Religion
Chair: Jeffrey R. Timm
Department home page: http://www.wheatoncollege.edu/Acad/Religion/
The study of religion plays two roles. It provides a quintessential liberal arts experience for all students and cultivates religion majors. The Religion Department seeks to provide specialized courses for students majoring in the discipline, and general courses for students interested in religion but who are pursuing other majors.
Major
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The religion major consists of nine semester courses.
Requirements
Rel 102 Introduction to the Study of World Religions
Rel 401 Seminar
and seven courses selected from three of the following areas. At least three courses will be taken from one of these areas; at least two courses from a second area; and at least one course from a third.
Scriptural studies
Rel 109 Introduction to the Hebrew Bible
Rel 110 Literature of the New Testament: The Real Jesus: Ancient and Modern Views
Rel 204 Scripture in Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Rel 207 Introduction to Rabbinic Literature
Rel 210 Jesus and the Gospels
Rel 212 Sacred Texts of Asia
Rel 310 New Testament: Acts and Letters
Rel 342 Liberation Theology
Western religious traditions
Rel 204 Scripture in Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Rel 223 Religion in Contemporary America
Rel 232 Faith after the Holocaust
Rel 282 Music and Worship in World Cultures
Rel 322 Judaism: Faith and Practice
Rel 323 Seminar in Jewish Thought
Rel 342 Liberation Theology
Asian and non-Western religious traditions
Rel 108 Engaged Buddhism
Rel 212 Sacred Texts of Asia
Rel 316 Islam: Faith and Practice
Rel 325 Hinduism: Thought and Action
Rel 326 Buddhism: Thought and Action
Rel 357 Indigenous Religions
Contemporary and comparative religious thought
Rel 142 Religion and Sexuality
Rel 162 Perspectives on Death and Dying
Rel 204 Scripture in Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Rel 208 Religion in Modern Literature
Rel 225 The Philosophy of Religion
Rel 230 Mysticism and Spirituality
Rel 232 Faith after the Holocaust
Rel 242 Religion and Ecology
Rel 260 Psychology of Religion
Rel 277 Religion and Animals
Rel 340 Seminar on Religion in Anthropological Perspective
At least three courses at or above the 300 level, including Rel 401, are required of all majors.
Interdepartmental majors
Majors in religion and philosophy and religion and history are offered jointly with the Philosophy and History Departments, respectively. Students electing either joint major should consult with the chairs of the two departments concerning the courses required.
The Classics and Religion Departments have drawn up guidelines for an interdepartmental major in Ancient Studies. For the Dual-Degree Programs with Andover-Newton Theological School, contact Barbara Darling-Smith.
Minor
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Minor concentrations are available in comparative religion, Bible, world religions and Judaic studies. A minor consists of five courses approved by the department, one of which must be at or above the 300 level. Rel 102, though not required, is strongly recommended. For the minor in Judaic studies, see Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus.
Courses
102. Introduction to the Study of World Religions
A survey of the major world religions for the beginning student. Religions discussed will include indigenous religions (American Indian and African traditions), religions of India (Hinduism and Buddhism), China (Taoism and Confucianism) and those originating in the Middle East (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). Religion will be considered as a worldview expressed through doctrine, myth, ethical system, ritual, personal experience and society.
Connections:
Conx 20054 The Religious Response
108. Engaged Buddhism
An introduction to contemporary Buddhist thought and practice, exploring the role of Buddhism in addressing issues of social and environmental concern. Basic concepts, text traditions and history of Buddhism will provide the foundation for understanding the contemporary developments of "engaged Buddhism" and its response to issues of social justice, race, gender ethnicity, consumerism, advertising culture, info-age technology and the natural environment.
(Jeffrey R. Timm)
109. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible
An overview of the diverse, sometimes conflicting, religious perspectives represented in the Hebrew scriptures concerned primarily with the biblical texts as the expressions of religious beliefs and ways of life. Examination of the historical contexts and literary forms and traditions of the texts and the concrete social situations to which these texts are religious responses. Focus on the Bible's treatment of general themes in the study of religion, such as ideas of the holy, religious language and myth, ritual, monotheism and goddess worship, prophecy, theodicy, salvation, gender, the religious value of the secular and interpretation.
(Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus)
110. Literature of the New Testament: The Real Jesus: Ancient and Modern Views
The literature of the New Testament, with special attention to the form and content of the New Testament documents, their relationship to one another and their witness to the character of early Christianity.
(Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus, Daniel Ulluci)
142. Religion and Sexuality
A study of religious views on sexual choices, life styles and problems of today, including love, marriage, sex roles, homosexuality, celibacy, contraception, abortion, and sexual and domestic violence.
(Barbara Darling-Smith)
Connections:
Conx 23006 Sexuality
162. Perspectives on Death and Dying
Study of the grief process. Exploration of cross-cultural rituals surrounding death and speculation from various religions on immortality, resurrection and reincarnation. Investigation of end-of-life moral questions.
(Barbara Darling-Smith)
204. Scripture in Judaism, Christianity and Islam
This course focuses on the religious function of sacred scriptures in the three Western religious traditions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Attention will be paid to scripture as myth of origins; the relative importance of sacred story, prophecy, and law in the three traditions; authority; and the importance of interpretative traditions. We will also investigate the ritual functions of scripture, artistic representations and contemporary efforts to interpret the relevance of textual traditions.
(Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus)
207. Introduction to Rabbinic Literature
This course introduces the most important rabbinic documents of antiquity: the Mishnah and the Babylonian Talmud (the Bavli). Attention will be paid to their ritual, mythic and ethical dimensions, especially their distinctive exegetical and theological approaches to the Torah.
(Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus)
208. Religion in Modern Literature
This course examines modern fiction as a means of exploring diverse views on the nature and meaning of human existence and the search for faith. The writings of such novelists as Katherine Paterson, Zora Neale Hurston, Umberto Eco, Aharon Appelfeld, Nagib Mahfouz, Orhan Pamuk, Flannery O'Connor and some contemporary religious poets are to be considered.
(Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus)
210. Jesus and the Gospels
This course studies selected versions of the life of Jesus across many genres (scholarly, fictional, cinematic and devotional) and across many centuries (from canonical and apocryphal Gospels to medieval allegories to modern novels and films) in order to explore the ways generations of Christians at different times and places have fitted the story to their own needs and situations.
(Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus)
212. Sacred Texts of Asia
A study of some of the major religious traditions that have emerged in South and East Asia. Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism will be explored by considering representative scriptural texts and subsequent commentary traditions as a way to uncover their respective answers to fundamental questions about ultimate reality, humanity and salvation.
(Jeffrey R. Timm)
223. Religion in Contemporary America
An overview of the wealth of diversity in religions practiced in the United States, including a study of mainstream Protestantism, Judaism and Roman Catholicism, as well as Native American traditions, Evangelicalism, African American religion, Eastern religious traditions and feminist spiritualities.
(Barbara Darling-Smith)
Connections:
Conx 20034 The Historical Context of Contemporary American Culture
225. The Philosophy of Religion
A study of questions emerging from the philosophical analysis of religious thought. Both religious and anti-religious thinkers will be considered on fundamental issues: the existence of God, the status of revelation and faith, the problems of conflicting truth claims of different religions, immortality and human destiny. Special attention will be given to contemporary challenges to traditional, patriarchal theology.
(Jeffrey R. Timm)
230. Mysticism and Spirituality
An examination of mysticism as well as other forms of personal religious consciousness and the way individuals have integrated religious experience with their general understanding of existence. Attention will be given to accounts of mysticism and spirituality found in different cultures and historical periods. Fundamental issues include: the character of religious experience, the significance of gender in spirituality, self-realization and self-transformation, the relationship of interior experience and public life and altered states of consciousness.
(Jeffrey R. Timm)
Connections:
Conx 20049 Psychoactive Sacramentals
Conx 20050 Quest for Transcendence
232. Faith after the Holocaust
The death of six million Jews at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators in World War II represents a radical challenge to faith in Judaism, in Christianity and in Western humanism. The course begins with an historical overview of the Holocaust and then uses literature of Holocaust survivors and the philosophical and theological response of Jewish and Christian authors to articulate the challenge of the Holocaust to faith. The course concludes with a discussion of the implications of the Holocaust for Western culture. Because the questions which this course explores are highly varied and defy simple answers, a variety of disciplines, texts and media will be employed, including films and outside experts.
(Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus)
Connections:
Conx 20062 Jews in Modern Europe
242. Religion and Ecology
An exploration of resources from various religions for developing a healthy respect for nature and the environment, as well as a study of the religious roots of the current environmental crisis. Included are discussions of the relationships between feminist spirituality and ecological sensitivity and between Native American cultures/religions and ecological sensitivity.
(Barbara Darling-Smith)
Connections:
Conx 23009 The Environment
260. Psychology of Religion
See Psy 260.
277. Religion and Animals
This course analyzes what religions have had to say about human relationships with other animals and whether religious traditions have included or excluded animals from humans' moral responsibilities. Topics include an exploration of animals in story and animals as religious symbols; an exploration of how different human animals are from nonhuman animals; and a look at how religious traditions can foster ethical regard and compassion for animals.
(Barbara Darling-Smith)
Connections:
Conx 23013 Animal Power in Religion, Art and Science
282. Music and Worship in World Cultures
See Musc 282.
310. New Testament: Acts and Letters
This course studies Pauline Christianity through an examination of the Letters of Paul and Luke's Acts of the Apostles. We will pay special attention to the social historical context and structures of Pauline Christianity. We will discuss its ideals of community and authority, its Christian self-definition in regard to emerging Rabbinic Judaism, the significance of religious conversion for Pauline Christianity, and the relationship of early Christian literature and ethics to other Greco-Roman literary and cultural conventions (e.g., Acts and ancient novels).
(Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus)
316. Islam: Faith and Practice
Pagan Arabia, the life and teaching of Muhammad, the spread of Islam, the development of Muslim thought, Islamic mysticism and modernism. Course involves field trips to an Islamic center and interviews with contemporary Muslims.
(Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus)
322. Judaism: Faith and Practice
This course introduces the distinctive dimensions of Jewish religious and cultural worldviews in theory and in practice. Students will study not only classic Jewish texts, but also visit local synagogues, observe celebrations of Jewish holidays and conduct interviews with members of the local Jewish communities.
(Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus)
323. Seminar in Jewish Thought
This seminar is intended to deepen students' understanding of major trends of Jewish thought and to practice the methods characteristic of the academic study of Judaism. Students will analyze common readings in class discussion and pursue independent study culminating in a major research paper in consultation with the instructor.
(Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus)
325. Hinduism: Thought and Action
A thematic and conceptual inquiry into some of the most important religious and philosophical traditions within Hinduism. Major consideration given to questions about the nature of ultimate reality, suffering and liberation, language and revelation, personal existence and death, eros and asceticism, myth and ritual. Regular film and other audiovisual presentations will provide insight into the contemporary Hindu worldview.
(Jeffrey R. Timm)
326. Buddhism: Thought and Action
A thematic and conceptual inquiry into some of the most important religious and philosophical traditions within Buddhism. Attention given to the major schools of Buddhist thought, as well as topical inquiries into issues regarding women in Buddhism, meditation practices, Buddhist art and architecture and the influence of Buddhism on contemporary Western religious pluralism. The course features close readings of Buddhist texts in translation and regular audiovisual presentations.
(Jeffrey R. Timm)
328. Buddhism and Development
This special study/tour takes students to Bhutan for three weeks to study Buddhism and development. Traditionally, Buddhism has emphasized development in the form of individual and collective "psycho-technologies" designed to transform affliction and confusion into enlightenment. In the case of Bhutan,(and for contemporary engaged Buddhism in particular), development also concerns implementing Buddhist paradigms from the top down by developing Buddhist social theory, in economic development, as well as in environmental and cultural conservation.
During this study/tour, students will examine development in Bhutan from the bottom up, through visits to monasteries, temples and sacred places, as well as from the top down, i.e. by exploring contemporary Bhutanese approaches to economic development, to environmental conservation and to the forces of globalization.
(Jeffrey R. Timm)
340. Seminar on Religion in Anthropological Perspective
See Anth 340.
342. Liberation Theology
Theology is rational reflection upon faith; liberation theology is reflection by people of faith who find themselves in situations of oppression. In this course we will read the writings of various groups--global women and men, African American women and men, and white women--and their struggles to relate Christian and Jewish teachings to liberation.
(Barbara Darling-Smith)
357. Indigenous Religions
An exploration of the rituals, myths and symbols of indigenous religions and the interconnection between these religious forms and native ways of life. Focuses on Native American religious traditions, but indigenous religions in Africa, Australia and pre-Christian Europe will also be considered.
(Barbara Darling-Smith)
398. Experimental Course
399. Independent Study
Advanced students, in consultation with the appropriate instructor, may arrange to pursue independent study on topics not covered by the regular course offerings.
401. Seminar
Selected topics will be chosen to integrate and supplement the work done in the major. Each member of the seminar will write a paper and will present an oral report to majors and members of the Religion Department.
(Jeffrey R. Timm)
500. Individual Research
Open to majors by invitation of the department for work culminating in a senior honors thesis.