Click here to access the complete list of Spring and Summer courses as a PDF file
New for Spring 2019: Descriptions of New Courses or Course Themes
Gateway Course—Open to all students, a great intro to Religious Studies and the Impact of religion
RS101 |
Religion in Global Perspective |
DuBois |
MW +sec |
11:00AM–11:50AM |
Theme: Place, Sacrality, and Pilgrimage. Human religion grounds itself in place. In this course, we examine the sacrality of place and the various practices religious traditions have developed over time to acknowledge, activate, and acquire a place based sense of the sacred in personal or communal life. Skills: comparative and interdisciplinary analysis, intercultural competence, religious literacy. 3 credits. Gateway course for RS Major and certificate.
New Courses for Spring ’19
RS234 |
Genres of Western Religious Writing |
Hildner |
MWF |
9:55AM–10:45AM |
While there are two 234 sections offered. This is a new one taught by Prof. David Hildner. How have the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths been “put into words” over the course of their history? Our section of RS 234 will explore a recurrent theme in the three traditions: the relationship between human strength, human weakness, and the divine. In many of our texts, concepts of strength and weakness undergo important transformations and surprising reversals. COMM B. 3 credits.
RS400 |
Christianity: Interpretation & Practice |
Norman |
TTh |
1:00PM–2:15PM |
What do Christians believe and how do they experience Christianity? What ideas and practices do they have in common and how do they vary? Why? We will use primary sources from Christian scriptures to contemporary writings in our explorations and our primary mode of investigation will be comparative across varieties of Christianity. 3 credits. Honors option. Meets writing Intensive Requirement for UW Medical School (papers on health and Christianity possible).
RS400 |
Problem of Evil in Jewish & Christian Literature |
Zilbergerts |
TTh |
11:00AM–12:15PM |
Literature serves as a medium through which people work through life’s greatest questions. Among those are, How do we understand and respond to the prevalence of evil in the world? How do we define evil? What is the difference between evil and tragedy? How do we think about God and evil? This course will take students on a literary journey to explore some of humanity’s most difficult questions. 3 credits. Honors option.
RS410 |
Children and Religion in America |
Ridgely |
MW |
2:30PM–3:45PM |
This course is based upon the assumption children are important participants in religious communities; that they co-create their religious traditions. Through our studies of children’s lives in various religious communities in America (mostly), we will explore how including children’s perspectives shifts general claims about religious groups and their practices. 3 credits. Z breath. Honors option. Meets writing Intensive Requirement for UW Medical School.
New to Summer Term: A Popular Gateway Course and an Exciting New Online Course
RS102 |
Exploring Religion in Sickness and Health |
Norman |
7/15 to 8/11 |
MTWR |
9:30AM-12:00PM |
How do people understand and live in sickness and health? How are physical and spiritual well–being connected? How do medicine and meaning-making intersect? 3 credits. Skills : interdisciplinary analysis, writing, cultural literacy, conversing across viewpoints. Honors option. Gateway course for Religious Studies major, and the Religious Studies and Health-Humanities certificates. Counts toward Global Health Certificate. (Z). HDD Term, 4 weeks: July 15-August 11.
RS400 |
Religious Studies for Leadership in Practice |
Naparstek |
5/27 to 6/23 |
Online |
|
Looking at case-studies at the local, national, and global level, this course will provide a conceptual toolbox to ask critical questions of how local leaders, state agencies, national militaries, and global corporations engage with people and their environment. Students will evaluate real-world situations to identify areas for critical intervention and formulate useful responses to challenges in light of religious cultures and, in so doing, increase the likelihood for sustainable success. 3 credits.