Course Schedule for Summer 2018

Found of American Constitution

Note: For students in the Madison program only.

Foundation: Pilgrimage, Travel, Tourism

“Only thoughts reached while walking have value,” wrote Nietzsche. Religions seem to have a similar view. Pilgrimage has been a wide-spread aspect of most religions, through most historical periods. This course will examine the relation of travel (in its many guises) to religion from pilgrimage to common tourism. Classic and contemporary theories of pilgrimage will provide the backdrop. The majority of the course, however, will focus on the present day and on contexts that are not explicitly religious by reading travel accounts by Henry Miller, Alphonso Lingis, and Jack Gilbert, as well as five films. The point of the course, then, is to examine why travel is so important religiously and how all travel, even tourism, is religiously significant.

Note: This course meets the MALS foundation requirement. Attendance at first class session is advised.

Gender/Identity: Ancient Rome

Our understanding of any society is enhanced by an awareness of how it thinks about sexuality and gender. The sexual act itself is often categorized in polar terms—such as “(un)natural” or “culturally constructed”—that reveal much about a society’s political, religious, and moral codes. Ancient Rome was no different. This course will examine ways in which ancient Roman society slotted sexual behavior into such categories, and/or used (or did not use) these extreme polarities as a way to formulate codes of social and sexual behavior. By the end of the course, students will have a clearer understanding of large dynamics of ancient Roman culture, and perhaps even of their own world.

Becoming American: Immigration in Historical Perspective

MALS Thesis Prop. Wksp. (HT)

Effective Fall 2013, (a) this course will carry an automatic program fee of $500, (b) may only be taken once after receiving an "Incomplete" in Thesis Writing, and (c) has been re-numbered from 991/992. If students do not complete Thesis Writing, s/he must register in the next semester in "MALS Thesis Continuous Registration I" which carries a $500 fee charge, is 0-credits and is part-time status. Students may take "MALS Thesis Continuous Reg. I" only once. If the student decides to withdraw from Thesis Writing before the deadline, s/he can pursue the 36-cr./Coursework degree plan. No exceptions will be considered.

Note: Must have completed 7 courses (21 crs); must have 3.0 cum GPA. Must have confirmed thesis mentor and topic prior to enrollment and must attend all 4 workshop sessions: May 24, June 7, June 21, and July 5.

Religion and Conflict

Religious terrorism is on the rise. Even a cursory glance at world affairs will show that religion and politics is at the heart of today’s ongoing struggle between nations and ideol-ogy. Religion may be a motivator and catalyst in rallying popular support for waging war, and in fact may play a significant role in nurturing communal strife among various faith groups in their struggle to achieve governmental control. This course is designed to acquaint students with the analytical study of religion, politics, conflict and religious terrorism on the world stage. By design, the course is interdiscipli-nary, covering areas in religion (theology/philosophy), sociology (ethno-religious & iden-tity conflicts), ethics and politics. Students will have an opportunity to focus on one or more of these areas for their semester paper. This course will help students comprehend the global resurgence of religion in intra-state and international affairs, and will focus on specific areas in the world where religion is the primary issue. Through classroom lecture and discussion, reading assignments, media and student presen-tations, we will address the role religion and politics play in various global conflicts, the determination of whether religion is the basis of a given conflict, and possible resolutions to these conflicts.

Note: Attendance at first class session is strongly advised.