3000

Buddhism from its origins in India and its thought, practices, and institutions in Asia up to the present.

A broad introduction to Buddhism from its beginnings in India and its spread throughout South Asia (Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Nepal) in pre-modern times until the modern period.

Buddhism from its initial arrival into Tibet and its thought, practices, and institutions in Tibet and the Tibetan cultural area up to the present.

Zen Buddhism from its origins as Chan Buddhism in China to its transmission to Korea and Japan and the evolution of its thought, practices, and institutions in China, Korea, and Japan, and its coming to America.

Hinduism from its origins in South Asia and its thought, practices, and institutions in South Asia and elsewhere up to the present.

This course will explore the varieties of media as vehicles for discussing, showcasing, or critiquing religion. This includes "the media" (news), media as platforms (print, TV, Web, etc.), and online religious practice. This course will address questions such as: Are regional variations of religion becoming more globalized? how do media shape the ways we view religious traditions outside our own? How do new methods of communications, socialization, and organization affect religious institutions or religious practice? Are all religious traditions able to have a "virtual" presense? Students will be blogging as well as writing traditional essays.

Science and religion have a historically contentious relationship, usually being posited as polar opposites: reason vs faith, rational through vs emotion, etc. Yet science fiction and religion come together quite easily and effectively, to discuss pertinent religious and ethical topics which speak to our present and future as humanity. From the progression of technology and medicin, to the possibilities of contact with alien civilizations, science fiction is perhaps the most effective literary genre for engaging discourses of religion and philosophy. This course will examine the relationship between science fiction and religion, exploring the common themes at which the two intersect and methods by which science fiction critiques, explores, or disseminates religious ideas through fiction, film, and other media.

Consideration of topics in which courses are not otherwise offered, but for which there is current need.