Department of Religious Studies & Philosophy

Close up of the statue of St. Teresa of Avila

Courses

Philosophy

The following courses are offered in the department.

PL 111 Introduction to Philosophy (3 credit hours)

A critical examination of fundamental philosophical challenges to the nature of reality, religious belief, moral responsibility, and human freedom by addressing perennial questions, such as: How should I live? How do we know what we know? Is free will an illusion? Is the existence (or non-existence) of God or gods something that can be proved rationally? What is the proper balance between the public good and our own private freedom? Is there an independent standard for judging what is truly real versus what is truly an illusion? 2015 CORE: Belief & Reason, Acquire. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Philosophy.

PL 113 Critical Reasoning (3 credit hours)

This course will focus on the study of arguments and will help students develop techniques useful in recognizing, analyzing, and evaluating arguments. The application of both inductive and deductive criteria for evaluating arguments will be explored as well as other criteria of evaluation. Topics the course will cover include rational argumentation, fallacies, definition, meaning, truth, and evidence. 2015 CORE: Explorations of Nature, Acquire. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Philosophy. FA.

PL 224 Robots, Machines, & Humans (3 credit hours)

This seminar is a critical examination of the role that technology plays in shaping values, our world and human nature. Through a variety of readings, film and other media, the seminar will address the following questions: How are cyborg technologies merely tools used by humans and how do humans themselves serve the ends of machines and technology? To what extent are values independent from, but also shaped by, technological developments? Can technology itself better our relationship with the environment and fellow humans and, in fact, should it? SP.

PL 238 Power & Resistance (3 credit hours)

This course examines and interrogates major political and social questions, including, but not limited to: What is the nature and scope of social and political power? When is resistance to authority and power morally justified and in what ways should such resistance be exercised? What ultimately counts as justice? What does it mean to be a political agent with freedoms and responsibilities? How are we to understand relationships between politics and religion, economics, race, and/or gender? This course challenges students to critically reflect upon, and develop arguments of their own, in light of our shared political freedoms and equalities, justifications of political authority, the social nature of identities, and our roles as political subjects. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Philosophy, Global Studies. FA.

PL 255 Ethics (3 credit hours)

This course is a critical examination of a range of major ethical theories, where students will systematically reason through and discuss major ethical notions as well as notions of ethical agency. Questions that might be covered include but are not limited to: How do we as members of communities live? How ought we live? What are the differences between good and bad choices? Why should I act other than what is in my self-interest? Do I have duties to myself and others? If so, what are those duties? What kinds of actions are morally significant or irrelevant to moral thinking? 2015 CORE: Social Justice & Civic Life, Transform. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Philosophy. FA, SP.

PL 260 Bioethics (3 credit hours)

The course covers major philosophical approaches to the life sciences predominantly in terms of ethics, including but not limited to: consequentialism and various iterations of utilitarianism, deontological theories, virtue ethics, and casuistry. Engaging original texts and commentaries, students will investigate and evaluate approaches to major issues in bioethics – examples such as euthanasia, eugenics, advanced directives, reproductive technologies, genetics, biotechnology, as well as harm and paternalism in medicine. May not receive credit for both PL 260 and IS 377. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Philosophy. SP.

PL/WS 326 Feminist Theory & Practice (3 credit hours)

This course provides an overview of the major philosophical issues that have defined feminism as a subject of intellectual inquiry and offers practical engagement of these issues through its community engagement component. Although feminism’s historical focus has been on women, an even more fundamental issue for the movement has been how power and oppression are created from and wielded upon various categories of humans. In this light, this course will explore the construction of numerous identities (including “woman,” “man,” and many other ways of understanding the self), how power is negotiated from those identities, and how these translate into issues of subjectivity, rights, politics, aesthetics, sexuality, ethics, and a host of other issues.2015 CORE: Social Justice & Civic Life, Contribute, Community Engagement. FA.

PL/IS 358 Violence (3 credit hours)

A multidisciplinary investigation into acts and relations of social and political violence. This investigation may focus within the following arenas: the social phenomena of violence and power; the extent of its moral justifiability, political legitimacy, and practical efficacy; the reality and responsibilities of perpetrators, victims, and others; and how communities are rebuilding and sustaining relations within various present realities of violence. Within this subject matter and these contexts, the course aims to enrich and expand video techniques as well as develop creative representational strategies. Throughout the course, students work to advance critical skills as viewers, makers, and readers of filmmaking within the context of course content. Students will work individually and in groups to explore the advocacy potential of the video production process as well as the final product. 2015 CORE: Social Justice & Civic Life, Contribute, Interdisciplinary Studies, Global Studies, Community Engagement. SP, even years.

PL/IS 360 Human Rights & Social Justice (3 credit hours)

Drawing from the values and perspectives of human rights and global social justice through the lenses of Philosophy and Social Work practice, this course develops intercultural skills and critical understandings needed to address fundamental social and political issues facing individuals and diverse communities. Through a cultural immersion experience abroad, students will be engaged with local communities and participate in community-based learning opportunities which address issues such as human rights, human dignity, solidarity with the poor, and the common good. 2015 CORE: Social Justice & Civic Life, Contribute, Interdisciplinary Studies, Global Studies, Community Engagement. SP, odd years.

PL/IS 372 – Being Together: A Global Context (3)

This interdisciplinary course considers what it means to exist together with other human beings in the midst of a “global” world, especially as that concept is navigated by means of gender, race, class, and other differences. The course will consider both the most basic philosophical issues involved in existing with others (recognition, acknowledgment, inter-subjectivity, and their failures) as well as the more specific ways in which we come to relate to and identify ourselves and each other. 2015 CORE: Social Justice & Civic Life, Transform, Interdisciplinary Studies, Global Studies.

PL 380 Special Topics (1-3)

Selected topics to be determined by the department. Course may be repeated for up to 12 credit hours towards the degree.

PL 480 Special Topics (1-3 credit hours)

Selected topics to be determined by the department. Course may be repeated for up to 12 credit hours towards the degree.

PL 485 Practicum (3 credit hours)

Experience in one of the specialized areas of Philosophy, with departmental guidance and supervision.

PL 490 Directed Studies (3 credit hours)

Approved and directed in-depth study of a specific area of Philosophy, according to student need and interest. Prerequisite: Permission of department.

PL 499 Senior Seminar. (3 credit hours)

Students from both Philosophy and Religious Studies work through a global theme, analyzing and evaluating issues and problems within the theme from the perspectives and methodologies of both disciplines. Meets the Capstone requirement in the major. Prerequisite: permission of department.

Religious Studies Courses

RS 111 – Religion & Popular Culture (3)

This course helps students build critical analytical tools to study religion as a cultural phenomenon using popular culture as its primary data. Students will become conversant with major themes, issues, and figures that have been instrumental in religion’s social description and analysis. Case studies from popular culture (including film, TV, social media, politics, fashion, etc.) will provide an analytical lens through which to explore how these various theories on religion might be applied. The course will pay special attention to the dynamics of gender, race, and class. 2015 CORE: Belief & Reason, Acquire. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Religious Studies, Global Studies.

RS 117 – World Religions (3)

This course offers both a historical and critical look at religion through an examination of the world’s major religious traditions. Topics include: the social and cultural factors that have created different religions traditions; the varieties of religious belief and the historical, cultural, and political ideas that inspired them; and the myths, rituals, scriptures, and ethical systems characterizing these traditions. 2015 CORE: Belief & Reason, Acquire, Global Studies. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Religious Studies, Global Studies. FA, SP.

RS 202 – Religion & Gender (3)

This course will examine how gender concepts and religious rhetoric have shaped each other across the globe. Drawing from a number of different religious traditions, we will focus on religion as a social tool reflective of a culture’s larger power dynamics, including (among other things) its: gender roles; ideals of sexuality; attitudes about reproduction; and norms regarding physical embodiment. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Religious Studies, Global Studies. SP.

RS 203 – Religion & US Politics (3)

This course considers the role that religious rhetoric has played in the formation of the United States and related concepts of governance, patriotism, and citizenship. We will explicitly examine how politicians and other representatives of the state have used religion in order to impact American culture. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: the religious aims of the Founding Fathers; the separation of church and state; Islamophobia and American national identity; the use of religion in political races, etc. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Religious Studies. FA.

RS 221 – Philosophy of Religion (3)

This course offers classical and contemporary arguments for understanding notions of divinity, humanity, and spirit as well as related issues in the philosophy of religion: evil; immortality; relationships between belief and reason; the nature of religious experience; and conceptions of the religious subject. 2015 CORE: Belief & Reason, Transform, Global Studies. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Philosophy, Global Studies. FA.

RS 225 – Introduction to Catholic Studies (3)

This course is a critical study of the beliefs and practices of Roman Catholics. It examines contemporary trends and issues within Roman Catholic communities using methods from the social sciences. The course gives special attention to gender and power dynamics within Roman Catholic institutions. 2015 CORE: Belief & Reason, Transform.

RS 233 – Religion in the United States (3)

This course explores many of the religious movements that have most impacted – and been impacted by – U.S. culture. Special focus will be given to how competing concepts of “America” and “American values” have provided a foundation through which the nation’s substantial religious diversity has been interpreted. This focus will be discussed through the lenses of race, gender, and class, considering how these categories have been shaped and understood across time by Americans via the language of religion. 2015 CORE: Belief & Reason, Transform. 2020 CORE: Liberal Arts, Religious Studies. FA.

RS 368 – Christianity in Film (3)

This course is a cross-disciplinary investigation into the interaction between Christianity (both as a formal social institution and its cultural manifestations) and the global film industry. The course focuses on how cinematographers have portrayed Christianity and the role of culture in shifting these portrayals. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following: the figure of Jesus; Catholic and Protestant theologies; Christian concepts of good, evil, and morality; and popular cultural forms of Christian discourse. 2015 CORE: Belief & Reason, Transform, Interdisciplinary Studies.

RS 380 – Special Topics (1-3)

Selected topics to be determined by the department. Course may be repeated for up to 12 credit hours towards the degree.

RS 480 – Special Topics (1-3)

Selected topics to be determined by the department. Course may be repeated for up to 12 credit hours towards the degree.

RS 485 – Practicum (3)

Experience in one of the specialized areas of Religious Studies with departmental guidance and supervision.

RS 490 – Directed Studies (3)

Approved and directed in-depth study of a specific area of Religious Studies, according to student need and interest. Prerequisite: permission of department.

RS 499 – Senior Seminar (3)

Students from both Philosophy and Religious Studies work through a global theme, analyzing and evaluating issues and problems within the theme from the perspectives and methodologies of both disciplines. Meets the Capstone requirement in the major. Prerequisite: permission of department.

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