The University of Chicago Divinity School

DVSC 622 30200

Introduction to Historical Studies in Religion

Klauck/Robinson

M/W

3:00-4:20

S106

This course is the third in a three-course sequence introducing M.A. students to the three academic committees of the Divinity School. The course will use an extended case study—the figure of Abraham in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—to explore issues and methods in the historical study of religion. The three main concerns of the course are the following: (1) an examination of the biblical text itself in light of modern critical scholarship; (2) a history of the text’s reception by the “Abrahamic” religions; and (3) reflection upon the historical and exegetical approaches to both text and tradition.
PQ: Open only to first-year A.M.R.S. and M.A. students.
Discussion groups Fridays, 3:00-4:50, in S106

DVSC 622 45100

Reading Course: Special Topics in Divinity

Staff

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

DVSC 622 49900

Exam Preparation: Divinity

Staff

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Open only to Ph.D. students in quarter of qualifying exams; enter section from faculty list.

DVSC 622 50300

Research: Divinity

Staff

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Petition signed by instructor; enter section from faculty list.

DVSC 622 59900

Thesis Work: Divinity

Staff

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Petition signed by instructor; enter section from faculty list.

BIBL 603 30800

Introduction to the Hebrew Bible

Menn

M/W

10:00-11:20

S106

BIBL 603 38700

Advanced Biblical Exegesis: Genesis 12–38

Frymer-Kensky

T

3:00-5:50

S200

This is an exegesis class that concentrates on the Abraham Cycle (Genesis 12–22 and 23–24) and selections from the Jacob Cycle.
PQ: 1 year Biblical Hebrew.
Ident. JWSG 38700, HIJD 38400

BIBL 603 43300

Introduction to Papyrology

Martinez

T/Th

10:30-11:50

ARR

Ident. GREK 21600/36100/NTEC 31000

BIBL 603 53301

ECL Seminar: Apollonius of Tyana and Early Christian
Literature

Klauck/Mitchell

F

2:00-4:50

S403

Apollonius of Tyana, a neo-Pythagorean teacher and miracle worker executed in the reign of Domitian, was invoked as a parallel to Jesus already in antiquity by critics of Christianity, such as Celsus (second century) and Hierocles (third to fourth centuries). Modern scholars continue to ask about the possible relationships between the man and the literary figure of Apollonius and Jesus of Nazareth and early Christian authors. This seminar will involve a close reading of portions of the letters attributed to Apollonius, and the famous Vita Apollonii by Philostratus, alongside some provocative parallels in Gospel texts, as well as an investigation of Eusebius of Caesarea’s reading of the Vita Apollonii in his apologetic reply to Hierocles’ claim that Jesus was no different from Apollonius—a miracle-worker beloved of the gods, but surely not more.
PQ: Good knowledge of Greek.
Ident. NTEC 53301, HCHR 53301

BIBL 603 53700

Essentials of Biblical Religion

Frymer-Kensky

Th

3:00-5:50

S200

This is an advanced seminar about important topics in Biblical Religion. Each week a different topic will be explored in depth. The passages on the topic will be collected and read in relation to each other and to their individual contexts, and the state of scholarship will be analyzed.
PQ: At least one Bible course. Knowledge of Hebrew is not required.
Ident. JWSG

THEO 604 30700

History of Christian Thought V

Tanner

M/W

1:30-2:50

S208

An intellectual history of modern Christian thought from the beginning of the nineteenth to the early twentieth century: from Schleiermacher to Troeltsch.
Ident. HCHR 30900

THEO 604 41901

Modernity/Theology/Philosophy

Lacoste

T/Th

10:00-11:20

S200

We shall argue (a) that modernity is a vague object; (b) that there is no modernity, but a plurality of modernities; (c) that neither modernity nor modernities have reached their end; (d) that there may be nonetheless non-chronological ways out of modernity. The dialogue, cross-fertiziation and mutual critique of theology and philosophy will be studied as a key revelator of modern, or "modern", thought. This will help us to clarify the issue of a continuity of theology in the discontinuity of periods. Authors that will be studied include Jacques Maritain, Fergus Kerr and Etienne Gilson.

THEO 604 36700

Salvation

Tanner

T

1:00-3:50

S400

A study of the various ways Christian theologians have understood salvation, from the early church to the present.

THEO 604 43100

Early Modern Colloquium

Schreiner

M/W

1:30-2:50

S204

IDENT. HCHR 43100

THEO 604 43101

Catholic Reformation

Schreiner

M/W

10:00-11:20

S204

Ident. HCHR 43101

THEO 604 43402

From Existence to Spiritual Life

Lacoste

F

1:00-3:50

S208

This course will take as its starting point the description(s) of existence found in Heidegger's Being and Time and later texts. It will then describe experiences, or modes of being, which may be viewed as subversions of existence, or as "non-existing" experiences. It will propose an interpretation of the way existence is kput into question by "non-standard experiences." Finally it will find in "spiritual life", especially in liturgical experiences, a mode of being inclusive of all experiences. Authors that will be studied include Martin Heidegger, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Andrew Louth, and jean-Yves Lacoste.

DVPR 605 30302

Indian Philosophy II

Kapstein

T/Th

10:30-11:50

S204

Ident. HREL 30300

DVPR 605 33800

Theory of Reference

Stern

T/Th

10:30-11:50

TBA

A survey of recent theories of names, descriptions, and truth. We will discuss the relation of reference to meaning as well as the epistemological and metaphysical consequences drawn from theses about reference. After briefly reviewing classical sources (e.g. Frege, Russell, and Tarski), we will concentrate on current work by Searle, Kripke, Donnellan, Kaplan, Putnam, Evans, Davidson, and Burge.
PQ: Prior exposure to analytic philosophy recommended
Ident. PHIL 23801/33801

DVPR 605 34800

Descartes, My Body and Other Bodies

Marion

Th

2:00-4:50

S106

Two among the most widely admitted difficulties in Descartes' philosophy -- the mind-body problem and the (non)existence of the external world may be overcome by connecting both of them as the two sides of the same question.
Ident. PHIL 34512, FNDL 22302

DVPR 605 48700

Intentionality and Personal Identity in Philosophy of Religion

Arnold

Th

1:00-3:50

MEMLibrary

This course will explore the hypothesis that a great many seemingly disparate issues in philosophy of religion can be understood to relate to (or indeed, to be expressions of) views of the person. The course will focus on a particular category that has figured prominently in modern attempts to characterize or individuate "persons": that of intentionality. Most closely associated with the rather different disciplines of phenomenology and philosophy of mind, this concept turns out to comprise many of the features that may be thought to be most distinctively human--and particularly features that may be said to figure in characteristically religious assessments of the human situation. Thus, the concept of intentionality, proposed by some as the defining feature of subjectivity or "the mental" (as contra insentient objects), involves a whole range of phenomena (belief, knowledge, desire) that relate, most basically, to the very idea of meaning--given which, it is not surprising that many seemingly disparate discussions in philosophy of religion can be seen to involve this.

DVPR 605 48800

Issues in Buddhist Philosophy of Language

Arnold

F

9:00-11:50

S403

This course is most basically concerned to develop and understanding of the perennially vexed Buddhist doctrine of apoha (exclusion) or anyopoha (exclusion of what is other)--the complex and sophisticated doctrine that is widely considered to be the signal Buddhist contribution to the philosophy of language. In attempting, however, to situate this doctrine within the larger conceptual context of the Buddhist project, we will try to appreciate that the significance of this topic is much broader than that. Thus, the doctrine of apoha can be understood not only as concerning the referents of words, but as a more general epistemological account of "mental content"--that is, of what is present to our minds when we are thinking about something, and of how these objects of thought relate to a larger world. Seen this way, the doctrine of apoha can be understood as a logical and elegant expression of central Buddhist commitments.
PQ: This course may involve the opportunity to read some Sanskrit primary sources.
Ident. SALC 48310

DVPR 605 50001

The Gift, the Given, and Phenomenality

Marion

T

2:00-4:50

S106

Starting with the empirical question of the gift (M. Mauss), we shall discuss the aporias of this extraordinary phenomenon (Derrida) and try to discover its phenomenological legitimacy. Then the question of the givenness of the phenomena as such would be asked on a new basis.
Ident. PHIL 33902

DVPR 605 50602

Buddhist Esoteric Verse

Kapstein

Tu

3:00-5:50

S204

The esoteric songs attributed to Indian Buddhist tantric adepts of the late first and early milleniums represent the beginnings of the modern North Indian literatures and enjoyed as well a considerable legacy in Tibet. Often difficult and obscure both linguistically and symbolically, on occasion they demonstrate remarkable abstraction, employing a technical vocabulary drawn from Buddhist philosophical and contemplative works. In the present seminar we will survey in depth the history of the study and translation of this remarkable literature, referring particularly to the contributions of Kvaerne, Guenther and Jackson. For students working in the original languages, supplementary meetings will be arranged. Permission of the instructor required to register. Audits will not be permitted except in the case of Advanced graduate students conducting dissertation research in this or a related area.
Ident. HREL 50602, SALC____

CHRM 606 30700

Introduction to the Study of Ministry

Boden

W

3:00-4:20

S400

DO NOT REGISTER FOR THIS COURSE.

CHRM 606 35700

Arts of Ministry: Pastoral Care

Lindner

F

9:00-11:50

S400

This course will introduce students to the foundation stones of a practical theology of care, including the history and traditions of pastoral care, resources in theology and the religious traditions, knowledge and critical attention to historical, moral, and cultural contexts, self-reflection, and practice.
PQ: For second-year M.Div. students.

CHRM 606 36000

Advanced Preaching Seminar: The Word Before the Powers

Lindner

Th

12:00-2:50

S400

This course will offer experienced preachers additional theological resources and practical skills for the development of the prophetic voice in preaching. Students will read and analyze classic works in the prophetic tradition, and compose and write sermons addressing critical issues of public life.
PQ: Arts of Ministry: Preaching, or permission of the instructor.

CHRM 606 40800

The Practice of Ministry III

Piñón

F

1:00-3:50

S400

HIJD 625 31800

The Mystical Theology of the Maggid Dov Ber of Mezhirech

Fishbane

Th

1:00-3:50

S208

The course will focus on the teachings of the great eighteenth-century Hasidic master, R. Dov Ber Friedman, a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov. Emphasis will be on his teaching of nothingness, humility, and self-annihilation. Some of his spiritual exercises will also be studied—particularly dealing with prayer meditation, the treatment of “strange thoughts”, and the practice of piety in the “everyday”.
PQ: Knowledge of Hebrew required. Course available for students in Jewish Studies.
Ident. JWSG 31800

HIJD 625 38400

Advanced Biblical Exegesis: Genesis 12–38

Frymer-Kensky

T

3:00-5:50

S200

This is an exegesis class that concentrates on the Abraham Cycle (Genesis 12–22 and 23–24) and selections from the Jacob Cycle.
PQ: One year of Biblical Hebrew.
Ident. JWSG 38700, BIBL 38700

HIJD 625 42700

Interactions Between Jewish Philosophy and Literature in the Middle Ages

Robinson

Th

2:00-5:00

S403

Any study of Jewish philosophy that focuses on a small collection of systematic summas tells only half the story. In this course, the emphasis will be shifted from canonical theologies to lesser-known works of literature. Each class will examine the way a different genre (poetry, epistle, dialogue, ethical testament, allegorical tale, maqama, sermon, commentary and supercommentary, preface) was used to defend philosophy and teach it to the community at large. Emphasis will be on literary form and style, rhetoric, methods of teaching and argumentation, all in relation to questions about reception and dissemination, progress and creativity, science and religion. There is no language requirement, but there will be an extra session for students who possess reading knowledge of Hebrew.
Ident. JWSG 42700, SCTH

HIJD 625 47700

Poetic Theology

Fishbane

T

1:00-3:50

S406

A study of the theme and theology of light in Jewish theology, as reflected in Hebrew poetry—ancient, medieval and modern. Students with Hebrew will have separtate sections.
Ident. JWSG 47700.

HCHR 604 30900

History of Christian Thought V

Tanner

M/W

1:30-2:50

S208

An intellectual history of modern Christian thought from the beginning of the nineteenth to the early twentieth century: from Schleiermacher to Troeltsch.
Ident. THEO 30700

HCHR 626 41600

American Sermons

Gilpin

T/Th

9:00-11:20

S208

A cultural history of preaching in America, from the colonial period to the present, relating it to other forms of public rhetoric and performance.

HCHR 626 42100

The Enlightenment in America

Brekus

W

1:30-4:20

S403

Ident. HIST 63000

HCHR 626 42700

Revising the American Religious Historical Canon

Brekus

M

9:00-11:50

S400

Ident. HIST 63800

HCHR 626 43100

Early Modern Colloquium

Schreiner

M/W

1:30-2:50

S204

Ident. THEO 43100

THEO 604 43101

Catholic Reformation

Schreiner

M/W

10:00-11:20

S204

Ident. THEO 43101

HCHR 626 46400

Religion in the English Renaissance

Strier

Th

3:00-5:50

ARR

This course will study the interaction between the Renaissance and the Reformation in various works written in English in the 16th and 17th centuries. Authors to be studied will probably include: Spenser, Shakespeare, Donne (poetry and prose) Herbert and Milton.
Ident. RLIT 46400/ENGL 52601.

HCHR 626 46801

Medieval Christianity II

Hollywood

M/W

3:00-4:20

S204

HCHR 626 53301

ECL Seminar: Apollonius of Tyana and Early Christian Literature

Klauck/Mitchell

F

2:00-4:50

S403

Apollonius of Tyana, a neo-Pythagorean teacher and miracle worker executed in the reign of Domitian, was invoked as a parallel to Jesus already in antiquity by critics of Christianity such as Celsus (second century) and Hierocles (third to fourth centuries). Modern scholars continue to ask about the possible relationships between the man and the literary figure of Apollonius and Jesus of Nazareth and early Christian authors. This seminar will involve a close reading of portions of the letters attributed to Apollonius, and the famous Vita Apollonii by Philostratus, alongside some provocative parallels in Gospel texts, as well as an investigation of Eusebius of Caesarea’s reading of the Vita Apollonii in his apologetic reply to Hierocles’ claim that Jesus was no different from Apollonius—a miracle-worker beloved of the gods, but surely not more.
PQ: Good knowledge of Greek.
Ident. NTEC 53301, BIBL 53301

HREL 628 30300

Indian Philosophy II

Kapstein

T/Th

10:30-11:50

S204

Ident. DVPR 30302

HREL 628 40201

Witch Trials and Witch Hunts

Lincoln

M/W

9:00-10:20

S208

HREL 628 44701

Ritual in South Asian Buddhism

Wedemeyer

F

2:00-4:50

MMC Library

Though many claim (based on a selective reading of canonical Buddhist literature) that the Buddha’s “original teaching” involved a rejection of ritual activity, actual Buddhists seem to have been engaged in a wide variety of ritual activities in every historical period of which we have surviving evidence. In this course, we will explore some questions surrounding ritual practice in Buddhism, and analyze a range of ritual activities attested in Buddhist communities of South Asia. An attempt will be made to link the results of this work with current developments in ritual studies more generally.

HREL 628 45002

Studies in Buddhism: The Moderns

Wedemeyer

M

2:00-4:50

S403

The second of a two-quarter survey of the major landmarks in the study of Buddhism in the modern academy. Beginning with Second Imperialist War (a.k.a. WWII), we will examine the progress of Buddhist Studies in the twentieth century: institutionally, intellectually, and ideologically. Attention will be given to tracing the outlines of the historical contexts, strategies of legitimation, sources of funding and institutional foundations, and directions of research which have characterized the study of Buddhism in more recent memory.
PQ: Reading knowledge in French; HREL 45001 “Studies in Buddhism: The Classics”

HREL 628 45600

Divination and Prophecy in the Ancient Mediterranean World

Lincoln/Faraone

M

1:30-4:20

CL26

Ident. ANCM 42400

HREL 628 50602

Buddhist Esoteric Verse

Kapstein

Tu

3:00-5:50

S204

The esoteric songs attributed to Indian Buddhist tantric adepts of the late first and early milleniums represent the beginnings of the modern North Indian literatures and enjoyed as well a considerable legacy in Tibet. Often difficult and obscure both linguistically and symbolically, on occasion they demonstrate remarkable abstraction, employing a technical vocabulary drawn from Buddhist philosophical and contemplative works. In the present seminar we will survey in depth the history of the study and translation of this remarkable literature, referring particularly to the contributions of Kvaerne, Guenther and Jackson. For students working in the original languages, supplementary meetings will be arranged. Permission of the instructor required to register. Audits will not be permitted except in the case of Advanced graduate students conducting dissertation research in this or a related area.
Ident. DVPR 50602, SALC____

RLIT 635 36101

Victor Hugo

Meltzer

M

1:30-4:20

ARR

In English, texts read in the original. Reading knowledge of French required.
Ident. CMLT 33700

RLIT 635 43900

Theory of Literature: The Twentieth Century

Rosengarten

T

1:30-4:20

S403

This course offers a survey of major movements in twentieth-century theorizing about meaning in literature and art. A major theme of the course will be theories that focus on language as the locus of meaning (the trajectory of Wittgenstein, Austin, Derrida, etc.), but we will also consider hermeneutics, aesthetics, and major “schools”, e.g. the New Criticism, the New Literary History, Marxism, Psychoanalysis, and Gender and Feminist approaches.
PQ: Intro to Religion and Literature or consent of the instructor.

RLIT 635 46400

Religion in the English Renaissance

Strier

Th

3:00-5:50

ARR

This course will study the interaction between the Renaissance and the Reformation in various works written in English in the 16th and 17th centuries. Authors to be studied will probably include: Spenser, Shakespeare, Donne (poetry and prose) Herbert and Milton.
Ident. HCHR 46400/ENGL 52601.

RETH 638 31600

Religion and the First Amendment

Nussbaum

ARR

ARR

ARR

This course will cover the major legal issues in this area, focusing on the relationship between the Establishment clause and the Free Exercise clause. Some background reading in philosophy (e.g. Hobbes, Locke) will begin the class, and some comparative reading about other countries (especially India) will end it.
Ident. PHIL 21416/31416, LAW____.

RETH 638 51303

Law-Philosophy Seminar

Nussbaum/Sunstein

ARR

ARR

ARR

This is a seminar/workshop most of whose participants are faculty from seven area institutions. It admits approximately ten students by permission of the instructors. Its aim is to study, each year, a topic that arises in both philosophy and law and to ask how bringing the two fields together may yield mutual illumination. There are twelve meetings throughout the year, always on Mondays from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Half of the sessions are led by local faculty, half by visiting speakers. The leader assigns readings for the session (which may be by that person, by other contemporaries, or by major historical figures), and the sessions consists of a brief introduction by the leader, followed by structured questioning by the two faculty coordinators, followed by general discussion. Student write either two 4- to 6-page papers per quarter, or a 20- to 25-page seminar paper at the end of the year. The course satisfies the Law School Writing Requirement. The schedule of meetings will be announced by mid-September, and prospective students should submit their credentials to both instructors by September 20. Past themes have included: practical reason; equality; privacy; autonomy; global justice; pluralism and toleration; war; sexuality and family.

The theme for 2004–2005 will be race. Likely speakers include: Kwane Anthony Appiah, Lawrence Blum, Lani Guinier, Sally Haslanger, Randy Kennedy, Michelle Moody-Adams, Patricia Williams (outside visitors); Danielle Allen, Cathy Cohen, Bob Gooding-Williams, Bernard Harcourt, Tracey Meares, David Strauss, Ken Warren (locals).
Ident. LAW 61502, PHIL 51200, GNDR 50103, HMRT 51303, PLSC

AASR 607 35000

Modern Islam and Politics

Zeghal

M/W

10:00-11:20

MMC Library

The course is designed to explore the relationship between Islam and politics in post second-world-war Middle East societies. Are Islam and politics intrinsically inseparable? Why did political Islam emerge in the seventies as a tremendously powerful ideological tool for protest? How has it evolved today?

To answer these questions, we will shed light on the way nationalism dealt with Islam, especially in the case of North Africa and Egypt. We will also focus on the history of political Islam, its intellectual roots, on its relationship to state sponsored religious institutions and on the way political Islam shaped politics and protest in the second half of the 20th century. But political Islam is not the only way to approach the issue of religion and politics in the Middle East. We will bring to the fore other political traditions, and we will particularly look into the role of the state in regulating and deregulating the religious sphere, showing the diversity of of relationships between state and religion.

AASR 607 40100

Pentecostalism in Global Perspective

Riesebrodt

M

3:00-5:50

S200

PQ: Open to advanced undergraduates.
Ident. SOCI 40128

AASR 607 40800

Religion and Law in Contemporary Europe

Sullivan

W/F

9:00-10:20

S200

This course will introduce themes in the contemporary intersection of religion and law in Europe. These themes will include the legal regulation of religious practices and institutions, conflicts between religious individuals and groups and the State, and the religious cosmologies and anthropologies infusing European law. Together we will explore the complex and layered legal and religious pluralism of Europe. Lectures, readings for class, and discussions in class will focus on establishing some broad contours while students, through individual research projects will investigate case studies that provide a counterpoint to our common work.

AASR 607 43400

Reform and Revival in Islam (18th-20th Century)

Zeghal

T/Th

1:30-2:50

S200

This course will shed light on the complex historical transformation of the original internal religious reforms of Islam in the 18th and 19th century into politicized and/or fundamentalist versions of Islam in the 20th century. We will look at some of the reformers' textual productions and at their interpretations by the historians of Islam: from the Indian Muslim reformist movement to Wahhabism and Middle Eastern Salafiyya. The last part of the course will tackle more recent and globalized reform movements, which define a more liberal apprehension and practice of Islam.

AASR 607 50400

Seminar: Mannheim / Sociology of Knowledge

Riesebrodt/Glaeser

W

9:00-11:50

S403

Ident. SOCI 50400