2005/2006 - Registrar - McMaster University

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 291\ 'IV. CONTEMPORARY AND COMPARATIVE RELIGIONSRELIG ST 2BB3, 2H03, 2M03, 2N03, 2003, 2S83, 2W03, 2WW3Students wishing to specialize in Asian Religions should consider beginninglanguage training in'Sanskrit or Japanese or both early in their program(see offerings listed under thes,e ,headings). Students wishing to ,specialize in BiblicaJ Studies should consider work in Greek (see offeringsunder Classics, Greek) or Hebrew or both. For further study of theHebrew Bible, RELIG ST 2DD3, 2EE3, 3M03 are recommeilded.CoursesIf no prerequisite is listed, the course is open.'" ,RELIG ST 1 B06 WORLD RELIGIONSA,cbmparative study of religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, ,Islam;Christianity, and Judaism with special reference to selected texts, tradi-'tions and thought. "Two lectures, one tutorial; two termsRELIG ST 1 D06 MODERN STUDY OF THE BIBLE .A~ introduction to the discipline of modern biblical criticism focusing onthe development of selected central themes.Two lectures,' one tutorial; two termsRELIG ST'1E03 LOVE IN WESTERN CIVILIZATIONA discussion of the variety of accounts of love in We~tern civilization fromthe time of the ancient Greeks and the rise of Christianity to modernity.Two lectures, one tutorial; one term ' "Antirequisite: RELIG ST 1 E06RELIG ST 1103 RELIGIOUS THEMES IN MODERN LITERATUREAn introduction to religious themes, imagery and issues through a studyof selected modern literature.'Two lectures,' one tutorial; one termAntirequisit~:, RELIG ST1106RELIG ST 2B03 WOMEN IN THE BIBLICAL TRADITIONThis course will focus on the portrayal of women in the Hebrew Scripturesand the New Testament. Among the texts to be dealt with areexamples of biblical narrative and legal material, the gospels, the lettersof Paul and extra-biblical material. 'Two lectures,one tutorial; one termRELIG ST 2BB3, IMAGES OF THE DIVINE FEMININE, An examination of goddesses and female religious symbols in a varietyof cultures: tribal, eastern and western. ' I 'Two lectures, one tutorial; one termRELIG ST 2C03 MORAL ISSUESAn introduction to moral philosophy accenting biomedical ethics. Issues,such as abortion, human experimentation, euthanasia, and genetic screening~ill be investigated in cooperation with members of the Faculty ofHealth Sciences..Two lectures, one tutorial; one term 'Prerequisite: Registration in Level (( or aboveCross-list: PHILOS 2D03EnrollJ1ent is limited to 475 ~tudents:This course is administered by the Department of Philosophy.RELIG ST 2DD3 THE FIVE BOOKS OF MOSESAn examination ,of selected texts from the Pentateuch and,their $ignificancefor Ancient Israelite religi,on and modern thought.Two lectures, one tutorial; one termRELIG ST 2E03 ENGAGED BUDDHISMA study of contemporary Buddhist thinkers from A~ia and the West whohave advocated a renewed, socially engaged Buddhism that addressesissues of war, oppression and the destruction of the environment.Two lectures, one tutorial; one term "RELIG ST 2EA3 ISLAM AND MEDITERRANEANSOCIETY, 600-1300An introduction to Islamic civilization from fts beginnings in Arabia to the periodof the Crusaders, with an emphasis on Mediterranean culture of the period.Three lectures; one term'Prerequisite: Registration in Level (( or aboveCross-list: HISTORY 2EA3 .Antirequisite: RELIG ST2006This.course is administered by the Department of History.RELIG ST2EB3 ISLAM IN THE WORLD, 1300-1800~survey ?ourse which emphasizes the role of Islam in the global settingIn the penod of the great Islamic empires. "Three lectures; one termPrerequisite: Registration in Level (( or aboveCross-list: HISTORY 2EB3'Antirequisite: RELIG ST 2006This course is administered by the Department of History.'RELIG ST 2EE3 PROPHETS OF THE BIBLE '\!herole and teaching of biblical prophets in their ancient setting and theirImpact on modern religiou$ life and thought. "Two lectures, one tutorial; one term ','RELIG ST 2F03 ' STORYTELLING IN EAST ASIAN RELIGIONSAn in-depth study of selected examples of story literature in China and. Japan with attention to the way religion ,is represented.Two lectures, one tutorial; one termCross-list: JAPAN ST 3H03Antirequisite: RELIG ST:3H03RELIG ST 2GG3 EARLIEST PORTRAITS OF JESUSA study qf the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Special attentionwill be given to the possible literary relationships among them as well asto the distinctive features of their Jesus stories.Two lectures, one tutorial; one term' 'RELIG ST 2H03 THEORY AND PRACTICE OF NON-VIOLENCEAn introduction to the history, theory and practice of non-violence, withattention to the relations between religious, representatives of the traditionsuch as Tolstoy, Gandhi and King and secular or political figuressuch as Gene Sharp and James Scott.Two lectures, one tutorial; one termRELIG ST 2HH3 PAUL AND CHRISTIAN ORIGINSA 'study .of the, controversial role played by Paul in the definition andexpansion of early Christianity, based on the Acts 'of the Apostles andPaul's own extant correspondence. . , ~ "Two lectures, one tutorial; one term, RELIG ST 2103' STORYTELLING IN INDIAN RELIGION 'A survey of some of the r}iany stories that were told by Bl,lddhists, Jainsand Hindus as a form of popular religious instruction and of the varioususes made of humour and wit in religious teaching. ' .Two lectures, one tutorial; one termAntirequisite: RELIG ST 3103RELIG ST 2113 CHRISTIANITY IN THE, " PATRISTIC PERIOD (100-800) _.The development of Christianity in the ,first centuries C.E. in relation to com~peting alternatives such as Judaism, Graeco-Roman cults and philosophies.Two lectures, one tutorial; one termRELIG ST 2JJ3 CHRISTIANITY IN THE·MEDIEVAL PERIOD (800-1500)The development of Christianity in th~Middle Ages and its relation to thepolitical and intellectual context. Primary texts will illustrate typical aspectsof medieval religion, learned and popular. ' -,Two lectures, one tutorial; one term " ~, RELIG ST 2KK3 CHRISTIANITY IN THE REFORMATION PERIODThe place of the Reformation in the development of Christian thought andpractice -its background, context and sequels. Attention is given to suchfigures and movements' as Martin Luther,. John Calvin, the Anabaptis'ts,the reformation ,in England, the Catholic Reformation. .Two lectures, one tutorial; one term, RELIG ST 2L03 LIFE, WORK AND TEACHINGSOF MAHATMA GANDHI \A study of the central religious and ethical ideas of Gandhi in the contextof his life; i.n particular: his doctrines of Non-violent Struggle and' Truth~act; his place in contemporary consciousness, particularly in the strugglefor human harmony and preservation of the earth and its living species;and his revolutionary view of Truth itself as God.'Two lectures,' one tutorial; one termRELIG ST 2M03 DEATH AND DYING: COMPARATIVE VIEWSA comparative survey of the diversity of social' and ritual practices,religious beliefs, and emotional responses surrounding death in a varietyof non-Western cultural contexts.Two lectures, one tutorial; one termPrerequisite: Registration in Level (( or aboveRELIG ST 2MM3 WAR AND PEACE IN THE. CHRISTIAN TRADITIONChristian thinking and practice on militarism,the restraint of war and',paths to peace, including just war"nonviolence, pacifism and revolution:,'Two lectures, one tutorial; one termRELIG ST 2N03 DEATH AND DYING:THE WESTERN EXPERIENCEDrawing. on theo~etical, perspectives and evidence from an.thropology, and SOCiology, thiS course examines death and dying in Western contexts,focusing on biomedical, social and cultural themes:'Two lectures, dne tutorial; one termPrerequisite:' Registration in' Level II or above ,