Wellesley College Religion Department Spring 2018 Courses

SPR

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201

8

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ND

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ESD

AYW

EDN

ESD

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SDAY

FRID

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30 -

REL

269

Mar

low

REL

269

Mar

low

9:40

AM

Rel

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ultu

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elig

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Cul

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9:50

- R

EL 2

61/3

65 M

arlo

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EL/C

PLT

208

Silv

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EL 2

07/3

07 S

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REL

261

/351

Mar

low

REL

/CPL

T 20

8 Si

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11:0

0 A

MC

ities

in th

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Lege

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in th

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orld

Lege

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11:1

0 A

M -

REL

254

Kod

era

REL

235

Lew

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EL 2

54 K

oder

aR

EL 2

35 L

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12:2

0 PM

Chi

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and

Rel

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Hea

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C

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Hea

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Med

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12:3

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12:3

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101:

20 P

MC

OM

MU

NIT

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1:30

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EL 2

24/M

US

224

Elki

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EL 2

30 M

arin

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EL 2

24/M

US

224

Elki

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EL 2

30 M

arin

i2:

40 P

MH

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Ethi

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ildeg

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Ethi

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EL 2

57 K

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EL 2

45 G

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EL 2

57 K

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Con

tem

plat

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and

Act

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2:50

- R

EL 3

35 L

ewis

REL

105

Gel

ler

REL

380

Mar

ini

REL

105

Gel

ler

4:00

PMSe

min

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ood

Dea

ths

New

Tes

tam

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Sem

inar

: N

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men

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Topi

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10 -

4:10

-5:2

05:

20 P

MC

OM

MU

NIT

Y TI

ME

7:0

0-9:

30

The writings of the New Testament as diverse expressions of early Christianity. Close reading of the texts, with particular emphasis upon the Gospels ad the letters of Paul. Treatment of the literary, theological, and historical dimensions of the Christian scriptures, as well as of methods of interpretation. The beginnings of the break between the Jesus movement and Judaism will be specially considered.

Study of the New Testament Professor Geller | REL 105

Spring 2018|T F| 2:50-4:00pm

Study of the interconnection of politics, theology, and identity in the ancient Near East. Exploration of how language about the divine was used to frame concepts of political collectivity. Particular focus on sovereignty and its resistance; the uses of violence, torture, and bodily spectacle; and the emergence of literacy and writing culture as catalysts for new forms of community.

Seminar: Gods, Politics, and the Body

Professor Silver | Religion 207/307

Spring 2018 | W 9:50 am -12:20 pm

Legend, Satire, and Storytelling in the Hebrew Bible

Professor Silver | Religion/Comparative Literature 208

Spring, 2018 | TF 9:50-11:00 am

The art of narrative composition in the Hebrew Bible. The literary techniques and conventions of ancient Israelite authors in the Bible's rich corpus of stories. Philosophical and aesthetic treatment of themes such as kingship, power, gender, and covenant. Primary focus on the role of narrative in the cultural life of ancient Israel, with attention also to the difficulties of interpreting biblical stories from within our contemporary milieu.

Hildegard of Bingen MUS 224 | REL 224

Professor Fontijn | Professor Elkins

MTh 1:30-2:40 pm

Spring, 2018

The 12th Century visionary....

Musician

Composer

Visual Artist

Poet

Linguist

Theologian

Preacher

Architect

Healer

Herbalist

...and she designed and ran her own monastery on the banks of the Rhine River!

Also counts towards Medieval/Renaissance Studies, German Studies, or Women’s and Gender Studies

Distribution: Visual Arts, Music, Theater, Film & Video or Religion, Ethics, and Moral Philosophy

Professor Marini | Religion 230

Ethics

Spring 2018 | TF 1:30-2:40 pm

An inquiry into the nature of values and the methods of moral decision-making. Examination of selected ethical issues, including self-interest, freedom, collective good, capitalism, just war, racism, environmental pollution, globalism, and religious morality. Introduction to case study and ethical theory as tools for determining moral choices.

Religion, Healing, and Medicine

Spring 2018 | TF 11:10-12:20 pm

A study of religion, healing, and medicine in interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspective, with a particular focus on traditional religious healing methods and their relationships to contemporary clinical medical practice.

Professor Lewis | Religion 235

An examination of the origins, character, course, and consequences of Nazi anti-Semitism during the Third Reich. Special attention to Nazi racialist ideology, and how it shaped policies that affected such groups as the Jews, the disabled, the Roma and the Sinti, Poles and Russians, Afro-Germans, homosexuals, and women. Consideration also of the impact of Nazism on the German medical and teaching professions.

The Holocaust and the Nazi State Professor Geller | REL 245

Spring 2018|W| 2:15-4:45

Chinese Thought and Religion

Professor Kodera | Religion 254

Spring 2018 | MTh | 11:10am -12:20 pm

Continuity and diversity in the history of Chinese thought and religion fro the ancient sage-kings of the third millennium B.C.E. to the present. Topics include: Confucianism, Taoism, Chinese Buddhism, fold religion, and their further developments and interaction. Materials are drawn from philosophical and religious and literary works.

Contemplation and Action

Professor Kodera | Religion 257

Spring 2018 | MTh 1:30-2:40 pm

An exploration of the relationship between the two polar aspects of being religious. Materials drawn from across the globe, both culturally and historically. Topics include: self-cultivation and social responsibility, solitude and compassion, human frailty as a basis for courage, anger as an expression of love, nonviolence, Western adaptations of Eastern spirituality, meditation and the environmental crisis. Readings selected from Confucius, Gautama Buddha, Ryokan, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Heschel, Dag Hammarskjöld, Simone Weil, Thomas Merton, Thich Nhat Hanh, Henri Nouwen, Beverly Harrison, Benjamin Hoff, Ruben Habito, and others.

Cities in the Islamic World

Professor Marlow | Religion 261/365

Spring 2018 | MTh 9:50-11:00 am

An exploration of urban forms and culture in Muslim societies from Islamic late antiquity to the present. The course examines and critiques concepts of ‘the Arab city’ and ‘the Islamic city’ while focusing on elements of continuity and change in particular cities, such as Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo, Istanbul, Isfahan, Samarqand, Lucknow and Lahore. Topics include migration, settlement, and the construction of new cities; conversion; the emergence of ‘holy cities’ as centres for pilgrimage, religious education and Islamic legal scholarship; sacred space and architecture; religious diversity in urban environments; the impact of colonialism; post-colonial developments; modern and contemporary environmental issues; renewal and preservation.

Religion and Culture in Iran

Professor Marlow | Religion 269

Spring 2018 | MTh 8:30-9:40 am

An exploration of the history of Iran and its peoples from antiquity to the present. Topics include cultural and religious life; social and economic developments; government and court politics; the interactions among rural, urban, and nomadic communities; the lives and roles of women; commerce, cultural exchange, and the impact on Iran of European imperial rivalries; the forging of the nation-state, discontent and dissent; the Islamic Revolution, post-revolutionary Iran; and the Iranian diaspora.

Seminar: Good Deaths: From the Tibetan Book of the Dead to the ICU

Professor Lewis | Religion 335

Spring, 2018 | M 2:50-5:20 pm

Tibetan death practices— made famous by a translation of the Bardo Thödol (termed “The Tibetan Book of the Dead” by an American anthropologist in 1927)— have been used to reconfigure notions of a “good death” across a number of contexts. This seminar provides a grounding in the text itself, which serves as an entry point to studying scholarly accounts of illness, death, and dying. We trace the movement of the Bardo Thödol: as a “mind-treasure” revealed to a yogini in 8th century India, its translation and scholarly acclaim in the early 1900s, and finally, its contemporary use in Euro-American hospice care. The course investigates not only how "The Tibetan Book of the Dead" has contributed to new concepts of death and dying, but also how advanced medical technologies trouble what it means to be alive or dead.

Recent Topics in the Study of Religion

Advanced Topics Seminar:Reading and discussion of recent works in the study

of religion noted for their innovative methods, theoretical significance, and current impact in the field. Students will incorporate these new

perspectives into their individual research interests to produce a major interpretive essay in consultation

with their classmates and the instructor.

Professor Marini | Religion 380

Spring, 2018 | Th 2:50-5:20 pm