2019-2020 Academic Catalog 
    
    May 15, 2024  
2019-2020 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Course Descriptions


Courses at Furman are typically identified by codes separated into three distinct parts. The first segment designates the academic subject of the course, the second component relates to the level of instruction, and the final element (when displayed) assists with the identification of the meeting times and location for individual course sections.

Credit bearing undergraduate courses typically are numbered between 100 and 599, graduate instruction is typically numbered between 600 and 999, while zero credit experiences frequently have numbers between 001 and 099. Undergraduates can further expect courses numbers to reflect:

100-299 introductory courses, geared to freshmen and sophomores
300-499 advanced courses, designed for majors and other students with appropriate background and/or prerequisites
500-599 individualized instruction, including internships, research, independent study, and music performance studies
 

Religion

  
  • REL-214 Apocalypse


    An examination of the apocalyptic genre, including its literary, cultural, and historical features as well as its theological motifs. Focus on apocalyptic texts in the Hebrew Bible, the Christian Scriptures, and non-canonical documents. The appropriation of apocalyptic themes throughout history in artistic forms such as art, fiction, and film, with particular attention to how apocalyptic thinking continues to shape 21st century ways of being in the world. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-216 Digital Bible


    GER: TA (critical, analytical interpretation of texts)
    An introduction to the philosophy and method of biblical translation and interpretation, particularly drawing upon digital resources such as online texts, ebooks, and biblical software. An academic interpretation of the Bible, using electronic tools to explore the original Hebrew and Greek and to evaluate English translations of the Bible and theological arguments based on them. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-220 Introduction to Judaism


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    Overview of the development, beliefs and practices of Judaism. Historical, cultural, and theological issues related to Judaism’s influence on and interaction with Christianity and Islam, are considered throughout. Significant here are the nature of humanity, the concept of the people of God and chosenness, the messiah, the relationship to the land of Israel, and Zionism.   4 credits.
  
  • REL-221 Native American Religions


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions) and WC (World Cultures)
    Considers the diverse sacred stories, rituals, and worldviews of selected Native American tribes and the way in which geography, climate, and experience, both individual and social, are related to them.  Common themes that are markedly different from those of European cultures, such as the sacredness of nature and the lack of a separate category of life identified as religion are also considered. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-222 Introduction to Islam


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions) and WC (World Cultures)
    An examination of the origins and development of Islam,the world’s second largest religious tradition. Particular attention is given to the formation of Islamic faith andpractice as well as contemporary manifestations of Islam in Asia, Africa, and North America. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-223 Hindu Cultures and Religious Worlds


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions) and WC (World Cultures)
    Exploration of Hindu beliefs and practices with an emphasis on major religious themes that link classical traditions with popular piety. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-224 Introduction to Buddhism


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions) and WC (World Cultures)
    Examining the doctrines, practices, and communal life of the Buddhist religious tradition. Beginning with the origins of Buddhism in India, its spread and transformation through Asia and to the West. Exploring the various interpretations about Buddhology, the meaning of Dharma and how it becomes embodied in practice. Studying the Buddhist perspectives and approaches to issues and challenges Buddhist face in the modern world. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-225 Religion in Africa


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions) and WC (World Cultures)
    Introduction to major religious cultures of Africa. It explores three major types: African Traditional Religions (ATR), African Islam, and African Christianity. Focus on the variety of beliefs concerning Divinity, creation, the human person, and society. Relationship of these ideas to symbolic, ritual, and communal dimension of African life. Special attention to the role of Christianity as a catalyst of change, the emergence of the African Independent Churches (AIC), and new African theologies. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-226 Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    The development, beliefs, institutions, and public and private practices of Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism. Relationship of these traditions to each other and to Protestantism also examined. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-227 Religions of South Asia


    GER: WC (World Cultures)
    Introduction to contemporary religions of South Asia by examining the religions that have developed in the Indian subcontinent151Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism151as well as the influences of religions born elsewhere–Islam, Christianity, and others. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-228 History of God


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    Survey of scriptures and theologies of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in historical perspective. Emphasis on the historical backgrounds in which the three Abrahamic religions arose, the development of sacred scriptures, and the theological struggles of late antiquity and early medieval times shaping orthodox as well as heterodox segments of these three religions. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-229 Sufi Islam


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions) and WC (World Cultures)
    The history, contemporary practices, and worldview of Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam. Following an overview of Islam and Sufism’s development within the larger Islamic tradition, the course examines the way in which Sufi practitioners, practices, and institutions profoundly influenced the culture, religion, and politics of the world, especially in the Middle East, Central and South Asia, and North Africa. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-230 Religion in America


    GER: HA (Historical Analysis of Human Interactions)
    Historical survey of belief systems and practices of the religions and civil religion of Americans and the relationship of these to American culture. Emphasis on principal denominations and movements within and growing out of Judaism and Christianity. Native American religions, the American form of selected other religions, new religious movements studied briefly. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-232 African-American Religious History


    GER: HA (Historical Analysis of Human Interactions)
    A survey of prominent figures, themes, issues, and developments in African American religion in the United States and how these individuals and ideas shaped and continue to shape African American religious expression. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-233 Martin Luther King and the Religion of Social Reform


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    An examination of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s religious background, his theological development, and the ways in which his intellectual and religious life influenced and continues to influence American religious life and thought. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-235 History of Christianity to 600 CE


    GER: HA (Historical Analysis of Human Interactions)
    Surveys the history of Christianity from the apostolic era to the end of late antiquity (roughly 600 CE). Emphasis on the interplay of religious and cultural change, with special attention to institutional developments and to popular devotional practices. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-236 History of Christianity in the Middle Ages


    GER: HA (Historical Analysis of Human Interactions)
    Survey of Christian civilizations in the Middle Ages (c. 600-1500), both in the Latin West, as well as in the Byzantine and Syriac East. Attention will be paid to the social, institutional, and intellectual dimensions of religious life, as well as to ways in which understandings of an idealized “Christendom” affected interactions with religious others, especially Muslims and Jews. 4 credits
  
  • REL-237 Reformation and Modernity


    GER: HA (Historical Analysis of Human Interactions)
    A survey of the History of Christianity from the late Middle Ages through the Early Modern Period. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-239 Material Religion in Reformation Europe


    Conducted on-site in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland, this course will introduce students to the dramatic upheavals in the visual and material cultures of Western Europe brought about by the religious reform movements of the sixteenth century. May Experience ONLY. 2 credits.
  
  • REL-240 Basic Christian Theology


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    Introduction to what the Christian community as a whole has believed, taught, and confessed on the basis of Scripture and theological reflection. Examining the nature of theology, and its traditional expressions in such topics as the Trinitarian understanding of God, human sinfulness, reconciliation, and servant hood, and God146s relation to the world in creation, providence, and eschaton. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-241 Christian Classics


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    Interpretation of texts expressing the devotional tradition of Christian faith, with emphasis on their time, place, and ecclesiastical tradition, as well as the perennial human issues they raise. Texts vary, but can include works by Augustine, Francis of Assisi, Julian of Norwich, Martin Luther, John Woolman, Soren Kierkegaard and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-242 Modern Christian Thought


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    Introduction to Christian thought in the western tradition with a focus on the European Enlightenment critiques and counter-critiques, the Romantic movement, and the rise of modern historical consciousness. Emphasis will be on liberal Protestantism; however, Catholic modernism will also be discussed. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-246 Body and Soul in Christian Thought


    Exploration of Christian debates over human nature and the quest for God, drawing on sources from the first through the seventeenth centuries. Among our questions will be: What are human beings? How are human beings reconciled to God? What is the relationship between human and divine in Jesus Christ? 4 credits.
  
  • REL-247 God, War and Empire


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    Examine the intersection of politics and religion in the context of armed conflict. Read a range of classic and contemporary texts and apply concepts to historic and contemporary case studies. Topics include violence and the state in the Hebrew Bible and in Hellenistic philosophy, the political aims and pacifism of Jesus; the emergence of “just war” traditions of theology and jurisprudence in Christianity and Islam; and religious rhetoric in American foreign policy. Discuss the ways theology and political theory bring insights to the most pressing contemporary legal and foreign policy issues. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-248 Religion and the Environment


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions) and NE (Humans and the Natural Environment)
    The relationship of religious traditions to the natural world, in historical, theological, and ethical perspectives. Topics include: human attitudes to nature; biblical traditions concerning creation; Christian and scientific views of nature; the current ecological crisis; and resources for respecting nature within the world’s spiritual traditions. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-249 History of Christianity in the Middle Ages


    Historical Analysis (HA)
    A survey of Christian civilizations in the Middle Ages (c. 600-1500), both in the Latin West, as well as in the Byzantine and Syriac East. Attention will be paid to the social, institutional, and intellectual dimensions of religious life, as well as to ways in which understandings of an idealized “Christendom” affected interactions with religious others, especially Muslims and Jews. 4
  
  • REL-251 Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths


    GER: HA (Historical Analysis of Human Interactions)
    The history of the city of Jerusalem from biblical times to the present with a particular emphasis on Jewish, Christian, and Muslims claims to and interactions with this city. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-252 Judaism in the Time of Jesus


    GER: HA (Historical Analysis of Human Interactions)
    Extra-biblical primary sources, both literary and archaeological, for Judaism from the late Second Temple Period (c. 2nd century B.C.E. through 1st century C. E.). Attention will also be paid to Jewish sources from a wider time frame and to the emergence of the early Christian community in Jerusalem. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-253 Jainism: Karma and Liberation


    An introduction to the doctrines, rituals, and
    ethics of Jain religious practice. Attention given
    to historical and cultural context of community.
    We link classical forms to contemporary
    expressions. Topics include: the role of ascetic
    practice, the relation between lay and monastics,
    the significance of karma, rebirth and spiritual
    liberation, and the centrality of Ahimsa
    (non-violence) to Jain practice. In the course, we
    also look at adaptations of Jain practice in the
    South Carolina. 2
  
  • REL-260 Religion and Literature


    GER: TA (Critical, Analytical Interpretations of Text)
    Readings of novels, poems, plays, chiefly modern, with emphasis on human transformation, the relationship between narrative structure and religious meaning, and the sacramental imagination. Texts have included works by Tolstoy, Hesse, Sartre, F. O’Connor, W. Percy, Dinesen, Robbe-Grillet, Kundera, and works on narrative theology and literary criticism. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-261 Brothers Karamazov


    Intensive study of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel, The Brothers Karamazov. The possibility of faith, Christianity as an organized religion, the relation of beauty to truth, the confrontation between good and evil, the nature of history, and the existence of God. Emphasis will be on the novel itself, but some attention will be given to critical sources. May Experience ONLY. 2 credits.
  
  • REL-262 Religion and Art


    GER: VP (Visual and Performing Arts) and WC (World Cultures)
    Exploration of the relationship between aesthetic material expressions of religion (e.g., architecture sculpture, icons) and religious orthodoxy (i.e., belief) & orthopraxy (i.e., practice)in three religious traditions: Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-263 The Bible in Modern Culture


    Exploration of controversial issues related to the Bible in modern culture, with emphasis on biblical passages that have been at the center of passionate religious debate. Topics will include creation and evolution; Jesus and Christian theology; war and violence; and identity issues related to gender, sexuality, and race. May Experience ONLY. 2 credits.
  
  • REL-264 Carolina Dharma: Ritual Spaces among Hindus and Jains


    The contextualization of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist traditions in upstate South Carolina. Historical and cultural background of the region, especially examining the impact of Evangelical Christianity on its norms and values. Development of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist communities over the last forty years and the role that ritual practice and the construction of sacred spaces (Hindu Temples, Buddhist viharas) has played in the adaptive process. May Experience ONLY. 2 credits.
  
  • REL-267 Art and Religion in Greece


    Examines the relationship between religion and art in Greece, i.e., how religious belief and practice exist interdependently with visual images (Orthodox icons and Islamic calligraphy) and architectural forms (church and mosque architecture). 2 credits.
  
  • REL-269 Art and Religion in Turkey


    Study of Byzantine (Eastern Christian) and Islamic art in Turkey, with a particular emphasis on the architecture of churches and mosques and on Orthodox icons. The relationship between art and religious meaning is the principal focus of the course. 2 credits.
  
  • REL-270 Religious Studies in Turkey


    Survey of religious history in Turkey, with focus on early Christianity, Byzantine Christianity, and Islam in the Ottoman Empire and the modern period. May Experience ONLY. 2 credits.
  
  • REL-271 Contemporary Southern Baptists


    This course focuses on social and theological developments in the post 1960s South and considers how they are changing the Southern Baptist Convention. Includes class visits to Greenville churches and interviews with local Baptist leaders that exemplify the change and tensions. Congregational field studies required. May Experience ONLY. 2 credits.
  
  • REL-272 Jimmy Carter: Southern Baptist


    Interaction between President Jimmy Carter146s Baptist heritage, his career, and thought. Studies how this interaction reflects recent developments in Baptist polity and theology. Field trips to Carter Center, Carter National Historic Site, and possibly an interview with Carter. May Experience ONLY. 2 credits.
  
  • REL-273 Malcolm X


    Examines the social and religious impact of Malcolm X’s life and activism. May Experience ONLY. 2 credits.
  
  • REL-276 Religion and Black Popular Culture


    Exploration of intersection of religion and African-American popular culture as depicted in movies, television, music and literature including consideration of influences both external and internal. May Experience ONLY. 2 credits.
  
  • REL-277 Indigenous Religion and Culture in SW US


    Study of Navajo, Hopi, and Pueblo Cultures through visits to museums, archaeological sites, and reservation villages. Students attend traditional corn dances and visit various sacred sites, homes, schools, churches, medical facilities and corn fields. May Experience ONLY. 2 credits.
  
  • REL-278 Land and Religion in the Holy Lands


    Visits to biblical and post-biblical sites in order to better understand their importance to the early histories of Judaism and Christianity. Concerns will also include the ways in which Jews, Christians, and Muslims have impacted the material culture of Israel and Jordan over the course of many centuries. Complex understanding of religious and political conflicts that Israel in particular, and the Middle East more broadly, currently face. Students will encounter a land that has remained central to Jewish, Christian, and Muslim imagination and aspirations for thousands of years, and see how understanding the past is crucial for interpreting the present.  May Experience ONLY. 2 credits.
  
  • REL-279 Holy Land: Pilgrim Experience and Political Struggle


    Views of pilgrims through the ages as they have approached the Holy Lands, along with the sacred struggles that many have faced in retaining their hold on the land. Special attention will be paid to student experience as pilgrims to the land of Israel/Palestine, and their evolving views on the political (and often sacred) struggle for control of the land. 2 credits.
  
  • REL-310 Old Testament Prophets


    GER: HA (Historical Analysis of Human Interactions)
    Study of the phenomenon of Hebrew prophecy and the Hebrew prophets in their historical context, with emphases on the literary forms of prophetic literature and the social, political, and religious values of the prophets. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-311 Wisdom Literature


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    Study of Proverbs, Job, Qoheleth, and other Wisdom writings of the Hebrew Bible and Apocrypha, and their relationship to other literature, ancient and modern. Topics include: pain and suffering, the origin and nature of evil in a theocentric world, and the nature of the good life. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-314 The Torah


    GER: TA (Critical, Analytical Interpretations of Text)
    Examination of the literary, historical and religious dimensions of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Topics include the compositional history of the text and the development of ancient Israelite religion. Special attention given to contemporary issues in interpretation, including feminist, sociological and postmodern approaches to the text. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-316 Biblical Text and Canon


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    Historical study of the origin of the Christian Bible with particular emphasis on the processes involved in the preservation of the text, determination of canonicity, and the issues of meaning involved in the concepts of inspiration, authority, and canon. Study of the factors, historical, social, and theological, that prompted the genesis and final form of the biblical canon. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-317 History of Bible Translation


    WR (Writing/Research Intensive)
    Survey of the history of Bible translation, beginning with ancient versions, continuing through the Reformation, and ending with the amazing variety of modern Bibles. Focuses on translation as a theological, social, and political act of interpretation. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-318 Jesus and the Gospels


    GER: TA (critical, analytical interpretation of texts)
    Exploration of early Christian gospels, both canonical and non-canonical, focusing on the distinctive literary features of each of the four canonical gospels and the relationships among them. Also, modern quests for the historical Jesus, raising questions of the relationship between narrative, history, theology and text. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-319 Paul’s Life and Thought


    GER: TA (Critical, Analytical Interpretation of Texts)
    Introduction to the writings and social world of Pauline Christianity. Topics include: Paul among Jews and Gentiles, Christianity’s emergence from Judaism, concepts such as “faith” and “law,” and Pauline responses to issues such as slavery and empire. Includes an examination of canonical Pauline texts, later appropriations of Paul’s authority, and central theological Pauline tenets.     4 credits.
  
  • REL-322 Muhammad and the Qur’an


    GER: TA (Critical, Analytical Interpretation of Texts)
    Prerequisite: one course in Religion
    Exploration the Life of Muhammad and the origins of the Qur’an from historical critical perspective. Special attention is given to new lines of scholarship which challenge traditional Muslim understandings of the origin of Islam. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-323 Women, Gender, Islam


    GER: WC (World Cultures)
    Investigation into the role of gender in Islamic sacred texts, religious practice and law, and Islamicate history. The relationship between cultural and religious attitudes toward gender in Muslim societies, and links between Orientalist and Islamist (147fundamentalist148) discourses on gender will be explored. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-325 Women and Power in Hinduism


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions) and WC (World Cultures)
    Exploration into Hindu women’s religious lives and the female nature of power in Hindu cosmology, mythology, and society. Attention given to the complex interrelationships among mythic, domestic, and economic gender hierarchies, particularly in the contemporary cultural context. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-327 East Asian Buddhism


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions) and WC (World Cultures)
    Aspects of East Asian Buddhism, focusing on the Bodhisattva model. The development of early Indian Buddhism and its role in the debate between early Buddhist schools and the emergent Mahayana views. The role of this model in the hagiographic traditions of Buddhist monks, nuns, founders, and saints. Special attention given to the pantheon of Bodhisattva Savior figures, such as Guan Yin (Kannon), Dizong (Jizo), and Milo (Maitreya). 4 credits.
  
  • REL-328 Religions in Japan


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions) and WC (World Cultures)
    Introduces the role of religion in Japanese culture. Examines historic Buddhist, Shinto, Confucian, Daoist, and Christian forms and how these relate to contemporary practice, piety, and beliefs. Explores the impact of contemporary “New Religions” in Japanese life. Special attention given to the role of pilgrimage, ancestor and funeral rites, and concepts ofkarma, rebirth, enlightenment, and afterlife. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-331 History and Theology of Christian Worship


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    Introduction to the study of Christian worship, surveying the history, theology, and diversity of worship texts and practices throughout its many social contexts. Liturgical practices of various historical periods will be identified and critiqued, leading to an exploration of Christian worship in the current postmodern and multicultural context. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-332 Wealth and Poverty in Christian Tradition


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    An examination in which wealth and poverty have been interpreted within the Christian tradition, beginning with analysis of relevant biblical texts and surveying developments in late ancient, medieval, and modern contexts. Special attention will be directed to the history of biblical interpretation in light of changing social and economic conditions. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-333 Middle Eastern Christianity: History and Theology


    Global Awareness: World Cultures (WC)
    History, theology, & wider religious significance of the diverse minority Christian traditions indigenous to the Middle East: Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern & Latin Rite Catholicism, and Assyrian Church of the East. Current diaspora issues also studied. 4
  
  • REL-340 Faith and Ethics


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    Study of human values and conduct in light of the basic affirmations of Christian faith. Topics include: the nature of moral reasoning, the use of the Bible in Christian ethics, the relationship between religious faith, the moral life, and social justice, comparison of Christian ethics with those of other faith traditions, and contemporary ethical problems. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-341 Religious Pluralism


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    Study of Christian and non-Christian attitudes toward the plurality of religions. Focus on the variety of theological responses to religious pluralism and their implications for interfaith dialogue. A historical survey of western attitudes toward religious diversity is also undertaken. Readings include both theological and literary works. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-343 Liberation Theologies


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    Examining some of the classic texts in Latin American, black, womanist, and feminist liberation theology and understanding their sources, methods, hermeneutics, and primary themes. In addition, attention will be devoted to German political theology in its call for a radical transformation of theology in light of the massive suffering in human history. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-344 Black Liberation and Womanist Theologies


    GER: WR (Writing-Research Intensive) and UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    Prerequisite: any first year writing seminar
    The history, provocations, themes in and critics of black liberation theology and womanist theology. Writers studied include: James Cone, Dwight Hopkins, Emilie Townes, Katie Cannon, and Jacquelyn Grant. Examining the ways in which these writers construct “blackness” and the role of Christian theology and ethics in addressing black oppression and white supremacy. Also, critics of black liberation and womanist theology. Examining the writings of critics like Anthony B. Pinn and Victor Anderson and discussing their critiques of black liberation and womanist thought. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-348 Augustine of Hippo


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    Prerequisite: one course in Religion
    In-depth examination of the life and work of Augustine of Hippo. Works from all stages of his career, and focus on how his thought developed in its historical context. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-351 Encountering Texts on Travel Study


    GER: TA (Critical, Analytical Interpretations of Texts)
    Analysis of written religious texts and sacred pilgrimages associated with program-specific travel study sites. Relationships between texts, religious meaning, culture, and geography are considered along with ways pilgrimage activities are embodied religious (theological) texts. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-360 Women and Religion in the West


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    Investigation into the roles of women, feminine images, and women’s issues in Western religion, especially in Christianity and Judaism. Exploration of the methods and formative writings of feminist and womanist scholars in Bible, ethics, theology, etc. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-361 Religion and Science


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    Comparative study of these fundamental interpretative systems, examining historical conflicts (especially Copernican astronomy and evolutionary theory), the nature, methods, and presuppositions of each, and contemporary issues involving both. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-363 Sexuality and Christian Theologies


    GER: UQ (Ultimate Questions)
    Prerequisite: any one course in religion
    The theology of sexuality, the connection between sexuality and spirituality, gender relations, and sexual orientation. The intersection between ethics and sexuality, including singlehood, marriage, celibacy, sexual violence and pornography. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-364 Religion and Art in Christianity, Judaism and Islam


    Relationships between the aesthetic and religious dimensions of human experience in Christianity (both Eastern and Western), Judaism, and Islam are examined. Particular emphasis will be given to the architecture of churches, mosques, synagogues, adn Eastern Orthodox icons. The way in which aesthetic forms embody and materially convey religious meaning and shape liturgical practice will be the major focus. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-370 Navajo: Body, Medicine, Health


    Central to Navajo (Diné) life is sacred balance,
    hózhó, which includes not only “religious”
    conceptions but views of health, the body, and
    medicine. Focus is on traditional practices but
    mixing of indigenous and modern medicine is also
    included. 2
  
  • REL-372 Eastern Orthodox & Roman Catholic Rites: Healing & Death


    Focuses on Biblical & Historical Christian
    theologies of health & healing embodied in Rites
    for Anointing Sick & in funerals. Throughout
    considers practices & ideas relevant for
    contemporary medical professionals and Christian
    theology broadly. 2
  
  • REL-401 Theory and Method in the Study of Religion


    An introduction to the central methodological issues in the study of Religion. It is intended to help students reflect systematically and critically on ?religion? as a category and on the ways in which scholars have defined and approached the field. Religion majors only. 4 credits.
  
  • REL-475 Senior Seminar


    WR (Writing/Research Intensive)
    4 credits.
  
  • REL-504 Directed Independent Study


    Variable credit.

Science

  
  • SCI-150 Introduction to Undergraduate Research


    Introduction of concepts necessary to conduct undergraduate research through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Good laboratory practice, ethical conduct of research, and scientific presentation and publication. 2 credits.
  
  • SCI-201 Microbes and Society


    Prerequisite: BIO-210  and CHM-115  
    An introduction to microorganisms, their structure and function, their diversity and phylogeny, and their impacts on humans and society as vital systems for human health, useful applications, agents of disease, and constant
    public health concerns. 4 credits.
  
  • SCI-220 Biochemistry: Macromolecules and Metabolism


    Prerequisite: BIO-210  and CHM-120  
    Exploration of the chemical principles that underlie basic physiological processes, with a focus on the action and regulation of enzymes that function in major metabolic pathways and maintain homeostasis. These principles will be applied to understand and solve problems in human health. 4 credits.
  
  • SCI-502 Interdisciplinary Research


    Variable credit.

Sociology

  
  • SOC-101 Introduction to Sociology


    GER: HB (Empirical Study of Human Behavior)
    Introduction to the sociological perspective on human behavior, including an analysis of theory, research methods, culture, society, personality, the socialization process, social institutions and social change. 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-120 Farm to Fork: Sociology of Food Systems


    Analysis of the local food system from a sociological perspective. Overview of local food production, distribution, and consumption trends today. Develop a better understanding of how individual tastes and habits are heavily influenced by a much larger social system often hidden from view. May Experience ONLY. 2 credits.
  
  • SOC-150 Public Sociology


    Training in community based research methods. Students will learn how to collect and analyze data regarding a specific problem facing the local community. They also will assess the needs of community members and analyze them in relation to past and present social trends. May Experience ONLY. 2 credits.
  
  • SOC-160 Family Tree Sociology: Genealogies and Social Forces


    Exploration of family history with broader social contexts. Introduction to the sociological perspective and key concepts such as: social mobility, inequality of opportunity, and social milieu, among others leading to construct family trees (at least 4 generations back) and synthesize their own family background (or the background of a provided alternative family) with an understanding of broader social forces operating in the context of each generation. Includes recent sociological research on intergenerational patterns in wealth, mobility, and overall social standing. 2 credits.
  
  • SOC-201 Social Problems


    GER: HB (Empirical Study of Human Behavior)
    Analysis of current social problems and social policies: the definitions and causes of problems as well as the efficacy and feasibility of proposed solutions. 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-211 Introduction to Criminology


    GER: HB (Empirical Study of Human Behavior)
    Prerequisite: SOC-101 
    Introduction to the field of criminology. Topics include: the criminological enterprise, measuring criminal behavior; victims and criminals–profiles; theories of crime causation–biological, psychological, and sociological; crime typologies–violent and property. Briefly discussed: cops, courts and corrections. 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-212 Law and Society


    GER: HB (Empirical Study of Human Behavior)
    Prerequisite: SOC-101  or POL-101 
    Examine the relationship between law and society from a sociological perspective. Topics include: how social forces influence the nature and content of law; law and social control in society from across cultural and historical perspectives, theoretical explanations of what law is and how it is formed and implemented; problems encountered in administration of criminal justice; and the interaction between components - lawyers, police, courts, and corrections - and larger legal, political, and social communities. 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-213 Deviance and Social Control


    GER: HB (Empirical Study of Human Behavior)
    Prerequisite: SOC-101 
    Examination of the different perspectives on how deviance is defined, factors that contribute to the likelihood of individuals being deviant, and finally, the forces that may prevent deviance. In discussing these three conceptual areas this class will deal with several classic as well as current substantive topics in the study of deviance, such as school shootings, bachelorette parties, gangs, soccer hooligans, Ponzi schemes, drug use in college, teen deviance, bankruptcy, and the Mafia. 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-215 Cultures of Control


    GER: HB (Empirical Study of Human Behavior)
    Prerequisite: SOC-101 
    State control in contemporary American society, showing how organizational cultures of control come to exist in their present form and what kinds of consequences follow. Exploration of “law in action;” how powerful bureaucratic structures interpret criminal law and apply it to individuals. Fundamental problems encountered in the administration of the American criminal justice system. It analyzes how the system of law and social control works by examining various components–lawyers, police, courts, and corrections. Each component is examined as an organizational structure with its own needs and interests. Also studied is the interaction between the various components of the criminal justice system and larger legal, political, and social communities. 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-220 Environmental Sociology


    Prerequisite: SOC-101 
    investigating the relationship between social lift and the environment via the exploration of theoretical foundations and seminal texts, and engagement with the empirial world. Potential case studies will involve food systems and consumption, the impacts of urban and suburban development, an the potential for sustainable development. 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-223 Urban Community


    GER: HB (Empirical Study of Human Behavior)
    Prerequisite: SOC-101 
    Exploration of the dynamics of urbanization and urbanism, with an emphasis on American cities. The roles of urban places, institutions, and lifestyles are explored in depth. 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-225 Sociology of Development and Globalizati on


    GER: WC (World Cultures)
    Prerequisite: SOC-101 
    Explores development in the Third World, with a special focus on the continent of Africa. Addresses the question why such a large gap between rich and poor countries exists, why this gap is increasing, and how sociologists and global institutions such as the World Bank have addressed this problem. Issues of the environment, sustainability, the role of women in economic development, the WTO and the push for free trade and social problems in the Third World such as unemployment, poor labor conditions, industrialization, and ethnic conflict will also be addressed. 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-231 Media, Culture and Society


    GER: HB (Empirical Study of Human Behavior)
    Prerequisite: SOC-101 
    Examination of the relationship between media and society. Covers various aspects of media, including television, radio, movies, popular music, the internet, advertising and public relations. Addresses the issue of how social forces shape media content, especially public and political interests. Also examines how needs of media organizations influence images and ideas presented. Finally considers the ways in which media influences society. 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-232 Sociology of Contemporary Families


    GER: HB (Empirical Study of Human Behavior)
    Prerequisite: SOC-101 
    Examining historical and current variation in the institution of the family, the construction of the “ideal” family and the impact of this construction for how the family as an institution both contributes to social order and perpetuates inequality. Marriage, divorce, child-rearing, work and family policy will be considered. 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-233 Sociology of Religion


    Prerequisite: SOC-101 
    Analysis of the role of religion, as an institution, in the social world. Focus will be at both the organizational, how religious groups form and grow, and the individual, how religion may influence or impact particular behaviors, levels. Most of the substantive material will center on religion in the United States, although some discussions of other contexts, as a comparison, will be made. This course will not address the philosophical truth or validity of particular religious beliefs. 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-234 Medical Sociology


    GER: HB (Empirical Study of Human Behavior)
    Prerequisite: SOC-101  and permission of instructor Course must be enrolled with PHL-302  and IDS-301 .
    Introduction to the sociological study of medicine and the applications of sociology in medicine, emphasizing the sociocultural aspects of health and illness. Requires extensive field work at a Greenville hospital. Entry is by application only. Course must be enrolled with PHL-302 (28) and IDS-301. Entry is by application only. 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-235 Sociolory of Education


    Prerequisite: SOC-101 
    Examination of the social aspects of education and schooling: the interaction between home, society and educational institutions; the ways that social inequities are reproduced through schools; and the ways that identities are formed through education. 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-241 Social Class in America


    GER: HB (Empirical Study of Human Behavior)
    Prerequisite: SOC-101 
    Analysis of social stratification, status and social class in the United States. Relationship of social class to social intimacy, style of life, values, mobility and the socialization process. Structure and function of power systems. 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-242 Sociology of Gender and Sexuality


    GER: HB (Empirical Study of Human Behavior)
    Prerequisite: SOC-101  
    Analysis of the role of gender in society. Exploration of the ways gender differences are culturally reproduced transforming male and female biology into masculinity and femininity. Historical and cross-cultural examples are examined as well as a discussion of the nature/nurture debate. Consideration of the influences of the family, media and language are included. Additional attention is paid to the role of gender in the social institutions (e.g., education, work, health care). 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-243 Race and Ethnic Relations


    GER: HB (Empirical Study of Human Behavior)
    Prerequisite: SOC-101 
    An exploration of racial, ethnic and religious minorities in United States and around the world. Topic covered include: “race” and social identities; stigmatization and prejudice; inter-group cooperation, collusion and competition. 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-251 Social Movements and Collective Behavior


    GER: HB (Empirical Study of Human behavior)
    Prerequisite: SOC-101 
    Broad examination of social movements, considering movement emergence, movements’ influence on social institutions, and movement success. Also considers dynamics within movements, including movement culture, and the motivations of, and impact on, movement participants. Special focus on civil rights, Southern mill strikes, and solidarity movements. 4 credits.
  
  • SOC-260 Global Health Inequalities


    GER: HB (Empirical Study of Human behavior) and WC (World Cultures)
    Examination of structural factors (e.g. poverty, post-colonialism) that lead to the unequal distribution of health across the world. Investigation of morbidity, mortality, epidemics; cultural factor shaping ideas about illness and healing; varying health care delivery systems, NGOs, etc. 4 credits.
 

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