Explore Spring 2023 courses being offered in the Department of Religious Studies.
- RELI 1010: Introduction to World Religions
- RELI 2000-850: Archeology of Biblical Lands
- RELI 4030-850: Africana Religions
- RELI 3130-850 Women and the Bible
- RELI 4180-850 History of Christianity II
- RELI 4550-850 Jesus in Film
RELI 1010: Introduction to World Religions
This course will introduce students to ways of understanding religion as a phenomenon in human culture and history, while surveying a wide variety of the religions of the world.
| Various Instructors | Totally Online | Link to Class Search |
RELI 2000-850: Archeology of Biblical Lands
This course introduces students to the purpose and methods of biblical archaeology and includes a survey of the material culture of the land of the Bible from the Chalcolithic (5th - 4th millennia BCE) to the Persian periods (4th century BCE). Special emphasis will be placed on the relationship between biblical narratives and the archaeological reconstruction of ancient social and natural environments.
| Instructor: Dr. Rami Arav | Totally Online | Link to Class Search |
RELI 4030-850: Africana Religions
An introduction to religions in Africa and the diaspora, including African Traditional Religions, Christianity, Islam, and Afro-Caribbean religious traditions, using anthropological, historical, and other academic approaches to the study of religious and spiritual traditions. In particular, students will learn about the role of spirits, ancestors, witches, and other invisible agents in ideas and practices regarding health and healing. Finally, the class will examine the complex inter-relationships between religious ideas and practices and contemporary post-colonial political-economic realities, including the consequences of genocide and other human rights violations and the role of religious communities in social and economic development.
| Instructor: Dr. Paul Williams | Totally Online | Link to Class Search |
RELI 3130-850 Women and the Bible
This course explores the characterization of women in Hebrew and Christian scriptures as well as what we can learn about the lives of women in the ancient world from these and other sources. Attention is also given to the reception and use of these texts in later historical periods including contemporary religious contexts.
| Instructor: Dr. Curtis Hutt | Totally Online | Link to Class Search |
RELI 4180-850 History of Christianity II
This course will focus on the historical development of Christian ideas, practices, and institutions from the reformations of the sixteenth century CE through the early twenty-first century CE. In addition to the theological claims, students will examine the history of ritual practice and organizational development of the principal varieties of Christianity - Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and other eastern churches, Protestant, and Pentecostal.
| Instructor: Dr. Gary Eller | Totally Online | Link to Class Search |
RELI 4550-850 Jesus in Film
This course is a study of how the life of Jesus of Nazareth has been portrayed in cinema over the past century. Emphasis will be placed upon knowledge of the principal written sources (the canonical gospels), how films emphasize certain themes and offer their own interpretations, the motives or intentions of the actors, and the reception by audiences of some of the main portrayals of Jesus in film.
| Instructor: Dr. John Lyden | Totally Online | Link to Class Search |