Professors: Ronald Cameron, Janice D. Willis

Associate Professors: Eugene M. Klaaren, Karen A. Smyers, Jeremy Zwelling (Chair)

Assistant Professor: Elizabeth A. McAlister

Adjunct Instructors: Dalit Katz

Departmental Advising Experts (2000-2001): Ron Cameron

The department offers a cross-cultural, interdisciplinary, and critical program that explores the variety of religious experiences and expressions. In addition to courses that demonstrate the power and limits of various critical theories in the study of religion, the department provides opportunities to analyze systems of belief and patterns of religious behavior; the history of religious traditions; the functions of religion in society; and various forms of religious expression such as myth, ritual, sacred story, scripture, liturgy, and theological and philosophical reflection. A range of courses is available to students interested in taking one or two courses. Clusters of courses can be devised in consultation with members of the staff for those who wish to develop a modest program in religion in support of another major. For those planning to major in the department, a number of alternative programs of study are available. A student who chooses a double major must fulfill all requirements except when representatives of the two departments approve alterations in the student’s program.

The department offers four categories of courses through which students can organize a curriculum of studies appropriate to their needs:

1. Access courses. The department encourages the beginning student to take these courses, for they assume no background in religious studies and serve as a useful foundation for those who wish to take more advanced courses in the department. In addition to those courses on the 100 level, the department recommends courses designated as general education courses as well as survey courses in the major religious traditions of the world and in archaic religions. In particular, the department recommends Introduction to Religion (RELI101) as the most effective way of acquiring broad knowledge about religion and the methods employed by scholars in the field of religious studies.

2. Historical-traditions courses. Many offerings in the department deal with the historical content of the major religious traditions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, as well as Confucianism, Shinto, and the religions of Caribbean and Japanese peoples. These courses examine the texts, histories, institutions, and rituals of these religions. In this category are both survey courses (generally numbered at the 200 level) and seminars (generally numbered at the 300 level). In the main, these courses have no prerequisites, though in most seminars some background knowledge is assumed. To gain entry to these seminars, students are advised to check with the instructor with regard to what is expected.

3. Religion-in-society courses (numbered 280-289 and 380-390). These courses are designed to focus on the encounter of religious groups and their contemporaneous cultural settings within a defined social space–past or present. They will concentrate on the relationships between a particular religious formation and its larger social context, aiming to understand that formation’s reflective, critical, and decisive interaction within, for, and/or against its context. Included in this category are:

RELI280 Death and the Afterlife in World Cultures

RELI281 Social Ethics

RELI282 Religion and South African Society

RELI283 Three Generals in the Lord’s Army

RELI284 Religion, Ethics, and Nature

RELI285 Contemporary Judaisms in Israel and the Diaspora

RELI286 Politics and Piety in Early Christianity

RELI288 Buddhism in America

RELI289* Christianity in World History

RELI380 The Gospel of Mark and Christian Origins

RELI384 Imagining the Other: Alterity Theory in Religious and Anthropological

Perspective

RELI385 Religion and the Social Construction of Race

RELI387 Anthropology of Black Religions in the Americas

RELI390 Magic, Science, and Religion

RELI487 Ethics and Communities

RELI488 Religion and Social Change

4. Critical theory courses (numbered 291-300 and 391-400). These courses review and critically analyze methods, theories, and strategies employed by scholars of religion. Included in this category are:

RELI291* Philosophy of Religion

RELI292 Religion and the Feminine: Spirituality and Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective

RELI293 Psychology and Religion: Comparative Mystical Consciousness

RELI294 The End of the World: The Millennium and the End Times in American

Religious Thought

RELI295* From Hegel to Nietzsche

RELI296* African Art and Religion

RELI299 The Gospels and Jesus

RELI393 Models of God

RELI394 A Critical Assessment of C.G. Jung

RELI395 Anthropological Theory and Method in the Study of Religion

RELI398 Majors’ Colloquium in Religious Studies

*Courses housed in other than Religion Department

The department’s majors’ colloquium (RELI398) is required of all majors; the colloquium is to be taken in the junior year. The task of this course is to reflect upon the methodological pluralism in the field of religious studies with the opportunity to apply these methods to specific texts, concrete issues, or other cultural formations.

1. All majors are required to take Introduction to Religion (RELI101), in which they must earn a grade of B- or better, preferably before the end of the sophomore year.

2. To complete a major in religion, students are required to take a minimum of nine courses (with a maximum of 14, including thesis credits) numbered 200 or above.

3. The minimum of nine courses will be distributed as follows:

a. Four courses in historical traditions

b. Two courses in religion in society

c. Two courses in critical theory, one of which must be the majors’ colloquium (RELI398)

d. The additional course may be taken in any of these areas at the student’s option.

Each major is to select or be assigned an advisor from the staff and, in consultation with the advisor, shall construct a program of study that is coherent yet diverse and meets the above requirements.

Religion majors are strongly encouraged to develop a reading knowledge in an ancient and/or modern foreign language.

Department policy on tutorials. Students wishing to arrange individual or group tutorials with departmental faculty must submit a proposal to the prospective tutor no later than the last day of classes during the preceding term. Priority will be given to senior thesis projects, projects growing out of courses with the tutor, and specialized projects of department majors.

Honors program. Religion majors with a B+ average may choose to write a senior honors thesis or do an equivalent (two-semester) project. A candidate for honors must secure the agreement of a member of the Religion Department faculty to be his/her tutor or director, and it is advisable that this be done in the second semester of the junior year. Honors work is evaluated by the tutor and two readers, one of whom is from outside the department. High honors may be awarded after the student’s work has been submitted for a departmental colloquium.

Wesleyan offers students a number of opportunities to pursue studies in Hebrew language and literature, Israeli culture, Judaica, and Jewish civilization. Most Judaica and Jewish studies courses are taught or cross-listed in the Religion Department, but students are encouraged to consult the course listings of the departments of classics, history, German, music, and government for additional offerings.

Hebrew courses include Elementary Hebrew (HEBR101 & 102), which instruct students with little or no background in Hebrew in basic language skills; Intermediate Hebrew (HEBR201 & 202), which continue the instruction in language skills and also provide students with an opportunity to study Israeli social, cultural, and political issues; and seminars in modern Hebrew literature.

Hebrew courses beginning with 202 can count toward a religion major. Those students who take a number of courses in Hebrew are exempted from the 14-credit limit on courses taken in one department.

Additional Hebrew courses are available through the Wesleyan Program in Israeli and Palestinian Studies.

For more information, please call Dalit Katz, x2297.

The Wesleyan Program in Israel in mid-January and concludes in mid-June. The Program is sponsored by the Religion Department and is embedded within the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. All students participate in two core seminars where the classroom learning is complemented by intensive field studies, a series of cultural evenings, and numerous educational trips throughout Israel. The core seminars focus on the ways that political and religious cultures intersect and reciprocally shape one another in contemporary Israel. Students take two additional courses, including a class in Hebrew (on all levels including introductory Hebrew) and either an elective course or a supervised internship. Students live in very comfortable, well-furnished apartments in Jerusalem's most pleasant neighborhood.

This Program is designed for all liberal arts undergraduates and is especially attractive to majors in Anthropology, Religion, Government, and History. No prior training in Hebrew language is required. For additional information contact Professor Jeremy Zwelling (at X2296 or jzwelling@wesleyan.edu).