Religious Studies

Contact: Yunzhong Shu

Religious Studies is an interdisciplinary program housed in the Department of Classical, Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures (as of January 2014). This academic field attempts to treat religion—religious text, experience, practice, theology—from a nonpartisan and scholarly standpoint.

The Religious Studies Program draws its faculty and courses from both Arts and Humanities and the division of Social Sciences, and from the disciplines of anthropology, art history, history, philosophy, sociology, and from the language and literature departments, especially CMAL.

In addition to offering different disciplinary perspectives, the program encourages students to explore a variety of religious traditions, and offers courses in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Roman religion as well as comparative courses. Our program also provides students the opportunity to study ancient and medieval works relevant to Religious Studies in the original languages (Classical Chinese, Classical Arabic, Biblical Hebrew and Latin).

In the next few years there will be many additional offerings in the Religious Studies Program, as well as some changes in requirements. Students considering a religious studies major or minor are urged to consult with the director.

Major in Religious Studies

The major consists of 36 credits.

1. RLGST 201: Introduction to the Study of Religion
   
   
2. 2 courses in a single religious tradition:

Buddhism: EAST 130W, ARTH 227, RLGST 211
Hinduism/Eastern Religion: EAS 130W, RLGST 101, RLGST 102
Classical Religion (Ancient Greek, Roman): CLAS 140, CLAS 240
Christianity: ARTH 211, HIST 211, ANTH 290W, ENGL 381, ENGL 357
Islam: ANTHRO 204, HIST 198, MES 160, MES 260, MES 300
Judaism: RLGST 103, HEBRW 350W, HEBRW 341, HEBRW 340

3. 2 courses in a second religious tradition:

Buddhism: EAST 130W, ARTH 227, RLGST 211
Hinduism/Eastern Religion: EAS 130W, RLGST 101, RLGST 102
Classical Religion (Ancient Greek, Roman): CLAS 140, CLAS 240
Christianity: ARTH 211, HIST 211, ANTH 290W, ENGL 381, ENGL 357
Islam: ANTHRO 204, HIST 198, MES 160, MES 260, MES 300
Judaism: RLGST 103, HEBRW 350W, HEBRW 341, HEBRW 340

4. 2 interdisciplinary courses: courses that approach religion with the methodological tools of a particular discipline taught at QC:

SOC 221
PHIL 116
ANTH 224
ANTH 306
CMAL 220
ARTH 211
ARTH 271
HIST 229
URBST 214
URBST 212

5. 1 comparative course: a course that focuses on 2 or three religious traditions with some comparative element:

CMAL 220
CLAS 240
HIST 311
EAST 130W

6. RLGST 390. Advanced Seminar
   
   
7. 3 additional courses. All courses listed under A-E not already applied to other requirements for the major may count towards this requirement, as well as the following courses:

HIST 114. History of the Jewish People I
HIST 148. Islamic Civilization, 600 - 1800
RLGST 212. Religion, Myth and Language
RLGST 213. Religious Meaning
RLGST 260. Studies in Religion

Related language courses beyond coursework required of all BA candidates at QC may also count toward this requirement. These include Latin, Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew, Sanskrit, Classical Arabic:

CHIN 250. Introduction to Classical Chinese I
CHIN 251. Introduction to Classical Chinese II
HEBRW 321. Readings from the Torah
HEBRW 307. Classical Hebrew
HEBRW 341. Midrash and Aggada
LATIN 101. Elementary Latin
LATIN 102. Intermediate Latin
GREEK 251. Elementary Ancient Greek I
GREEK 252. Elementary Ancient Greek II

Other language courses may be approved by the director of Religious Studies.

Minor in Religious Studies

The minor consists of 18 credits.

1. RLGST 201. Introduction to the Study of Religion
   
   
2. 2 courses in one religious tradition:

Buddhism: EAST 130W, ARTH 227, RLGST 211
Hinduism/Eastern Religion: EAS 130W, RLGST 101, RLGST 102
Classical Religion (Ancient Greek, Roman): CLAS 140, CLAS 240
Christianity: ARTH 211, HIST 211, ANTH 290W, ENGL 381, ENGL 357
Islam: ANTHRO 204, MES 160, MES 260, MES 300
Judaism: RLGST 103, HEBRW 350W, HEBRW 341, HEBRW 340

3. 1 course in a second religious tradition:

Buddhism: EAST 130W, ARTH 227, RLGST 211
Hinduism/Eastern Religion: EAS 130W, RLGST 101, RLGST 102
Classical Religion (Ancient Greek, Roman): CLAS 140, CLAS 240
Christianity: ARTH 211, HIST 211, ANTH 290W, ENGL 381, ENGL 357
Islam: ANTHRO 204, MES 160, MES 260, MES 300
Judaism: RLGST 103, HEBRW 350W, HEBRW 341, HEBRW 340

4. 1 interdisciplinary course: a course that approaches religion with the methodological tools of a particular discipline taught at QC:

SOC 221
PHIL 116
ANTH 224
ANTH 306
CMAL 220
ARTH 211
ARTH 271
HIST 229
URBST 214
URBST 212

5. 1 additional course. All courses listed for the minor not already applied to other requirements for the minor may count towards this requirement, as well as the following courses:

HIST 114. History of the Jewish People I
HIST 148. Islamic Civilization, 600 - 1800
RLGST 212. Religion, Myth and Language
RLGST 213. Religious Meaning
RLGST 260. Studies in Religion

Related language courses beyond coursework required of all BA candidates may also count toward this requirement. These include Latin, Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew, Sanskrit, Classical Arabic:

CHIN 250. Introduction to Classical Chinese I
CHIN 251. Introduction to Classical Chinese II
HEBRW 321. Readings from the Torah
HEBRW 307. Classical Hebrew
HEBRW 341. Midrash and Aggada
LATIN 101. Elementary Latin
LATIN 102. Intermediate Latin
GREEK 251. Elementary Ancient Greek I
GREEK 252. Elementary Ancient Greek II

Other language courses may be approved by the director of Religious Studies.