Southwestern University

2005-2006 Catalog

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RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT

Religion and Philosophy Department

Division of Humanities

Associate Professor Laura Hobgood-Oster, PhD, Chair

Professor Shannon M. Winnubst, PhD

Associate Professor N. Elaine Craddock, PhD

Assistant Professor Michael Bray, PhD

Assistant Professor Alejandro de Acosta, PhD

Assistant Professor Bruce Fudge, PhD

Assistant Professor Philip E. Hopkins, PhD

Assistant Professor David Tabb Stewart, PhD

Visiting Assistant Professor Kykosa Kajangu, PhD

Assistant Professor Robert Goodding, PhD (part-time)

Assistant Professor Irene Price, PhD (part-time)

Students may major either in religion or in philosophy but may not combine courses in these two areas for a major. A student may minor in either religion or philosophy. Students may choose the 54-hour paired major between Religion and Feminist Studies and it is also possible to do a 54-hour paired major in Philosophy and Feminist Studies by double counting two of the following courses cross-listed in Philosophy and Feminist Studies - Feminist Positions (18-213), Theories of Class (18-243), and Theories of Race (18-253).

Religion

The program in the study of religion introduces students to a variety of global religious traditions, experiences and expressions, and invites an empathetic understanding of difference. The program provides students with tools to critically engage “religious texts,” including written, oral, performative, and symbolic. Religion courses engage students in the comparative study of themes and dimensions such as beliefs, practices, rituals, and myths within and between religious traditions. The religion program facilitates interdisciplinary engagement with the study of religion and other human endeavors by encouraging students to learn and use a variety of methodologies, including: textual, social-scientific, historical, feminist, and post-colonial.

100-200-LEVEL COURSES are introductions to the study of religion, generally focusing upon a different tradition or geographic area, literature or topic. Many of these courses satisfy the University requirement for POK-The Religious Perspective. Some are prerequisites for 600-level courses.

300-LEVEL COURSES are topical courses that introduce comparisons between or within religious traditions. These courses are open to all students. Several of these courses are cross-listed with interdisciplinary programs.

400–500-LEVEL COURSES are courses related to other areas of study. These courses are open to all students.

600-LEVEL COURSES are second-level courses in religious tradition and literature. These courses are primarily for religion majors and minors, but are open to other students with permission of the instructor.

700-LEVEL COURSES are Special Topics Courses.

900-LEVEL COURSES are advanced courses and are for Religion majors.

A major in Religion is good preparation for graduate work in a number of liberal arts fields (in addition to religion), and is also an excellent complementary (second) major to other liberal arts majors. It is a good undergraduate major for seminary though a number of other liberal arts majors serve as well.

Philosophy

Philosophy is a mode of engaging thoughtfully and critically with the grounding ideas and assumptions of human practices. Such thinking includes reflection on the relationship between different forms of knowledge (scientific, ethical, political, historical, cultural, and aesthetic) and the material world, as well as reflection on the intertwining social, historical, and geographical forms of power and human community. Courses in philosophy develop a wide range of intellectual abilities and offer a unique opportunity for students to develop their own modes of thoughtful and critical engagement with different domains of knowledge and practice. The emphasis is on primary texts and a careful discussion of them and their ideas. In addition to graduate studies in a number of fields, students who major in philosophy are well prepared to enter the range of career options available to liberal arts college graduates.

The curriculum aims to cultivate philosophy as a self-reflective practice and therefore emphasizes the history of Western philosophy as vitally important to contemporary philosophy. Students explore contemporary thinking from a foundation of critical inquiry into its past and into the genealogies of questions that have shaped the conversation to this point.

Major in Religion: 33 semester hours, including Religion 19-313, 903 (Capstone); three courses from 19-103, 123, 133, 143, 153, 173, 183; three courses from 19-203, 213, 223, 293, 323, 343, 363, 713; two courses from 19-613, 623, 633, 643, 663; three additional hours of Religion above the introductory level.

Minor in Religion: 18 semester hours of Religion, at least 12 hours of which must be above the introductory level.

Major in Philosophy: 32 semester hours, including Philosophy 18-413, 423, 433, 443, 402; 513 or 523 (on a 20th century topic or figure); 903 or 953 (Capstone); twelve additional hours of Philosophy, at least six hours of which must be above the introductory level.

Minor in Philosophy: 18 semester hours of Philosophy, at least 12 hours of which must be above the introductory level.

Religion (REL)

†19-103	INTRODUCTION TO THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION. A historical and thematic introduction to the Christian thought and practice. The survey begins with the Jesus movement and continues through the current growth of Christianity in the southern hemisphere, particularly sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Literary genres, gender issues, political contexts, social movements, and ethical dimensions are explored (POK-The Religious Perspective).
†19-123	INTRODUCTION TO THE HEBREW BIBLE. An introduction to the literature of the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament) in its historical and social context. (POK-The Religious Perspective)
†19-133	INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT. An introduction to the literature of the New Testament in its historical and social context. (POK-The Religious Perspective)
†19-143	INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM. A survey of the history, practices, and beliefs of Islam from Muhammad’s era to the modern. It investigates special themes such as mysticism, gender, and politics with attention to diverse cultural contexts. (POK-The Religious Perspective)
†19-153	INTRODUCTION TO JUDAISM. A survey of the development of Judaism from the Hebrew Bible’s understanding of Creation through the cultural traditions of the present day. The course balances historical narrative with detailed examination of important topics such as rabbinic interpretation, mysticism, the Holocaust, and emigration. (POK-The Religious Perspective)
†19-173	INTRODUCTION TO HINDUISM. A historical and thematic introduction to the religious ideas and practices that developed primarily in the Indian subcontinent. The course surveys central religious concepts and myths in classical texts and popular traditions; the interaction with Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, and Sikhism; gender issues; and the relationship between religion and politics in South Asia. (POK-The Religious Perspective)
†19-183	INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM. A historical and thematic introduction to the central ideas and practices of Buddhism. The course begins with the historical Buddha and early developments in India, Sri Lanka, and Tibet, then surveys the spread of Buddhism to China and Japan and the interaction with Confucian, Daoist, and Shinto traditions. (POK-The Religious Perspective)
19-203	DEATH, DYING, AND THE AFTERLIFE. A cross-cultural investigation of beliefs regarding the meaning of death and the possibilities for life after death, as well as the way these various constructs impact the relationship between the living, the dying, and the dead. Concepts addressed include: transmigration of souls, resurrection, reincarnation, nirvana, ancestor worship, heaven and hell, extinction and Armageddon. Current media, sacred and secular literature, and rituals provide “texts” for the study.
19-213	RELIGION AND ECOLOGY. An environmental/ecofeminist investigation of the construction of “nature” and the “non-human” in the world’s religions, particularly addressing the problematic and destructive impact of religious-based anthropocentrism. The course examines whether religions encouraged human culture in its quest to dominate and destroy nature and asks if some religions/cultures offer different constructs of the world that could transform this relationship. Religions studied include: various indigenous traditions, Buddhism, Christianity, deep ecology, and market capitalism. Also Environmental Studies 49-213.
†19-223	JOURNEY TO WISDOM. An examination of wisdom literature from different traditions. The course examines wisdom themes and motifs such as “the journey”, the tutelage of Woman Wisdom, despair, un-knowing, unjust suffering, the fiery strength of love, and the cosmic carnival. (POK-The Religious Perspective)
19-293	AMERICAN RELIGIONS. An inter-disciplinary investigation of religious traditions in the Americas. Religions may include American forms of global religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism; or traditions indigenous to the Americas. Each of these categories may include New Religious Movements. This course may be repeated when topic varies.
19-313	THEORIES AND METHODS OF RELIGION. An exploration of some of the theories and methods used in contemporary secular studies of religion. Reviews various scholars who in the past century have sought to analyze the phenomenon of religion apart from theology through the use of psychology, sociology, anthropology, and comparative studies. This class is primarily for Religion majors and minors, but is open to others with permission of instructor.
19-323	WOMEN, GODDESSES, AND RELIGION. A cross-cultural study of the ways women’s voices have been heard and silenced, of the ways that their lives have been influential (as well as violently ended) and of the vital roles women have played in various religious traditions. The course also investigates ways in which female divinity has been conceptualized in various ancient and modern religious traditions. Rituals, communities, visual symbols and sacred texts will provide the material for our explorations and a feminist methodology will provide the lens for our gaze. Also Feminist Studies 04-223.
19-343	GENDER, SEX, AND VIOLENCE IN THE BIBLICAL WORLD. Texts from the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament) are read in the light of feminist and postcolonial criticisms with some reference to the literatures of the ancient Near East and early rabbinic literature. The course examines gender systems, sexual “systems”, women and women’s voices in texts, slavery, sacrifice, rape, and conquest in the light of patriarchy and monotheism. Also Feminist Studies 04-343.
19-363	THE BODY AND SEXUALITY IN RELIGION. A feminist, cross-cultural examination of notions of the embodied human self in various religious traditions, focusing on sexuality and sexual desire. The course will explore how the body is conceptualized; moral proscriptions regarding the body and what they reveal about religion and culture; self-cultivation techniques; and the relationship between gender and sexuality and salvation. Written texts and visual arts will be the media of exploration. This course may be repeated when topic varies. Also Feminist Studies 04-263.
†19-403	GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. See Classics 07-203 and English 10-203. (POK-American and Western Cultural Heritage)
19-413	PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION. See Philosophy 18-223.
†19-423	ANCIENT CHINA. See History 16-243. (POK-Other Cultures and Civilizations)
19-593	MODERN JEWISH HISTORY. See History 16-593.
19-613	SEMINAR ON THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION. Study of a selected aspect of or a topic related to the Christian tradition. Course can be repeated with different content. Prerequisites: Religion 19-103, 133 or permission of instructor. Also Feminist Studies 04-613.
19-623	SEMINAR IN BIBLICAL AND JUDAIC LITERATURE. Study of a selected portion of Hebrew scripture or aspect of the early Judaic tradition within its cultural setting. Course can be repeated with different content. Prerequisite: Religion 19-123 or permission of instructor.
19-633	SEMINAR ON BUDDHISM. Study of a selected aspect of or a topic related to Buddhism. Course may be repeated with different content. Prerequisite: Religion 19-183 or permission of instructor.
19-643	SEMINAR ON HINDUISM. Study of a selected aspect of or a topic related to Hinduism. Course may be repeated with different content. Prerequisite: Religion 19-173 or permission of instructor.
19-663	SEMINAR ON ISLAM. An in-depth exploration of the varieties of Muslim perspectives regarding themselves and the world through the study of a specific topic related to Islam. Course may be repeated with different content. Prerequisite: Religion 19-143 or permission of instructor.
19-713	TOPICS IN RELIGION. A critical investigation of an important subject or issue in religion: religion and violence, religion and media, religious authority, religion and politics, etc. May be comparative, or may focus on one tradition. This course may be repeated when topic varies.

19-001, 002, 003, 004	SELECTED TOPICS. May be repeated with change in topic.
19-301, 302, 303, 304	SELECTED TOPICS. Lectures and readings on subjects of special interest. May be repeated with change in topic.
19-903	COLLOQUIUM IN RELIGION. Intended primarily for majors in religion but open to other students with the permission of the instructor.
19-941, 942, 943, 944	ACADEMIC INTERNSHIP.
19-951, 952, 953, 954	INDEPENDENT STUDY: DIRECTED READING. Reading selected to round out the student’s acquaintance with the field of religion or special areas of interest. May be repeated with changed content.
19-983	HONORS. By invitation only.

Philosophy (PHI)

†18-103	INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS. An introduction to issues surrounding moral deliberation, commitment, and choice. Attention will be given to traditional ethical theories, to their implications for moral discussion and decision, and perhaps to related issues such as personal identity and human freedom. (POK-Values Analysis)
†18-113	CONTEMPORARY MORAL PROBLEMS. A study of the value systems expressed and embodied in contemporary social and political structures and practices, and the processes of making ethical judgments and decisions from and in response to these. Typically, the focus will be thematic and vary with each offering, and will often engage the selected issues using interdisciplinary texts and resources. (POK-Values Analysis)
†18-133	INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY. An historically informed investigation of key metaphysical, physical, epistemological, political, ethical and aesthetic issues in philosophy. Emphasis will be placed on the connections between different aspects or spheres of philosophical thinking, as well as the connections between philosophical concepts and historical and social practices. (POK-Values Analysis)
†18-143	MEDIA AND ETHICS. A survey of value questions arising in conjunction with and portrayed by communications media. Topics may include the discourse practices and influence of the various media upon cultural identity and self-understanding; value assumptions in news selection and programming, advertising, and entertainment media; media portrayal of minorities and gender; violence and the media; propaganda and public relations agendas and the media; and the issues of free speech, free press, and other rights discourses in the media. (POK-Values Analysis)
†18-203	PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION. An historical survey of models and theories of education along with contemporary critiques and apologies. The focus will be on analysis of the values, explicit or implicit, in educational structures and practices in order to assist students in gaining proficiency at critically engaging their own education. (POK-Values Analysis)
18-213	FEMINIST POSITIONS. An exploration of the variety of feminist positions within the larger discourse known as “feminism.” Specific focus is given to the sex/gender distinction and the re-thinking of identity in ways that do not silence sexual, gender, racial, ethnic, national or economic differences. The course will also raise the question of theory’s place in feminist political resistance and the possibility of speaking out of non-totalizing feminist positions. Also Feminist Studies 04-213.
18-223	PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION. An examination of some of the principal philosophical problems involved in the nature of religion. Attention will center on the problem of religious knowledge and its relation to religious affirmation. Also Religion 19-413.
18-233	AESTHETICS. An introduction to the philosophical discourses of the 18^th and 19^th centuries that attempted to comprehend and grapple with the historical emergence of art-making and art-experience as an apparently unique and separate domain of human understanding, value and practice. We will also discuss various 20^th century efforts to clarify and problematize the relationships between art, politics, technology and popular culture.
†18-243	THEORIES OF CLASS. This course will consider both the advent of the concept of class as a key to social analysis, as well as its apparent decline as a meaningful term. Our guiding consideration will be the extent to which class distinctions and structures remain central to the analysis and understanding of society, as well as the way in which class differs from and intersects with social structures of race and gender. Also Feminist Studies 04-273. (POK-Values Analysis)
18-253	THEORIES OF RACE. An introduction and survey of contemporary race theory, with emphases on intersections with gender, class, nationalism, and imperialism. Specific focus on the ways race has been constructed as a category of identity across various cultures, academic disciplines, and historical periods. Also Feminist Studies 04-253.
18-263	PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE. A philosophical exploration of modern science—its history, aims, methods, conceptual underpinnings and implications.
†18-273	BIOMEDICAL ETHICS. An examination of fundamental moral questions arising in contexts of medical treatment, research, and social policy. (POK-Values Analysis)
18-283	LATIN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. An introduction to the complex history of Latin American philosophy, including European and indigenous traditions of thought as well as their hybrids. Key issues will be the interpretation and criticism of notions of history and progress, race and ethnicity, colonialism and knowledge production, the philosophical status of indigenous knowledges, and the relation between philosophy and territory.
18-313	METAPHYSICS. Metaphysics is the area of philosophy that traditionally addresses pivotal questions concerning both nature and what is beyond it: being and becoming, space and time, chaos and order, and the number and structures of realities. This course addresses some of the many metaphysical systems that have been proposed and the acquisition and nature of metaphysical knowledge, as well as criticisms of part or all of the metaphysical endeavor.
18-323	PHILOSOPHY OF THE SELF. An exploration of the emergence of this modern concept - the self - and its psychological, anthropological, political, and epistemological contours. Readings may be drawn from a variety of disciplines. Also Feminist Studies 04-363.
18-353	PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. An examination of the ways that writers from the pre-Socratics through the 19th century have framed the field of human history as a philosophical object of analysis and the challenges that have been posed to those methods by 20th century thinkers. Attention will focus on whether and how the discipline of philosophy can “think historically.”
18-363	LOGIC AND REASONING. An introduction to the history of western logic, including formal languages and techniques, and the use of informal logic and argument analysis for the evaluation of reasoning. Significant attention will be given to learning the common fallacies of argumentation and applying this knowledge to contemporary public debate, and to exploring the differences between reasonableness and rationality as historically constructed.
18-373	POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY. An examination of topics at the intersection of philosophy and politics, including historical and contemporary philosophical defenses and critiques of social and political orders, and analysis of political and social theories and concepts.
18-383	PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE. An examination of the philosophical significance of literature and how different modes of figurative and poetic expression confront philosophers with epistemological, metaphysical, and methodological problems and issues that bear on the presuppositions and practices of their own discipline. Such issues may include their historical relation, questions concerning representation and meaning, or the relation of fact and fiction. Also English 10-383.
18-402	READING PHILOSOPHY. A guided effort to focus and improve advanced students’ capacities for engaged, thoughtful, critical and independent reading of philosophical forms of argumentation and analysis. Writing assignments and discussions will be focused on the detailed articulation and understanding of one or two important texts. Offered every spring. Prerequisite: Two philosophy courses above the introductory level.
18-413	HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY: ANCIENT. A survey of Greek philosophy from its inception through Neo-Platonism, emphasizing the unique expositional practices employed by the early Greek thinkers to express philosophical thought and questioning. Topics will range across early epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics and their relation to later philosophy, explored through a selection of primary texts. Prerequisite: Three semester hours of philosophy. Also Classics 07-333.
18-423	HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY: MEDIEVAL/RENAISSANCE. A study of philosophy during the millennium when it was in closest relation to religion, be it Jewish, Muslim, Christian, or pagan. Topics will range across the relation between faith and reason; the existence and nature of God and the soul; magic, prayer, and divination as forms of acquiring knowledge of self, God, and world; and consequent ideas about social order and political systems. Prerequisite: Three semester hours of philosophy.
18-433	HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY: MODERN. An inquiry into some of the principal texts, issues and debates in European philosophy from the 16th to the 18th century, including thinkers such as Montaigne, Galileo, Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Hume and Kant. Topics will range across the emergence of modern science, the rise of epistemology as first philosophy, rationalism, materialism, empiricism, and the construction of secular models of politics. Prerequisite: Three semester hours of philosophy.
18-443	HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY: 19th CENTURY. An inquiry into the most influential philosophical movements of 19th century Europe, including such authors as Hegel, Marx, and Nietzsche. Topics will range across idealism, historicism, materialism, the limits of reason, and the emergence of language as a philosophical problem. Prerequisite: Three semester hours of philosophy.
18-513	HISTORICAL STUDIES. Investigation of a specific figure, period, or movement in the history of philosophy—content will vary from year to year. Intended for students who have taken relevant courses from among Philosophy 18-413, 423, 433, 443; but open to others with permission of instructor. May be repeated with change in topic.
18-523	CENTRAL TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY. A critical survey of some major area of contemporary philosophical concern—epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, etc. Intended for students who have taken relevant courses from among Philosophy 18-413, 423, 433, 443; but open to others with permission of instructor. May be repeated with change in topic.

18-001, 002, 003, 004	SELECTED TOPICS. May be repeated with change in topic.
18-301, 302, 303, 304	SELECTED TOPICS. Lectures and readings on subjects of special interest. Subjects to be announced. May be repeated with change in topic.
18-903	COLLOQUIUM IN PHILOSOPHY. Intended primarily for majors in Philosophy but open to others with the permission of the instructor. Offered every fall. Prerequisite: Philosophy 18-402.
18-941, 942, 943, 944	ACADEMIC INTERNSHIP.
18-951, 952, 953, 954	INDEPENDENT STUDY. Readings selected to broaden the student’s acquaintance with areas of philosophy or topics of special interest. May be repeated with changed content.
18-983	HONORS. By invitation only.

Southwestern University 2005-2006 Catalog