Undergraduate Course Descriptions

Introductory Courses

RE100 Religions of the Americas: Indigenous, African and European 0.5

An introduction to basic questions in religious studies using selected examples of religion in the Americas. The course concentrates on the religious and cultural interactions of people who are of indigenous, African and European descent. It takes up fundamental questions such as: What is religion? What is the nature of religious experience? What is Religious Studies? How is religion related to other sources of identity such as ethnicity and nationality?

RE101 Religions of the Americas: Asian and Middle Eastern 0.5

An introduction to religious studies using selected examples of religion in North America as sources. Major topics include inter-religious relations, the westernizing of Asian religions, the changing nature of religious tradition and religions in multicultural settings. The course concentrates on Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam in North America.

RE103 Love and Its Myths 0.5

An enquiry into the mythologies of relationship which inform today's attitudes towards loving. Recurrent themes in the course are marriage, sexuality, attraction, friendship, fellowship and fidelity.

RE104 Evil and Its Symbols 0.5

An investigation of the symbolism of opposites, for example, sacred and profane, God and the devil, feminine and masculine, villain and hero, light and darkness. The use of symbols of evil is considered in contexts such as crusades, heresy trials, sexism, racism and scapegoating.

RE107 Roots of Western Religions I 0.5

An introduction to the ancient Near Eastern roots of Western religions, beginning with the earliest material from the prehistoric period and continuing through the religious traditions of the great parent civilizations of Sumer, Babylon, Assyria and Egypt. Attention will be given to religious structures as revealed in the beliefs, literature, history and archaeology of these traditions, as well as to subsequent effects of these on later religions.

RE108 Roots of Western Religions II 0.5

An introduction to the beginnings of Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the context of other religious traditions.

Undergraduate Course Descriptions Courses Religion and Culture