In addition to historical texts, the class will examine the sacred significance of the art, architecture, sculpture, songs, dances, folktales, and magical folklore of the various traditions. An exploration of various areas in which religion has shaped the cultural values and social attitudes of the modern world. Topics include the nature of myth, its relation to ritual, and the importance of symbolic systems in human life. Interpretive readings will be drawn from the works of scholars such as Otto, Cassirer, Eliade, Ricoeur, Jung, Turner, Douglas, and Geertz. REL 276 Religious Meanings in Literature Works of literature reveal much about the inner life of a particular culture.
Literature provides an important window through which to view the religious dimension of a culture.
This course will focus on the selected works of influential contemporary writers. Students will be encouraged to develop more clearly their own framework of meaning in relation to the ultimate questions for faith and life posed by the various authors. Gender, Passion, Death, and Salvation An exploration into the Judeo-Christian images, stories, rituals, and theological reflections about the relationship of the self, the passions, and experiences of God. Discussion will focus on how the Western religious traditions have understood the nature of human happiness and how these understandings have shaped Western views and practices regarding the human body, sexuality, gender, family duties, love, evil, and death. Readings will be from a variety of perspectives and disciplines, including theology, history, psychology, anthropology, gender studies, folklore, and the arts.