Interreligious Studies Minor
The Interreligious Studies minor is a multi-disciplinary minor located within the Religious Studies department that focuses on historical and contemporary encounters between and interactions among distinct religious communities and/or traditions. It provides students the background to analyze the character of interreligious encounter, to think critically about interfaith dialogue, and to function effectively in multi-religious and multi-cultural contexts. Students majoring or minoring in Religious Studies are not eligible for this minor.
Minor Requirements
Required course: 4 sh
| REL 311 | BEYOND CONFLICT AND TOLERANCE: INTERRELIGIOUS ENCOUNTER AND SOCIAL CHANGE | 4 sh |
Select two courses from the following: 8 sh
Select 12 sh from the following, with at least 8 sh at the 300-400 level
| ARH 210 | ART HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD | 4 sh |
| ARH 211 | ART HISTORY OF THE MEDIEVAL AND PREMODERN WORLD | 4 sh |
| ARH 333 | JEWISH, CHRISTIAN, & ISLAMIC CULTURES: CONTACT & CONFLICT | 4 sh |
| ENG 385 | MIDDLE EASTERN LITERATURE | 4 sh |
| GER 324 | GERMANY IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM | 4 sh |
| GBL 232 | ETHIOPIA AND TANZANIA: AN EXPLORATION OF HISTORY, CULTURE AND THE NATURAL WORLD | 4 sh |
| GBL 286 | INDIA'S IDENTITIES: RELIGION, CASTE AND GENDER IN CONTEMPORARY SOUTH INDIA | 4 sh |
| HST 339 | A HISTORY OF THE HOLOCAUST | 4 sh |
| REL 110 | RELIGION IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT | 4 sh |
| REL 112 | Religion and Power | 4 sh |
| REL 120 | Magic | 4 sh |
| REL 131 | Jewish Biblical Literature in Context | 4 sh |
| REL 132 | Early Christian Literature in Context | 4 sh |
| REL 141 | African Gods | 4 sh |
| REL 312 | RELIGION GOES GLOBAL: FANATICS, FRAUDS, AND PEACEMAKERS | 4 sh |
| REL 323 | Satan and the Supernatural | 4 sh |
| REL 325 | THE APOCALYPTIC IMAGINATION, ANCIENT AND MODERN | 4 sh |
| REL 327 | MESSIAHS, MARTYRS AND MEMORY | 4 sh |
| REL 350 | SILK ROAD: THEN AND NOW | 4 sh |
| REL 358 | SITES AND RITES: SACRED SPACE AND RITUAL IN WORLD RELIGIONS | 4 sh |
| REL 384 | MODERN JEWISH THOUGHT | 4 sh |
| REL 385 | Jewish-Christian Dialogue | 4 sh |
| REL 391 | Beyond Jihad: Encounters with Islam | 4 sh |
| REL 392 | Religion, Magic, and Science | 4 sh |
| REL 464 | War and Judaism, from the Bible to Zionism | 4 sh |
| REL 465 | Ghosts, Demons & Ancestors in Asian Religions | 4 sh |
| SPN 359 | COLONIAL ENCOUNTERS | 4 sh |
| SPN 455 | RELIGION, IDOLATRY AND CONQUEST: FROM MEDIEVAL SPAIN TO THE NEW WORLD | 4 sh |
| IRS 481 | INTERNSHIP IN INTERRELIGIOUS STUDIES | 1-4 sh |
| IRS 499 | RESEARCH IN INTERRELIGIOUS STUDIES | 1-4 sh |
Other courses may be submitted for approval by the Department Chair.
Program Outcomes
Students will analyze the category of religion and the field of interreligious studies, including the histories and theoretical models that inform them.
Students will recognize and appreciate the contours of religious difference both within and between particular traditions.
Students will interact with communities and hear from practitioners, gaining first hand-experience of worship, ritual practice, gender dynamics, the use of sacred texts, political dynamics, and/or interreligious encounters.
Students will recognize and explain the ways in which religious traditions and interreligious encounters are embedded within cultural, political and economic systems.
Students will produce nuanced reflections on ways that religious traditions and religious communities have interacted with other religious traditions and communities throughout history.
Students will critique existing models for understanding and facilitating interreligious encounter and offer constructive suggestions for improving these models.
Total Credit Hours: 24