RELI 090 A-Z - (HP) Special Topics in Religion

Semester Hours: 1-3

Studies in such special topics as psychology of religion; religion in America; new religious movements; religion, media and American culture; and religion and the liberal arts. For additional information on these courses, visit the Department of Religion website.

Current Special Topics

RELI 141F: Dangerous Ideas

This course has multiple sections in multiple departments (see list below). If any one of the sections listed below is closed, just register for another one. They are all the same course and will meet together.
Ideas matter. Concepts such as cultural identity, the meaning of and practices around food, democracy, faith, race, freedom, gender have inspired social movements, shaped ways of life and political systems, and dramatically influenced the lives of individuals. Scientific ideas (such as evolution, species extinction, climate science) also have power to shape our lives. Powerful ideas can be dangerous, generating turmoil and destabilizing the status quo, or supporting the status quo when change is needed, or creating unanticipated consequences.
This one-credit course explores some powerful ideas and way(s) in which they may be dangerous, provocative, or influential. Each week a faculty member from a different department will explore a concept that has shaped human experience across time and space.
Attendance and participation in discussion activities are obligatory and a brief reflection paper at the end of the course will be required. The course is available only on a pass/D+/D/fail basis. Register for any one of the cross-listed sections for the course. They all have the same title, “Dangerous Ideas”, and they will all meet together as one course.
Cross listed with ANTH 188K (A), CRN 94403; ENGL 008Q (A), CRN 94410; HIST 006M (A), CRN 94361; MUS 151 (B), CRN 94635; PHI 051 (A), CRN 94244.

RELI 141I (A), CRN 23811: Identity, Community and Conflict: Search for Meaning and Justice in a Fractured World

(Sophomore Global Problem Seminar)
We live in an increasingly polarized society, both at home, and on the global stage. Extremist political movements are challenging democratic norms; egalitarian moral values are being undermined by a resurgent nationalism and nativism; and religion, which many turn to as a source of unity and comfort, often contributes to the sense that we are living in a fractured and broken world. How can one make sense of this? How does one find meaning at such a time? Is it possible to create just communities in the midst of such political tribalism?
This interdisciplinary course (philosophy, religion, drama) will explore these topics through an integration of philosophic material with a deep reading and performance (including student in-class performances/readings) of the dramatic texts.
Cross-listed with DRAM 110A (01), CRN 23695

RELI 141M: (HP) Religion Goes to the Movies

This course explores how film, as a medium, engages various religions and religious themes. While religion serves as the organizing conceit of the course, our discussions and analyses will require us to consider how films tell stories about religion’s intersection with gender, race, sexuality, colonialism, and the environment (among other subjects). The course syllabus will incorporate films dialoguing with a variety of religious traditions, a range of filmic genres (i.e., romantic comedy, drama, horror, etc.) and various transnational cinematic industries. While we will engage how films depict religious institutions, faith, and ritual, we will also contemplate how film consumption has its own religious characteristics.

RELI 141R: (HP) Religion and Revolution

This course introduces students to the relationship between religion and revolutionary movements in Latin America, the Global South, and among racialized communities in the US. We will critically explore social, artistic, and intellectual networks that found inspiration in religious sources for their struggle for political change. Topics include struggles for social, sexual, racial and ecological justice. This course will be useful for students interested in Religion, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Radio, TV and Media, Politics and Public Policy, Global Studies, History, Literature, Anthropology, International Relations, and Sociology.
Cross listed with LACS 015I (A), CRN 94139.

Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
As individual subjects are selected, each is assigned a letter (A-Z) which is affixed to the course number. May be repeated three times for a maximum of 9 semester hours when topics vary. (Formerly, RELI 141 A-Z)