Offered this year

RCS 120: The People, Practices and Politics of Contemporary Yoga

Instructor: Dr. Paul Bramadat

More information coming soon!

RCS 200: Greek and Roman Mythology

Instructor: TBA

Study of Greek and Roman myths, in the context of the culture and thought of Greece and Rome. Uses literary and artistic sources to establish and analyze the nature and function of myths in these cultures. Topics include the gods, heroes, local myths, political and cultural uses of myths and the origins of the influence of Greek and Roman myths on European culture.

* This course is cross-listed with GRS 200.

RCS 200B: Introduction to Asian Religions

Instructor: Dr. Martin Adam

A survey of the sources, beliefs and practices of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and the Chinese religions. The traditions are studied in their cultural and political contexts from both historical and contemporary perspectives.

*This course is cross-listed with PAAS 204

RCS 260: The Bible as Literature

Instructor: Dr. Christopher Douglas

Surveys basic stories and books in the Old and New Testaments (including Genesis, Exodus, 1 and 2 Kings, Job, Song of Songs, Psalms, Isaiah, select minor prophets, the Gospels, Acts, select Pauline epistles, Hebrews and Revelations). Focus on the intrinsic literary features of the biblical books themselves. Aims to familiarize students with important biblical stories, genres and references in literature and religious discourse.

*This course is cross-listed with ENGL 260.

RCS 261: Philosophy of Religion

Instructor: Dr. Chris Goto-Jones

More information coming soon!

RCS 303: Origins of Space, Time and Matter in the Universe

Instructor: Dr. Arif Babul

For non-science students interested in expanding their understanding of the physical world. The aim is to combine topics in earth physics, particle physics, astronomy, and cosmology to study the nature and origin of space-time and matter, and the chemical composition of the earth, planets and stars. Highlights of larger issues, such as the nature of scientific knowledge, and the validity of science and the scientific method. A non-mathematical approach.

RCS 305: Magic, Mysticism and the Occult

Instructor: Martin Adam

A study of nature and significance of mystical phenomena and experience from a Religious Studies perspective with emphasis on the philosophical issues raised.'

RCS 310: Topics in the Study of Religion

Topic: What's God got to do with it? Heavy Metal and Religon

Instructor: Dr. Shamma Boyarin

At a recent conference on Metal and Religion professor Marcus Moberg, following
Bruce D. Forbes categorizations of the way scholars study Popular Culture and Religion, outlined three categories with which scholars engage with the metal and religion. The first, “Religion in Metal”: exploring ways religious ideas, themes texts, and images are used as inspiration (sometimes negatively) in Heavy Metal as music, lyrical content or visual content. The second, “Metal in Religion”: looking at examples of religious people or groups who have adopted metal music as a vehicle for religious expression. A prominent example of this are the many “Christian Metal” bands. And the third, “Metal as Religion”: studies argue that for some metal functions as a kind of religion with all that entails. This course is structured around examples drawn from each methodological category, which will be used not just as interesting case studies in of themselves, but as springboards to discussions about the ways we study religion more broadly.

RCS 351: The Transformation of the Late Roman World

Instructor: Dr. Gregory Rowe

RCS 365: Renaissance Literature

Instructor: Dr. Gary Kuchar

 A study of 16th- and early 17th-century British literature with an emphasis on poetry and prose. May be organized around a specific theme, topic or cluster of authors.

RCS 200: Greek and Roman Mythology

Instructor: TBA

Study of Greek and Roman myths, in the context of the culture and thought of Greece and Rome. Uses literary and artistic sources to establish and analyze the nature and function of myths in these cultures. Topics include the gods, heroes, local myths, political and cultural uses of myths and the origins of the influence of Greek and Roman myths on European culture.

*This course is cross-listed with GRS 200

RCS 200A A01: Introduction to Judaism, Christianity and Islam 

Instructor: Dr. Shamma Boyarin

An introductory survey of the sources, beliefs and practices of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The traditions are studied in their cultural and political contexts from both historical and contemporary perspectives.

RCS 201: Religion, Coloniality and Indigeneity in Canda and the World

Instructor: Dr. Andrew Wender

Religion plays a profound, intimate role within diverse historical embodiments of human life and society. This dynamic extends to many points of intersection between religion and coloniality, including in ways that have deeply affected the experiences, practices, and worldviews of Indigenous communities around the globe. In HSTR 200/RCS 201, we will venture from North American contexts marked by the enduring traumas of residential schools, and powerful reassertion of Indigenous traditions, to African and Asian settings within which the continued reshaping of religious identities has overlapped with both colonial force and anticolonial activism. In all instances, the objective will be to foreground Indigenous narrators’ perspectives.

RCS 310: Topics in the Study of Religion

Topic: Religion and the News

Instructor: Dr. Rachel Brown

Religion makes the news, and has increasingly so in the last two decades. How it makes the news, and how various news organizations present religious traditions, and the people who adhere to them, is the focus of this course. The course is divided into three sections. First, in “History and Sources,” we will trace the development of news coverage of religion from penny press, to late night comedy news shows, to social media platforms. In the second, and largest section of the course, “Religions in the News,” we will engage with the news presentation of specific religious traditions, examining which traditions get focussed on and which ones are relegated to the realm of “strange,” “unfamiliar” and “not worthy of hard journalism.” Finally, in the third and final section of the course, we will briefly address three “Issues and Beats” in the news coverage of religion, examining the most recent and prevalent religious “issues” that show up across different news platforms.

RCS 350: Medieval Latin

Instructor: Dr. Gregory Rowe

Readings are structured around a topic in post-classical Latin literature, with a primary focus on religious texts. Possible topics include: Latin literature of Late Antiquity, medieval epic, Latin lyric of the 12th century, medieval Latin comedy.

RCS 363: The Buddhist Tradition

Instructor: Dr. Martin Adam

Surveys the practices, doctrines, and literatures of Buddhism with particular focus on themes such as meditation, ethics, and narrative traditions from the time of the historical Buddha (c. 500 BCE) through to the contemporary scene.

RCS 380: Religion and the Making of the Modern Middle East

Instructor: Dr. Andrew Wender

Examines the modern historical contexts within which various religions (e.g., Islam, Judaism, Christianity) and denominations (e.g., Sunni, Shi'a) have overlapped with, and been mobilized by state as well as non-state actors across the broader region. Comparative study of relevant developments within key countries (e.g., Arab states, Israel, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan), as well as with respect to aspiring nationalist communities (e.g., Palestinians, Kurds) and political or social movements (e.g., Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah, ISIS).

RCS 383: Politics and Religon

Instructor: Dr. Andrew Wender

An exploration of the relationship between politics and religion, including the religious dimensions of state sovereignty, global politics and political conflict. Case studies are drawn from different regions of the world and various religious traditions.

RCS 401: Selected topics in Religious Studies

Topic: West Coast Spirituality

Instructor: Dr. Paul Bramadat

Spirituality and religion on the west side of the Rocky Mountains differ significantly
from what one finds in the rest of Canada and the United States. Various kinds of yoga meditation, Buddhism, eco-spirituality, and agnosticism exist alongside more conventional forms of religiosity. In this course, students will explore what makes the religion(s) of the so-called “Cascadia” region distinctive.

RCS 464: The Bible and Literature in English

Instructor: Dr. Shamma Boyarin

The relationship between the Bible and the canon of literature in English, and especially intertextual relationships between biblical and literary texts. Topics include the history of biblical translation, the Bible and popular culture, the combination of biblical and classical mythologies in the creation of Western cultural ideals, the impact of biblical interpretation on literary theory. May include literary works by Shakespeare, Milton, Melville, Faulkner, Atwood.

*This course is cross-listed with ENGL 464