Course Descriptions & Archive

SEMESTER: Summer Session I

COURSE TITLE: Introduction to Islam

COURSE NUMBER/SECTION: THST 6998

TIMES/DAYS: M & W, 4:00-7:00pm

INSTRUCTOR: Saqib Hussain

COURSE DESCRIPTION/PRINCIPAL TOPICS:
This course will present an overview of the ideas and practices that have shaped the religion of Islam, with a particular focus on primary sources. This will include the scripture, theology, rituals, and the formative period of Islamic history. We begin by looking at the history of Arabia and the Near East, in particular the status of Judaism and Christianity (the two religions with which Islam has engaged most profoundly, from its scripture to the present day), in the centuries leading up to the beginning of Islam. We move on to the life of Muhammad and the sacred texts that he left behind: the Qur’an (the scripture proclaimed by Muhammad) and the hadith (orally reported sayings about Muhammad). We look at the early spread of Islam, including the establishment of a new political system (the caliphate), the conquests of neighboring empires, and the civil wars within the community that would eventually lead to the split between the Sunnis and the Shi’a, the two main sects of Islam. We proceed to study the various disciplines that Muslims developed to systematize and organize their religious tradition, including Islamic Law, Islamic theology and philosophy, and Sufism. We finish by examining the variety of Muslim reactions to the challenges of modernity, and look at how liberal, modernist, and conservative voices are thinking about questions of gender and sexuality, war and violence, democracy, personal liberty, and legal reform.

SEMESTER: Summer Session II

COURSE TITLE: Faith and Culture

COURSE NUMBER/SECTION: THST 6043

TIMES/DAYS: M & W, 4:00-7:00pm

INSTRUCTOR: Brett Hoover

COURSE DESCRIPTION/PRINCIPAL TOPICS:
For this course, we will be taking our academic study of the intersection of faith and culture out into the field in Guatemala from July 19-26 with a weeklong educational immersion experience. We will examine Catholic responses to indigenous Mayan cultures and communities, from colonial days through government persecution during the Armed Internal Conflict of the 1980s and into contemporary attempts to come to terms with the past and remake Guatemalan relationships to Mayan traditions and spiritualities. Under the guidance of our in-country team and hearing the testimony of experts and Mayan leaders, we will wrestle with inculturation, indigenous cosmology, liberation theology, historical memory, syncretism, and martyrdom.

The trip to Guatemala is required for the course and will necessitate a lab fee of $2,000. Significant scholarship assistance is available.

SEMESTER: Summer Session II

COURSE TITLE: Bible and Comedy

COURSE NUMBER/SECTION: THST 6998

TIMES/DAYS: T & Th, 4:00-7:00pm

INSTRUCTOR: Sarah Emanuel

COURSE DESCRIPTION/PRINCIPAL TOPICS:
What does the Bible have to do with comedy? Is it blasphemous to laugh with--or at--biblical texts? This course investigates the role of humor in biblical narrative. It focuses on how the biblical author's relied on comedy as a method of communal identity formation and political dissent. Students will learn that, akin to the modern political cartoon, comedy in the Bible can range from the fun or funny to the serious and tendencious. In conversation with comedy arts today, they will also consider how the Bible's "punching" is felt differently depending upon the humorist, audience, and intended target(s). Don't believe the Bible has comedy? Take the course and find out for yourself!