See History 335 for description. See Political Science 342 for description. Leading thinkers and issues of the 20th century. The impact of World War I, World War II, Vatican II and liberation movements on religious thought is assessed. The nature, methods and basic issues of religious ethics, considering both matters of personal conduct and social concern.
Special attention is given to feminist critiques of traditional Western approaches to ethics.
This course will survey the major theoretical perspectives that help to define the field of religious studies, particularly in relationship to philosophy and the social sciences. The course will also help students to develop criteria for making useful assessments of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the various theories, and their continued relevance to both the descriptive and the nominative tasks of religious studies. See MUS 308 for description. May be taken more than once if topic varies. An exploration into the diverse beliefs and practices of Islam around gender issues.