Spring 2016

Religious Studies 001E. Fundamentalism (4 units)
Flagg Miller

TR 10:30-11:50A
184 Young Hall

Course Description: How can nearly a third of Americans believe every word in the Bible to be literally true?  Why do some 42% of Americans believe that God created humans just 10,000 years ago?  Why do so many people of different faiths find ancient holy books relevant to understanding current affairs?  Join us in exploring these and other questions as we examine religious fundamentalism across the globe. We will devote special attention to fundamentalists’ views of science, textual interpretation, nationalism, sexuality, and violence.  Readings will focus on Christianity in North American and the West as well as on Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.  Throughout the course we will investigate the ways studies of fundamentalism reflect broader trends in religious studies.

Prerequisite: None.

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities or Social Sciences; Diversity and Writing Experience.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities or Social Sciences; Oral Literacy, Visual Literacy and Writing Experience.

Format: Lecture - 3 hours; Discussion - 1 hour.

Textbooks: 

• Brian Malley, How the Bible Works: An Anthropological Study of Evangelical Biblicism  (AltaMira Press, 2004)
• Justin Wilford, Sacred Subdivisions: The Postsuburban Transformation of American Evangelicalism  (NYU Press, 2012)
   

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Religious Studies 010. Crime and Punishment in the United States (2 units)
Allison Coudert

TR 3:10-4:00P
1001 Giedt Building
CRN 59877

Course Description: This class will explore the myths, misconceptions, and half-truths that pervade our view of the criminal justice system and riddle the so-called “war on crime.” Can we build our way out of crime by constructing more and more prisons? Do harsh sentencing and an emphasis on deterrence in such programs as “Three Strikes and You’re Out” actually reduce crime? Why are more people of color imprisoned for drug offenses when white Americans are more likely than black Americans or Hispanics to have used most kinds of illegal drugs, including cocaine, marijuana and LSD? Why are 2/3 of those serving life sentences African-Americans and Hispanics? And why is white-collar crime much less likely to be prosecuted than blue-collar crime? How is it possible that the US has the world’s highest rate of incarceration and at the same time the industrial world’s highest levels of deadly violence? In 2013 14,827 people were murdered in the US. This is 5 times the homicide rate in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark, 10 times that of Australia and 11 times that of Japan. Are guns the problem? These are just some of the contentious and very complex issues that have polarized Americans over the issue of crime and punishment. The class will feature outside speakers representing different aspects of and attitudes toward the criminal justice system.

Prerequisite: None.

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities and Writing Experience.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities and Writing Experience.

Format: Lecture - 2 hours.

Textbooks:

• None
   

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Religious Studies 068. Hinduism (4 units)
Mark Elmore

TR 10:30-11:50A
166 Chemistry Building
CRN 63075

Course Description: Hindu tradition from ancient to modern times. Multiplicity of religious forms within Hinduism with mention of Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism and their relation to the mainstream of Hindu religion.

Prerequisite: None.

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities, Diversity and Writing Experience.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities, Visual Literacy, World Cultures and Writing Experience.

Format: Lecture - 3 hours; Writing.

Textbooks:

• All readings will be made available via Smartsite
   

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Religious Studies 100. Study of Religion: Issues and Methods (4 units) 
Allison Coudert

TR 4:40-6:00P
55 Roessler Hall
CRN 62912

Course Description: In the wake of the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and the discovery of the new world, religion became a problem as never before. This class explores the development of this problem from the early modern period through the present, focusing on two wide-ranging narratives. The first concerns the declining authority of God and the reciprocal ascent of the individual as it develops in early-modern and modern philosophy including, for example, the writings of Nietzsche. The second concerns the birth and growth of the academic study of religion alongside the disciplines of anthropology, psychology, and sociology. We will test these theories against a selection of religious texts and rituals from a wide variety of ancient and contemporary traditions. Students are encouraged to investigate examples of particular interest to them (perhaps something from a prior Religious Studies course). This course is ideally taken no later than the junior year.

Prerequisite: None.

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities or Social Sciences.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities or Social Sciences; World Cultures and Writing Experience.

Format: Lecture - 3 hours; Term Paper.

Textbook:

• Daniel Pals, Nine Theories of Religion [3rd Edition]  (Oxford University Press, 2014)
   

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Religious Studies 141A. New Testament Literature: Synoptic Gospels (4 units) 
Wendy Terry

MW 10:00-11:50A
163 Olson Hall
CRN 62913

Course Description: This is a course on the life and thought of the early Christian church as reflected by the Synoptic Tradition: the Books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts.

Prerequisite: Consent of instructor (wrterry@ucdavis.edu).

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities and Writing Experience.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities, World Cultures and Writing Experience.

Format: Lecture - 3 hours; Discussion - 1 hour.

Textbooks:

• TBA   
   

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Religious Studies 150. Ethics (4 units)
Meaghan O'Keefe

TR 9:00-10:20A
80 Social Sciences Building
CRN 59894

Course Description: This course examines religious perspectives on ethical dilemmas that arise in pluralistic societies. Because the United States, and particularly California, has become increasingly diverse in terms of religious practice this means that as citizens affected by and interested in public policy we have to figure out how to straddle the line between respecting religious ethics and creating fair and equitable public policy.  Part of this process is learning about and understanding religious traditions outside of our own as well as deepening our understanding of those that are more familiar. Guided by these concerns, in this course you will become familiar with various ethical traditions, research their histories, and formulate academic arguments about religious ethics.

Prerequisite: Religious Studies 010 recommended.

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities, Diversity and Writing Experience.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities, World Cultures and Writing Experience.

Format: Lecture/Discussion - 3 hours; Term Paper or Discussion.

Textbook:

• Charles Mathewes, Understanding Religious Ethics  (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010)
   

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Religious Studies 170. Buddhism (4 units) 
Mark Elmore

TR 4:40-6:00P
204 Art Building
CRN 63733

Course Description: This course examines Buddhism in its pan-Asian manifestations, from its beginning in India to its development in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, Central Asia, China and Japan. Topics will cover: cultural context of Buddhist prehistory; life of the Buddha and his teaching; basic teachings of the councils and questions of canonization; the period of King Asoka and the spread of Buddhism; the cult of the Buddha, relics and stupas, and background to the Lotus Sutra; the rise of Mayhana Buddhism; growth of Buddhism in China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet (prior culture and variant styles); and Buddhism in the Modern World.

Prerequisite: None.

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities, Visual Literacy and World Cultures.

Format: Lecture - 3 hours; Term Paper.

Textbooks:

• All readings will be made available via Smartsite