2024-2025 Academic Catalog
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
This course introduces students to foundational concepts and debates within the humanities and social sciences by studying one of a rotating set of themes (e.g. love, evil, apocalypse) located at the intersection of religion and culture. Emphasis on cultural diversity, historical transformation, interdisciplinary inquiry, problem-solving and the application of academic discussions to everyday life situations.
This course introduces students to foundational concepts and debates within the humanities and social sciences by studying one of a rotating set of themes (e.g. love, evil, apocalypse) located at the intersection of religion and culture. Emphasis on cultural diversity, historical transformation, interdisciplinary inquiry, problem-solving and the application of academic discussions to everyday life situations.
Formation of the category of world religions in the modern West. Basic worldviews, embodied practices, and traditions included under the rubric of world religions. The encounter of and mismatch between traditions identified as world religions and the category of world religions as an instrument of colonialism and imperialism.
Nature of religion and the analysis of it from an academic perspective. Basic tenets of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, including their manifestations in the United States and their involvement in critical issues in a global context Interpretation of key texts from various historical and cultural contexts.
Modern challenges to traditional religion and responses to these challenges, including: religion as an object of critique; law, sovereignty, and religion; religion, gender, and race; religion, science, and technology; religion and media presentations.
Modern challenges to traditional religion and responses to these challenges, including: religion as an object of critique; law, sovereignty, and religion; religion, gender, and race; religion, science, and technology; religion and media presentations.
Influential representative social and religious ethical perspectives from ancient Greek philosophers to the present; ethical reasoning on current pressing and perennial social issues - bioethics, sexuality, family, poverty-- based on historical and ethical analysis of case studies; theoretical assumptions about morality as the relation between living a virtuous life and performing ethical duties.
A one-hour course with the Virginia Tech Prison Book Project. Students will complete a learning module about carceral institutions in the United States and the impact of educational opportunities on the lives of incarcerated people. They will then participate in a service learning event where they match individual requests from incarcerated readers to books and prepare the books for shipping.
Interdisciplinary introductory course explores how food shapes and is shaped by culture and society. Examines how people use food to express meanings (e.g., via foodways, story, art, architecture, religion, ethical codes), how food options, practices, and inequities are shaped by social structures (e.g. cultural and legal norms regarding race, class, and gender), and how the material properties of food (e.g., chemical, ecological, technological) are linked to identities, ideological commitments, and historical moments.
Ancient cultures of the Mediterranean world with a focus on their embodiments in the arts, literature, history, philosophy, and religion. Emphasis on Greek, Hellenistic and Roman cultures, their interrelationships with each other and their historical, cultural, material and intellectual encounters with contemporary Mediterranean cultures as well as their influence on later and modern cultures.
Introduction to Europe and the Mediterranean world in the period between antiquity and the European encounter with the Americas. Investigation of the arts, literature, philosophy, and history of the period in the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic traditions and the multiple types of encounters that those communities experienced. Analysis of the impact the medieval world continues to have on the modern West.
The development and formation of the category of popular culture. Competing theories and methods for analyzing popular culture. Activities, objects, and ideas included under the rubric of popular culture. Critical thinking about the production of popular culture in relation to race, gender, class, and other forms of human difference.
Historical and geographical overview of diverse religious/cultural traditions in Asia, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto. Investigation of the categories religion and culture and their interactions in Asia. Examination of different methodological and interdisciplinary approaches and their integration, with emphasis on critical thinking about the complexities of studying religion and culture in Asia. Asia on a global stage, including Western views of Asia and Asian views of the West.
Historical and geographical overview of diverse religious/cultural traditions in Asia, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto. Investigation of the categories religion and culture and their interactions in Asia. Examination of different methodological and interdisciplinary approaches and their integration, with emphasis on critical thinking about the complexities of studying religion and culture in Asia. Asia on a global stage, including Western views of Asia and Asian views of the West.
Significant case studies in the study of religion and culture with an emphasis on influential and emerging research. Focused engagement with humanities and social sciences research grounded in analysis, comparison, and evaluation of relevant case studies.
Introduction to the methodological tools used by anthropologists and other social scientists to study culture. Engagement with the development of, and debates about, ethnographic methods, as well as their application to case studies. Focus on sample ethnographic accounts of peoples throughout the world, as well as research techniques applicable to many different cultural environments.
Readings from the New Testament in Greek, with attention to grammatical analysis, historical background and other clues interpretation. May repeated with different content for a maximum of 9 credits.
Understanding and integrating source materials for the study of religion in American life. Genealogy of religion and culture in America (USA). Changes and transformations in religious beliefs and practices and their influences on American life. Debates about religion and culture. Entanglements of religion, politics, race, ethnicity, and law.
Introduction to the academic study of Judaism; a variety of scholarly approaches to Jewish textual and cultural sources, including the Hebrew Bible, rabbinic literature, and diverse contemporary cultural, religious, and social expressions. Emphasis on developing skills in critical thinking, reading, and writing about Judaism as a way of understanding the beliefs, philosophies, and histories of global Jewish communities past and present.
The role of religious (or belief) systems in African societies, especially the three predominant religious traditions in Africa: the so-called African Traditional Religious, Islam, and Christianity; the universe of religious systems and religious experiences and processes of Africa, in particular, Sub-Saharan Africa; critical examination of the mythic stature of Africas religions within Western cultural (and scholarly) world views and institutions.
Influence of race and gender on religion and culture. Overview of approaches to categories of diversity, particularly race and gender, in religious and cultural traditions. Utilization of humanistic and social scientific approaches to investigate geographically variable historical and/or contemporary case studies.
Addresses the rise of Islam under the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia, the development of Islam in the Middle Ages, and its resurgence in the 20th century. Issues of geographical, temporal, and ideological diversity, and critical thinking about representations of Islam in the West. Islamic orthodoxy addressed by examining the question of who represents Islam, when, and how.
History of India from pre-historical times to approximately 1700, with particular focus on the interplay between religion and politics. Emphasis on sources for and interpretations (historiography) of early Indian history. Literary versus archaeological record of pre-historic India, the earliest empires and rulers, and impact of the Islamic and wider world on India. Legacies of ancient and medieval India in the contemporary world.
History of India since approximately 1700, with particular focus on Gandhis influence on modern India and the world. Emphasis on sources for and interpretations (historiography) of modern Indian history. Examination of pre-colonial and colonial pasts and legacies. Exploration of Gandhis role in political, social, cultural, and religious movements of the early 20th century, and Gandhis legacy in the independent states of South Asia and the contemporary world.
Exploration of the evolution and alterations of food and cuisines throughout Asian history. Examination of the economic, geographical, political, philosophical/religious, and social underpinnings of food in premodern Asian societies; influence of the Columbian Exchange of Asian and global cuisines; Euro-American imperialism’s impact on food and society in Asia and in the European and American metropoles; emergence of national cuisines in Asia; and Asian food in the post-colonial diaspora.
Introduction to the academic study of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), including its contents, contexts, major themes, and reception; a variety of scholarly approaches, including historical-critical, literary, ethical, and gender studies methods. Emphasis on developing skills in critical thinking, reading, and writing about the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament).
Introduction to the academic study of the New Testament, including gospels, Pauline materials, theological themes, and sources on the emerging church. A variety of scholarly approaches to the New Testament texts and contexts, including historical-critical, redaction critical, and literary methods. Emphasis on developing skills in critical thinking, reading, and writing about the New Testament and the ancient Mediterranean world as a way of understanding the religion and history of early Christianity.
Introduction to legends of King Arthur, including stories, novels, and films from a wide historical timespan. Tales of knights, kings, and fair maidens that have entertained generations and irrevocably shaped cultural values surrounding gender relations, justice, violence, and the use and abuse of power. Analysis of individual texts and broader consideration of the Arthurian tradition during key literary-historical periods from the medieval era to the present.
Surveys ancient Greek and Roman mythology. Provides students with an introduction to selected myths from ancient Greek and Roman literature, including appropriate historical background information. Familiarizes students with how theories of myth have been applied to individual stories and how such mythological tales have been received by authors and artists in subsequent cultures. Explores the interaction and interdependence of mythological tales from different cultures and perspectives. In English.
Exploration of the relationships between religion and science in the western tradition. Basic frameworks for relationships between religion and science in historical and cultural context, types of human knowledge and truth, similarities and differences between science and religion, evolution, the origins of the creationist movement, and contemporary moral and ethical issues.
Investigation of the categories of religion and secularity as they apply to war and peace. Analysis of episodes from both past and present in which religion seems to have played a role. Introduction to research skills related to the study of religion and violence, building from theoretical and historical considerations.
Investigation of religion and politics as distinct categories in different times and places. Analysis of episodes from both past and present in which religion and politics have come together, or have been kept apart. Examination of the roles religion and politics play in the modern world and how they impact the lived experience of diverse populations both in the United States and throughout the world.
Methodology and tools of American Studies, with a focus on developing analytic skills to assess discourse across varied media. Interdisciplinary investigation of histories, politics, cultures, and beliefs in the Americas, including the impacts of encounter and exchange. Intensive study of a specific topic or period.
Interdisciplinary overview of the diverse Asian American experience, incorporating non-Eurocentric perspectives on the Asian immigrant experience and dialogue between Asian American and non-Asian American students. Examination of different historical tracks of various Asian ethnicities, experience of racism, discrimination, cultural adaptation and conflict, and economic survival and success. Gender, age, religious affiliation, family values and inter-generational differences among Asian Americans. The complexity of minority status and the stereotype of “model minority.” Activism, political participation, leadership and the meaning of citizenship among Asian Americans. Representations of Asian Americans in the arts and media.
An examination of women and gender in Islam from a variety perspectives including Muslim women in Islamic history, normative constructions of the role of women in Islam, and womens roles in contemporary Muslim societies. Understanding of women in classical Islam; feminist and reformist approaches; and Western constructions of the rights of women if Islam.
Read works from world literature, guided by selected critical readings. Compare/contrast diverse models of religion and literature. Study how modernity has impacted traditions of religion and culture. Interpret literary texts that draw from multiple religions. Analyze religion-literature controversies in a range of social, cultural, political contexts. Synthesize sources of multiple media, formats, and contexts.
Examination of theories for understanding the ways in which popular objects and practices (such as television programs, films, or attending sporting events) represent, maintain, and contest societal norms, including norms regarding gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, and class and place, with an emphasis on the United States.
Examination of theories for understanding the ways in which popular objects and practices (such as television programs, films, or attending sporting events) represent, maintain, and contest societal norms, including norms regarding gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, and class and place, with an emphasis on the United States.
Exploration of how racial and ethnic identity are expressed through the use of different languages and dialects. Examination of how language is related to issues of equality, social opportunity, and discrimination in the United States.
Exploration of communication in and among various cultural groups through an examination of communicative practices, registers, discourse, and performance. Emphasis on understanding cultural differences and similarities in the different styles and stances in communication and their meanings to participants.
Exploration of communication in and among various cultural groups through an examination of communicative practices, registers, discourse, and performance. Emphasis on understanding cultural differences and similarities in the different styles and stances in communication and their meanings to participants.
Interdisciplinary examination of the genealogy of Indian religions (including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism) through anthropological, literary, historical, and textual source materials. Colonial construction and reform of these religions according to modern, universal European ideas of religion; how European notions of the modern nation-state, law, and religious tolerance, and European concepts of self, autonomy, community, (univocal) language, and multiculturalism impacted Indian religions. Pre-modern versus modern notions of tradition and power in Indian religions. Concepts of secularism, gender, race, conversion, caste, and religious-political identity.
Premodern model of Chinese and Japanese religions: interactions of various traditions (e.g. Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, Shinto, and folk); inseparability of religion, culture, society, and politics. Modern reinventions of religion in China and Japan in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Contemporary issues such as state-religion relations in East Asia, religions of China and Japan in America, East Asian religions and globalization.
Detailed study of the first five books of the Bible, known as the Torah or Pentateuch. Scholarly approaches will include historical-critical research; comparative mythology; form and canon criticism; gender and literary studies; and the reception of these books in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and beyond.
Detailed study of the first five books of the Bible, known as the Torah or Pentateuch. Scholarly approaches will include historical-critical research; comparative mythology; form and canon criticism; gender and literary studies; and the reception of these books in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and beyond.
Literary survey of the various representations of Jesus of Nazareth in canonical and apocryphal Christian literature of the first four centuries. Perspectives on Jesus and the interpretive authority involved in producing such variety. Ancient and modern interpretive frameworks for understanding the person and legacy of Jesus in earliest Christianity, including historical-critical frameworks, redaction criticism, genre criticism, and other literary methods. Analyses of modern religious/political discourses as continuations of ancient theological debates. Emphasis on developing skills in critical thinking and close reading of early Christian texts as a means of understanding the religion(s) and histories of the earliest Christians.
Literary survey focusing on the diversity of Christian beliefs in the first four centuries. Highlights a variety of theological debates and the historical and cultural contexts involved in the eventual production of a Christian orthodoxy, over and against so-called heresy. The history and content of early Christian texts, both canonical and apocryphal. Ancient and modern interpretive frameworks for understanding the variety and diversity of earliest Christian beliefs, including historical-critical frameworks, comparative reading, source criticism, and other literary methods. Emphasis on developing skills in critical thinking and close reading of early Christian texts as a means of understanding the religion(s) and histories of the earliest Christians.
A consideration of religious belief and its justification with attention to such philosophical issues as the nature and existence of the Judeo-Christian-Muslim God, proofs for the existence of God, the problem of evil, a religious basis for ethics, the nature of faith, and the variety of religious beliefs.
This course provides a historical account, a psychological analysis, and an occasion for philosophical contemplation on the Holocaust. We will examine the deliberate and systematic attempt to annihilate the Jewish people by the National Socialist German State during World War II. Although Jews were the primary victims, Gypsies, people with disabilities, homosexuals, Jehovahs Witnesses and political dissidents were targeted; we will discuss their fate as well. The class will be organized around the examination of primary sources: written accounts, photographic and film, personal testimony.
The origins and development of religious violence examined from an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspective; the place of that phenomenon in medieval society. Christianity, Islam, Judaism and their interactions in the medieval world.
This course provides a survey on the political history of the State of Israel and highlights major themes uniquely characterizing the specific events surrounding its establishment and its first 50 years of existence. Additionally, the course will add a comparative dimension by using the political history of Israel as a case study to discuss major themes in political science such as democracy, government, political, economy, etc.
Critical issues in religion in the Middle East. Competing methods for analyzing religion in the Middle East. Key concepts relating to religion and inter-religious relations in the Middle East such as minority, majority, tolerance, citizenship, and family law. Critical thinking about the relationship between Islam and other religions with particular reference to Muslim-Jewish and Muslim-Christian relations.
The impact of religion and culture in contemporary European politics and societies. Nationalism versus European cosmopolitanism. Religion, religious radicalism and religious tolerance in Europe. Culture and society in European urban and rural areas. Attitudes towards women and LGBTQ in Europe. Social foundations and cultural determinants of marginalization of social groups, migrants and refugees.
Debates about the resurgence of religion in the modern world. Complexities involved in defining religion. Social-scientific, phenomenological, and cultural approaches to the study of religion. Theories concerning what role religion should play in the public sphere. Theories about secularism, secularization, and the differentiation between religion and politics.
Religion as a social structure as well as an institution; with special attention to the functions of religion for individuals, groups and societies, social organization; and the interplay between religion and other social institutions including economics and polity. Taught alternate years.
In-depth study of special interdisciplinary topic. Topics vary but involve a close and extensive study of the interrelationship between cultural ideas and their expressions in several of the following forms: literature, philosophy, religion, art, music, drama, material culture, and popular culture. May be repeated with different topics, for a maximum of 9 credits.
Selected topics from the religions of the world such as time and the sacred, preliterate religions, women and religion, religion and science, mysticism. May be taken three times for credit with different topics.
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