Graduate Courses offered at the University of Manitoba

FALL 2013


RLGN 7080 A01 –Seminar in Research Methods and Theory 

This course is an examination of the history of the study of religion in Europe and North America since the Seventeenth century. Readings trace the conceptual and institutional development of the study of religion while exploring the range of theoretical perspectives to which this development has given rise. Seminars and class discussions will focus on the methods and theories used by scholars to explain, discover, or invent religion.

Instructor: K. MacKendrick
Wednesday 2:30-5:30

RLGN 7190 A01-Seminar in Religion and Philosophy
 
Taking its title from Elisabeth Weber’s (2013) collection, this seminar focuses on the terms “learning to live” and “together” at a time when, as Weber puts it in the Introduction to her text, “globalization renders ever more fragile the possibility (and meaning)” of these terms. We are particularly interested in contemporary engagements with traditional concepts of “animality,” “community,” “democracy,” “family,” “nation,” and “friendship” – all of these in relation to the question whether one can live together only with one’s likes, or one’s compeers; that is, whether community presupposes some fundamental “being-in-common.” The course texts scheduled for reading, in whole or in part, are: Jean-Christophe Bailly, The Animal Side, trans. Catherine Porter (Fordham, 2011); Judith Butler, Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence (Verso, 2004); René Descartes, Discourse On Method, trans. Donald Cress (Hackett Pub. Co., 1999); Jacques Derrida, Learning to Live Finally, trans. Pascale-Anne Brault and Michael Naas (Melville House, 2007); Jacques Derrida, Politics of Friendship, trans. George Collins (Verso, 1997); Elisabeth Weber, ed. Living Together (Fordham, 2013).

Instructor: D. McCance
Tuesday 2:30-5:30

RLGN 7300 A01—Religion and Culture-"Mystical and Profane Love in the Islamic Tradition"
 
Love is one of the major themes of Islamic literature. Drawing upon mystical, philosophical, and theological accounts as well as literary works, this course will explore how Muslim authors articulate competing definitions of Islam as a “culture” and Islam as a “religion” in their discussions of the types of love, gender relations, and sexuality.  Particular attention will also be paid to current methodological approaches in the study of Islam and Religious Studies.  Readings for the course will include selections (in English translation) from Arabic poetry and literature (Abu Nuwas and Jahiz), Islamic philosophy and theology (Abu Bakr al-Zakariyya al-Razi, Ibn Sina and Ibn Hazm), Sufism (Hakim al-Tirmidhi, al-Daylami, Ibn al-‘Arabi and Rumi), and contemporary Arabic novels (al-Tayyib Salih and Hanan al-Shaykh).

Instructor: E. Alexandrin
Monday 2:30-5:30


WI NTER 2014


RLGN 7140 A01—Seminar in Buddhism

This is an upper-level seminar focused on early Mahāyāna as it developed from roughly the first century BCE through roughly the fourth century CE. Topics covered include pre-Mahāyāna literature; the origin of Mahāyāna; the nature of the Mahāyāna and its relationship to the various monastic lineages or nikāyas; and Mahāyāna literature, thought, and praxis. To a large extent this class is about looking across time and space in an attempt to get as clear as possible a vision of another, very foreign, world. It aims to help students develop their ability to think insightfully about difficult interpretive problems, avoiding credulity and simple solutions.

Instructor: D. Drewes
Tuesday 2:30-5:30

RLGN 7160 A01— Seminar in Judaism -“Advanced Studies in Talmud”

An in-depth exploration of the stories, laws and arguments of the Talmud, the most important text in Jewish thought and life after the Bible. The course will introduce the experience of textual study in traditional Jewish modes, and will also approach the Talmud from contemporary scholarly perspectives, with attention to narrative, gender dynamics, environmental ethics, and spirituality. Prior study of Judaism or the Talmud will be helpful but is not required, since unfamiliarity with the subject brings with it fresh and useful perspectives.

Instructor: J. Lewis
Thursday 2:30-5:30

RLGN 7270 A01—Seminar in Christianity

This seminar considers the views of medieval women on sin and soteriology against the backdrop of Christian theology. In addition to a struggle between the vices and the virtues within the soul, salvation was generally understood to require grace, instruction, as well as repentance and penance for sin. Yet, women writers sometimes challenged this path as well as the moral order it suggested. As we explore their methods and aims, we will trace the contours of research on women, gender and sexuality as it relates to our investigation. Marguerite Porete, Hadewijch of Brabant and Julian of Norwich will be among the authors studied.

Instructor: D. Dubois
Wednesday 2:30-5:30

Graduate Courses offered at the University of Winnipeg (Joint Master's Program only)

FALL 2013

REL 7901: Religious Critics of Modernity

This seminar course explores the phenomenon of “modernity” through the eyes of a selection of contemporary religious thinkers, e.g. Hannah Arendt and Charles Taylor. Students explore a range of interconnected questions. What is modernity? What does it mean to say that the modern world is “secular”? How do modern phenomena, such as technology and bureaucracy, influence contemporary moral and political life? How does religion contribute—constructively or problematically—to the phenomenon of modernity? How does modernity impinge on the lives of modern religionists? Is it appropriate to speak of “modernity” or a multiplicity of “modernities”? The course engages these questions and related themes.

Instructor: Colorado
Thursday 2:30-5:15

REL 7901: Feminism, Judaism and Christianity

This course explores the relationship between the feminist movement and Judaism and Christianity with special attention given to the meaning of gender from a religious perspective as it is explored by feminist religious writers. Beginning with late 19th century women’s movements and concluding with postmodern challenges to both religious and feminist discourses, this course will survey the manner in which feminism both resisted religious conservatism and accompanied religious change.

Instructor: Barter-Moulaison
Date and Time TBD

WI NTER 2014

REL 7902: Aboriginal Women's Teachings

Aboriginal worldviews and ceremonies are, in general, gender inclusive. However, certain ceremonies and teachings, often referred to as "women’s teachings," are specific to Aboriginal women. In addition, due to historical circumstances, the importance of women in worldview and ceremony has often been overlooked or sublimated in the written sources. This course examines the teachings, ceremonies, and issues related to Aboriginal women. Written sources by and about Aboriginal women and Aboriginal women’s teachings are examined and local Aboriginal women Elders and traditional people are invited to speak to the class as oral sources.

Instructor: Ruml
Wednesday 2:30-5:15

REL-7902: Issues in the Interpretation of the Qur'an

In this seminar, some of the issues pertaining to Qur’anic interpretation (exegesis) are discussed. After gaining an understanding of the book as a scripture, the history and the development of its exegetical venture is traced. Approaches of both classical and modern Muslim commentators on the Qur’an are explored. The Orientalists’ approach to the Qur’an and its interpretation is also examined. For practical concerns, this course deals with the interpretation of the Qur’an in a broader context. Examples include the Qur’anic commentaries on Moses and Jesus.

Instructor: TBA
Tuesday 2:30-5:15