The University of Chicago Divinity School

DVSC 30400

Introduction to the Study of Religion *
Reading Hayy Ibn Yaqzan: A Twelfth-
Century Philosophical/ Mystical Romance

Robinson, James

T/TH

3:00-4:20

S106

PQ: Supporting Course Required of all M.A./AMRS/M.DIV. students.

DVSC 42000

Divinity School: German Reading Exam

Staff

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PQ: Open only to Divinity School students.

DVSC 45100

Reading Course: Special Topic

Staff

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PQ: Petition with bibliography signed by instructor; enter section from
faculty list.

DVSC 49900

Exam Preparation

Staff

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PQ: Open only to Ph.D. students in quarter of qualifying exams.
Department consent. Registration will be handled by the Dean of Students office. Petition signed by Advisor.

DVSC 50100

Research: Divinity

Staff

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PQ: Petition signed by instructor; enter section from faculty list.

DVSC 59900

Thesis Work: Divinity

Staff

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PQ: Petition signed by instructor; enter section from faculty list.

BIBL 30800

Jewish Thought and Literature:
Introduction to the Hebrew Bible*

Stackert, Jeffrey

T/Th

1:30-2:50

S106

The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) is a complex anthology of disparate texts and reflects a diversity of religious, political and historical perspectives from ancient Israel. Because this collection of texts continues to play an important role in modern religions, new meanings are often imposed upon this ancient literature. In this course, we will attempt to read biblical tests on their own terms and will also contextualize their ideas and goals with similar texts that originate from ancient Mesopotamia, Syro-Palestine and Egypt, thereby demonstrating that the Hebrew Bible is fully part of the cultural milieu of the ancient Near East. In order to accomplish this, we will read a significant portion of the Hebrew Bible in English, along with representative selections from secondary literature. We will also spend some time thinking about the nature of biblical interpretation.
Ident. JWSG 30004/SWSC 20004/RLST 11004

BIBL 34000

Introduction to Biblical Hebrew 2

Silver, Edward

M/W/F

8:00-8:50

S200

PQ: BIBL 33900

BIBL 35300

Intermediate Koine Greek 2

Thompson, Trevor

M/W/F

8:00-8:50

S403

PQ: BIBL 35100
Ident. NTEC 35300

BIBL 40201

The Farewell Discourses in the Gospel of John

Klauck, Hans-Josef

M/W

9:00-11:00

S208

Among the characteristic components of John’s gospel that have no parallel in the synoptic gospels, the farewell discourses in John 14-17 take a prominent place. The genre is well known from Biblical and Jewish literature, but there are some Greco-Roman examples too (esp. Plato’s Phaedo). In John, the farewell discourses are part of the extended passion narrative that starts with “The plot to kill Jesus” in John 11:45-53 (or even with the cleansing of the temple in John 2:13-22). We will first discuss genre and structure and then move on to a detailed reading of the texts, beginning with the narrative embedded in chapter 2 and chapters 11-13. Special attention will be paid to the way the author of the gospel makes use of the farewell discourses to encode information on and messages to the community of his own days.
PQ: BIBL 32500 Introduction to the New Testament, or equivalent course. No Greek necessary, but a special Greek reading will be offered (M/W 10:20-11:00, S208)
Ident. NTEC 30201

BIBL 43800

Narrative in Deuteronomy

Stackert, Jeffrey

T/Th

9:30-10:50

S403

This course is an exegetical study of selected narrative texts from the book of Deuteronomy (in Hebrew). We will focus on the setting of Deuteronomy within the larger pentateuchal plot and the purpose of its authors against their source texts.
PQ: Good knowledge of Biblical Hebrew.

BIBL 54400

Plutarch and the New Testament

Klauck, Hans-Josef

M

1:00-3:50

S403

Plutarch of Chaironeia, who lived between ca. 45 and 125 C.E., is not only a contemporary of the authors of the New Testament, but also one of our main sources for information on history, policy, religions, philosophy, literature, and social life of the lst century C.E. He was a prolific writer and produced a vast number of books. Much of his writing is preserved in two series: The “Vita” and the “Moralia” (all available in the LCL, though we will prefer the Teubner edition for the Greek text). We will try to cover a representative selection of texts, alternating between close reading of certain passages in Greek and overviews based on translations. The identification of fruitful parallels to early Christian writings will be a common task for all participants.
PQ: Good knowledge of Greek.
IDENT. NTEC 44400

THEO 30700

History of Christian Thought V

Hector, Kevin

M

1:30-4:20

S106

This course traces the history of Modern Christian thought from Kant, Schleiermacher and Hegel through Troeltsch and Barth.
IDENT. HCHR 30900

THEO 46900

Reinhold Niebuhr: Theology and Ethics *

Gamwell, Franklin

T/TH

9:00-10:20

S201

This course examines Reinhold Niebuhr’s systematic theology, especially his arguments for the Christian understanding of human existence and for the relation of the moral enterprise to the reality of God.
Ident. RETH 46100

THEO 48601

The Book of Nature: Diachronic Perspectives

Otten, Willemein

M

1:30-4:20

S208

The aim of this course is to follow the familiar metaphor of the book of nature by looking at some key turning points in its development, focusing especially on the conflict of science and scripture. This metaphor has a long theological history dating back to Origen and Augustine and resurfacing in the Middle Ages. In the twelfth century renaissance the image of a book written by God who sanctioned its reading, bespeaks nature’s revelatory quality, which is seen as having biblical roots (Rom. 1:20). In addition to its cosmological overtones as evidenced in the interpretation of Genesis, the metaphor reveals important anthropological/soteriological aspects as well. Yet the parallelism with the book of scripture that it invokes changes over time, from a heuristic tool legitimating scientific endeavor gradually turning into a benign simile with illustrative value rather than scientific validity. In anti-modernist fundamentalist literature the simile seems to have come back with a vengeance, positing the dominance of scriptural over scientific interpretation as a fact of tradition, as in the debate on intelligent design.
PQ: Knowledgeof Latin recommended.
IDent. HCHR 48600

THEO 52700

Schleirmacher’s Glaubenslehre

Hector, Kevin

W

1:30-4:20

S200

This course will engage in a close reading of Schleiermacher’s magnum opus in order to address questions such as the following: To what extent is the Glaubenslehre recognizable as an “ecclesial” theology (as Schleiermacher himself understood it)? To what extent is it recognizable as “Modern,” “Liberal,” and “Protestant,” and how might its recognition as such affect our understanding of these terms? How should we understand Schleiermacher’s theological method and his account of Christian doctrines? To what extent are the standard interpretations of his views adequate? Does Schleiermacher contribute anything of lasting importance to Christian thought?

DVPR 41300

Collective Identities: From the ‘I’ to the ‘We’

Descombes, Vincent

W

1:30-4:20

Foster 305

This course will explore issues in the philosophy of the first person, both singular and plural. Its aim will be to make sense of the shift from philosophical attempts to define the human essence (“What is Man?”) to current reflections on the possibility of a self-defining subject, first as achieving self-identity in the form of personal selfhood (“Who am I?”) then as belonging to a collective self-defining subject (“Who are we?”). Reference will be made to seminal papers by Elizabeth Anscombe (“The First Person”, “On Brute Facts”, “The Questions of Linguistic Idealism”) as well as to John Searle’s book on “The Construction of Social Reality”.

IDENT. SCTH 51300

DVPR 49100

Moral and Political Philosophy of Foucault

Davidson, Arnold

ARR

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CHRM 30500

Colloquium: Introduction to Ministry Studies

Lindner, Cynthia/Boyd, Kevin

W

1:30-3:00

S400

PQ: For 1st year M.DIV. students.

CHRM 35600

Arts of Ministry: Preaching

Lindner, Cynthia

F

9:00-11:50

S400

PQ: 2nd year M.DIV. students, others by consent of instructor.

CHRM 40600

The Practice of Ministry

Boyd, Kevin

F

1:30-3:20

S400

PQ: 2nd year M. DIV. students.

AASR 32900

Classical Theories of Religion

Lincoln, Bruce

M/W

10:00-11:20

S201

IDENT. HREL 32900/ANTH 35005

AASR 41201

Asceticism and Modernity

Riesebrodt, Martin

Tu

1:30-4:20

MEM Seminar Room

Ascetic ideals and practices have played an important role in social theory and philosophy for the understanding and explanation of specific features on Western modernity and modern ways of life. Authors like Nietzsche, Weber and Foucault will be among those closely read in this class, but others will be consulted as well.
IDENT. SOCI 40160

HIJD 47200

Modern Jewish Intellectual History *

Mendes-Flohr, Paul

M

3:00-5:50

S200

A diachronic and synchronic survey of the major figures and themes of modern Jewish thought. With due regard to the distinctive dynamics of modern Jewish history, we will examine how various Jewish thinkers from the 17th century on confronted the challenges to theistic faith posed by modern epistemologies and conceptions of the good. We will conclude with a critical reading of Hilary Putman, Jewish Philosophy as a Guide to Life. Rosenzweig, Buber, Levinas, Wittgenstein.

HIJD 48200

Leo Strauss and Judaism

Mendes-Flohr, Paul

W

3:00-5:50

S400

We will explore Strauss’ life-long navigation between Athens and Jerusalem from the perspective of his Jewish writings.

HCHR 30900

History of Christian Thought V

Hector, Kevin

M

1:30-4:20

S106

This course traces the history of Modern Christian thought from Kant, Schleiermacher and Hegel through Troeltsch and Barth.
IDENT. THEO 30700

HCHR 41401

Gender, Power, and Religion in Medieval
Europe (800-1100)

Pick, Lucy

F

12:00-3:00

Newberry Library

This course will examine the intersection of religious and secular power and the way these were reflected in and shaped by the gender systems of early medieval Europe. Topics to be studied include Kantorowicz’s notion of “the king’s two bodies,” royal men and women, women and memorial culture, lineage and gender, marriage, and monastic culture. We will examine the Carolingian world and its aftermath, Ottonian Germany, Anglo-Saxon England, Hungary, and the early Spanish kingdoms.
PQ: Reading knowledge of Latin
IDENT. HIST 42701, GNDR 41400

HCHR 42901

Christianity and Slavery in America, 1619-1865 *

Evans, Curtis

T/Th

9:00-10:20

S208

This course examines the history of Christian thought and practice in respect to slavery in the United States. Particular attention is paid to Christian missions to slaves, the defense of slavery, debates over abolition, and the practice and evolution of slave religion.

HCHR 43301

Religion in Modern America, 1865-1920 *

Evans, Curtis

T/Th

1:00-2:20

S201

This course is a general history of religion in America from the Civil War to 1920. Special emphases included religious practice, interreligious contact and conflict, race, gender, and the changing social and public dimensions of religion in America.

HCHR 48600

The Book of Nature: Diachronic Perspectives

Otten, Willemein

M

1:30-4:20

S208

The aim of this course is to follow the familiar metaphor of the book of nature by looking at some key turning points in its development, focusing especially on the conflict of science and scripture. This metaphor has a long theological history dating back to Origen and Augustine and resurfacing in the Middle Ages. In the twelfth century renaissance the image of a book written by God who sanctioned its reading, bespeaks nature’s revelatory quality, which is seen as having biblical roots (Rom. 1:20). In addition to its cosmological overtones as evidenced in the interpretation of Genesis, the metaphor reveals important anthropological/soteriological aspects as well. Yet the parallelism with the book of scripture that it invokes changes over time, from a heuristic tool legitimating scientific endeavor gradually turning into a benign simile with illustrative value rather than scientific validity. In anti-modernist fundamentalist literature the simile seems to have come back with a vengeance, positing the dominance of scriptural over scientific interpretation as a fact of tradition, as in the debate on intelligent design.
PQ: Knowledgeof Latin recommended.
Ident. THEO 48601

HCHR 48800

New Directions in the Study of American Culture

Slauter, Eric

Th

9:00-11:50

RO 405

This lecture/discussion course provides an introduction to American literary and cultural history between the 16th and 19th centuries. We survey major texts (novels, essays, poems, plays and personal narratives) from colonial North American settlement, the Enlightenment, the Revolutionary era, the American Renaissance, and the Civil War in light of a series of overlapping themes—tensions between liberty and authority, slavery and equality, national and regional identity, individualism and democracy, the impact of social and political change on intellectual work. Adopting a transnational and comparative perspective and focusing specifically on the relationship between writing and culture, we also treat connections between literature and other disciplines, including anthropology, history, law, philosophy, politics, religion and the visual arts.
IDENT. RLIT 48800, ENGL 55404

ISLM 43300

Comparative Mystical Literature

Sells, Michael

M

1:30-4:20

MEM Library

PQ: Willingness to work in one of these languages: Arabic, Latin, Greek, French (medieval), German (medieval), Hebrew, Aramaic or Spanish.
Ident. RLIT 43600

HREL 32900

Classical Theories of Religion

Lincoln, Bruce

M/W

10:00-11:20

S201

IDENT. AASR 32900/ANTH 35005

HREL 39700

Introduction to Buddhism *

Collins, Steven

T/TH

9:00-10:20

ARR

This course, which is intended for both undergraduates and graduates, introduces students to some aspects of the philosophy, psychology, and meditation practice of the Theravada Buddhist tradition in premodern and modern South and Southeast Asia, and also in the modern west. It looks first at basic Buddhist ideas and practices, and then at the relationship(s) between Buddhism and psychology, in two ways: in relation to the indigenous psychology of the Shan in contemporary Northern Thailand, and then in the ways elements from Buddhist meditation have been taken up in recent years by western scientific psychologists. The course ends with an ethnography of a Buddhist meditation monastery in Thailand. Throughout the course attention is paid to the role(s) of gender.
IDENT. SALC 29700/39700/ RLST 26100/ CHDV 29701/39701

RLIT 41403

Theory of Criticism:
Twentieth Century II (1960-2000) *

Rosengarten, Richard

F

1:30-4:20

S208

The course opens by examining the genesis, appearance, substance and reception of two landmark texts of 1967: Jacques Derrida’s Grammatology, and E.D. Hirsch’s Validity in Interpretation. We shall then proceed to examine subsequent developments, some related to these two works and others not, through the end of the century. As with Part I, the course will identify and study major new approaches across the too frequently differentiated fields of literary theory, aesthetics, and hermeneutics, and will trace their historical and thematic engagements. Also as with part I, we will attend especially to these texts’ literary qualities and to the ways in which “theory” displaces “literature” as its own central object of inquiry—with special attention to the implications for religion as category of human behavior, norm and cultural practice.

RLIT 43600

Comparative Mystical Literature

Sells, Michael

M

1:30-4:20

MEM Library

PQ: Willingness to work in one of these languages: Arabic, Latin, Greek, French (medieval), German (medieval), Hebrew, Aramaic or Spanish.
Ident. ISLM 43300

RLIT 48800

New Directions in the Study of American Culture

Slauter, Eric

Th

9:00-11:50

RO 405

This lecture/discussion course provides an introduction to American literary and cultural history between the 16th and 19th centuries. We survey major texts (novels, essays, poems, plays and personal narratives) from colonial North American settlement, the Enlightenment, the Revolutionary era, the American Renaissance, and the Civil War in light of a series of overlapping themes—tensions between liberty and authority, slavery and equality, national and regional identity, individualism and democracy, the impact of social and political change on intellectual work. Adopting a transnational and comparative perspective and focusing specifically on the relationship between writing and culture, we also treat connections between literature and other disciplines, including anthropology, history, law, philosophy, politics, religion and the visual arts.
IDENT. HCHR 48800, ENGL 55404

RETH 43900

Religion and Democracy

Gamwell, Franklin

T/Th

1:30-2:50

S208

An examination of legal, philosophical, and theological views on the proper role of religious beliefs and religious communities within a democratic political process, with focus on contemporary United States politics.

RETH 46100

Reinhold Niebuhr: Theology and Ethics *

Gamwell, Franklin

T/Th

9:00-10:20

S201

This course examines Reinhold Niebuhr’s systematic theology, especially his arguments for the Christian understanding of human existence and for the relation of the moral enterprise to the reality of God.
Ident. THEO 46900

RETH 51301

Seminar: Law-Philosophy:
Religious Liberty and Toleration

Nussbaum, Martha

M

3:00-6:00

ARR

This is a seminar/workshop most of whose participants are faculty from various area institutions. It admits approximately ten students by permission of the instructor. Its aim is to study, each year, a topic that arises in both philosophy and the law and to ask how bringing the two fields together may yield mutual illumination.
PQ: Students should submit a c.v. and a statement (reasons for interest in the course, relevant background in law and/or philosophy) by September 20 to Prof. Nussbaum by email.
IDENT. PLSC 51301