34 courses with the subject RES, 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.
An exploration of major eastern and western religious traditions including, but not limited to, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In addition to looking at the historical development of such traditions, this course addresses issues concerning current religious practice and the role of major religious traditions in contemporary society.
Sub-Total Credits 6 Electives: Complete 12 credit hours from the below list of courses: Note: Students must complete 3 credit hours at the 300 level or above. Course # Title Credits
A comparative study of world mythology. Students will learn a variety of approaches to the study of myth, and ways that myth manifests in religious traditions as story, symbol, and performance. Credits 3
Special topics course offered in response to student and faculty interest.
An examination of issues common to human experience, such as the nature of reality and the self; theories of knowledge and values; and concepts of fate, free will, and justice.
The course focuses on methodological issues associated with comparison in the academic study of religion and theological approaches. The role of comparison in interfaith dialogues will be emphasized throughout the course. Examples from a variety of religious traditions about relevant social issues will be used to reiterate methodological concerns and to expand student knowledge of the variety of approaches to moral and ethical decision making in different religious traditions.
This course examines religious representations of women and various types of female empowerment at key moments in Western religious history. We will study ancient goddesses and priestesses, female figures from the Bible, female mystics and saints, the European witch hunts, and modern controversies over women's roles in religion.
This course explores religious meaning in moving images (film or television). It will consider a wide variety of sources - from independent to mainstream Hollywood blockbusters, to television shows and mini-series - and will provide students with background knowledge of a variety of ways religious meaning is constructed and explored in films and television. After introductory readings on film theory, students will critically assess the form and content of films and/or television shows selected from different eras, cultures, or religious perspectives to explore how the moving image can give rise to religious meaning.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam trace their roots to one biblical ancestor: Abraham. This course delves into a comparative study of the beliefs, practices and social concerns of the Abrahamic religions and examines constructive methods of interfaith dialogue.
Sub-Total Credits 3 C: Religion and Culture Course # Title Credits
An introduction to the diverse religious and cultural traditions indigenous to the United States, including but not limited to: Cherokee, Lakota, Dine, and Inuit. Through examining multiple Native American perspectives and their historical relations with the United States government and its agencies, we will gain insight into the development of present day Native American communities. In addition to looking at these historical influences, this course will address contemporary issues and examine challenges to religious and traditional continuity. Credits 3
A study of the development and diversity of early Christian life and thought as reflected in literature spanning from the New Testament letters of Paul to the writings of St. Augustine in the fifth century. Topics will include the spread of Christianity and the formation of the early church; persecution and martyrdom; heresy and orthodoxy; women's roles; social issues; asceticism and sainthood.
A study of the status of women in the Old and New Testament cultures, the understandings of women in biblical theology, and the role of women in the events of biblical history.
This course consists of an internship in fields related to religious studies. The student will evaluate the experience under the guidance of an RES faculty member. An internship proposal form completed by the student and faculty mentor is required for registration.
This course explores women's attitudes, beliefs, and practices within their religious heritages through written descriptive studies based almost entirely on Fieldwork research, Ritual, leadership roles and religious experiences of women across a wide range of cultures will be examined.
A study of beliefs, images, and stories about sin and evil in the religious traditions of Judaism and Christianity, focusing around the figure of Satan and patterns of belief and disbelief in Western religious history.
This course investigates the presence of religious concepts and themes in a variety of literary forms as well as the presence of literary themes and devices in religious works. Course readings will draw from different time periods and cultures and include myth, history, parable, short stories, essays, oral narratives, poems, and novels.
3 Studies
This course explores the fuzzy boundaries between magic, science, and religion, and how these shift in different historical and cultural contexts. Topics include astrology/astronomy, alchemy/chemistry, approaches to healing and medicine, among others.
This course explores the intersection of religion and pop culture, focusing on religion in pop culture and pop culture as religion. The relationship between religion and culture is explored through a variety of theoretical lenses with examples being drawn from American pop culture (TV, music, internet, and film). Students will be challenged to read popular culture "texts" through a critical lens that takes into account issues such as ideology, Americanization, and racial, gendered, and sexual identities.
Sub-Total Credits 13 Total Credits 22
This course explores ethical issues that arise in connection to the environment including: biodiversity; wilderness preservation; pollution; population; private property and common resources; intergenerational justice; environmental public policy; and corporate responsibility. Students will be introduced to the historical traditions of thought with respect to the environment, new and emerging forms of environmental ethics and the practical application of ethical theories and principles to current environmental concerns. Particular attention will be given to the ethical challenges of weighing competing interests and claims of individuals, social groups and institutions, future generations and the broader biotic community.
This course focuses on the ways in which religion and human culture intersect. We will look at such themes as myth, symbol, magic and ritual and see how they contribute to the formation of human societies. Students will engage in a local field research project to learn how anthropologists study religion.
This course examines the varied and multiple ways that Jesus is portrayed in the New Testament gospels and other Christian gospels. The modern quest for the historical Jesus is a focal point of this course, and students will examine a variety of historical, literary and theological problems posed by the gospel texts and the quest.
This course will investigate the interconnections among religion, economics, and politics in the Americas during our significant historical moments. Conquest, Slavery, Independence/Industrialization, and the crises of the mid-20th Century.
This course will survey major developments in western Europe from roughly 400 CE to 1300 CE. It will use primary and secondary sources to explore the growth of a distinctly European civilization upon its Judeo- Christian, classical and Germanic roots, and will trace the expression of this civilization through its political religious and educational institutions; its former religious thought and vernacular literature; its art, architecture and music; and its interactions with different cultures both within and beyond its borders. Specific topics covered will include the Germanic invasions, monasticism, the conversion of Europe, the growth of the manorial and feudal systems, scholastic thought in the universities, heresy and the crusades, the growth of representative government and others. Credits 3
This course will work primarily through class discussion of primary sources to understand the changes in outlook expressed in the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. In particular, it will focus upon the transition from medieval toward modern attitudes in areas such as historical and scientific thought, political and educational theory, philosophy, art, music and religious thought and practice. It will also address the economic, social and political variables that underlay these changes in intellectual life, as well as the impact that these ideas had upon European society. Students will be encouraged to explore individual interests from their own major fields and personal backgrounds.
Course # Title Credits
Special topics course offered in response to student and faculty interest.
In conjunction with a faculty mentor, the student will formulate and conduct a research project that will culminate in a paper and a presentation. A research proposal form completed by the student and faculty mentor is required for registration. The project must meet Honors Program thesis requirements and conform to the thesis guidelines of the Department of History, Political Science, International Studies & Religious Studies.
In conjunction with a faculty mentor, the student will participate in a research project that will culminate in a paper and a presentation. A research proposal form completed by the student and faculty mentor is required for registration.
Source: Meredith College's catalog, linked per course · table learning_unit · CourseShelf publish 61
