DESR students are required to take three courses. Two of these comprise the core curriculum, and one is an elective selected from a list of courses offered by the DESR faculty.
CORE COURSES
STRELIG 200: Methods in the Study of Religion
Methods in the Study of Religion is an introduction to methodological best practices in the Study of Religion from the perspectives of different fields. It is made up of multiple modules that combine the study of primary sources with exemplary methodological approaches. These approaches include but are not limited to: anthropological theories of religion and society, historical genealogies of categories of religion and the secular, theology and Church history, sociological approaches to issues like religious organization and conflict, religion and science, religious literature and Biblical hermeneutics, as well as particular religious histories.
STRELIG 201: Histories of the Study of Religion
Histories of the Study of Religion is an introduction to the history and development of the field of “Religious Studies” as an intellectual space for the study of a sometimes historicized, sometimes naturalized phenomenon called “religion.” Since the narration of any history of the study of religion serves to circumscribe a particular set of phenomena as “religious,” this course does not isolate a canonical history of the field. Instead, it progresses in a roughly diachronic manner, through a number of thematic threads representing the development of different domains of the study of religion.
ELECTIVE
Additionally, students must complete one elective course from a list of pre-approved graduate courses on religion. In some instances, students may petition for other, relevant courses to be counted towards their elective requirement. If a course is offered for variable units, students must enroll at the maximum possible unit value. Potential elective courses will vary depending on faculty teaching plans in a given semester.
FALL 2023
Core Courses
Histories of the Study of Religion (STRELIG 201)
STRELIG 201
Mark A Csikszentmihalyi
Thursdays, 2 pm – 3:59 pm, Location Evans 72
Class #: 33247
STRELIG201 is an introduction to the history and development of the field of “Religious Studies” as an intellectual space for the study of a sometimes historicized, sometimes naturalized phenomenon called “religion.” Since the narration of any history of the study of religion serves to circumscribing a particular set of phenomena as “religious,” this course does not isolate a canonical history of the field. Instead, it progresses in roughly diachronic manner, through a number of thematic threads representing the development of different domains of the study of religion.
The Substance of Things Unseen: Matter and Spirit, 1650-1800Advanced Studies: Sources/General Literature of the Several Fields: Europe (STRELIG 200)
HISTORY 280B
Jonathan Sheehan
Wednesdays, 10 am – 11:59 am, Location Dwinelle 3104
Class #: 27008
Between 1650 and 1800, matter, spirit, and their relationship, became subjects of unprecedented attention in Europe. Mechanism, the development of a science of forces, new forms of religious imagination, new spiritualisms, the rise of sensationalist psychology, the development of an aesthetics of the sublime, fascination with legal and political abstraction, new materialist ethics, the discovery of “real” immaterial things (public opinion, society, the economy, e.g.): all of these together fundamentally structured what we might broadly call modern immanence and transcendence. This course will explore this terrain with a broad set of readings in the history of philosophy, religion, and science.
Elective Courses
The following courses satisfy the DESR elective requirement:
Advanced Late Antique Hebrew Texts (HEBREW 202A)
HEBREW 202A
Daniel Boyarin
Tuesdays, 2:00 pm – 4:59 pm, Location Social Sciences Building 248
Class #: 26645
Historical and literary study of Hebrew and Aramaic Judaic texts (e.g., Talmud and Midrash).
Readings in Tibetan Buddhist Texts (BUDDSTD C224)
BUDDSTD C224/TIBETAN C224/SASIAN C224
Jacob Dalton
Thursdays, 2:00 pm – 4:59 pm, Location Dwinelle 288
Class #: 23991
This seminar provides an introduction to a broad range of Tibetan Buddhist texts, including chronicles and histories, biographical literature, doctrinal treatises, canonical texts, ritual manuals, pilgrimage guides, and liturgical texts. It is intended for graduate students interested in premodern Tibet from any perspective. Students are required to do all of the readings in the original classical Tibetan. It will also serve as a tools and methods for the study of Tibetan Buddhist literature, including standard lexical and bibliographic references, digital resources, and secondary literature in modern languages. The content of the course will vary from semester to semester to account for the needs and interests of particular students.
Seminar in Classical Arabic Literature (ARABIC 220)
ARABIC 220
Margaret Larkin
Days, Time, and Location TBA
Class #: 32631
A close reading and careful literary analysis of significant authors and specific topics in Classical Arabic prose or poetry or both.