confined to the United States. May be repeated once for credit.
Y386 Selected Topics in Democratic Government: (variable title) (3 cr.) An examination of basic problems and issues in the theory and practice of democratic government. Specific topics vary from semester to semester. May be repeated once for credit.
Y381 History of Political Theory I (3 cr.) An exposition and critical analysis of the major political philosophers and philosophical schools from Plato to Machiavelli.
Y382 History of Political Theory II (3 cr.) An exposition and critical analysis of the major philosohers and philosophical schools from Machiavelli to the present.
Y384 American Political Ideas II (3 cr.) American political ideas from the Civil War to the present.
Y388 Marxist Theory (3 cr.) Origin, content, and development of Marxist systems of thought, with particular reference to philosophical and political aspects of Russian Marxism.
Y394 Public Policy Analysis (3 cr.) Place of theory and method in examining public policies in relation to programs, institutional arrangements, and constitutional problems.
Particular reference to American political experience.
Y480 Undergraduate Readings in Political Science (1-6 cr.) Individual readings and research.
Y481 Field Experience in Political Science (3-6 cr.) P: certain internship experiences may require research skills. Faculty-directed study of aspects of the political process based on field experience. Directed readings, field research, research papers.
Y490 Senior Seminar (3 cr.) Open only to senior majors. Research paper required.
Seminar sessions arranged to present papers for evaluation and criticism by fellow students.
Y498 Readings for Honors (1-6 cr.) Open only to senior majors in the department who have at least a 3.3 grade point average within the major; approval of department is required. Course involves an intensive individual program of reading andlor research.
REUGIOUS STUDIES 85
86 RELIGIOUS STUDIES
introduce the wide breadth of concerns that belong to the field-religious, sodal, and comparative ethics; studies of Hebrew Scriptures, New Testament, and the religions of the andent Near East; social and historical dimensions of religious traditions; religion and American literature and culture.
On the basis of studies in this core of courses, students are then able to pursue more specialized courses of inquiry, depending on their personal interests and concerns. And the faculty stands prepared to help in this regard by presenting more selective and rigorous options within the department, by helping to locate ties with cognate areas in other departments and schools, and by working with upper level students in courses of independent study.
Major in Religious Studies
Requirements
Beyond the general distribution and credit hours requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree, students who choose to major in religious studies will be asked to complete 30 credit hours of course work deSignated by the faculty as follows: 15 credit hours as specified in the departmental core
curriculum; 9 credit hours of more specialized junior level work; 3 credit hours as a free
electi~ selected from the departmental curriculum; 3 credit hours in the departmental senior seminar (R433). For details concerning the designated courses and the junior level courses, students should contact the departmental chairperson.
Double Majors
Students wishing to acquire double majors in religious studies and a second subject area will need to fulfill all of the above
requirements, as well as those of the second subject area; will need an academic adviser for each major; and will need to file their plans for a double major with the recorder of the School of Liberal Arts.
Minor in Religious Studies
A minor in religious studies, recorded on a student's transcript, will ordinarily require that the student fulfill 15 credit hours in courses in the department, divided as follows: 3 credit hours in the introductory course (RI33); 6 credit hours of lower-division courses; and 6 credit hours of upper-division courses, as approved by the departmental adviser. For details, students should contact the departmental chairperson.
Courses
Note: Courses ending in "00" and marked with an asterisk (*) are designed to facilitate
course development, cross-listing with other departments, and opportunity for student suggestions of courses they consider valuable.
*RlOO Studies in Religion (3 cr.) Select introductory issues in religion.
Interdisciplinary in emphaSis. May be repeated for up to 9 credit hours under different titles.
R133 Introduction to Religion (3 cr.) Introduction to the elements, structures, and dimensions of religion. Emphasis on the ways in which these dimensions relate to each other and the ways in which religion interacts with culture.
R143 Religious Traditions in Asian Culture (3 cr.) The origins, development, and current status of beliefs and institutions in the major religions of Asia: Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and ConfUcianism.
Rl63 Religious Traditions in Western Culture (3 cr.) The origins, development, and current status of beliefs and institutions in the major religions of the West:
Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
*R200 Studies in Religion (3 cr.) Select intermediate studies in religion.
Interdisciplinary studies emphasized. May be taken for up to 9 credit hours under different titles.
R212 Comparative Religions (3 cr.) Approaches to the comparison of recurrent themes, religious attitudes, and practices found in selected Eastern and Western traditions.
R223 Religion and Imagination (3 cr.) Introductory studies of the nature, function, and significance of myths, symbols, and images in religious and cultural systems, with examples drawn from various traditions and with special attention devoted to their relationships to the contemporary imagination.
R233 Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) (3 cr.) A critical examination of the literary, political, cultural, and religious history of Israel from the period of the Patriarchs to the Restoration, with emphasis on the growth and formation of the major traditions contained in the Hebrew Bible.
R243 Introduction to the New Testament (3 cr.) An examination of the history, culture, and literature of the New Testament period, with special emphasis on the emergence of early Christian beliefs.
R273 American Religion (3 cr.) A consideration of American religion, with particular emphasis on the development of
religious diversity and freedom in the context of the American social, )-,,,,,,,,,,H, and economic
will be directed Roman Catholicism and Judaism as well as to alterations in the nature of American Protestantism.
R283 ''''''U~lUU
"""",nc and the ",nn ... ,m!""1 and cultural.
to religious reasons for
and to the impact of religion on n""SU!1dl
group standards in several 'r~cW;r,"lC
R284 Religious Ethics and Health Care Decisions (3 cr.) ethical traditions and their relation to and socia!
moral dilemmas in care. Ethnic,
"",F>'''Y<>' and cultural elements in
;;n·nrili;;clw. to decision will get
l~e.ugllon (3 cr.) Selected
mn,vP'nplM~ seen from
May be
rliffpnpnt titles.
l":U!7lUl'~ in the Making (3 cr.) within a broad historical and social-scientific framework of selected
rell)!;H)ll~ at the time of formulation andlor of substantive
Conslde:red will be ancient and modern movements drawn from literate and preiiterate cultures and from Eastern and Western traditions.
R310 Prophecy in Ancient Israel (3 cr.) The prophetic movement and its relationship to religiOUS, social, and traditions and institutions in the Near East. The
of in Israel,
ler·errlial1, Ezekiel.
meanings of the
R320 Development of the Jesus Traditions (3 cr.) of traditions about Jesus: their
and functions in
RELIGIOUS STUDIES 87
Christianity, r"'~no"<,rl
traditions in movements.
R325 Paul and His Influence in Christianity (3 cr.) Ufe and in the context of
non-Christian movements. of radical Paulinism and anti-Paulinism in the second their influence on the formation of
R326 Studies in Biblical Relie:ion Examination of selected
rpII01"" ~ traditions cOintained
Topics such as the follovvine be treated: early Hebrew traditions heroes, the - of Israel, the
of the
the of
and twice for credit under R337 Puritanism (3 cr.) An intensive of Puritanism from its to its
realities and
dvn"mlt"s of fel.l)!;llJU:> de'vellJPlnel:lt Or Japan.
R366 CQmparative Study of Reliaiotls Phenomena (3 cr.) Eastern and
on a selected such as time the sacred, sacrifice, initiation. May be
rPI)p"JPrJ once for credit
R383 Religion and Society (3 cd 1,ellglOU,
moral issues in social institutions, as government, and the criminal justice system; in the relationships of the sexes, races, and ethnic groups; and in the professions of medicine, law, and business.
Illustrations will be drawn but not exclusively, from American society.
R393 Comparative ReligiOUS Ethics (3 cr.) Comparisons of issues, and themes in the systems of the world religions. To include intracultural studies of American Jewish and Christian positions on social questions and cross-
88 SOCIOLOGY
cultural studies of similar positions in an Asian and in a Western tradition.
'R400 Studies in Religion (3 cr.) Specialized and intensive studies in religion with an interdisciplinary emphasis. May be repeated twice under different titles.
R433 Senior Seminar (3 cr.) An integrative and summative course of study in which majors, in cooperation with two or more faculty, shall develop an hypothesis about the interaction of several dimensions of religion and about the ways in which they both mirror and shape social and cultural forms.
Rowland Sherrill is Department of Religious Studies chairperson.