General Catalog - Religious Studies (RST)

RST 001 — Survey of Religion (4 units)

Course Description: Basic concepts introduced through readings of the primary religious literature. Discussion of central ideas (creation, history, law, prophecy, suffering, mysticism, asceticism, karma, reincarnation, moksha, etc.); readings from the Bible, Bhagavad Gita, the Koran, selections from Plato and early Buddhist writings.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); American Cultures, Governance, & History (ACGH); Domestic Diversity (DD); Oral Skills (OL); Visual Literacy (VL); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 001A — Pilgrimage (4 units)

Starting Fall Quarter 2024, this course is no longer offered.

Course Description: Introduction to comparative religion, focusing on the theme of pilgrimage in different religious traditions.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Credit Limitation(s): Not open to students who have taken RST 003A.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 001B — Death & Afterlife (4 units)

Course Description: Introduction to comparative religion, focusing on the theme of death and the afterlife in different religious traditions.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Credit Limitation(s): Not open to students who have taken RST 003B.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Oral Skills (OL); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 001C — Sacrifice (4 units)

Course Description: Introduction to comparative religion, focusing on the theme of sacrifice in different religious traditions.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Credit Limitation(s): Not open to students who have taken RST 003C.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Oral Skills (OL); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 001D — Conversion (4 units)

Starting Fall Quarter 2024, this course is no longer offered.

Course Description: Introduction to comparative religion, focusing on the theme of conversion in different religious traditions.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Credit Limitation(s): Not open to students who have taken RST 003D.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 001E — Fundamentalism (4 units)

Course Description: Introduction to comparative religion, focusing on the idea of fundamentalism in different religious traditions.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Credit Limitation(s): No credit given to students that have taken RST 003E.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH) or Social Sciences (SS); Domestic Diversity (DD); Oral Skills (OL); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 001F — Religion Today (4 units)

Course Description: Introduction to comparative religion, focusing on different religious traditions in the contemporary world.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Domestic Diversity (DD); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 001G — Myth, Ritual, & Symbolism (4 units)

Course Description: Myths, rituals and religious symbols found in a variety of religious traditions including examples from ancient and contemporary religious life. Variety of religious phenomena; validity of different approaches to the study of religion.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Credit Limitation(s): Not open to students who have taken and received unit credit for RST 002.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Oral Skills (OL); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 001H — Sex, Marriage, & Divorce in Medieval & Modern Society (4 units)

Course Description: Methods used in the study of religion, focusing on a particular theme in a number of religious traditions.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Oral Skills (OL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 001J — Music, Voice, & the Word (4 units)

Course Description: Exploration of relation between religion and musical traditions in various cultures. Investigation of ways music, vocal performance and sound production reflect and shape modern religious sensibilities. Special attention to gender, ethnicity, race, class, nationalism, secularism and mass media.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC).

RST 005 — Comparative Religion (2 units)

Course Description: Comparative Religion based on rotating topics such as Dreams and Revelations, Evil, Prophecy, Salvation, and Crime and Punishment.

Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s).
Repeat Credit: May be repeated when topic differs.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 006 — Introduction to Health Sciences & the Humanities (4 units)

Course Description: Humanities in the health sciences focusing on illness, the practice of medicine, and the role of culture in biomedical research.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Extensive Writing.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH) or Social Sciences (SS); American Cultures, Governance, & History (ACGH); Domestic Diversity (DD); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 008 — Healthcare & Religious Ethics (4 units)

Course Description: Ethical dilemmas in healthcare and religion. End of life, illness, responsibility for the common good, humanity’s relationship to the natural world, growing up, birth, pregnancy, conception.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); American Cultures, Governance, & History (ACGH); Domestic Diversity (DD); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 010 — Contemporary Ethical Issues (2 units)

Course Description: Presents challenging, contemporary ethical issues from a multi-cultural perspective. Rotating topics will include Ethical Eating, Capital Punishment, Euthanasia, Poverty, and Animal Rights.

Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s).
Repeat Credit: May be repeated.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 010A — Contemporary Ethical Issues (2 units)

Course Description: Discussion of the readings assigned for RST 010 and completion of a major research paper.

Prerequisite(s): RST 010 (can be concurrent); RST 010 required concurrently; GE topical breadth and diversity credit only with concurrent enrollment in RST 010.

Learning Activities: Discussion 1 hour(s), Extensive Writing.
Enrollment Restriction(s): Concurrent enrollment in RST 010 required.
Repeat Credit: May be repeated.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 011 — Ethical Eating (4 units)

Course Description: Introduction to the complex and varied ethical, religious, and cultural meanings that food has had across the centuries and globe.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper/Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Oral Skills (OL); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 012 — Emergence of Judaism, Christianity & Islam (4 units)

Course Description: Historical origins, founding figures, and sacred texts of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jewish, Christian, and Muslim beliefs about their own origins. Interpretations of scriptures. Development of traditions over time.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Oral Skills (OL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 015Y — Reading War/Fighting War (4 units)

Course Description: Introduction to both classic religious texts about war and a set of actual scenarios drawn from the experience and training of soldiers in recent military conflicts.

Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s), Web Electronic Discussion 1 hour(s), Extensive Writing.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); American Cultures, Governance, & History (ACGH); Domestic Diversity (DD); Oral Skills (OL); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 021 — The Bible & Its Interpreters (4 units)

Course Description: Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament): key narratives and themes (creation, flood, prophecy, justice, sexuality, etc.); origins in Ancient Israel; diverse ways it has been interpreted in Jewish and Christian communities.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper/Discussion.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 023 — Introduction to Judaism (4 units)

Course Description: Introduction to the study of religion using examples from the rituals, art and holy texts of Judaism. No prior knowledge of either Judaism or the study of religion is necessary.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); American Cultures, Governance, & History (ACGH); Domestic Diversity (DD); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 030 — Religions of South Asia (4 units)

Course Description: Introduction to South Asian religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Jainism and Sikhism. Traces historical developments from Vedic texts and their ascetic reformulation by sages such as Yajnavalkya, Siddhartha Gautama, and Mahavira into our global present.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 031 — Introduction to Jainism (4 units)

Course Description: Introduction to topics central to Jain tradition through critical, historical and ethical perspectives.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 032 — History of Yoga (4 units)

Course Description: History of yoga from antiquity to its most recent formulation in American popular and consumer culture.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Domestic Diversity (DD); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 033 — Magic & Demons in South Asia (4 units)

Course Description: Exploration of magic, demons, and other powers in South Asian religions from the ancient to the modern periods.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Extensive Writing.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 034 — Introduction to Buddhism (4 units)

Course Description: Buddhism in its pan-Asian manifestations, from its beginning in India to its development in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, Central Asia, China and Japan; teachings and practices, socio-political and cultural impact.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 040 — New Testament (4 units)

Course Description: New Testament literature from critical, historical, and theological perspectives.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 042 — Religion & Science Fiction (4 units)

Course Description: Representations of actual and fictional religious movements in science fiction and fantasy writing and film. Examination of: the characteristics of religion and religiosity in fictional religious movements; the relationship between religion, science, and technology in modern speculative fiction.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Visual Literacy (VL); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 045 — Christianity (4 units)

Course Description: Major concepts and practices in the Christian tradition. Survey of the history of Christianity and Christian expansion from antiquity to modern times. Pays particular attention to Christianity in China, India, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper/Discussion.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 060 — Introduction to Islam (4 units)

Course Description: Introduction to topics central to the Islamic tradition. Muhammad, the Qur'an, Islamic law, theology, philosophy, cosmology, worship, and mysticism. Race and gender in Islam, Islamic revival, and varying experiences of Islam in different historical and cultural settings.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper/Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH) or Social Sciences (SS); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 062 — American Islam (4 units)

Course Description: Development of Islam in the United States of America. How Muslims have been integral to the making of the Americas and American identities for over four centuries. Musical and dance traditions, clothing and the ethics of material display, storytelling and poetry, and participation in struggles for civil and human rights.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s); Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); American Cultures, Governance, & History (ACGH); Domestic Diversity (DD); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 065C — The Qur'an & Its Interpretation (4 units)

Course Description: The Qur'an, its history, its various functions in the lives of Muslims, and its different interpretations. Quranic themes such as God and humankind, nature and revelation, eschatology and Satan. Islam and other religions; women, gender, and sexuality.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Extensive Writing.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 066 — The Song of God: The Bhagavad Gita (4 units)

Course Description: The Bhagavad Gita, its history and reception, and its significance in the lives of Hindus. Themes explored include Hindu theories of god, self, war, peace, duty, and action.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Oral Skills (OL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 067 — Modern Hinduism (4 units)

Course Description: Historical survey of modern Hinduism from the early-19th century to the present. Topics include Rammohun Roy, Sir William Jones, and Mahatma Gandhi, nationalism, post-colonialism and diasporic religion.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH) or Social Sciences (SS); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 068 — Introduction to Hinduism (4 units)

Course Description: Survey of the diversity of Hindu traditions from ancient to the colonial period, including the development of temple worship, pilgrimage, goddess worship and regional festivals.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 069 — Introduction to Hindu Mythology (4 units)

Course Description: Survey of the major narrative traditions within Hinduism, including epic literature and local stories in oral, textual, visual and performative forms.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper/Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 070 — Religion & Language (4 units)

Course Description: Basic toolkit for studying religious discourse in a variety of traditions. Concentration on the sacred and profane, the wondrous and ordinary, and the mystical and reasonable.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 075 — Introduction to Chinese Philosophy (4 units)

Course Description: Introduction to Chinese philosophy from classical pre-modern times; emphasis on basic concepts and their impact on social conduct; the Age of Philosophers, the Han synthesis, the medieval Buddhist contribution.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.

RST 080 — Religion, Gender, Sexuality (4 units)

Course Description: Constructions of gender and sexuality within one or more religious traditions, pre-modern and modern. Emphasis on the interaction between religious, medical, and ethical definitions of the human body and sexual behavior.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 098 — Directed Group Study (1-5 units)

Course Description: Directed group study.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor; primarily for lower division students.

Learning Activities: Variable.
Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.

RST 099 — Special Study for Lower Division Undergraduates (1-5 units)

Course Description: Special study for lower division undergraduates.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Learning Activities: Variable.
Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.

RST 100 — Study of Religion: Issues & Methods (4 units)

Course Description: Principal issues and methods of Religious Studies and associated fields.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH) or Social Sciences (SS); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 102 — Christian Origins (4 units)

Course Description: Development of Christianity from the end of the 1st century through the major controversies of the 5th century. Emphasis on the relationship between the new religious movement and the Roman Empire, and issues of early Christian identity and diversity.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 103 — Medieval & Byzantine Christianity (4 units)

Course Description: Christianity in Europe and the Near East from the year 600 to 1450. Focus on the development of Catholic and Orthodox traditions in ritual, art, and thought, with attention to interactions between regional groups, and Christian interaction with Islam.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 104 — Christianity 1450-1700 (4 units)

Course Description: History of Reformation conflicts over the authority of scripture, the nature of man and the universe, and the basis of morality with the goal of understanding how these conflicts laid the foundation for the modern world.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.

RST 105 — Christianity & Modernity, 1700-1920 (4 units)

Course Description: Reaction of Christian critics and apologists to the profound cultural and scientific transformations resulting from the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, and the advent of the modern critical study of religion.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Oral Skills (OL); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 106 — Christianity in the Contemporary World (4 units)

Course Description: Christianity in the 20th and 21st centuries. Relationship of Christianity to globalization, industrialization, mass media, and the contemporary secular state. Focus on Christianity in America and developing nations, and on the relationship of established Christian institutions to new Christian movements.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); American Cultures, Governance, & History (ACGH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 110 — Life, Meaning & Identity (4 units)

Course Description: Study of religious lives, the quest for meaning and for personal identity; how religions frame the problems of life; how cultural and personal crises affect youthful identity; the nature and structure of dreams, myths, and ideals.

Prerequisite(s): Upper division standing.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 111 — Persuasion & Conviction in Religious Tradition (4 units)

Course Description: Selected topics in religious argument. Familiarizes students with the discourse structures of religious persuasion and enables them to perform analysis of such texts. Covers argument styles and structures used in ethics, theology, and preaching.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); American Cultures, Governance, & History (ACGH); Oral Skills (OL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 115 — Mysticism (4 units)

Course Description: Historical and descriptive analysis of selected key figures in mystical traditions and readings of representative mystical texts. Analytic term paper.

Prerequisite(s): One lower division Religious Studies course.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Oral Skills (OL); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 120 — Religion, Magic & Science (4 units)

Course Description: Religion, magic, and science from the middle ages to the present. Contrast between modern scientific methodology and religious and magical thinking.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Extensive Writing.
Cross Listing: STS 120.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Oral Skills (OL); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 122 — Studies in Biblical Texts (4 units)

Course Description: Study of a book from the Prophets or writings from critical, historical, and religious perspectives.

Prerequisite(s): RST 021.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Repeat Credit: May be repeated 1 time(s) when topic differs.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 123 — Sex & Gender in the Bible (4 units)

Course Description: Gender and sexuality in the Bible and its interpretation in Judaism and Christianity. Femininity and masculinity; gender roles; homosexuality; sexual violence. Historical origins in the ancient world; influence on contemporary views.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 124 — Topics in Judaism (4 units)

Course Description: Examination of selected aspects of Jewish life, religion, or literature. Potential topics include: Jewish Perspectives on Jesus; The Golem: History and Legend; Sexuality and Gender in Late Antique Judaism and Early Christianity.

Prerequisite(s): RST 023; RST 021.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Repeat Credit: May be repeated when topic differs.
Grade Mode: Letter.

RST 125 — Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocrypha, & Pseudepigrapha (4 units)

Course Description: Survey of the Dead Sea Scrolls, apocryphal and pseudepigraphical writings of Judaism and Christianity and their historical, social, and religious importance.

Prerequisite(s): RST 021; or consent of instructor.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 126 — The Formation of the Rabbinic Tradition (4 units)

Course Description: Survey of the classical rabbinic Jewish texts such as the Talmud and of the social and historical contexts of their production in Palestine and Babylonia.

Prerequisite(s): RST 021; RST 023; (RST 040 or RST 125).

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: World Cultures (WC).

RST 130 — Topics in Religious Studies (4 units)

Course Description: Thematic study of a phenomenon in more than one religious tradition or of the relationship between religion and another cultural phenomenon. Topics may include archeology and the Bible, women and religion, religion and violence.

Prerequisite(s): RST 001 or RST 002 or RST 003A or RST 003B or RST 003C; or consent of instructor.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Repeat Credit: May be repeated when topic differs.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 132 — Topics in Mediterranean Ancient Religion (4 units)

Course Description: Thematic study of specific sociological, literary or theological theme across the religious traditions of the ancient Mediterranean/Near East: Greek and Roman religions, Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, etc. Topics may include creation, sacrifice, priesthoods, prophecies, holy books, the afterlife.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Repeat Credit: May be repeated 2 time(s) when topic differs.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 135 — The Bible & Film (4 units)

Course Description: Examination of the uses of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures in film. Topics include dramatic depictions of biblical stories, the tension between science and religion, allegorical treatments of biblical themes, and the problems of religious conviction.

Prerequisite(s): HUM 010 recommended.

Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s), Term Paper, Film Viewing 3 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.

RST 136 — Topics in Jainism (4 units)

Course Description: Thematic study of specific periods, literary movements, sects and important figures within Jainism from a ranges of disciplinary perspectives.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Repeat Credit: May be repeated 12 unit(s) when topic differs.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 137 — Topics in Buddhism (4 units)

Course Description: Thematic exploration of historic developments, periods, regions and sects in Buddhism from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Repeat Credit: May be repeated 12 unit(s) when topic differs.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 139 — Topics in Hinduism (4 units)

Course Description: Thematic study of specific periods, movements, leaders, regions, ethics or philosophies within Hinduism from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Repeat Credit: May be repeated 12 unit(s) when topic differs.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 140 — Christian Theology (4 units)

Course Description: Historical and systematic introduction to Christian doctrine, with attention to divergent traditions and the problem of orthodoxy and heresy.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 141A — New Testament Literature: Synoptic Gospels (4 units)

Course Description: Life and thought of the early Church as reflected by the Synoptic Tradition; Matthew, Mark, Luke and Acts. Offered every third year to alternate with RST 141B, RST 141C.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 141B — New Testament Literature: John (4 units)

Course Description: Life and thought of the early Church as reflected by the Johannine Tradition; the Gospel and letters of John. Offered every third year to alternate with RST 141A, RST 141C.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 141C — New Testament Literature: Paul (4 units)

Course Description: Life and thought of the early Church as reflected by the Pauline tradition. The letters of Paul. Offered every third year to alternate with RST 141A, RST 141B.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 143 — New Testament Apocrypha (4 units)

Course Description: Extra-canonical Christian writings and their reception, from antiquity to the present. Emphasis on the importance of New Testament figures both as literary characters and as authors within different Christian traditions.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Oral Skills (OL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 144 — History of the Bible (4 units)

Course Description: History of the formation of the Christian biblical canon, with emphasis on differences between Christian traditions; survey of translations and adaptations of biblical narrative in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, as well as in contemporary culture.

Prerequisite(s): RST 021 or RST 040.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 145 — Contemporary American Religion (4 units)

Course Description: Examination of several major movements and phenomena in 20th-century American religion.

Prerequisite(s): RST 040 and HIS 017B recommended.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); American Cultures, Governance, & History (ACGH); Domestic Diversity (DD); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 150 — Religious Ethics (4 units)

Course Description: Study of the religious bases of ethics through examination of ethical problems that arise in different religious cultures around the world and in nations where multiple religious cultures face similar issues.

Prerequisite(s): RST 010 recommended.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper/Discussion.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 152 — Justice, Equity, & Privacy in Medical Humanities (4 units)

Course Description: Global issues of justice, equity, and fairness in healthcare and biomedical research. Emphasis on issues of race, gender, paternalism, and genetic privacy. Texts include scholarly articles, fiction, and film.

Learning Activities: Discussion 3 hour(s), Extensive Writing.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH) or Science & Engineering (SE); American Cultures, Governance, & History (ACGH); Domestic Diversity (DD); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 153 — Religion & Medicine (4 units)

Course Description: Cross-cultural approach to the relationship between Religion and Medicine from earliest times to the present. How specific religious and philosophical worldviews have shaped and continue to shape attitudes toward physical and mental health.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Extensive Writing.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH) or Social Sciences (SS); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 154 — The Hindu Temple (4 units)

Course Description: Comparative history of architecture and symbolism of the Hindu Temple in India, Southeast Asia and the United States. Attention to the temple as expression of religious knowledge, political authority, and cultural heritage through the lens of colonialism and postcolonialism.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Cross Listing: AHI 154.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH) or Social Sciences (SS); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 155A — Bhakti: Indian Devotional Traditions to 1200 CE (4 units)

Course Description: Exploration of Indian devotional traditions through literary, visual, and performance culture. Emphasis on period up to 1200 CE in southern India.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 155B — Bhakti: Indian Devotional Traditions, 1200 CE to Present (4 units)

Course Description: Indian devotional traditions through literary, visual, and performance culture. Emphasis on period 1200 CE to the present.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 156 — Religion & the Performing Arts in India (4 units)

Course Description: Survey of religion and performing arts in India. Emphasis on the influence of colonialism, nationalism, and regionalism on the history of Indian performing arts.

Prerequisite(s): RST 030; RST 068; or consent of instructor.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 157 — Hindu Women & Goddesses (4 units)

Course Description: Hindu goddesses and the religious lives of Hindu women in India and the diaspora.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 158 — The Ramayana (4 units)

Course Description: Exploration of the Indian epic, Ramayana, through the lens of literature, performance, and visual art. Emphasis on the text's diversity and its contemporary global relevance. Topics include Ramayanas in Southeast Asia, and in various South Asian diaspora communities.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Cross Listing: COM 156.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 159 — The Mahabharata (4 units)

Course Description: Survey of the Indian epic, the Mahabharata, through textual, oral, and visual culture.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 160 — Introduction to Islamic Thought (4 units)

Course Description: The development of Islamic thought from the first centuries of Islam to the 18th century. Theology, philosophy, ethics, Sufism, historiography, political theory, fundamentalism, al-Farabi, al-Ghazzali, Ibn Rushd, Tusi, Ibn al-Arabi, Rumi, Molla Sadra, Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab.

Prerequisite(s): RST 060 recommended.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Extensive Writing.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 161 — Modern Islam (4 units)

Course Description: Response of Islam to modernity: secularism, reformism, fundamentalism. Islam and imperialism, women, media and immigration. Islamic modernism, political Islam, Islam in Europe and America.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 161B — Modern Islam: Authority & Tradition In Process (4 units)

Course Description: Survey of Islamic thought, social organization, politics from 18th century through present. Focus on changing notations of moral authority and tradition. Concentration on Middle East and South Asia with sustained treatment of North American engagements with the Islamic world.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH) or Social Sciences (SS); Oral Skills (OL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 162 — Introduction to Islamic Law (4 units)

Course Description: The development of Islamic law in the formative centuries of Islam, ca. 600-1000, as well as its adaptation to changing economic, social, and political conditions in subsequent periods. Legal schools, legal theory, the Shari'a, reformist movements, human rights.

Prerequisite(s): RST 060 recommended.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Extensive Writing.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 163 — Social Life of Islam (4 units)

Course Description: Introduction to culture and social life in Muslim societies. Focus on the plurality of traditions in Muslim faith, reason, and everyday practice. Special attention to Muslim rituals, ethical values, verbal genres, family life, sexuality and veiling, and youth culture.

Prerequisite(s): RST 060 or HIS 006 recommended.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH) or Social Sciences (SS); Oral Skills (OL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 165 — Islam in Asia (4 units)

Course Description: Islam as a lived religion in the Indian sub-continent, Central Asia, China, and Southeast Asia. Emphasis is on primary sources studied comparatively and historically.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Extensive Writing.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 166 — Religion & Media in the Arab World (4 units)

Course Description: Exploration of the role and experience of media technologies in the Arab world. Study of digital and electronic media as well as alternative media practices. Investigation of new trends in political activism and identity formation.

Learning Activities: Lecture 4 hour(s).
Cross Listing: MSA 131C.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Oral Skills (OL); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 169 — Topics in Islam (4 units)

Course Description: Thematic study of specific periods, movements, leaders, regions, ethics or philosophies within Islam from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Extensive Writing.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 171 — Buddhist Art (4 units)

Course Description: A historical survey of Buddhist art in relation to the development of Buddhist doctrine and philosophy.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Cross Listing: AHI 157.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 172 — Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism (4 units)

Course Description: Doctrines and methods of the Ch'an Buddhism, both ancient and modern. Review of ritual techniques, including meditation.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.

RST 175A — Daoist Traditions (4 units)

Course Description: English-language survey of key Daoist texts and scholarship. Topics include Daoist concepts of the cosmos, the natural world, scripture, the body, and immortality; Daoist divinities; Daoism and the state.

Prerequisite(s): A course in Chinese history recommended.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
Cross Listing: CHN 100A.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 180 — Popular Religious Art in India (4 units)

Course Description: Survey of Indian popular religious art in prints, trade labels, comics and photographs.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Cross Listing: AHI 158.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 181 — Hindu Gods & Hindu Symbols (4 units)

Course Description: A historical survey of the development of the language of symbolism and iconography in Hinduism.

Prerequisite(s): RST 068: Hinduism or RST 069: Hindu Mythology recommended, but not required.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
Cross Listing: AHI 153.
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 182 — Ramayana, Religion, & the Arts (4 units)

Course Description: Comparative exploration of the visual, theatrical, ritual, performative and religious lives of the Ramayana epic in South and Southeast Asia.

Prerequisite(s): Recommended but not required preparation: COM 156/RST 158 or RST 181 or RST 068 or RST 069.

Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper/Discussion 1 hour(s).
Grade Mode: Letter.
General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

RST 189 — Senior Colloquium (4 units)

Course Description: Primarily for seniors in Religious Studies. Discussion in depth of a problem in religion which requires the methods of several disciplines and is important in the encounter between religions.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.

RST 190 — Seminar (4 units)

Course Description: Allows majors to integrate their disciplined study of the field. Emphasis on current scholarly debate about the methods for analyzing and comparing diverse religious traditions.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Repeat Credit: May be repeated up to 1 time(s) when topic and faculty differ.
Grade Mode: Letter.

RST 194HA — Special Study for Honors Students (1-5 units)

Course Description: Guided research, under the direction of a faculty member approved by the Program Director, leading to a senior honors thesis on a religious studies topic.

Learning Activities: Independent Study.
Enrollment Restriction(s): Open only to majors of senior standing who qualify for honors program.
Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.

RST 194HB — Special Study for Honors Students (1-5 units)

Course Description: Guided research, under the direction of a faculty member approved by the Program Director, leading to a senior honors thesis on a religious studies topic.

Learning Activities: Independent Study.
Enrollment Restriction(s): Open only to majors of senior standing who qualify for honors program.
Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.

RST 198 — Directed Group Study (1-5 units)

Course Description: Directed group study.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor; upper division standing.

Learning Activities: Variable.
Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.

RST 199 — Special Study for Advanced Undergraduates (1-5 units)

Course Description: Special study for advanced undergraduates.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Learning Activities: Variable.
Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.

RST 201 — Methods & Issues in Religious Studies (4 units)

Course Description: Focuses on controversies in the study of comparative religion. How is religion best defined? Are there methods unique to the study of religion? What does the study of religion contribute to the study of society in general?

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Repeat Credit: May be repeated 2 time(s) when content differs.
Grade Mode: Letter.

RST 205 — Religion & Media (4 units)

Course Description: Many communities are finding global media technologies useful for religious practice. Examines how religious revitalization is historically situated. Phenomenological approach will enable students to situate media and religion within the social and material world of practitioners.

Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.

RST 210 — Religion & Postcoloniality, or Savages, Civilization, & Spirituality (4 units)

Course Description: Examines relations between religion and colonialisms. Using specific historical situations it explores some of our thorniest theoretical problems. Acquire a solid understanding of postcolonial theory and the historical tools to critically engage religion in the present.

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.

RST 212 — Religion & Violence (4 units)

Course Description: Comparative and critical study of the ideological, cultural, and theological relationship between forms of violence and religion and religious practice.

Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Grade Mode: Letter.

RST 215 — Topics in the History of Christianity (4 units)

Course Description: Selected topics in the history of Christianity. Intended for graduate students seeking to do advanced work in the study of Christianity. May cover issues in Christian thought from antiquity, the middle ages, the early modern or modern period.

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
Repeat Credit: May be repeated when topic differs.
Grade Mode: Letter.

RST 299 — Directed Research (1-12 units)

Course Description: Directed research.

Learning Activities: Variable.
Repeat Credit: May be repeated.
Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only.

RST 396 — Teaching Assistant Training Practicum (1-4 units)

Course Description: Teaching assistant training practicum.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor; graduate standing.

Learning Activities: Variable.
Repeat Credit: May be repeated.
Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only.