This course will introduce students to five theoretical points that have become common sense in “critical theory” scholarship, claims which can be found in various fields of study across the social sciences and humanities—from Marx to Poststructuralism to Critical Race Theory. The five central themes concern 1) the relationship between knowledge and power, 2) the ways in which social structures and institutional powers create subjects and produce desires, 3) the ways in which domination is unintentionally reproduced by people who ostensibly oppose domination, 4) the role of ideology in sustaining those relations of domination, and 5) the ways in which the state gets captured by hegemonic forces, which then utilize the state to discipline subjects in ways that benefit the hegemony. This foundational course will help students develop a secure theoretical grounding with which to understand contemporary social issues, relations of inequality, and forms of domination we face in the 21st century, whether related to race, class, or gender. Prereq: SOC 101, SPCE 102, SOC 102 or HRSJ 201.
Source: St. Thomas Aquinas College's catalog, linked per course · table learning_unit · CourseShelf publish 61
