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Spring,
2004 Electives
Philosophy and Religion Department |
Philosophy
Electives
PHIL 212 – Social and Political
Philosophy
Introduction to the grand themes of
political and social philosophy, including the following: the nature
of political ideals; the justification of democracy as a form of
government; the connection of governmental structure and authority to
human nature; the meaning and scope of freedom; the ideals of equality
and justice; the morality of an individual citizen's decision to
disobey a law; and the viability of the notion of universal human
rights. Primary readings will come from the work of the great
political and social thinkers of history, such as Machiavelli, Hobbes,
Locke, Rousseau, Mill, and Rawls. NOTE: Fulfills GER requirement for
Philosophy/Religion and also fulfills a requirement for the major in
Philosophy.
PHIL 280 – Philosophy of
Cyberspace
HONP301 –
Ways of Knowing
This course is designed for
students who would like to think philosophically about current
issues of online life. The
online world changes rapidly; so, the list of questions below is
highly provisional.
Is my on-line, chat-room persona
the real me? Can there be a "rape in cyberspace" as some
have alleged there was? What is real world violence and do gory,
multiplayer first-person-shooter video games promote it?
After the 9/11/01 WTC attack does the Government have a right to observe your
IMs, read your e-mail, and keep track of you as you browse the web?
Is text-based web-activity (IM, e-mail, and public weblogs)
often hostile because it is in written form? Indeed, does the
web encourage bullying? Are network users who share DVD movies
and MP3 music files, as Lars Ulrich asserts, "common
thieves"?
We will read selections from
classic philosophical works such as Mill's On Liberty and
Plato's Phaedrus and use for hard copy texts Debbie Johnson’s
Computer Ethics and
Sherry Turkle's Life
on the Screen. There
will be in-class examinations, a take-home final exam, and one
research project. While about online life, this course is very much
f2f; bodily attendance is required and expected.
In
this course, we will focus on a few of the more important metaphysical issues from the beginnings of philosophy to the present.
These issues will include the notion of truth, self/personal identity,
god, events/actions, time, meaning, and of course, the overall nature
of reality. We will also address practical issues raised by these
topics. We will draw on this course from the thoughts and writing of
classical authors, such as Plato, Kant, and Wittgenstein. Our goal
will be to relate the metaphysical speculations of the great thinkers
to the problems that we encounter every day, including our need to
accommodate each other, and understand our place in nature.
PHIL 333 – History of
Philosophy : Modern Philosophy
An introduction to
European philosophy in the 17th and 18th centuries, which defined
modern thought. Readings will be from the central works of Descartes,
Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. The main themes
will be the nature of knowledge, reality, and the human mind. Some of
the specific issues to be considered are the following: Is it possible
to prove that I really exist, or that the physical world exists? Do
these questions even make sense? Is perception the basis of human
knowledge, or can we learn things about the physical world just by
logical thought (like mathematical deductions in theoretical physics)?
Is the world a vast, unified structure in which each event is linked
to other events by natural laws? Or is the world instead a
miscellaneous collection of unconnected events that we simply think of
more usefully in some ways rather than other ways? Can knowledge of
the material world be as reliable as the direct knowledge I have of my
own thoughts? What mental structures or capacities are needed to make
either sort of knowledge possible?
PHIL 390 –
Women Political Philosophers
Women Political Philosophers. Since the
15th century, women have published and corresponded on social and
political philosophical issues, but they have received precious little
attention. Why? This course will examine the works of four important
women political philosophers -- Christine de Pisan, Mary
Wollstonecraft, Jane Addams, and Hannah Arendt -- and explore their
ideas, from feminine ideals for social and political life, to the
struggle against totalitarianism.
Religious
Studies
Electives
RELG 202 – Old Test II
Joshua-Daniel
An
examination of the history and theology of Israelite religion as
recorded in the Biblical books covering the middle and late periods
(1200 - 165 B.C.) of ancient Israel. A close reading of the historical
and prophetic books with analysis from a variety of scholarly schools of
interpretation and criticism. The course will cover the “Deuteronomic
History” that runs through the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and
Kings, Prophetic books including Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah and
Ezekiel and later biblical writings. Recommended for students with an
interest in literature, history, philosophy and anthropology.
 Back to top
RELG 216 – Islamic Religious
Traditions
The
course will start by examining the rise of Islam through
the eyes of two fundamental Islamic texts, the Qur’an and the biography
of Prophet Muhammad.
It will then
explore the history of Islam’s classical and formative period (632-1258
CE) in terms of theology, philosophy, jurisprudence, and mysticism, while
emphasizing diversity of
perspectives.
The heart of Islam
will be approached through the teachings of the Qur’an,
hadith, and the Islamic intellectual tradition,
and the encounter between Islam and other religious
traditions will be traced briefly.
Major trends in
contemporary Islam (traditionalism, liberalism,
revivalism, etc.) will be identified and discussed
through the writings of their major proponents.
RELG 350 01–
Mysticism
The practice of
religion often stays on the surface of people's lives, with its subtle
intentions and deeper messages being lost or ignored. Mysticism, on the
other hand, is religion and philosophy at its depths – having regained
its roots in human experience. Mysticism aims to uncover profound insights
about life and death, and to be a call to genuine spirituality.
In this course we will explore selections from
the great variety of mystical philosophies, methods, and experiences that
dedicated people have reported throughout history. The course will cover
both Eastern and Western mystical traditions, focusing on selected
mystical phenomena, such as stages of ascent, prayer and meditation, the
fire of love, mystical symbolism and dreams, secret mystical language,
sacred silence, discipline, asceticism, monastic lifestyles, and mystics'
problems with established religious authorities. At the same time we will
be exploring selected theories about mysticism. Is mystical experience
limited by the language and culture of the experiencer? Can it be reduced
to psychology or physiology? Why is it that widely different religious
traditions appear quite similar when viewed from the mystic's perspective?
Is the term "mysticism" something that we have invented, and now
struggle to define?
RELG 221 01, 221
02 - Religion and Culture
Section 1
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MW 10-11:15am
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Room DI 172
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Call Number 14044
Section 2
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T 5:30-8pm
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Room DI 276
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Call Number 14045
This course takes an historical
approach in studying the interactions of Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam with the broader cultures they impact and inhabit. Students will
learn amazing amounts of religious and secular history (especially
Western) in the first half of the course. In the second half of the
course, students will be immersed in fascinating (sometimes
terrifying) topics/foci. They will thereby gain insight into dynamics
still very much driving us (and driving us crazy) in these first years
of a new century and millennium.
Students must attend the classes,
survive two tough tests, and faithfully work at weekly written
assignments (thought questions, analyses, long summaries of videos
viewed during class, etc.)
RELG 355 01 –
Ireland's Celts and Catholics
A survey
introduction to Ireland's religious history and experiences, from the
earliest people and Queen Medb, through Padraig and Brigid,
the Vikings and Cromwell, and much much more. Heavy readings and wide-ranging lectures will travel the
following syllabus:
Celtic Irish
paganism: complete with goddesses, druids, and dynamic
shape-shifting.
Celtic
Ireland Christianity: the original real deal, unique in the world for
centuries, whose monks helped save European religion and culture.
Christian
Ireland Roman-Catholicized: the Irish Catholics are imperialized by
the Norman English, and "regularized" by papal church
organization. Irish
Catholicism under the gun -- victimized and distorted by four
centuries of Protestant English brutalities and persecution.
No pre-requisites, but good note-taking, class attendance, and in-class
participation are required. Short weekly writing assignments and serious
tests.
RELG
350 02 - Wicca & NeoPaganism
Over the past fifty years, a new set
of religions have emerged in Europe and the United States claiming to
recreate ancient, pre-Christian religions that worshipped nature and
practiced magic. Estimates of
people who practice Wicca (witchcraft) or Neopaganism in the United States
range from 100,000-500,000, making these religions easily as populous as
many Protestant denominations. Within
the last decade, these religions have gained greater social respectability
and have even become an accepted religious affiliation within the United
States Armed Forces. This course will introduce students to the variety of
religions co-existing under the Wicca and Neopaganism labels, examine
their shared beliefs and practices, and debate the many controversies that
arise around them. Specifically,
we will discuss the ancient and more recent history of Wicca and
Neopaganism (from classical Greek times through nineteenth- and
twentieth-century Europe to the American present), the significance ofpolytheism and the worship of a goddess or goddesses, and the meaning and
uses of magic as both a technical resource and a spiritual practice.
Wicca and Neopaganism are notable for their sense of fun,
exploration, and their curious melding of the very ancient with the
postmodern. Like the
religions it studies, this course will have a broad and entertaining sweep
interpolated with some very pointed questions.
RELG
350 - T.S. Eliot: Religion in Poetry
This
course will be a close reading and analysis of virtually all of T. S.
Eliot's poems. We will examine the form, style and structure of the
poems but will emphasize the rich idea content. Eliot's view of the
intellectual and spiritual crises of contemporary civilization, the
isolation of modern man and the fragmentation of our culture will be
discussed. As the great religious poet of our age, his views on
religious faith and tradition and the spiritual struggle of the
individual in the age of the "death of God" will be given
particular attention.
NOTE: This class may be counted as a
seminar or non-seminar (for purposes of meeting the requirements for
the major in Religion).
RELG
357 01 - Jewish-Christian Dialogue
This
course will chronicle what is perhaps the most promising religious
development of our time.
For two
thousand years, Judaism and Christianity have been locked into a fierce
rivalry for the title, “People of God.”
At best Jews have seen Christianity as
"adulterated Judaism" and Christians have seen Judaism as
“incomplete Christianity." At
worst, they have demonized and dehumanized each other with tragic and
bloody results. In the 35
years since the second Vatican Council, many Christian churches have
re-evaluated Jews and Judaism and now Jews are beginning to develop new
views of Christianity.
One
important development within the new Christian-Jewish dialogue has been
a re-thinking of the identity and role of Jesus in both Jewish and
Christian world views. Can Jesus, who has traditionally divided these two communities of
faith, become a bridge rather than a barrier
between them?
This
course will examine the literature of mutual hate and distrust and then
go on to study recent statements issued by churches and individual
theologians who are part of the new Christian-Jewish dialogue and who
have come to see each other as brothers and sisters in the service of
the same divine parent.
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