52 courses with the subject REL, 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.
REL 100Religion, Dreams and the Dreaming. 4
This cross-cultural course will consider the religious role of the dream as initiatory experience, metaphor for aboriginal time, gateway to the other world, venue for the divine guide, healing event, ?royal road? to the unconscious, and prophetic harbinger of the personal or collective future. This is an introductory course, and no previous academic experience in religious studies is expected or required. Fulfills humanities requirement (1998). Arts/ humanities requirement (2019).
Exploration of the interaction of American religion and culture. Examines aspects of the religious traditions of Native Americans, African Americans, Roman Catholics, Jews and Protestants and the shift from a white Protestant to a pluralist America. Fulfills humanities and diversity in the U.S. requirements (1998). Arts/ humanities and sociocultural engagement requirements (2019).
In this experiential, engaged-learning course we learn about and practice Asian traditions of meditation. Our focus is primarily onthe Indo-Tibetan traditions of meditation and yogatantra. All Buddhist meditation is yoga, and we explore the historical dimensionsof various methods of meditation while delving into the underpinning ethics and worldviews surrounding these practices. Thecenterpiece of the course are creative, collaborative oral group presentations, which we will develop, hone, refine, and polishthroughout the semester. These team presentations will center on themes of love that grows out of student reflection on daily in-class meditative practices. [pending approval:] This course fulfills the Embodied and Creative Engagement and the Arts/ Humanitiesrequirements at Guilford and counts for a Major or Minor in Religious Studies.
The course begins with a study of the life of the Buddha, the early formation of Buddhism and the Mahayana reformation, then shifts to its major focus: study of the diffusion of Mahayana Buddhism across Central Asia and China, and into Japan and Korea. Fulfills intercultural requirement (1998). Sociocultural engagement requirement (2019).
This course introduces students to religious traditions from around the world through the lens of sacred texts. Students encounter a range of holy writings while learning about interpretation, the creation of religious communities, and different comparative and thematic approaches. Any number of traditions could be explored, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and many others.
May also be offered at 250, 350 and 450 levels. Possible offerings include Sufism; Gendered Spiritualities; Music in the Muslim World; Exodus from Moses to Bob Marley; Feminine Images in Biblical and Christian Literature; Social Reform and Personal Therapy; 19th- and 20th-century American Religion and Mysticism.
Religion is in the news. It informs our perspectives and feeds our search for answers to many ethical questions about how individuals construct meaning and relevance in daily life. The quick answers to burning questions are often sought by the click of a button. New and emerging media renditions inform religion as much as religions permeate life. Fulfills the humanities requirement (1998). Arts/humanities requirement (2019).
This course will seek to study Rumi in primarily aesthetic terms by an examination of his own works and that of his companion, Shams Tabriz. The Rumi that has been recovered through the lens of western poets is also reclaimed by his compatriots in Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. This study will also examine how current works by Turkish writers like Orhan Pamuk and Elif Shafaq stake their claim in their modern fictional renditions of the life and times of Rumi. Fulfills humanities and intercultural requirements (1998). Arts/humanities and sociocultural engagement requirements (2019).
An advanced introduction to the religion of several Native American tribes, such as the Cherokee, Sioux, Crow and Navaho. Explores the world- views/myths, rituals (including art, dance and music) and the life-ways of these different cultures. Also focuses on the long interaction between American white cultural imperialism and the religions of these indigenous people. Fulfills the humanities and diversity in the U.S. requirements (1998). Arts/humanities and sociocultural engagement requirements (2019).
This course explores a variety of religious texts, interpretations, traditions, and practices central to understanding women Islam. We examine the diversity in the notion of ?Muslim women,? in history and around the world. We read the Qur?an in search of messages about marriage, sex, polygyny, adultery, and veiling. We also examine Islamic feminism as a force in contemporary Islam. 2022-2023 catalog 239 REL 204. Islam. 4. Introduces the Islamic religion in its various aspects, including its origins, cultures, rituals, beliefs and practices. The course aims to provide a holistic analysis of Muslim civilizations by exploring some aspects of their rich and diverse contributions through historical and current expressions. Fulfills humanities and intercultural requirements (1998). Art/ humanities and sociocultural engagement requirements (2019). REL 208. Hinduism. 4. Addresses the religions of India, primarily Hinduism, which is a way of life emphasizing practice more than doctrine; therefore, we look at the lives of people through narratives. We also address the thought and concomitant social systems forming the framework for its acceptance of diverse and often contradictory beliefs and practices. Fulfills intercultural requirement (1998). Art/humanities requirement (2019).
This course situates Quaker spirituality within a range of contexts (historical, political, economic, and social) and examines the interplay of spirituality with peace and justice concerns. The course includes an experiential element and considers how Quaker spirituality impacts personal and corporate worship, decision-making, discernment, and physical and emotional well-being.
The Hebrew Bible occupies a unique position in relation to the conventional dichotomies between modernity and tradition, East and West. This course will explore the ?book? and the contradictions that envelop it, examining the Bible as a multifaceted compilation of ancient Hebrew (and Aramaic and Greek) literature and considering its various roles in contemporary life. Fulfills intercultural requirement (1998). Art/ humanities requirement (2019).
Explores the literature of the New Testament, emphasizing the manner in which each writer tries to express an understanding of the person and work of Jesus in relation to the early Christian community. Fulfills intercultural requirement (1998). Art/humanities requirement (2019).
This course introduces students to the Qur?anic scripture, its history, themes, characteristic, and the way in which it has functioned as an authority for Muslims throughout Islamic history. We will examine competing modes of interpretation and the most significant exegetes in the pre-modern and modern periods, paying specific attention to the role of modernity in creating new approaches to Qur?anic interpretation. This course surveys a wide range of exegetical interpretations on 1) women and sexuality, 2) violence and jih?d, and 3) religious pluralism. Fulfills intercultural requirement (1998). Art/humanities requirement (2019).
An exploration of 19th- and 20th-century feminist religious and theological writers. Considers such issues as the role of religious systems both in establishing and sustaining sexism and in being agents of transformation and justice; sexism and God-language; patriarchal and egalitarian views of human nature; women and ritual; and feminist views of society. Fulfills humanities and social justice/environmental responsibility requirements (1998). Arts/humanities and evaluating systems and environments requirements (2019).
This course explores the varieties of ethical concepts in different religions, while teaching how to think critically about the applicability of ethics? as a category and showing how many ethical concepts including notions of ?truth? often reflect multiple ?truths? in the narratives of the religions, cultures and societies. Fulfills humanities and social justice/ environmental responsibility requirements (1998). Arts/humanities and evaluating systems and environments requirements (2019).
Jesus of Nazareth has captured the world?s imagination for two millennia, and this course focuses on humanity?s multi-faceted engagement with Jesus. Examining Jesus from a multitude of sources? scriptures, films, literature and art, this class looks at the many ways Christians and non-Christians have created Jesus Christ, and what significance those diverse creations hold. Fulfills intercultural requirement (1998). Art/humanities requirement (2019).
May also be offered at 360 and 460 levels. The individual formulation and completion of the study of a significant problem in the field of religion, such as Play, Celebration and Worship; Existential Psychology; Alchemy; Contemporary Social Change in the Church; Creativity and Imagination; or Women in Modern Japanese Religion
The course takes as its foundational premise the notion that discernment work in advance of acute moments of crisis can help us gain clarity about how, why, and in what specific ways we might best act for social change in times of crisis. At heart are issues of ethics, of spiritually grounded values, of senses of self, and of passions. Throughout the course, students engage with religious texts that address issues such as anger, non-violence, Buddhist and Shinto history and practice in Japan, and the ontological deconstruction of an autonomous ?self.? Students work to discern ? by way of mindfulness practice and analysis of intersectional systems of oppression and liberation ? the passions and ethical priorities that drive them to work for a better world. Fulfills arts/humanities and evaluating systems and environments requirements (2019).
REL 283HP:Religions of the Minorities of Southwest China. 4
? The course explores the religious traditions of the Naxi, Tibetans, Yi, Lisu, Moso, and Bai peoples of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. The Chinese ?Cultural Revolution? (1966- 1976), which systematically devastated the religious lives of these peoples, serves as the course? s central historical focus. Prerequisite: ENGL 102. Fulfills historical perspectives and intercultural requirements (1998). Arts/humanities and sociocultural engagement requirements (2019). REL 285. Daoism. 4. Explores Daoism, one of the most deeply pervasive and enduring religious/philosophical traditions in Chinese and East Asian culture. The course will focus the early development of Daoist ideas and practices from their inception and eventual institutionalization in China up to the present day. Fulfills intercultural requirement (1998). Art/humanities requirement (2019).
In this course we examine the range and depth of the theoretical aspects of the field of Religious Studies, and study and practice the various methods employed in our field. This course is required of all majors in Religious Studies and, ideally, should be taken sophomore year.
A three-week course, ?Muslims, Slavery, and Civil Rights in the U.S.? focuses on the largely neglected history of Islam in America. It explores the critical intersections between Islam, slavery and civil rights in the United States. Venturing into a rich, yet underexplored record of historical material, students in this course will study the biographical accounts of enslaved Muslim Africans, whose personal narratives reshape the story of religious freedom inU.S.
This course focuses on the religious roles and lives of women of Tibet and the Himalaya from the seventh through the 21st centuries. Also examined are some contemporary ?Western? feminist political- philosophical theory and its problematic applicability to the traditional situation of Tibetan women throughout the last 1,300 years. Prerequisite: Historical Perspectives. Fulfills humanities and intercultural requirements (1998). Arts/humanities and sociocultural engagement requirements (2019).
Explores Indian, Tibetan, Chinese and Japanese Buddhist masters? commentaries on the doctrine that all phenomena including the ?self ? are ?empty of inherent existence,? and investigates issues such as religious truth and the ethics of ego- less-ness. Counts toward a major/ minor in International Studies ? East Asia. Prerequisites: Historical Perspectives. Fulfills intercultural requirement (1998). Arts/humanities requirement (2019).
This experiential team-taught, intensive, three-week, interdisciplinary study abroad course will take place in and on the grounds of Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, in the far northeastern reaches of England. The course explores the intersections and distinctions between the causal systems, modalities, and mechanisms of magic and medicine. With site visits to the island castle and priory of Lindisfarne, the Scottish city of Edinburgh, the Magic & Medicine Garden of Dilston, Alnwick town, and the castle?s bucolic gardens and park grounds, the course will begin with a rigorous investigation into the history of the importance of the concept of causality in both scientific and non-empirical thought, and with student projects about medicinal herbs. The centerpiece of the course will utilize the Reacting to the Past pedagogical engaged-learning collaborative theatrical scenario about Charles Darwin. The final week will involve classes on the castle grounds about postmodern intercultural understandings of magic and the mysteries of the mechanisms of medicine and health. Students will spend the full three-week course living in Alnwick Castle, famously the cinematographic setting of Harry Potter?s Hogwarts. There are no prerequisites for this course. Instructor permission required prior to registration.
REL 340Contextual Thea/ologies of Europe and North America. 4
A reading-intensive, seminar-format examination of 20th- and 21st- century Christian theologians from the North Atlantic region (mostly Germany and the United States) who have written with a deep awareness of their historical, cultural, economic, political and ecological contexts.
REL 341Liberation Theologies of Latin America, Africa, and Asia. 4
Seminar on Catholic and Protestant Christian theologies from the perspective of poor and disenfranchised women and men. Works from Latin America (Peru, Brazil, El Salvador), Africa (Ghana, South Africa and their regions), and Asia (Philippines, India, Hong Kong). Includes ecofeminist and postcolonial perspectives. Fulfills intercultural requirement (1998). Arts/humanities requirement (2019). 2022-2023 catalog 241 REL 343. Mormonism. 4. This course places the Latter-day Saint faith into American history and explores topics like religious innovation, church-state relations and missionary work. In looking at the Mormon Church, we look at the lives, beliefs, embodied practices and global outreach of this quintessential American religion.
In this course we will examine the differing roles and relationships animals play in a variety of religious traditions. We begin thesemester with a study of ancient humans and their religious relationship with the natural world and look in depth at the religious rolesof animals in Native American traditions of the Pacific Northwest. Some attention will be paid to so-called ?world religions? includingBuddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism. However, we will pay considerable attention to the roles of non-human animalsin Indigenous religious traditions in Native America, areas in the Himalayas, India, China, Africa, and Circumpolar regions. We will usethese cultural histories as paradigms in the consideration of several themes and topics. An essential element of this course is thatit takes place 100% outdoors. Class will be held beside the campus lake and in the Guilford Woods, regardless of the weather. Thisclass, as a constellation of practice, will take as its central theme the possibility that animals can be seen as subjects, rather thanas objects. We will also devote several weeks to themes including: the ritual function of animals in human religious worlds; differingunderstandings of animals? relationships with the divine; deep ecology; sacrifice; ethology and species decimation; divination;anthropomorphism and zoomorphism; animal consciousness and intelligence; magic; animal rights; and the relationship betweenhuman children and animals. Central to our work will be the evaluation of theoretical models of comparison and their relevance tothe study of animals in the history of religions. There are no prerequisites for this course. [Pending approval:] This course fulfills theEvaluating Systems and Environments and the Arts/Humanities requirements at Guilford College and counts toward a major or minorin Religious Studies and Environmental Studies. REL 390. Internship. 1-8.
1. Students reflect collectively on the study of religion and its relationship to the liberal arts, to their own college career and to life outside of college. Students complete an intellectual autobiography to further their self-understanding as students of religion. For majors in their junior year. CR/NC.
The contemporary Christian theological analysis of and struggle with the nature of self and God is examined in relation to forms of social domination (sexism, racism, classism, militarism, anti-Judaism and Islamophobia) through consideration of religious thinkers.
An exploration of one major contemporary thinker or problem, such as religion, language and the body; God and language; or religion and symbol. With changes in content, this course may be repeated more than once. Prerequisite: instructor permission.
Individual study culminating in a thesis, which, in consultation with the advisor, may be submitted for departmental honors. Requires a prior semester?s preparation (a two- or four-credit independent study) that can be counted either as a REL 460 or as part of the Senior Thesis.
Students reflect collectively on the study of religion and its relationship to the liberal arts, to their own college career, and to life outside of college. Students complete an intellectual autobiography and a culminating project, to further both their self-understanding and academic journey as students of religion. For majors in their senior year. CR/NC.
