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Course Catalog 2008-2009 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Oberlin College Courses
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PSYC 550 - Supervised Research in Psycholinguistics
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 1-3 hours
Attribute: 1-3NS
A class designed to involve students in the conduct of professional research. Research will address some aspect of human language comprehension. Students will master laboratory procedures (such as materials norming, sentence completion, word-by-word reading, and head-mounted eyetracking) and will collect and process experimental data under the close supervision of the instructor. Regular group meetings to discuss relevant research papers and current lab projects and activities will be required. Consent of instructor required.
Instructor: J. Hanna
Prerequisites & Notes
Notes: CR/NE or P/NP grading. May be repeated for credit.
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PSYC 560 - Supervised Research in Adolescent Development
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 1-3 hours
Attribute: 1-3SS
A class designed to involve students in the conduct of professional research. Research will address some aspect of adolescent development. Students will master research procedures which may include observational and survey techniques, behavioral coding, physiological assessment of emotional state, and data preparation and management. Students are expected to work as part of a larger group and to complete a small research project either independently or with another student. Students will participate in regular group meetings where project issues and related research are discussed.
Instructor: N. Darling
Prerequisites & Notes
Open to all students with the consent of the instructor. May be repeated for credit.
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PSYC 604 - Problems for Investigation
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 1-4 hours
Attribute: 1-4SS
Designed for the student who wishes to pursue independent work on a topic not usually covered by formal offerings. Normally, a bibliographic or theoretical research paper will be part of the course requirement. Consent of instructor required.
Instructor: S. Mayer
Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisite: PSYC 100.
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PSYC 606 - Independent Research Problems
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 1-4 hours
Attribute: 1-4SS
Students may select an empirical research problem for individual investigation. Consent of instructor required.
Instructor: S. Mayer
Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisite: PSYC 200 or equivalent.
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PSYC 608 - Empirical Honors Research
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 1-4 hours
Attribute: 1-4SS
Consent of chair required.
Instructor: S. Mayer
Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisite: Admission to the Honors Program. Note: Not more than eight hours may be taken in PSYC 608.
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PSYC 612 - Theoretical or Bibliographic Honors Research
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 2-4 hours
Attribute: 2-4SS
Senior Honors Research. Consent of chair required.
Instructor: S. Mayer
Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisite: Admission to the Honors Program. Note: Not more than six hours may be taken in PSYC 612.
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PSYC 995 - Private Reading
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 1-3 hours
Attribute: 1-3SS
Independent study of a subject beyond the range of catalog course offerings. Signed permission of the instructor required.
Instructor: S. Carrier, N. Darling, C. Frantz, W. Friedman, J. Hanna, S. Mayer, A. Porterfield, D. Smith, K. Sutton, P. deWinstanley
Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisite: Completion of basic coursework in the selected topic area. Note: Available to junior and senior majors.
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RELG 102 - Introduction to Religion: Roots of Religion in the Mediterranean World
Next Offered: 2009-2010
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3 HU, CD
This course introduces students to the academic study of religion and provides a historical framework for understanding the development and central ideas of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, beginning from their origins in the Mediterranean region. The foundation of the course will be close reading of primary texts, both the sacred texts of each tradition and reflections on these texts by classical interpreters from the second century to the medieval period. Enrollment Limit: 30.
Instructor: C. Barnes
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RELG 103 - Introduction to Religion: Living Religion
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD, WR
This course focuses on “lived religion” and the ways in which we can try to understand it. Instead of starting with religious texts per se, we will try to come to terms with the things that people do and experience – with ritual, pilgrimage, and mystical moments. The traditions examined will include Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity, with reference to other traditions as well. Along the way, students will be introduced to important concepts from the academic study of religion. Enrollment limit: 35.
Instructor: L. McMillin
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RELG 108 - Introduction to Religion: Women and the Western Traditions
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
GSFS
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
An introduction to Judaism, Christianity and Islam that focuses on women’s experiences and gender roles. This course will examine representations of women in sacred texts; primary sources by and about women from various historical periods, and contemporary feminist voices within each religious tradition. Topics to be investigated include: rabbinic teachings on biblical women, the role of women in early Christian heretical movements, discourses of the veil in Islam. Enrollment Limit: 35.
Instructor: M. Kamitsuka
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RELG 109 - Introduction to Religion: Jerusalem: Negotiating Sacred Space
Next Offered: 2011-2012
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, CD, WR
This course will provide an introduction to the history of Jerusalem and to the many and varied religious groups within Judaism, Christianity and Islam who have laid claim to its sacredness. Jerusalem in progressive historical periods will be the model through which students will explore notions of sacred space, the ideology of cartography, apocalypticism, pilgrimage and the role of archaeology in “uncovering” and bolstering religious land claims. Enrollment Limit: 35.
Instructor: C. Chapman
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RELG 118 - Immanence and Transcendence in Buddhism
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
East Asian Studies
Next Offered: 2011-2012
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, CD, COLQ, WR
An overview of the history and ideas of Buddhism as it spreads throughout Asia. Topics include Buddhism’s core teachings from ancient India, the rise of Mahayana Buddhism with its all-embracing philosophy of non-dualism and its bodhisattva ideal of selflessness, and the transformation of Buddhism into such schools as Zen and Pure Land in China and Japan. Enrollment Limit: 10 first-year and 5 second-year students.
Instructor: J. Dobbins
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RELG 202 - The Nature of Suffering: The Book of Job and its History of Interpretation
Next Offered: 2009-2010
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, CD, WR
This course will focus on the biblical book of Job as a piece of ancient religious literature that has fostered centuries of theological and existential questioning on the nature of divine justice and activity in the world, the meaning of suffering, and the existence of evil. The course will first consider Job in its ancient Israelite context as it spoke to a conquered and exiled “people of God.” Secondarily, the course will introduce Jewish and Christian interpretations of the book as these interpretations evolved through history addressing different contexts of human alienation and suffering. Enrollment LImit: 30.
Instructor: C. Chapman
Cross List Information
This course is cross-listed with JWST 202.
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RELG 205 - Hebrew Bible in its Near Eastern Context
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU
An introduction to the literature, religion, and history of ancient Israel as contained within the Hebrew Bible and to the methods of interpretation used by modern scholars to understand this ancient text. Biblical writings will be studied within the context of other ancient Near Eastern texts. Thematic emphases include the emergence of monotheism, the conceptualization the divine/human relationship, the mediation of priest, prophet and king, and issues of canon. No previous knowledge of the Hebrew Bible is assumed. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Instructor: C. Chapman
Cross List Information
This course is cross-listed with JWST 205.
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RELG 208 - New Testament and Christian Origins
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU
An introduction to the academic study of the New Testament in its ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts. This course explores early Christian writings as Jewish sectarian literature and as early Christian foundational scripture. Thematic emphases include: the diversity of early Christian writings, Christianity within first century Judaisms, the evolution of the Jesus narrative, and the rise of institutional Christianity. No previous knowledge of the New Testament is assumed. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Instructor: C. Chapman
Cross List Information
This course is cross-listed with JWST 208.
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RELG 217 - Christianity in the Early Medieval World: 150-1100
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU
An interpretive study of the development of Christianity in the Greek east and Latin west, this course will focus on early medieval articulations of the relationship between God and the world through debates on corporeality, evil, martyrdom, asceticism, knowledge of God, and salvation. The context of these debates will be the historical developments of monasticism, mysticism, iconography, Christology, heresy, and Christianity as an imperial religion. Enrollment limit: 35.
Instructor: C. Barnes
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RELG 218 - Christianity in the Late Medieval World, 1100-1600
Next Offered: 2009-2010
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3 HU
This course introduces developments in Christianity as expressed through reform movements from 1100 to 1600. These radical movements caused political and social upheaval by trying to retrieve an (idealized) past. Issues for consideration include the rise of clerical authority and abuse, the role of women, free will, grace, embodiment, asceticism, mysticism, and heresy. The background of these considerations will be
the changing landscape of medieval Europe through crusades, plagues, and economic realities. Enrollment Limit: 35.
Instructor: C. Barnes
Prerequisites & Notes
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RELG 225 - Modern Religious Thought in the West: Late 17th to Mid-19th Century
Next Offered: 2009-2010
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, CD
An analysis of developments in Western philosophy of religion and theology from the end of the Thirty Years War to the mid 19th century. Of special interest will be how the emerging scientific worldview affected traditional religious beliefs including views of God, human nature, the authority of scripture, the legitimacy of religious institutions, and the true “essence” of religion. Some of the thinkers to be studied include Pascal, Locke, Hume, Voltaire, Rousseau, Kant, Mendelssohn, Schleiermacher, Feuerbach and Kierkegaard. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Instructor: D. Kamitsuka
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RELG 226 - Modern Religious Thought in the West: Mid-19th Century to the Present
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU
This course analyzes our assumptions and judgments about religion in light of the clash of religious and secular frameworks. Topics to be examined include religious responses to modern scientific and historical consciousness, secular critical analyses of religion, debates on the human condition, efforts to address cultural and religious issues arising from the devastation of the two world wars, and the challenge of religious pluralism. Thinkers studied include Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Buber, Tillich, Niebuhr and contemporary thinkers. Enrollment Limit: 35.
Instructor: D. Kamitsuka
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RELG 227 - Contemporary Religious Thought in the West
Next Offered: 2010-2011
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3 HU
The Being and Nature of God. This course examines how contemporary philosophers of religion are grappling with questions about the being and nature of God in light of the following: current scientific theories about the origins of the universe and evolution; debates regarding an adequate ecological theology, the problem of evil (theodicy), and the challenge of global interreligious
dialogue among theist and nontheist philosophers and religious thinkers. Enrollment Limit: 30
Instructor: D. Kamitsuka
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RELG 231 - Origins and Development of Hinduism
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
A study of the Hindu tradition in India, from its origins to the development of the later devotional movements. Textual study focuses on ritual hymns, renunciatory texts, devotional poems, and classical mythology. Attention is also paid to analysis of religious practices, especially as they vary according to social location and gender of adherents. Societal aspects of Hinduism to be explored include religious constructions of “caste,” notions of religious kingship, and gendered perceptions of the divine. The last section looks at the ways in which the early Buddhist movement developed out of Hindu roots. Enrollment limit: 35.
Instructor: P. Richman
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RELG 233 - Religion in Modern India
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD, WR
A study of the effect of colonial rule and social change on Indian religious traditions. We examine theological tracts and debates, mythological and ritual texts, oral traditions, and contemporary novels about religion. Topics include: social mobility and orthodoxy, religious roots of the Gandhian movement for independence, changing rituals within the joint family, religion in the present-day political sphere, and Hinduism overseas. Enrollment Limit: 35.
Instructor: P. Richman
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RELG 234 - Buddhist Thought and Practice in India and Tibet
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3 HU, CD
This course explores the origins and development of Buddhism in north India 2500 years ago and surveys its expansion into across and beyond the subcontinent into Tibet and Sri Lanka. The course will consider important Buddhist concepts and examine primary texts from several schools in South Asia and Tibet. We will look at Tibetan Buddhist history and practice in some depth, as well as contemporary socially-engaged Buddhist movements. Enrollment limit: 35.
Instructor: L. McMillin
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RELG 235 - Chinese Thought & Religion
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
A historical survey of the three major religious and philosophical traditions of China: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Attention is given to how each comprehends the universe, and translates its ideal into philosophical thought, religious practice, and social and moral imperative. Interaction and mutual borrowing among the three will be examined to show how each was changed or inspired by the others and matured under their influence. Enrollment Limit: 65.
Instructor: J. Dobbins
Cross List Information
THis course is cross-listed with EAST 151
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RELG 236 - Japanese Thought and Religion
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
A survey of the development of Shinto and Buddhism in Japan and the roles they play in Japanese culture and society. Among the topics discussed are the ancient myths of Shinto, the transmission of Buddhism to Japan, the emergence of native forms of Buddhism (e.g. Zen, Pure Land, and Nichiren), and the use of Shinto as a nationalistic ideology. Enrollment Limit: 65.
Instructor: J. Dobbins
Cross List Information
This course is cross-listed with EAST 152
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RELG 244 - Religion, War, and Peace Ethics in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU
This course explores a range of positions on war and peace taken by three religious traditions, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, as well as secular theories. The course includes an ethical assessment of just war and pacifist theories in each tradition, as well as questions posed by weapons of mass destruction and nuclear deterrence. In addition to reading philosophical and theological works, we will study several films (such as ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘Romero’) to bring to life the realities of war and the conditions that often lead to war. Film viewing is required. Enrollment limit: 35.
Instructor: J. Babyak
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RELG 245 - Modern Moral Issues in Religious Perspective
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
Law and Society
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU
This course offers an examination of selected moral issues from the perspective of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions, as well as secular positions. Topics will include such issues as lying, euthanasia, abortion, sexual ethics, war and peace, and the death penalty. This course also offers an introduction to systematic ethical reasoning. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Instructor: J. Babyak
Prerequisites & Notes
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RELG 249 - Issues in Medical Ethics
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
Law and Society
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU
This course offers an analysis of selected issues in medical ethics and the methods of ethical reasoning used to study these issues, focusing on attendant religious, moral, and legal questions. The orientation of the course is clinical. Issues are framed and explored as issues addressed in a medical context, using case studies throughout. Topics to be addressed include such issues as death and dying, medical research and human experimentation, privacy and informed consent, public health, genetic engineering and the allocation of scarce resources. This course may also count for the major in Law and Society. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Instructor: J. Babyak
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RELG 250 - Introduction to Judaism
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
JWST
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
A theoretical introduction to Judaism as a religious system. Special attention will be paid to the historical development of the religion through interpretation of traditional texts and ritual practices. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Instructor: A. Socher
Cross List Information
This course is cross-listed with JWST 150
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RELG 251 - Modern Jewish Thought
Next Offered: 2009-2010
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, CD, WR
An interpretive study of key figures and movements in modern Jewish thought, from the 17th to the 20th century. Central topics to be examined include the ideologies of the modern movements (Reform, Conservative, Orthodox), challenges to the veracity of biblical texts, authority of rabbinic tradition, and the place of the Jew and Judaism in an enlightened secular society. Thinkers to be studied include Spinoza, Mendelssohn, the Baal Shem Tov, Marx, Herzl, Kook, Buber, Soloveitchik and Heschel. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Instructor: A. Socher
Cross List Information
This course is cross-listed with JWST 151
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RELG 252 - Medieval Jewish Thought: Law, Mysticism, and Philosophy
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD, WR
An interpretive study of main trends in Jewish thought, from the 9th through the 16th centuries. The course will cover post-talmudic developments in Halacha (Jewish law); biblical exegesis; the competing theological systems of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) and philosophical rationalism; and inter-religious influence and polemics. Special attention will be paid throughout the course to the interpretation of ritual. Enrollment Limit: 35.
Instructor: A. Socher
Cross List Information
This course is cross-listed with JWST 152.
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RELG 258 - Introduction to the Talmud: Argument and Interpretation
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD, WR
The Talmud is a sprawling multi-volume compendium of rigorous legal argument, ingenious and fanciful biblical interpretations, rabbinic anecdotes, jokes and deep moral and theological investigations. Compiled between 200 and 600 CE, it has been the most important generative force in Jewish religion and culture for the following two millennia. Exemplary texts will be studied (in English translation) with an emphasis on developing students’ skills in close reading and critical discussion. Enrollment Limit: 25.
Instructor: A. Socher
Cross List Information
This course is cross-listed with JWST 258.
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RELG 261 - Gender Theory and the Study of Religion
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
GSFS
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
This course will examine the various ways in which feminist scholars bring gender issues to the academic study of religion. Topics to be addressed will include: feminist critiques of androcentrism in ‘classic’ theories of religion; methods for the historical retrieval of suppressed women’s voices in historical texts; sociological and ethnographical approaches to investigating women’s marginalized ritual practices; feminist approaches to philosophy of religion and theology. Enrollment Limit: 35.
Instructor: M. Kamitsuka
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RELG 263 - Roots of Religious Feminism in North America
Next Offered: 2009-2010
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, CD
This course analyzes the religious views underpinning women’s literature, political advocacy, public speaking, and social reform work from colonial days to the 1970’s, with a focus on primary sources. Students will apply the knowledge and methodology acquired during the course to pursue their own research interests in women’s religious history in North America. No previous study of religion, United States history, or gender theory is necessary. Enrollment Limit: 35.
Instructor: M. Kamitsuka
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RELG 270 - Islam
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
This course provides an introduction to Islam in its religious, intellectual, historical, socio-political and institutional dimensions. It provides an overview of Muslim religious traditions for purposes of further historical study and for understanding contemporary Muslim societies. Topics covered include elements that constitute Muslim traditions, cultures and identities, such as: pre-Islamic Arab society and surrounding Persian and Roman civilizations, the Prophet and the Qur’an, Islamic theology, law, devotional rituals, mysticism, mosque and madrasa. Enrollment Limit: 35.
Instructor: M. Mahallati
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RELG 272 - Introduction to the Qur’an
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
In the view of orthodox Muslims, God addresses the entire humanity through the Qur’an. This course is intended to familiarize students to the scriptural foundation of Muslim belief systems through historical, literary, and theological analysis of the text in English translation. This course will explore some of the major themes addressed in various Qur’anic chapters that helped form the social norms, beliefs, and daily practices of Muslim societies. Enrollment Limit: 35.
Instructor: J. Mahallati
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RELG 275 - Religion and Politics in the Modern Middle East
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
As the cradle of Abrahamic faiths and many world civilizations, the Middle East has been a fertile and contentious meeting place of religion and politics, especially in the modern era. This course analyses the dynamic between religion and politics focusing especially on the last fifty years. The Arab-Israeli war, the Islamic revolution in Iran, the rise of militant fundamentalism, and recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will be among the case-studies examined. Enrollment Limit: 25.
Instructor: M. Mahallati
Prerequisites & Notes
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RELG 278 - Crusade, Contact and Exchange in the Medieval Mediterranean
Next Offered: 2009-2010
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, CD
This course focuses on the rich culture of contact among the peoples of the Mediterranean throughout the medieval period. Through lectures and critical discussion of primary sources (Christian European, Muslim, and Byzantine), this course will explore the many faces of this contact, including trade, warfare, political ties, missions, art and other intellectual influences on religious thought and practice. Enrollment Limit: 30
Instructor: J. Brockopp
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RELG 281 - African Religions and Their Thought Systems
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
An introduction to the philosophical basis of African society through a study of various African Religions: Traditional Religions as well as Islam and Christianity, especially in their indigenized forms. This study will also examine the underlying nature of African religious thought, the function of myth and ritual, and the complex and profoundly sophisticated African concepts of the spiritual universe. Consideration will be given to the relationship between religion and culture in various societies. Questions will be raised regarding the different ways religion is conceived in various cultures: African and ‘non-African,’ ‘Western’ and ‘non-Western.’ Enrollment Limit: 35.
Instructor: A. G. Miller
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RELG 282 - Survey of American Christianity
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU
Introduction to major issues, figures and movements in American religious history and American Christianity. Attention will be given to persistent themes such as individualism, the search for community, religion and reform, religious conservatism and innovation, and the religious nature of American culture. Class, race, ethnicity and gender will also be addressed as we explore American religious experience in all its diversity. The goal is to better understand the place of religion in American society, and to evaluate its past impact and future role. Enrollment Limit: 35.
Instructor: A. G. Miller
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RELG 283 - Native American Religious Experience
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, CD
New course added 08.28.08.
This course will explore the various religious traditions of Native peoples in the United States, as well as their encounters with and reactions to Christian missionary efforts. We will cover the Pueblo Revolt, the Eastern Woodlands prophets, Native Christianity, The Ghost Dance, the Sun Dance, the Pueblo Dance “Controversy,” the Dreamer religion, the Native American Church, and the resurgence of traditionalism among the members of the American Indian Movement. Enrollment Limit: 25.
Instructor: A. Tarango
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RELG 284 - The History of the African-American Religious Experience
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
AAST
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
An introduction to the religious movements and institutions of African-Americans from the period of slavery to the present. Various topics including: African religions; slave religion; independent black Protestant churches; gender and race relations in American church life; politics in black churches; missionary efforts to Africa and the Caribbean; Islam, Judaism, Catholicism, Pentecostalism; the civil rights movement; modern role of religion in African-American life. Enrollment Limit: 35.
Instructor: A. G. Miller
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RELG 285 - Evangelicalism in the United States
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU
This course will explore Evangelicalism from its 19th century beginnings to the present, including: its relationship to 19th century moral controversies such as slavery, abolition, women’s rights and temperance movements; the social gospel movement; fundamentalism versus modernism; diversification as a post-WWII movement; evangelism versus social action; and the continuing issues of race, class, and gender. Reformed, Arminian, Anabaptist, Pentecostal, and Holiness traditions will also be explored. Evangelicalism will also be informed by studies from sociology of religion, psychology, and anthropology. Enrollment Limit: 35.
Instructor: A.G. Miller
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RELG 290 - The Meanings of the Memorial Arch
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 1.5HU, 1.5SS, WR
This course examines the meanings of Oberlin?s Memorial Arch in light of Oberlin?s missionary experience and the Chinese experience of Oberlin?s missionary activity. Topics to be covered include: the history of Oberlin?s missionary activity and the so-called Boxer Rebellion; Chinese experiences with Christian missionary activity; the world view of the Oberlin missionaries. The course will also include an introduction to archival research methods. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Instructor: E. Estes, D. Kamitsuka
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RELG 300 - Selected Topics in Approaches to the Study of Religion
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, WR
First Semester Description:
This course provides an opportunity for religion majors to reflect on knowledge acquired in their coursework and develop skills relevant to independent research, writing projects, oral presentations, and graduate study. Students will work to develop a fully researched prospectus for their senior capstone project. This course is offered every semester and is required for new majors. Consent of instructor required.
Second Semester Description:
This course provides an opportunity for religion majors to reflect on knowledge acquired in their coursework and develop skills relevant to independent research, writing projects, oral presentations, and graduate study. Students will work to develop a fully researched prospectus for their senior capstone project. This course is offered every semester and is required for majors declaring in or after the academic year, 2008-09. Consent of instructor required.
Instructor: M. Kamitsuka, P. Richman
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RELG 304 - History and Literature of the Ancient Near East
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD, WR
This course uses a tradition history approach to trace the midrashic and inter-textual development of biblical women as their stories are expanded through translation, retelling and homily. The textual traditions examined include the Massoretic Hebrew text, the Greek Septuagint, the Aramaic targums, the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, and early Jewish and Christian commentary. The evolving biographies include those of Eve, Rebekah, Dinah, Jezebel, and Ruth. Readings will be in English. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Instructor: C. Chapman
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RELG 321 - Seminar: Buddhism & Orientalism
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
East Asian Studies
Next Offered: 2009-2010
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, CD, WR
An examination of Buddhism’s 19th and 20th century image as refracted through Western fascination with it and Asian reinterpretation of it in the context of colonialism, modernization, and Asia’s encounter with the West. The course will survey Westerners’ discovery and perception of Buddhism in various parts of Asia, but will quickly focus on Japan as a primary setting in which Buddhism’s modern reinterpretation occurred. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Instructor: J. Dobbins
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RELG 322 - Seminar: Pure Land Buddhism
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD, WR
Unlike many forms of Buddhism, Pure Land is primarily devotional in outlook and practice. This seminar examines its origins and development, particularly in Japan. Topics include devotional practices in early Buddhism, the Pure Land scriptures, religious practices such as visualization meditation and chanting the Buddha’s name, and the teachings of Honen, Shinran, and Ippen. Enrollment limit: 15.
Instructor: J. Dobbins
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RELG 328 - Seminar: Selected Topics in the Study of Hinduism: The Ramayana Tradition in South Asia
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD, WR
Throughout Indian history many authors and performers have produced many tellings of Rama’s story (Ramkatha). The seminar explores this narrative diversity, with attention to tellings that question the texts by Valmiki and Tulsidas. Versions include women’s song cycles, puppetry performances, tellings that subvert brahmanical norms, and dramatic performances in diaspora communities. Themes explored include the effect of print culture and television on cultural perceptions of Ramayana characters. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Instructor: P. Richman
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RELG 336 - Seminar: Medieval Philosophy of Religion
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, WR
The medieval period fostered the collaborative pursuit of philosophical methods and theological questions, depending heavily on earlier neo-Platonic and Aristotelian thought. This seminar will explore medieval considerations of the nature and existence of God, creation, knowledge of God, providence and free will. Readings will be drawn from Plotinus, al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, Anselm of Canterbury, al-Ghazali, Moses Maimonides, Thomas Aquinas, and John Duns Scotus. Enrollment limit: 15.
Instructor: C. Barnes
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RELG 339 - Seminar: Key Themes in Understanding the Moral Life in Four Religious Traditions
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD, WR
Using a variety of readings from Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism, we will explore ways in which these religious traditions approach questions of ethics, particularly questions relating to how one’s religious identity and commitments can be guides to the moral life. We will focus on key themes such as identify formation, ideas of the self, divine and human freedom, and human responsibility, and highlight the complexity of religious ethics as a cross-cultural endeavor. Consent of the instructor required. Enrollment limit: 15.
Instructor: J. Babyak
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RELG 340 - Seminar in Ethical Issues in Death and Dying
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
Law and Society
Next Offered: 2009-2010
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, WRi
This course offers students the opportunity to explore religious, philosophical, and ethical concerns relating to the human condition of finitude. Course materials are drawn from writers working from religious perspectives as well as from diverse fields such as social psychology, thanatology, and fiction. Particular foci: death as an existential fact; social and medical practices surrounding death; and grief. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Instructor: J. Babyak
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RELG 343 - Seminar: Selected Topics in Modern and Contemporary Religious Thought
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, WR
A critical analysis of a significant problem in modern and contemporary religious thought, examined through the writings of selected philosophers of religion and theologians. Topic for 08-09: The Being and Nature of God. This seminar focuses on questions about the being and nature of God in light of: current scientific theories about the origins of the universe and evolution; debates regarding an adequate ecological theology, the problem of evil (theodicy), and the challenge of global interreligious dialogue among theist and nontheist philosophers and religious thinkers. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment limit: 15.
Instructor: D. Kamitsuka
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RELG 353 - Moses Maimonides: Philosophy and Law
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD, WR
Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) is the pivotal thinker of the Jewish middle ages. He is the author of the most influential work of Jewish philosophy, The Guide of the Perplexed, and the most comprehensive code of Jewish law, the Mishneh Torah. These works have engendered both controversy and commentary from the 12th century through the 20th century. This seminar will focus on selected Maimonidean texts together with classical commentaries and modern scholarship. Enrollment limit: 12.
Instructor: A. Socher
Prerequisites & Notes
All readings in English.
Cross List Information
This course is cross-listed with JWST 353
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RELG 354 - Seminar: Spinoza: Philosophy, Heresy and Modern Judaism
Next Offered: 2009-2010
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, WR
The great modern philosopher and bible critic Baruch Spinoza (1632-77) was excommunicated by the Jewish community of Amsterdam and is often described as the first modern or secular Jew. This seminar will examine Spinoza’s writings, especially the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, and writings about Spinoza. It will focus not only on Spinoza’s life and thought but the way in which he anticipated some of the central issues of Jewish modernity, such as the authority of religious tradition and the question of Jewish identity in the modern state. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Instructor: A. Socher
Cross List Information
This course is cross-listed with JWST 354
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RELG 366 - Seminar: Feminist Interpretations of Evil
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
GSFS
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, WR
Against the backdrop of traditional Western philosophical and theological debates of evil and good, sin, theodicy, and suffering, this seminar examines how current scholars are revisiting this subjeect in light of feminist issues and methodologies. One of the course’s objectives will be to evaluate the extent to which feminist approaches to evil shed new light on issues such as theodicy, the nature of God, sin, and radical suffering. Consent of the instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Instructor: M. Kamitsuka
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RELG 373 - Islamic Mystic Traditions and Literature
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, CD, WR
New Course added 10.29.2008.
This seminar examines Sufism as both an esoteric and a devotional tradition, along with its relevance to modern Muslim life. Topics covered include the theory and history of ascetic movements, Sufi schools and institutions from classical to the modern times. Emphasis will be on reading and discussing selective and representative prose and poetry produced by great Sufi masters such as Ibn Arabi, Attar and Rumi as well as literary figures like Sa’di and Hafez. The course will also explore experiential, artistic and musical dimensions of Sufi-oriented religiosity. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Instructor: M. Mahallati
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RELG 384 - Seminar: The Black Theology Movement
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
AAST
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
An intensive study of the Black Theology movement as a theology of liberation. Topics will include responses to the movement: the white theological community; critiques from within the black theological and church community; Black Christian Nationalism and the Nation of Islam; issues of gender and class; dialogue with other liberation theology movements, such as Latin American and African theorists; and its past and present relationship with and attempts to challenge the modern black church towards social action. Enrolllment limit: 15.
Instructor: A. G. Miller
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RELG 385 - Seminar: Selected Topics in American Religious History
Next Offered: 2010-2011
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, WR
The seminar is an advanced study of selected themes, movements, and personalities in American religious life. Topic for 2007-2008: Pentecostalism. One hundred years ago, in 1906, a revival emerged in a small African American house church in Los Angeles that would spark the Pentecostal explosion in America and around the world and become known as the “Third Wave” of Christianity. This course will explore Pentecostalism as a religious and social movement. The class will analyze Pentecostalism from different methodological approaches: historical, theological, and the social sciences. The seminar will examine various topics, including class, race, ethnicity, gender, spirituality, Charismatics, and the internationalization of the movement. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Instructor: A.G. Miller
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RELG 400 - Senior Capstone Colloquium
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 2-4 hours
Attribute: 2 - 4 HU
This colloquium is a team-taught advanced course where students work on a substantive independent research project while also participating in a colloquium setting to discuss the research process and engage in peer review and interdisciplinary exchange with department faculty. This course is offered every semester and is required for majors declaring in or after the academic year, 2008-09. Consent of the instructor required.
Instructor: M. Kamitsuka, J. Babyak, P. Richman
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RELG 401 - Senior Honors
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 2-5 hours
Attribute: 2-5HU, WR
Consent of instructor required.
Instructor: D. Kamitsuka
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RELG 995 - Private Reading
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 0.5-3 hours
Attribute: 0.5-3HU
Independent study of a subject beyond the range of catalog course offerings. Signed permission of the instructor required.
Instructor: J. Babyak, C. Barnes, C. Chapman, J. Dobbins, D. Kamitsuka, M. Kamitsuka, A. G. Miller, A. Socher, Staff
Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisite: Completion of basic coursework in the selected topic area. Note: Available to junior and senior majors.
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RHET 101 - Entering Discourse Communities: Writing for College and Beyond
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, WR
This course aims to form a writer’s community that will explore the various discourses in which class members participate. We will approach writing as real communication among group members rather than artificial practicing of skills. The course will include readings on writing processes as well as essays on varied topics. There will be weekly writing assignments and regular conferences with the instructor to review drafts and revisions. Most classes will be peer response workshops. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Instructor: L. Podis
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RHET 102 - Writing for College & Beyond
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, WR
In the writing they do for college, students are asked to analyze and critique arguments, conduct research, and develop fluency in a number of forms and discourses, among other things. This writing course is designed to immerse students in the practice of writing for college and beyond and engages them in the practical and creative aspects of research. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Instructor: N. Boutilier
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RHET 103 - College Writing: Motives and Methods
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, WR
In this course students explore their writing processes, learn how to read more critically, write in a variety of forms and develop research skills. The class serves as a writing community in which to discuss essays and writing strategies and share written work. Assignments are designed to challenge students and involve them in the kinds of reading, writing, and research that will serve them well at Oberlin and in their lives outside the college. Enrollment limit: 14.
Instructor: N. Boutilier
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RHET 104 - Writing about a Topic: Queering the Reel
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD, COLQ, WR
A course for first or second-year students interested in developing their skills in college writing by examining issues of sexual orientation and gender in film. Films addressing representation of sexual identifications, homophobia and heterosexism, and community building will provide topics for reading and writing. Students will explore these topics and their relation to race, class, and historical context through writing both personal and academic essays. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Instructor: J. Cooper
Prerequisites & Notes
Note: CR/NE or P/NP grading.
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RHET 106 - Journalism Basics
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
CRWR
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, WR
This course will cover basic reporting, news and features writing, and ethics in journalism. In addition to course writing assignments, publishing at least two stories in an approved campus publication will be required for one hour of credit, four stories for two hours of credit. Enrollment Limit: 15 (10 places a semester reserved for first-year students).
Instructor: J. Cooper
Prerequisites & Notes
Note: CR/NE or P/NP grading. Open to all students. lll
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RHET 107 - Practicum in Journalism
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
CRWR
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 1-2 hours
Attribute: 1-2HU
Through this course students earn academic credit working for an approved journalistic publication on campus. The course does not meet as a class, but students are expected to attend all required staff meetings and fulfill the assignments made by their editors. Students can earn a maximum of four hours credit toward graduation (a maximum of six hours credit for editors).
Instructor: J. Cooper
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RHET 206 - Narrative Non-Fiction
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
CRWR
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, WR
An advanced writing workshop intended for juniors and seniors with strong writing skills interested in exploring literature’s ‘fourth genre,’ the essay. We will study the history of the essay and recent varieties of non-fiction writing, alternately labeled narrative non-fiction, literary journalism or creative non-fiction. Students will have the opportunity to write on a range of topics and experiment with different styles. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Instructor: A. Trubek
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RHET 305 - Grant Proposal and Report Writing
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, WR
Sooner or later many professionals find themselves applying for grants. This course covers the basics of researching funding sources, writing proposals, and setting up and writing evaluation reports for projects. Students will learn to use the Cleveland Foundation Center?s database and work on a grant proposal to fund a community-based project in their area of interest. Instruction includes individual attention to fundamental college-level writing skills. Especially useful for artists, scientists, and community activists. Enrollment limit: 15.
Instructor: J. Cooper
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RHET 401 - Teaching and Tutoring Writing Across the Disciplines
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, WR
A course in which students will tutor at the writing center or assist one of the writing-intensive courses offered in various disciplines while studying composition theory and pedagogy. In the process of helping to educate others, students work toward a fuller understanding of their own educational experiences, particularly in writing. Enrollment Limit: 12.
Instructor: L. Podis, A. Trubek
Prerequisites & Notes
Notes: CR/NE or P/NP grading. Prior journalism instruction (including RHET 106) is not necessary for this course. Juniors or seniors who write well, regardless of major, are encouraged to apply. Consent of instructor required. Note: Students enrolling in RHET 401 or ENGL 399 should also enroll in RHET 402, Tutoring Lab.
Cross List Information
This course is cross-listed with ENGL 399.
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RHET 402 - Tutoring Lab
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 0-1 hours
Attribute: 0-1HU
Students working in the Writing Associates Program will meet monthly to discuss tutoring experiences, logistical issues and occasional readings. Tutors will further develop their skills, help to shape the program, and participate in the larger community of Writing Associates. Required for all Writing Associates, including those currently enrolled in RHET 401 or ENGL 399. The one-credit hour option is for tutors who wish to implement a project to improve resources for or awareness of the Writing Associates Program. Consent of instructor required.
Instructor: L. Podis
Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in, or prior completion of, RHET 401 or ENGL 399. Notes: Tutors may repeat this course for a maximum of four hours toward graduation. P/NP grading.
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RHET 900 - OCEAN: College Writing
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 1-3 hours
Through this course students earn academic credit working for an approved journalistic publication on campus. The course does not meet as a class, but students are expected to attend all required staff meetings and fulfill the assignments made by their editors. Students can earn a maximum of four hours credit toward graduation (a maximum of six hours credit for editors). Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 90.
Instructor: Staff
Prerequisites & Notes
Notes: CR/NE or P/NP grading.
Prior journalism instruction (including RHET 106) is not necessary for this course.
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RHET 995 - Private Reading
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 0.5-3 hours
Attribute: 0.5-3HU
Signed permission of the instructor required.
Instructor: N. Boutilier, J. Cooper, L. McMillin, L. Podis, A. Trubek
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RUSS 101 - Elementary Russian
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 5 hours
Attribute: 5HU, CD
An introduction to contemporary Russian, providing students with basic cultural literacy and an active command of the fundamentals of the language: speaking, understanding, reading, and writing. We employ a wide variety of authentic materials (literary and web-based texts, videos, movies, cartoons, music) as a window into the vibrant reality of modern Russia. Regular language lab work. Enrollment Limit: 25.
Instructor: A. Forman, S. Stefani
Prerequisites & Notes
Note: Students who cannot begin Elementary Russian in the fall may place into RUSS 102 by successfully completing Winter Term Intensive Russian.
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RUSS 102 - Elementary Russian
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 5 hours
Attribute: 5HU, CD
An introduction to contemporary Russian, providing students with basic cultural literacy and an active command of the fundamentals of the language: speaking, understanding, reading, and writing. We employ a wide variety of authentic materials (literary and web-based texts, videos, movies, cartoons, music) as a window onto the vibrant reality of modern Russia. Regular language lab work. Enrollment Limit: 25.
Instructor: S. Stefani
Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisite: RUSS 101 or equivalent is prerequisite for RUSS 102. Note: Students who cannot begin Elementary Russian in the fall may place into RUSS 102 by successfully completing Winter Term Intensive Russian.
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RUSS 130 - Crises in the Caucasus:History and Identity Among the Highlanders
Semester Offered: Second Semester, First Module
Credits (Range): 1 Hour
Attribute: 1 SS
New Course Added 02.6.2009.
This course will examine several minority populations of the North and South Caucasus regions in terms of their national identity and relationship to the state. A guest scholar from Adygei State University in the south of Russia will provide a general introduction to the culture and history of the Adygei (Circassian) people. Additional lectures and readings will expand treatment to include perspectives from other Caucasian nationalities. Independent research will allow students to place recent headline news of conflicts in the Caucasus into a broader historical perspective.
Instructor: A. Blasko
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RUSS 131 - Russian Mythology
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 1 Hour
Attribute: 1 HU
New Course Added 01.16.2009.
In this course we will discuss the roots of Russian mythology, folklore, beliefs and traditions. Students will read Russian fairy tails, myths, songs and other materials and analyze them from the point of view of archetype, psychology, structural analysis and gender. The main aim of the course is to give a general picture of how Slavic tribes saw the universe and the way it was built. We will trace old Slavic traditions, compare them with the traditions of their neighbors and see how these traditions are still refelected in modern times.
Instructor: K. Troshina
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RUSS 203 - Intermediate Russian
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
Review and refinement of the essentials of grammar and vocabulary, and continued development of reading, aural/oral skills, and writing through a variety of texts that further expand cultural competence.
Instructor: T. Scholl
Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisite: RUSS 102 or equivalent. Note: Students must also enroll in RUSS 205/206.
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RUSS 204 - Intermediate Russian
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
First (203) and Second (204) Semester. Review and refinement of the essentials of grammar and vocabulary, and continued development of reading, aural/oral skills, and writing through a variety of texts that further expand cultural competence.
Instructor: T. Scholl
Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisite: RUSS 102 or equivalent. Note: Students must also enroll in RUSS 205/206.
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RUSS 205 - Conversational Russian
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 1 hour
Attribute: 1HU, CD
Regular systematic opportunity to speak Russian. Everyday topics or dialogs. Small groups. Two meetings per week.
Instructor: A. Blasko
Prerequisites & Notes
Note: Required for students enrolled in RUSS 203/204.
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RUSS 206 - Conversational Russian
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 1 hour
Attribute: 1HU, CD
First (205) and Second (206) Semester. Regular systematic opportunity to speak Russian. Everyday topics or dialogs. Small groups. Two meetings per week.
Instructor: A. Blasko
Prerequisites & Notes
Note: Required for students enrolled in RUSS 203/204.
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RUSS 210 - Soviet Blockbusters
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
Cinemas Studies
Semester Offered: Second Semester, Second Module
Credits (Range): 1 to 2 Hours
Attribute: 1 to 2 HU, CD, WR
A course that boldly goes where no traditional Soviet film course has gone before. Our mission: to seek out and explore those movies beloved by generations of viewers back in the USSR. These classics include war movies, musicals, Soviet “easterns,” comedies, and “chick-flicks.” Our goal: to determine the basis of their popularity through an examination of their aesthetics and their surrounding social and political context.
Instructor: A. Forman
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RUSS 212 - Russian Blockbusters
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
Cinema Studies
Next Offered: 2009-2010
Semester Offered: TBA
Credits (Range): 1 to 2 Hours
Attribute: 1 to 2 HU, CD, WR
This course focuses on Russian film after the fall of the Soviet Union and the Soviet film industry. We will examine the aesthetic and socio-political dimensions of post- Soviet comedies, epic and costume dramas, gangster films, fantasy and other genres in order to explore the pressures facing new Russian cinema.
Instructor: A. Forman
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RUSS 213 - Russian Modernism: The Aesthetic Utopia
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
CMPL
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD, WR
The decades that preceded and followed Russia’s 1917 revolution witnessed an unprecedented artistic explosion as Russian writers, artists, composers and choreographers assumed leading roles among the European avant-garde. This course will explore their innovations and the inter-relationships among the various disciplines that characterized the aesthetic utopia known as Russian modernism.
Instructor: T. Scholl
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RUSS 215 - The Meaning of Life: Dispatches from Nineteenth-Century Russia
Next Offered: 2009-2010
Semester Offered: TBA
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, CD, WR
Life was grim in nineteenth century Russia! Faced with an oppressive political system, overwhelming evidence of suffering, poverty, and appalling ignorance, the imperfectability of human nature and the messiness of personal relationships, and, finally, the specter of death, Russian writers had ample opportunity to ponder the meaning – and meaningless – of existence. Their attempts to grapple with the “cursed questions” of life gave rise to an extraordinarily rich existentialist tradition. Drawing on classic works by Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov and others, the course will take a sane, upbeat, and irreverent approach to some timeless and very serious issues.
Instructor: T. Newlin
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RUSS 216 - The Family Novel in Nineteenth-century Russia
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD, WR
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” Tolstoy wrote in his famous opening to Anna Karenina. Most nineteenth-century Russian writers explored the conflicts of family life, and some of the major ideological debates of the century were waged on the pages of the family novel. Besides Anna Karenina, readings for the course will include Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons, Saltykov-Shchedrin’s The Golovlev Family, and works by radical writers who envisioned the end of the traditional family. Enrollment limit: 25.
Instructor: S. Stefani
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RUSS 218 - Altered States: Sex, Drugs, & Rock ‘n Roll in Modern Russian Culture
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, WR, CD
New Course Added 11.07.2008.
In 1890, Leo Tolstoy posed the question: “Why do people wish to stupefy themselves?” In this class, we will examine three of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries’ favorite methods of stupefaction – sex, drugs, and rock music – and their function in modern Russian culture. We will look at works by authors such as Tolstoy, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Evgeny Zamyatin, and the rock group Kino, including poetry, prose, film, and music. Enrollment Limit: 25.
Instructor: S. Stefani
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RUSS 220 - Russian Visual Culture
Next Offered: 2009-2010
Semester Offered: TBA
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, CD, WR
This course will explore Russia’s long and rich tradition of visual experimentation and innovation. While much of our focus will be on painting (from fourteenth century icons up to late twentieth century Sotsart kitsch), we will look at a wide range of other visual forms (maps, domestic albums, shop signs, books, photographs) as we attempt to determine how a Russian “way of seeing” both intersects with and diverges from a more Western (European-American) “way of seeing.”
Instructor: T. Newlin
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RUSS 305 - Russian Civilization From Rurik to the Golden Age
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
This advanced language course investigates the roots of Russian culture, from Kievan Rus’ through the rise of the Russian Empire. Readings in the original develop specialized vocabulary in history, literature, music and the arts. Assignments focus on advanced syntax and semantics to refine grammatical usage.
Instructor: A. Blasko
Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisite: RUSS 204 or equivalent or consent of the instructor.
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RUSS 306 - Russian Civilization from Pre-Revolution to Post Soviet Russia
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
This advanced language course explores topics in Russian history, politics and literature from the Silver Age through the 1990’s. Readings in the original introduce major influences in theater, film and belles lettres. Assignments focus on expanding written and oral fluency through advanced grammar topics.
Instructor: A. Blasko
Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisite: RUSS 204 or equivalent.
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RUSS 309 - Advanced Conversation and Composition
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 1 hour
Attribute: 1HU, CD
Regular systematic opportunity for third-year students to speak Russian. Cultural and everyday topics. One meeting per week. Recommended for all third-year students.
Instructor: A. Blasko
Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisites: RUSS 204 and RUSS 206 or consent of instructor. Notes: Required for majors enrolled in RUSS 305/306. May be repeated for credit. P/NP/CR/NE grading only.
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RUSS 310 - Advanced Conversational Russian
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 1 hour
Attribute: 1HU, CD
Regular systematic opportunity for third-year students to speak Russian. Cultural and everyday topics. One meeting per week.
Instructor: A. Blasko
Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisites: RUSS 204 and RUSS 206 or consent of instructor. Notes: Required for majors enrolled in RUSS 305/306. May be repeated for credit. P/NP/CR/NE grading only. Recommended for all third-year students.
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RUSS 326 - Literature of Dissent from Stalin to the Present
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 to 4 hours
Attribute: 3-4 HU, CD, WR
This course is canceled effective 01.16.2009.
An examination of the development of literary dissent in the USSR from the dream of an era of High Stalinism through the Krushchev, Brezhnev, and Gorbachev years to the post-Soviet period. Reading and discussion of works by official, dissident, and émigré writers including Akhmatova, Bulgakov, Solzhenitsyn, Dovlatov, Iskander, Petrushevskaia and Pelevin.
Instructor: A. Forman
Prerequisites & Notes
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RUSS 329 - Literature and the Land: Nature Writing in Russia and America
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
ENVS, CMPL
Next Offered: 2010-2011
Semester Offered: TBA
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, CD, WR
An examination of nature writing and forms of literary pastoralism, agrarianism, and primitivism in Russia and America. Topics include: the psychological and historical roots of the dream of an earthly paradise; the forms and evolution of nature writing; literature and the rise of an environmental consciousness; models of nature as garden and wilderness; literary constructions of “natural man” and “natural woman”; the literary and cultural feminization of nature; the politics of landscape; environmentalism and nationalism. Readings will include poems, novels, short stories, essays, and literary and cultural criticism.
Instructor: T. Newlin
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RUSS 332 - Northern Naturalism: Chekhov, Ibsen, Strindberg
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
CMPL
Next Offered: 2009-2010
Semester Offered: TBA
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, WR
Three writers from northern Europe dominated and revitalized drama in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. We will read major and lesser-known works by Anton Chekhov, Henrik Ibsen, and August Strindberg to examine the particularly northern mode of theatrical naturalism they developed. We will consider adaptations of their works and reactions to their writings, including the symbolist dramas that functioned as both revolt and response to these authors’ plays. Lecture and discussion format.
Instructor: T. Scholl
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RUSS 411 - Special Topics: Reactions to the Russian Revolution
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
This course focuses on the representation of women in contemporary Russian fiction, film, and popular media, exploring such issues as family dynamics/motherhood, sexuality, work, and women’s relationship to the state. Readings will include works by several prominent contemporary female authors (Petrushevskaia, Ulitskaia, Vasilenko, Tolstaia), as well a detektiv (featuring Russia’s first female detective) by Aleksandra Marinina. The course will also look at the contribution of women to contemporary Russian rock and pop music.
Instructor: S. Stefani
Prerequisites & Notes
RUSS 305 and 306 (or concurrent enrollment) or the equivalent.
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RUSS 446 - Senior Seminar: Perspectives on Contemporary Russian Culture
This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
Cinema Studies
Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 hours
Attribute: 3HU, CD
We will study recent film and literature in an attempt to understand the dynamics of the Putin era. Seminar format.
Instructor: A. Forman
Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisite: RUSS 411 or consent of the instructor. Note: May be repeated for credit.
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RUSS 505 - Honors in Russian
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 1-6 hours
Attribute: 1-6HU
Consent of instructor required.
Instructor: A. Forman, T. Newlin, T. Scholl
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RUSS 995 - Private Reading
Semester Offered: First Semester, Second Semester
Credits (Range): 0.5-3 hours
Attribute: 0.5-3HU, CD
Signed permission of the instructor required.
Instructor: A. Blasko, A. Forman, T. Newlin, T. Scholl
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