College Bulletin 2023-2024 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Religion
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Courses
Faculty
GWYNN KESSLER, Associate Professor and Chair
Director of Beit Midrash
YVONNE P. CHIREAU, Peggy Chan Professor of Black Studies
STEVEN P. HOPKINS, Mari S. Michener Professor of Religion
ELLEN M. ROSS, Howard M. and Charles F. Jenkins Professor
of Quakerism and Peace Studies
MARK I. WALLACE, James Hormel Professor of Social Justice
TARIQ al-JAMIL, Associate Professor
Coordinator of Islamic Studies Program
JAMES PADILIONI, Visiting Assistant Professor
PREA PERSAUD KHANNA, Visiting Lecturer
Kim Cahill, Administrative Assistant
The Religion Department plays a central role in the Swarthmore academic program. One attraction of the study of religion is the cross-cultural nature of its subject matter. The discipline addresses the complex interplay of culture, history, text, morality, performance, and personal experience. Religion is expressed in numerous ways: ritual and symbol, myth and legend, story and poetry, scripture and theology, festival and ceremony, art and music, moral codes and social values. The department seeks to develop ways of understanding these phenomena in terms of their historical and cultural particularity and in reference to their common patterns.
Courses offered on a regular cycle in the department present the development of Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Afro-Caribbean religions, and Christianity as well as the development of religion and religions in the regional areas of the Indian Sub-Continent (Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Muslim, Sikh), Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia (Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam), China (Taoist, Confucian, spirit cults), Japan (Buddhist and Shinto), Africa (Fon, Yoruba, Dahomey, and Kongo), the Middle East (Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Gnostic, Mandean), Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Europe and the Americas (from New World African traditions, Vodou and Candomblé, to Neo Paganism and Civil Religion in North America). Breadth in subject matter is complemented by strong methodological diversity; questions raised include those of historical, theological, philosophical, literary, feminist, sociological, and anthropological interests. This multifaceted focus makes religious studies an ideal liberal arts major.
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The Academic Program
Normally, the student who applies for a major or minor in religion will have completed (or be in the process of completing) two courses. Majors successfully complete eight credits in religion, including the required Religion Café Senior Symposium in the fall of the senior year, to meet departmental and college graduation requirements. Minors complete five credits in the Religion Department and are not required, but are strongly recommended to enroll in the Religion Café Senior Symposium.
Students come to the study of religion through various courses at various levels, and the department encourages this flexibility and diversity of entry-points by having no introductory course requirements, nor are there required distribution courses. The major in religion is planned in consultation with faculty members in the department, the individual student’s adviser, along with other relevant faculty, who encourage curricular breadth (close work in more than one religious tradition) and methodological diversity in the proposed program. Such breadth and diversity in the program is encouraged at the very beginning in the major’s Sophomore Plan.
The curriculum in the Religion Department is strongly comparative, thematic, and interdisciplinary, so it is relatively easy for students to propose programs that are cross-cultural and trans-disciplinary in scope. Religion majors are encouraged to include study abroad in their programs, planned in collaboration with the department. Often a student’s independent study project done while studying abroad is expanded into a one or two-credit honors or course thesis upon return to Swarthmore.
Requirements
For the major, students are required to take 8 credits total in Religion, including the Religion Café Senior Symposium in the fall of the student’s senior year. The Religion Café will be a one-credit seminar style course and will include a term essay assignment. Successful completion of the Religion Café will be the culminating requirement for the course major. Other than completing eight Religion credits, students who major in Religion are free to take a variety of courses of their own choice outside of the discipline, in consultation with their Religion departmental advisor.
To minor in Religion, students are required to complete only five credits in Religion. It is also strongly recommended (but not required) that minors enroll in the Religion Café. See Online Catalog for more information.
It is recommended that majors and minors take one introductory course.
Introductory courses include:
Students may choose to write a thesis. Those seniors who desire to complete a one-credit thesis or a two-credit thesis as part of the major will need to obtain permission from a faculty adviser in consultation with the department. For majors, this exercise will not substitute for the Religion Café Senior Symposium.
With department approval, up to three courses cross-listed but not housed within the Religion Department may count toward the major. Only one such cross-listed course will count toward the minor. Up to two non-Swarthmore courses (i.e., courses taken abroad or domestically) may count toward the major; only one such course is permissible for the minor.
Admission to the Major
The Religion Department considers two areas when evaluating applications: overall GPA and quality of prior work in religion courses. Applicants are sometimes deferred for a term so the department can better evaluate an application for the major (generally it is expected that students will have taken two courses in religion before being accepted into the major/minor). A student’s demonstrated ability to do at least B/B- work in religion is required for admission to the major in course.
Requirements
All honors majors and minors fulfill requirements for the Course Program. Beyond this step, the normal method of preparation for the honors major will be done through three seminars, although with the consent of the department, a single 2-credit thesis, a 1-credit thesis/course combination, or a combination of two courses (including attachments and study abroad options) can count for one honors preparation. In general, only one such preparation can consist of non-seminar-based studies.
In the religion major, the mode of assessing a student’s three 2-credit preparations in religion (seminars or course combinations, but not 2-credit theses) will be a three-hour written examination set by an external examiner. In addition, with the exception of a thesis preparation, a student will submit to each external examiner a Senior Honors Study paper. Senior Honors Study papers will be between 2500 and 4000 words and will normally be a revision of the final seminar paper or, in the event of a non-seminar mode of preparation, a revised course paper. A final oral examination by the examiner follows the written exam. 2-credit theses will be read and orally examined by an external examiner (with no extra Senior Honors Study requirement).
In the minor, the mode of assessing a student’s one 2-credit preparation in religion will also be a three-hour written examination (and the oral) set by an external examiner, along with a Senior Honors Study paper.
Seminars and the written and oral external examinations are the hallmarks of honors. Seminars are a collaborative and cooperative venture among students and faculty members designed to promote self-directed learning. The teaching faculty evaluates seminar performance based on the quality of seminar papers, comments during seminar discussions, and when required, a final paper. Since the seminar depends on the active participation of all its members, the department expects students to live up to the standards of honors. These standards include: attendance at every seminar session, timely submission of seminar papers, reading of seminar papers before the seminar, completion of the assigned readings prior to the seminar, active engagement in seminar discussions, and respect for the opinions of the members of the seminar. Students earn double-credit for seminars and should expect twice the work normally done in a course. The external examination, both written and oral, is the capstone of the honors experience.
Admission to the Honors Program
Because of the nature of different instructional formats (e.g., seminars) and of the culminating exercise in the Honors Program, the department expects applicants to this program to have at least a B+/B average in religion courses as well as an overall average above the College graduation requirement for admission to the Honors Program.
Application Process for the Major or the Minor
Sophomore applicants: for instructions and more information, please visit the “Sophomore Plan of Study” page under ”Advising” on the Office of Academic Success website.
Junior and senior applicants: students use the Major Minor Portal available from mySwarthmore to apply for any major, minor, or honors, or make any further changes after sophomore year. Please visit the “Majors, Minors & Honors” page on Registrar’s Office website for more information.
Please note:
All applications to the religion major or minor should include a one to two paragraph statement that details the applicant’s reason for applying to the department (we encourage curricular breadth and diversity of courses).
All religion majors must take RELG 095 Religion Café: Senior Symposium in the fall of senior year.
Transfer Credit
For policy regarding domestic study or any summer study see the Registrar’s Office and website: Policies, “Transfer Credit Policy - Credit for Work Done Elsewhere.”
Off-Campus Study
In many cases, credit may be earned in the Religion Department for study abroad or at other institutions in this country. Typically, the Religion Department will approve a maximum of 2 religion credits for off-campus study. For international study during the academic year, see the Off-Campus Study Office and website. In addition, students who are seeking credit for study to be completed at other institutions should consult with the Religion Department off-campus study representative prior to enrolling in courses. In order to seek credit for any work completed while away from Swarthmore the general policy is that students must have the Registrar’s or Off-Campus Study Office’s approval form signed by the Religion Department representative prior to undertaking the course or courses.
Further Notes about International Off-Campus Study:
- Prior to the international study opportunity, speak with your Off-Campus Study advisor. Carefully review all material received from the Off-Campus Study Office.
- Complete the “Pre-Estimation of Study Abroad Credit” form online
- While away, contact the Religion Department if any changes are made to the preapproved schedule.
- During your study away from Swarthmore, keep all relevant course material including syllabi, class notes, papers, and examinations, etc.
- At the beginning of the semester after your return, meet with an Off-Campus Study Office staff member to organize your materials for evaluation for credit.
- Complete the “Record of Departmental Materials Submission” (available at the Off-Campus Study Office). At the time you submit all supporting documents (e.g., syllabi, papers, examinations, class notes, etc.) to the Religion Department, have this form signed by the Religion Department representative who oversees transfer credit requests in religion.
- The Religion Department will then consider credit award and will send the student, the Registrar, and the Off-Campus Study Office its decision. At this time, you may pick up your supporting materials in the Religion Department Office.
Religion Courses
- RELG 001. Introduction to Religion
- RELG 002. Religion in America
- RELG 003. The Bible
- RELG 003A. Hebrew Bible and its Modern Interpreters
- RELG 003B. Varieties of Religious Experience in African Diaspora
- RELG 004. Radical Jesus
- RELG 004B. Biblical Interpretation
- RELG 005. World Religions
- RELG 006. Abrahamic Religion/s: Violence and Monotheism
- RELG 006B. The Talmud: Sex, Gender, & Mental Health in Antiquity
- RELG 006C. First Year Seminar: Apocalypse: Hope and Despair in the Last Days
- RELG 007B. The Caribbean Carnival: Sacred Myth and Performance
- RELG 008. Patterns of Asian Religions
- RELG 008B. The Qur’an and Its Interpreters
- RELG 009. The Buddhist Traditions of Asia
- RELG 010. African American Religions
- RELG 011. First-Year Seminar: Religion and the Meaning of Life
- RELG 011B. The Religion of Islam: The Islamic Humanities
- RELG 012. The History, Religion, and Culture of India I: From the Indus Valley to the Hindu Saints
- RELG 012B. Hindu Traditions of India: Power, Love, and Knowledge
- RELG 013. The History, Religion, and Culture of India II: Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, and Dalit in North India
- RELG 014. Race, Gender, and Sex in the Bible
- RELG 015. First-Year Seminar: Religion and Literature: Blood and Spirit
- RELG 015B. Philosophy of Religion
- RELG 016. First-Year Seminar: Bible and Politics
- RELG 017. Animal Religion
- RELG 018. Global Christianities
- RELG 018B. Modern Jewish Thought
- RELG 019. First-Year Seminar: Religion and Food
- RELG 020. Christian Mysticism
- RELG 021. Prison Letters: Religion and Transformation
- RELG 022. Religion and Ecology
- RELG 023. Quakers Past and Present
- RELG 024. From Vodun to Voodoo: African Religions in the Old and New Worlds
- RELG 025. Black Women, Spirituality, Religion
- RELG 027. Christian Nationalism, White Supremacy, and Antisemitism
- RELG 028. Christian Spiritual Journeys
- RELG 029. Islam, Race, and Anti-Blackness
- RELG 030. The Power of Images: Icons and Iconoclasts
- RELG 031. Healing Praxis and Social Justice
- RELG 032. Queering God: Feminist and Queer Theology
- RELG 033. The Queer Bible
- RELG 034. Partitions: Religions, Politics, and Gender in South Asia Through the Novel
- RELG 035. The Talmud Lab
- RELG 036. Christian Visions of Self and Nature
- RELG 037. Sex, Gender, and the Bible
- RELG 038. Religion and Film
- RELG 039. White Supremacy and Antisemitism
- RELG 040. Rape, Slavery, and Genocide in Bible and Culture
- RELG 041B. Religion and Nature in the African Diaspora: Wonders, Signs, & Portents
- RELG 042. Performing Ecstasy Dancing the Sacred
- RELG 043B. Decolonizing Afro-Latin American Religion
- RELG 044. Reading Comics and Religion
- RELG 045. Bob Marley’s Setlist: Vibrations of a Rastafari Worldview and Ethos
- RELG 046. The Bible in Popular Culture
- RELG 047. Afro-Futurism: Astral Mythologies of Creation and the Afterlife
- RELG 050. Sacred Plants, Holy Fungi, and Religious Experience
- RELG 051. Asian Religions in the Americas
- RELG 052. The Good Life
- RELG 053. Gender, Sexuality, and the Body in Islamic Discourses
- RELG 055. Interpreting Asian Religions
- RELG 056. Afro-Asian Solidarities in the Americas
- RELG 058. ‘Tis the Season: Festivals of Solstice, Yule, and Christmas
- RELG 060. Varieties of Zionist Thought: Judaism, Nationalism, Antisemitism, and the Jewish Question
- RELG 062. Magic, Theory & Practice
- RELG 064. Queer/Trans Religion
- RELG 065. Jews: History, Culture, and Philosophy
- RELG 067. Judaism and Nature
- RELG 073. Namaste America
- RELG 075. Holy War, Martyrdom, and Suicide in Christianity, Judaism and Islam
- RELG 093. Directed Reading
- RELG 095. Religion Café: Senior Symposium
- RELG 096. Thesis
- RELG 097. Thesis
- RELG 098. Islamic Law & Society
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